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What are the biggest weaknesses of every team in the Pac-12?

Each team in the Pac-12 has at least one weakness that is going to give them trouble this season.

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona can't stop the pass...

The Wildcats are 112th in the nation in pass defense and that is with their first three games being against mid-major/lower programs not known for tearing it through the air. This weakness was on grand display against Cal when the Wildcats got picked apart by Jared Goff, but Nevada's Cody Fajardo also had a big day against them. The Wildcat defensive backs are getting some help from an improved pass rush, but I wonder if that will hold up against better competition.

Arizona State's star quarterback is injured for at least a little while...

Kelly is just about as good as Brett Hundley or Marcus Mariota for my money, but a foot injury took him out against Colorado and now he might be out for as long as a month. Kelly is the Sun Devils life blood and not having him could easily derail their shot at winning the South. Making matters worse, the Sun Devils open up with some of their toughest games of the season with their next four games against the LA schools, Stanford and Washington.

Cal can't keep a lead (mainly because they can't stop the pass)...

The Bears have done the same thing in both of their games against FBS opponents - jump out to a big lead, only to have it evaporate late. The Bears were able to hold on against Northwestern, but not against Arizona and it looks like being able to maintain leads with their Bear Raid might be a problem. A big part of this is that the Bears themselves can't stop the pass, currently sitting at 121st in the nation and when opponents get desperate and start airing it out, there is little they can do to stop them.

Colorado can't stop the run...

In a conference where it seems like no one can stop the pass, the Buffs are the rare team that can't stop the run. The Buffs have long been weak up front on defense and it is showing this year as they are 90th in the nation in run defense and got abused on the ground in their loss to Colorado State.

Oregon's offensive line is ravaged by injuries and they can't protect Marcus Mariota...

Tough call between Oregon's pass defense and offensive line problems here, but no one in the Pac-12 appears to be able to defend the pass, so I will give them a break on that one and the trouble with protection is a lot more dangerous since it exposes Mariota to potential injury. Losing starting tackle Tyler Johnstone before the season was bad enough for the Ducks, but then to lose fellow start Jake Fisher and fill-in starter Andre Yruretagoyena was devastating. The Ducks can't protect without these guys, giving up seven sacks to Washington State and it should only get worse when they face better defenses in the Pac-12. Oregon's hopes lie in Fisher getting healthy soon, getting Yruretagoyena back at some point and their fill-ins learning from their struggles.

Oregon State's offensive line hasn't gotten much better...

Oregon State's offensive line was a major liability last season and they haven't looked that much better in 2014. The Beavers are among the nation's worst in sacks given up and rushing yards thus far this season and they have played a pretty cushy schedule. The Beaver line is going to need to protect the immobile Sean Mannion if they hope to have him maintain his gaudy passing numbers without Brandin Cooks and start opening up holes for their running backs more often if they want to have a chance of breaking out of the 7-9 win bubble.

Stanford isn't running the ball like they used to...

The Cardinal came into the season having to replace Tyler Gaffney and four stud offensive line starters and it has shown thus far this season as the Cardinal have rushed for a paltry 158 yards per-game in their three games. It might be part of a young, but ultra-talented offensive line and running backs taking a little while to adjust to starting, but it may have cost them the game against USC and they are going to have a tough time controlling time of possession in the way that they need to if they can't get it going.

UCLA's offensive line looks like a mess...

Many expected UCLA's offensive line to improve with another year of experience under their belt and with the insertion of Miami transfer Malcolm Bunche, but the group hasn't appeared to do that yet. The Bruins are giving up an alarming amount of sacks for a team with a super-mobile quarterback like Brett Hundley and their running game once again looks stagnant even with the threat of Hundley running. It is hard to see this team fulfilling their potential if they can't block.

USC still has depth issues up front...

I went against straight up saying USC can't stop the run, before they bottled up Stanford fairly well and I think their colossally bad run defense performance against Boston College had more to do with their lack of depth than straight up run defense. As they have been for most of their sanction era, the Trojans are talented on both lines, but horribly thin. Because of this, they cannot afford to have linemen get injured and will have a very tough time bouncing back from draining games like their one against Stanford.

Utah lacks explosion...

The Utes are doing just about everything right, but they have yet to scare anyone with their big play ability. I have felt that the Utes have adjusted to the Pac-12 just fine in the trenches, but once again it looks like they might not have the elite explosion at skill positions to burns defenses for big plays and keep them on their toes. They do have some players that can scare defenses with their big play ability in Dres Anderson and Kaelin Clay, but they are going to need to get them to explode more often in Pac-12 play.

Washington can't pass the ball...

The Huskies are greatly trailing everyone else in the conference in passing yards and have rarely thrown the ball thus far in 2014. The Huskies have slowly been adjusting to new starter Cyler Miles and one has to worry about their ability to win shootouts if they need to in a conference where passing 300 yards means nothing if they don't have confidence in their quarterback and Miles can't throw the ball well downfield.

Washington State can't run the ball...

We all know that the Cougars don't even try to run the ball much in Mike Leach's offense, but their complete inability to do it when they try really hurts them in the red zone and late in games. The Cougars once again are struggling to score in near the goal line and to hold onto games late because they can't control the ball and clock with their pure air raid.