One of the frustrating things that comes with good teams playing bad competition early in the season is it leads to numerous questions about how good those teams really are.
For instance, we have an idea that the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies and USC Trojans are among the top teams in the nation, but nonconference games against Portland State, Tulsa and San Jose State don’t offer much of a platform to perform.
However, with the Trojans’ Week 5 win against the Colorado Buffaloes, 48-41, behind us, it gives us an opportunity to compare and contrast a bit, answering some questions we had about USC, Colorado and the Ducks.
A week ago, Oregon dismantled the Buffs at home, 42-6, showing Colorado may not be as good as some people thought. USC beat Colorado on the road earlier Saturday, but it didn’t look easy. Seeing the Trojans play Coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs gave us some insight into how good they really are, and in turn, how the Ducks should be perceived.
Here are some of our biggest takeaways after the game.