The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country — a collection of schools now scattered across five conferences: the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mountain West.
The rankings will be published weekly on the Hotline throughout the regular season.
(All times Pacific)
1. Oregon (4-0/1-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 3
Result: won at UCLA 34-13
Next up: vs. Michigan State (Friday, 6 p.m. on Fox)
Comment: One more order of business — against an old rival, no less — before the Ducks can fully focus on one of the biggest regular-season games in school history. Jonathan Smith’s record in Autzen Stadium with Oregon State: 0-3, with an average margin of defeat of 15.7 points.
2. USC (3-1/1-1 Big Ten)
Last week: 2
Result: beat Wisconsin 38-21
Next up: at Minnesota (4:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Sure looked like USC had to fight off a Michigan hangover through the first half Saturday afternoon. Once heads were clear and bodies loose, the Trojans reeled off 28 consecutive points in a first-rate second half. They are one missed tackle away (in Ann Arbor) from being undefeated.
3. Brigham Young (5-0/2-0 Big 12)
Last week: 6
Result: won at Baylor 34-28
Next up: idle
Comment: Baylor might be the worst team in the Big 12 when everything settles, but BYU’s narrow win at SMU and the blowout of Kansas State look more impressive by the week. And now comes extra times to prepare for a visit from Arizona that suddenly looks quite challenging.
4. Boise State (3-1)
Last week: 4
Result: beat Washington State 45-24
Next up: vs. Utah State (4 p.m. on FS2)
Comment: Ashton Jeanty was sensational on Saturday night, but let’s not overlook the play of Boise State’s defensive line, which recorded seven sacks and never let WSU quarterback John Mateer get comfortable in the pocket. The Broncos lead major college football in sacks this season with 19.
5. Utah (4-1/1-1 Big 12)
Last week: 1
Result: lost to Arizona 23-10
Next up: idle
Comment: Had Utah fans been informed in advance that Cam Rising would miss the Oklahoma State and Arizona games but the Utes would manage a split, most would have been satisfied. But after winning in Stillwater, perspective likely changed for some.
6. Colorado (4-1/2-0 Big 12)
Last week: 10
Result: won at UCF 48-21
Next up: idle
Comment: The most impressive performance, given the opponent and circumstances, of the Deion Sanders era. In fact, it no longer requires hallucinogens to envision the Buffaloes finishing in the top half of their 16-team conference.
7. Arizona (3-1/1-0 Big 12)
Last week: 11
Result: won at Utah 23-10
Next up: vs. Texas Tech (8 p.m. on Fox)
Comment: While impossible to know with any certainty at this point, we’re betting the trip to Provo (Oct. 12) proves more challenging than the game in Salt Lake City. And who would have ever predicted that.
8. Washington State (4-1)
Last week: 5
Result: lost at Boise State 45-24
Next up: idle
Comment: So much for WSU’s ever-so-faint hopes of crashing the College Football Playoff party. Now, the Cougars had best spend the extra week (before heading to Fresno State) securing their offensive line, or Mateer won’t make it through seven more games.
9. UNLV (4-0/1-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 9
Result: beat Fresno State 59-14
Next up: vs. Syracuse (Friday, 6 p.m. on FS1)
Comment: Suggest the Rebels take all the cash coming their way from the Mountain West negotiations and set it aside to keep poachers away from coach Barry Odom, who could be one of the hottest commodities on the market come December.
10. Cal (3-1/0-1 ACC)
Last week: 7
Result: idle
Next up: vs. Miami (7:30 p.m. on ESPN)
Comment: ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ will make its first appearance in Berkeley this week. More significantly, Miami quarterback Cam Ward will make his second. He threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns in a narrow loss to the Bears last season as Washington State’s starter.
Related Articles
Saturday Night Five: Big 12 insanity, Arizona’s breakthrough, Colorado on the brink, Jeanty delivers and UCLA’s brutal reality
Big Ten football: Breaking down Washington’s loss at Rutgers (we’ve seen the script before)
Mailbag: Pac-12 loses realignment narrative, UNLV’s decision, the MW and the MAC, the reverse merger fail and more
Impact of Pac-12 move on Utah State, big weekend for Boise State and the L.A. schools
Picks of the week: Brigham Young has thumped opponents and demolished the point spread
11. Washington (3-2/1-1 Big Ten)
Last week: 8
Result: lost at Rutgers 21-18
Next up: vs. Michigan (4:30 p.m. on NBC)
Comment: Only two Power Four teams, Cal and North Carolina, are averaging more penalties per game than the Huskies (8.6), and only Vanderbilt, Mississippi and Purdue are averaging more penalty yards per game (80.8). The roster turnover is undoubtedly a major factor. But if the yellow flags continue to fly at this rate in November, something is wrong with the teaching.
12. Arizona State (3-1/0-1 Big 12)
Last week: 12
Result: idle
Next up: vs. Kansas (5 p.m. on ESPN2)
Comment: Not that the Sun Devils should beat Kansas — they opened as narrow favorites — but goodness, the task is an order-of-magnitude more manageable than we envisioned at the start of the season. And more evidence that the Big 12 is a giant, drunken stupor.
13. Oregon State (3-1)
Last week: 13
Result: idle
Next up: vs. Colorado State (3:30 p.m. on The CW)
Comment: Not to be a soaking wet blanket, but the FBS teams the Beavers have beaten (San Diego State and Purdue) are themselves winless against FBS opponents. So we really have no idea if Oregon State is solid, fair-to-middlin’ or well below average.
14. Stanford (2-2/1-1 ACC)
Last week: 15
Result: lost at Clemson 40-14
Next up: vs. Virginia Tech (12:30 p.m. on ACC Network)
Comment: The Cardinal has performed much better than we expected at 21 of the 22 positions, especially given the circumstances and opponents. But alas, the one area of weakness is the most important position on the field.
15. UCLA (1-3/0-2 Big Ten)
Last week: 14
Result: lost to Oregon 34-13
Next up: at Penn State (9 a.m. on Fox)
Comment: As if playing an early game in the Eastern Time Zone wasn’t challenging enough, UCLA’s opponent this week hasn’t left its campus since August. At least the Bruins only have two more trips across the Rockies in the next four weeks.
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