Patrick Kinahan: Can Pac-12's best defense carry Utah to three-peat?

SALT LAKE CITY — Only two weeks into the college football season, and less than three months away from extinction, the Pac-12 can boast having the best conference in the sport.

Eight Pac-12 teams are ranked in the latest Associated Press poll, led by USC at No. 5. Each with a 2-0 start, Washington State (23) and UCLA (24) broke into the rankings for the first time to join holdovers Washington (8), Utah (12), Oregon (13), Oregon State (16) and Colorado (18). Utah and Colorado are the only two teams with both wins against Power Five competition.

The two historically recognized best conferences — the Southeastern and Big Ten — are still the heavy hitters with top-ranked Georgia and Michigan, respectively, leading the way. But no conference can equal the Pac-12's depth.

With one game left before conference play begins in earnest, the Pac-12 is a combined 6-3 against Power Five opponents. The SEC, generally regarded as the best conference, is 3-6 in Power Five games.

"You've got your work cut out for you every week in the Pac-12," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, whose team plays all the conference's ranked teams except for Washington State this season.

Individually, the SEC's biggest story to date is a negative with Alabama losing at home to future conference foe Texas, which still belongs to the Big 12. The news out of the Big Ten is the suspensions of Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and Michigan State's Mel Tucker, who also reportedly faces dismissal.

While coach Deion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes continue to hog the national spotlight through two weeks, the Pac-12 has produced several compelling stories worthy of attention. But the most fun still revolves around Coach Prime and the team's attempt to conjure up a litany of reasons to exact revenge on the latest prey.

Still one game away from the bulk of conference play, these things are self-evident: 1) In a conference loaded with outstanding quarterbacks, nobody is better than USC's Caleb Williams; 2) Utah has the best defense.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, who is the presumptive first pick in next spring's NFL draft if he leaves college early, is even better than last season. Through three games, during which USC has scored at least 50 points for the first time in program history, Williams has completed 78.6% of his passes for 878 yards with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions.

The gaudy numbers might be even better if the Trojans hadn't demolished all three opponents by a combined score of 178-52. Clear out space for another trophy on the mantle if Williams approaches anything close to those eye-popping statistics against the competition that includes Colorado, Utah, Washington, Oregon, UCLA and No. 9 Notre Dame.

Forget about trying to beat USC, whose offense is better than it was last season, at its own game. No remaining opponent, even with the bevy of star quarterbacks capable of lighting up scoreboards each game, has enough firepower on offense to hang with the Trojans in a shootout in the Pac-12's final seasons before realignment kills it.

Whittingham and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley throughout training camp last month praised Utah's depth at all three levels of the defense. Injuries to several starters over the first two weeks of the season have tested the depth and proved the coaches correct in their assessments.

The Utes have allowed a total of 24 points against Florida and Baylor, which ranks second in the conference behind UCLA. The Bruins' first game against Power Five competition will come in Rice-Eccles Stadium on Sept. 23.

"We thought we were going to be pretty good," said Whittingham, "and we've lived up to expectations."

No argument there, but the real tests will come during conference play. Minus Cal and Arizona State, the other seven teams on Utah's schedule can shred any defense.

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