As the 2018 season approached, the Washington Huskies held a steady place as the Pac-12 favorite ahead of the Stanford Cardinal and Oregon Ducks. The prolonged struggles of quarterback Jake Browning are causing a frustrating lack of trust in the favorites, however.
Week 4's clash between Stanford and Oregon initially seemed like an irrelevant battle in the Pac-12 North chase. Suddenly, the showdown has larger implications.
Since the division is less settled than anticipated, the winner will claim an essential victory for future tiebreaking purposes. Given the state of the three programs, an outright winner in the North seems unlikely.