The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country — a collection of schools now scattered across five conferences: the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mountain West.
The rankings will be published weekly on the Hotline throughout the regular season.
(All times Pacific)
Last week: 1
Result: won at Michigan 38-17
Next up: vs. Maryland (4 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Entirely possible the Ducks end up playing just four bowl-eligible teams, which could impact their College Football Playoff seed unless they are undefeated Big Ten champions. If you’re scoring at home, those four teams would be Boise State, Ohio State, Illinois and the opponent in the Big Ten title game.
Last week: 2
Result: did not play
Next up: at Utah (7:15 p.m. on ESPN)
Comment: Things are going so well for the Cougars that they win even when idle. The weekend losses by Iowa State and Kansas State removed much of the remaining clutter from their path to the Big 12 championship game. One loss is now unlikely to create a complicated, potentially perilous tiebreaker situation.
Last week: 3
Result: beat San Diego State 56-24
Next up: vs. Nevada (5 p.m. on Fox)
Comment: To reinvigorate his Heisman Trophy push, Broncos tailback Ashton Jeanty needs a huge game this week on a major media platform. He should have the audience thanks to a prime-time broadcast on Fox. The performance piece is up to him.
Last week: 4
Result: did not play
Next up: at Texas Tech (1 p.m. on Fox)
Comment: The trip to Lubbock is massive for CU, which then finishes the season against three of the worst teams in the Big 12: Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State, which are 2-14 in conference play. If they handle the Red Raiders, who were recently blown out at home by Baylor, the Buffaloes will be on the brink of a berth in the conference championship.
Last week: 5
Result: did not play
Next up: vs. Utah State (7:30 p.m. on The CW)
Comment: On the margins of the College Football Playoff race, WSU caught a break this weekend with Texas Tech’s upset victory at Iowa State. If the Red Raiders somehow win the Big 12, the Cougars’ prospects for an at-large berth improve substantially — if, of course, they finish 11-1.
Last week: 7
Result: won at Oklahoma State 42-21
Next up: vs. UCF (4 p.m. on ESPN2)
Comment: So much of ASU’s current vibe reminds us of Arizona’s run in the second half of the 2023 season: A team playing with house money and gaining momentum by the week — to the point that 2.5-hour weather delays on the road have no impact on performance.
Last week: 6
Result: did not play
Next up: at Hawaii (6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network)
Comment: An unexpected obstacle has surfaced on the Rebels’ road to a rematch against Boise State for the MW title. Colorado State is undefeated in conference games, doesn’t play the Broncos and has a soft finishing schedule. UNLV could get boxed out.
Last week: 9
Result: beat USC 26-21
Next up: at Penn State (5 p.m. on Peacock)
Comment: We are not suggesting the Huskies will be victorious in Happy Valley, but the timing could not be better with Penn State coming off its annual torturous loss to Ohio State. (Thanks to a goal line sequence as ghastly as what we witnessed from UW in the Apple Cup.) Decent chance the Nittany Lions have a hangover, at least for the first half.
Last week: 8
Result: lost at Washington 26-21
Next up: idle
Comment: More than a few current and former Pac-12 fans undoubtedly partaking in schadenfreude as the school that sparked the conference’s collapse sinks ever lower in the Big Ten and is in serious danger of not making the postseason. The Hotline simply sees a team that isn’t coached very well and doesn’t have enough elite players.
Last week: 10
Result: did not play
Next up: at Wake Forest (Friday at 5 p.m. on ACC Network)
Comment: The only winless team in ACC play, which has lost its four league games by a total of nine points, now faces an opponent that has won three ACC games by a total of 10 points.
Last week: 14
Result: won at Nebraska
Next up: vs. Iowa (Friday at 6 p.m. on Fox)
Comment: Credit to first-year coach DeShaun Foster for grinding through the season’s brutal first half and keeping his players engaged. But the climb into the postseason remains steep, especially if the Bruins lose Friday night in a Homecoming road game. (Our prediction: There will be more Iowa fans than UCLA supporters in the Rose Bowl.)
Last week: 11
Result: did not play
Next up: at Oregon State (12:30 p.m. on The CW)
Comment: The blueprint for beating Oregon State has been clear for weeks: Run the ball against OSU’s depleted defensive front. But in an interesting twist, the Spartans have one of the nation’s worst running games under new coach Ken Niumatalolo, who used to deploy the triple option during his tenure at Navy.
Last week: 13
Result: did not play
Next up: vs. BYU (7:15 p.m. on ESPN)
Comment: Not on our Big 12 bingo car for the 2024 season: The Utes would be looking up at Arizona State, Houston, UCF and BYU in the conference standings after the first Saturday in November. Then again, the Big 12 bingo card is filled with signs and symbols that mere mortals cannot understand.
Last week: 12
Result: lost at UCF 56-12
Next up: idle
Comment: It was just 36 days ago that Arizona returned home from Salt Lake City with a victory and a 3-1 record. Rarely have we seen so many things go so wrong so quickly for any team. Obviously, there were structural issues lurking beneath the September surface. But goodness gracious, the Wildcats’ collapse has been stunning.
Last week: 15
Result: did not play
Next up: vs. San Jose State (12:30 p.m. on The CW)
Comment: We gave Colorado State (6-3) serious consideration for this spot but ultimately went with the Beavers based on their head-to-head victory over CSU. That said, if the teams played now, the Rams would win — and perhaps decisively.
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