Pac-12 Football: One word to describe every team through Week 5

We are beginning to learn more and more about each Pac-12 team as the season goes on

Author:
Kevin Borba
Publish date:
Oct 5, 2022 4:43 PM EDT

In this story:

Now that we are nearly halfway through the season, we have gotten a general idea about every team across college football.

Schools like Alabama and Georgia are up to their usual acts of being dominant (for the most part), while schools like Miami and Texas fight to be "back". Something that hasn't been the "norm" is how deep the Pac-12 is this year.

The conference has five ranked teams, and a sixth in Washington State that is on the outside looking in when it comes to the top-25. This past week we saw UCLA prove they were for real when they beat Washington, Utah dismantle what was thought to be a good Oregon State team, and Oregon continue to get hot.

As each week goes on, we are beginning to get a better grasp of how good or bad each team is. I felt inspired by my good friend over at TigersWire, and thought it would be fun to describe each of the Pac-12 teams with just one word.

Let's dive in!

Arizona

One Word: Progressing

They have already tripled the amount of wins in comparison to last season, and have shown signs of promise with Jaden de Laura and Jacob Cowing. Their schedule is about to get extremely hard playing all five ranked Pac-12 teams in a row, but this team is light-years better than they were a year ago.

Arizona State

One Word: Disastrous

When your coach appears to get fired on the field after losing to Eastern Michigan there is not many positive outlooks. The team is just in disarray, and hiring a new coach may be more difficult than people realize considering the NCAA violations..

Cal

Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jack Plummer (13) passes against the UNLV Rebels during the first quarter at FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium. — Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

One Word: Inconsistent

Cal is all over the place this season. They went down to the wire in a win over UNLV, but also almost took down Notre Dame. They then followed that up with a high scoring win over Arizona, but were held to nine points against Washington State. They are a different team seemingly every week.

Colorado

One Word: Dreadful

Colorado is widely viewed as the worst Power 5 team in the country, and may be the worst FBS team in the country as well. They have started three quarterbacks, fired their coach, and have lost all of their games by a double digit margin.

UCLA

One Word: Ascending

A team that took a lot of criticism early for their weak schedule, the Bruins proved last week in a huge win over Washington that they are legit. They have a chance to really prove themselves in the next two weeks as they will take on No. 11 Utah and No. 12 Oregon in consecutive weeks.

Oregon

One Word: Prematurely-Judged

If ESPN's Pardon the Interruption taught me anything it is that sometimes the hyphen is your best friend for one word games. Oregon was viewed by many, me included, as on track to having a down year after their loss against Georgia. However, it turns out that Georgia is just one of the elite college football teams, and that Oregon is actually much better than we realized. They beat a tough BYU team and also had an amazing come from behind win against Washington State. They look like they are for real, especially now that Bo Nix is playing the best football of his career.

Oregon State

One Word: Almost

Oregon State seemed like a team of destiny through the first three weeks, especially after their last second win against Fresno State. However, they were unable to pull of the upset against USC losing by three, and then were blown out by Utah. If they don't give the ball away as many times as they did, maybe it's a different word, but eight turnovers in two games is tough to overcome.

USC

Sep 10, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) throws the ball on the run during the third quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. — Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

One Word: Electric

The Trojan offense is one of the best in the country, and may carry this team all the way to a playoff appearance if everything goes right. They have so many big play threats that it can really come at a defense from anywhere.

Stanford

One Word: Underwhelming

Stanford returned one of the most experienced teams in the country, but through the first four games they have played have looked putrid. The offense gives the ball away too much and is allergic to momentum, while the defense constantly gives up big plays. This season still has a chance to turn around, but considering the teams left on the schedule it might get very ugly.

Utah

One Word: Sturdy

For the most part Utah was widely viewed as the best team in the conference prior to the season, and are at worst the second best team now. A tough loss to Florida in The Swamp was not an ideal start, but they are handling business following the loss.

Washington

One Word: Unexpected

Most people would not believe you a few months ago if you told them that Washington is home to the best offense in the country, and Michael Penix is among then nation's best passers. This team has exceeded all expectations, and are now looking like a legit contender in the Pac-12.

Washington State

One Word: Undervalued

The Cougars got off to a slow start, but were able to snag a huge win over a ranked Wisconsin team in Madison. They also had Oregon pretty much beat, but late mistakes allowed the Ducks back in the game. They still have looked impressive though, and have not gotten the respect by the AP that they deserve.