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SALT LAKE CITY — With three weeks of results in the books, the Pac-12 is starting to see some separation from the contenders and pretenders. What can Utah expect from the remaining teams it faces the rest of the season?
Washington: Probably the toughest team to place right now, given a lackluster effort against Eastern Washington, a solid effort against Hawaii (no small feat given the Warriors border on inept when they cross the Pacific — see the results of the Hawaii at UNLV game if you're not convinced) and a second half against Nebraska in which the Huskies got freight-trained to the tune of 24 unanswered points.
There is no doubt the Huskies have the offense to go toe-to-toe with any Pac-12 team not named Stanford or Oregon. The defense is another issue, but this week's home game against Cal is a huge indicator game for UW. Win, and it should finish third in the North and carry some big momentum into the Oct. 1 game at Utah. Lose, and it will be a struggle to finish at .500. But for now, the Huskies get the benefit of the doubt. Contender.
California: No Pac-12 team smashed its lower-division opposition like Cal did with Presbyterian, outgaining the Blue Hose 581-48 and out-first downing them 27-3 in a 62-12 win. Perhaps the only thing that should bother Cal is that Presbyterian scored on special teams (a blocked punt) and defense (an interception return). Quarterback Zach Maynard has been the biggest surprise of the Pac-12 season and has significantly upgraded that position. At 3-0, Cal has a pair of Thursday night games coming up against Oregon and USC, but has two extra days to prepare for Utah, which will be coming back from a trip to the East Coast against Pittsburgh. Contender.
Arizona State: What to make of the Sun Devils? Beat a ranked Missouri team at home, then follow it up with a loss at unranked Illinois. Maybe the Illini are better than expected, but this was one of those should-win games the Sun Devils have stumbled through under Dennis Erickson. Man for man, this is still the most talented, experienced team in the South, and until it drops a Pac-12 game at home — which could happen this week against USC — ASU should be viewed as a threat. Contender.
Washington State, UCLA, Oregon State: All you need to know about these three teams is that they're coming off losses and all three programs are led by coaches that rank quite highly on the Coaches Hot Seat. (However, we're perplexed as to why 3-0 Cal and Jeff Tedford rank in the top 10.) The UCLA loss to Texas was especially dispiriting, as the Bruins allowed two green quarterbacks to pilot an offense that rolled up 488 yards and 49 points, while seeing its own quarterback toss three interceptions on UCLA's first three possessions. Pretenders.
Arizona: The Wildcats are neither pretender nor contender, but we do have another tag for Mike Stoops' crew. With a lethal passing attack led by quarterback Nick Foles, plus the best wideout in the Pac-12 in Juron Criner, the Wildcats' offense is explosive. But as it showed in a 37-10 home loss to Stanford, it is not ready to challenge the better teams in the league. Still, this corner can't help but view the Wildcats as a dangerous opponent for the Pac-12's second-tier teams. As the schedule lightens up, 'Zona's performance should pick up. Spoiler.
Patrick Sheltra is sports editor of the Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News and the author of "100 Things Utes Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die." (September release) Read more of his thoughts on University of Utah sports at scriptutah.blogspot.com
