Hotline Pac-12 power rankings: Mixed results from Week 1 while Boise State plants its flag

The Pac-12 football power rankings are published weekly on the Hotline and consider both the latest results and season-long performance. (Call it an objectively subjective look at the state of the race.) We have included the placement of each team in our preseason projections.

The new Pac-12's long-awaited debut weekend brought a reminder of its place in the college football hierarchy. On the sport's second tier, the biggest wins can be easily dismissed and the best results are often losses.

Overall, the conference won two of eight games, with the totality of results best summarized in the following manner:

— The lopsided victories by San Diego State and Colorado State were over an FCS team (Portland State) and a lower-level foe from the Mountain West (Wyoming). Neither will carry resonance through the season.

— One of the six losses was downright gruesome, a stain that will last the season: Utah State's 12-point face plant against Idaho State, an FCS school.

— Two losses were entirely predictable wipeouts: Texas State and Fresno State lost to No. 5 Texas and No. 14 USC, respectively, by a combined 91 points.

— Two more featured gritty performances by the Pac-12 holdovers against ranked opponents: Oregon State trailed No. 23 Houston by six points midway through the fourth quarter, while Washington State was within a touchdown of No. 14 Washington late in the fourth.

— The final loss was the best result, the defining performance of the weekend both in the Pac-12 and across the collection of 70 schools known as the Group of Six.

Boise State outplayed second-ranked Oregon for long stretches of what became a 34-27 loss in Eugene that will provide resume rocket fuel for the Broncos over the next three months.

The Broncos did much more than push the Ducks for 60 minutes. They provided the College Football Playoff selection committee with proof they belong in the event as the Group of Six representative, assuming, of course, that the remainder of their season clears the requisite threshold.

Put another way: The Pac-12's marquee football program, given the most important assignment of the opening week, carried the conference's banner impressively.

The natural comparison is 2024, when the Broncos lost by three points at Oregon, then rolled through the Mountain West and into the CFP.

Their path is far more treacherous this fall, partly because the rebuilt Pac-12 is more competitive than the old Mountain West and partly because of what comes next for the Broncos.

This week, they host Memphis, which might be the best team in the American and has designs on the CFP.

And at the end of the month, the Broncos visit Western Michigan, which just lost at Michigan on a controversial Hail Mary and resembled a CFP contender, as well.

Those games will frame the playoff race within the Group of Six, which has one automatic bid in the 12-team event (for the group's highest-ranked team).

If the Broncos combine wins over Memphis and Western Michigan with their impressive showing in Eugene, they will emerge as the clear frontrunner.

Which is exactly how the rebuilt Pac-12 hoped the first month of its first season would play out.

To the power rankings ...

(All times Pacific)

1. Boise State (0-1)

Result: lost at Oregon 34-27

Next up: vs. Memphis (3 p.m. on USA Network)

Comment: The most impressive aspect of the performance in Eugene: The Broncos more than held their own at the line of scrimmage (both sides) against Oregon's array of blue-chip prospects and future NFL draft picks. (Preseason: 1)

2. San Diego State (1-0)

Result: beat Portland State 53-20

Next up: at UCLA (4:15 p.m. on Big Ten Network)

Comment: Are the Aztecs capable of challenging for the Pac-12 title and Group of Six berth in the playoff? We'll know by the end of the third quarter Saturday evening. If they can play with UCLA for 45 minutes, they can play with Boise State for 60. (Preseason: 4)

3. Oregon State (0-1)

Result: lost at Houston 33-20

Next up: vs. Texas Tech (4:30 p.m. on CBS)

Comment: We had a fairly low bar for the Beavers this season, and they cleared it easily in Houston. Will the performance level remain high once opponents get a sense for, and adjust to, OSU's schemes under first-year coach JaMarcus Shephard? Check back in the middle of October. Until then, cautious optimism should be the prevailing sentiment in Corvallis. (Preseason: 7)

4. Washington State (0-1)

Result: lost at Washington 24-10

Next up: at Kansas State (9 a.m. on TNT)

Comment: Were the Cougars too good for their own good? At some point in the next two years, Washington and WSU must decide whether to continue the Apple Cup beyond 2028. Clearly, the Cougars, who won in Seattle in 2024, plan to make life as difficult as possible for UW. So in the spirit of thinking out loud, we wonder: Could the Huskies decide they don't want to risk an in-state, non-conference loss? (Preseason: 5)

5. Fresno State (0-1)

Result: lost at USC 39-0

Next up: vs. Sacramento State (7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network)

Comment: The Bulldogs were set up to fail with USC having a competitive advantage from playing San Jose State in Week 0, in addition to all the other advantages possessed by the Trojans. That said, FSU seems to have a quarterback problem. (Preseason: 2)

6. Texas State (0-1)

Result: lost at Texas 59-7

Next up: vs. UTSA (12:30 p.m. on The CW)

Comment: We continue to believe the Bobcats will be a factor in the Pac-12 race. Texas is simply too good, perhaps for everyone. (Preseason: 3)

7. Colorado State (1-0)

Result: beat Wyoming 35-13

Next up: vs. Southern Utah (4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network)

Comment: How about Hauss Hejny, the Oklahoma State transfer who threw five touchdowns and completed 23 of 33 passes? If his weekly efficiency is merely solid, the Rams could cause damage in the conference race. (Preseason: 8)

8. Utah State (0-1)

Result: lost to Idaho State 29-17

Next up: at Washington (12:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network)

Comment: The most gruesome loss of the weekend — Idaho State is a middle-tier program in the Big Sky — will become a contagion that infects the resume of whichever team(s) loses to the Aggies. (Preseason: 6)

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