:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/27222519/20140118_lbm_ax5_298.0.jpg)
The Good
Bay Area schools... again - It was another impressive week for the Bay Area schools as they outscored the Washington schools by a total of 91 points in their four games against the Huskies and Cougars. Cal is beginning to look like a legitimate Top 25 team, and the second-best team in the Pac-12 and Stanford is looking to be a team that can get out of the middle of the pack in the conference.
Oregon State - The Beavers scored a must-win at home against their hated rivals to give themselves a decent start to Pac-12 play and to push the Ducks a little further into the mud. The Beavers were especially stout on defense, as they didn't allow an Oregon starter to score more than eight points.
Utah - A sweep of the LA schools in Salt Lake City got the Utes right back into the thick of the "below Arizona" Pac-12 race. Most importantly, they scored their biggest win of the year over UCLA and proved that they can win a close game after dropping so many in heartbreaking fashion.
The Bad
The Washington schools - Obviously, Cal and Stanford are good teams that are playing really well right now, but come on... the Cougars and Huskies got smashed by nearly 60 points combined on Wednesday night alone. The Huskies started strong in Pac-12 play, but now look like they may slip back towards the bottom of the conference and the Cougars will have to really battle to get out of the cellar.
Oregon - The Ducks' nightmare start to their Pac-12 season just kept on rolling with a loss to a struggling Oregon State team. The Ducks are beginning to put themselves in a difficult situation and their game at Washington on Thursday is almost a must-win at this point.
The teams that were supposed to challenge Arizona- Colorado, Oregon and UCLA have gotten off to bad or middling at best starts in Pac-12 play and it's beginning to look that maybe no one will be able to challenge the Wildcats this season. Colorado is a major question mark without Spencer Dinwiddie, Oregon has looked like a mess and the Bruins are young and look only good, not great, like they have so much in recent seasons.
The Unknown
Is Cal the second-best team in the Pac-12? Not very many people were excited about Cal going into non-conference or Pac-12 season, but it's now a few weeks into Pac-12 play and the Bears are still undefeated in conference play and just outside of the Top 25. But, the Bears have still yet to play most of the conference's other top teams and games against UCLA and Arizona in the next couple of weeks should answer the question.
How long can hot seat coaches survive? The Pac-12 is full of coaches that are under a lot of pressure this season and it is going to be interesting to see how long coaches like Ken Bone and Herb Sendek can survive if their teams continue to struggle in Pac-12 play? Will hot seat coaches be able to make it through the season if their teams stay near the bottom of the conference?
Is there any hope for USC? There was some excitement for the Trojans coming into the season and Pac-12 play, but they have been absolutely dreadful thus far in-conference and clearly look like the worst team in the Pac-12. Can new coach Andy Enfield get them to start competing in the Pac-12?