“Shout” is a column by Matthew Andrade about college football.
It’s Halloween which means there’s just one month left in the Pac-12 regular season. But before the conference goes fully defunct, let’s rank each football program by level of spookiness.
Spookiness is a subjective metric but the way I look at it is the spookiest teams are the ones that you’re afraid to play on your schedule. They’re also the teams that have no business being difficult — sorry USC, Oregon and Washington, teams expect elite competition from you. With all of that being said, let’s get into the rankings.
12. Colorado Buffaloes
Teams spooked by Colorado: Cal
Oh, Colorado. Until Deion Sanders came to Boulder, teams had very little to fear from the program. Colorado is the only Pac-12 team to not have a winning record against any other conference team in the Pac-12 era. To add insult to injury, the Buffaloes are also the only team to be winless against another Pac-12 team in that span (0-12 against USC).
The only team scared of Colorado is Cal after the Golden Bears gave Colorado its only win of the season last year, but that was only an embarrassing loss for Cal because of how bad Colorado was.
11. Cal Golden Bears
Teams spooked by Cal: Oregon State, Washington, Washington State
Much like Colorado, Cal hasn’t given many teams a reason to be afraid. However, the Golden Bears’ recent history with Washington might make some Husky fans a bit fearful. In 2018, a year where Washington won the Pac-12 title and went to the Rose Bowl, the Huskies lost to three ranked opponents — and Cal. Washington also lost to Cal the following year in just the second game of the season. The Golden Bears were only 3-9 against Washington during the time of the Pac-12, but the few wins they did have deflated the Huskies.
10. USC Trojans
Teams spooked by USC: UCLA, Washington
USC is a hard team to place. The Trojans are feared by many teams since even USC on an off day can dominate anyone due to the Trojans’ level of talent. But does that make the team spooky? If other teams know to circle the USC on their calendar, it’s hard for the Trojans to spook other programs.
Still, USC has given fits to two historically successful programs: UCLA and Washington. The Trojans have won six of their last eight against UCLA and USC has a 3-2 record against Washington in the Pac-12 era. The Trojans’ last win over the Huskies was Washington’s only regular season loss en route to a College Football Playoff berth in 2016.
9. Washington Huskies
Teams spooked by Washington: Oregon State, Utah, Washington State
Washington is another hard team to rank because teams expect a tough game out of the Huskies. However, the Huskies’ dominance over some of its nearby rivals — two programs plenty of teams struggle to consistently beat — is impressive. Washington has won eight of its last nine meetings against Washington State and 10 of its last 11 against Oregon State.
UW also seems to be Utah’s kryptonite. The Huskies went 7-2 against the Utes in the Pac-12 era, including a perfect record in Salt Lake City for Washington. That’s not an easy feat at all.
8. Oregon Ducks
Teams spooked by Oregon: Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington
Of the top programs in the conference, Oregon is the most feared by the other top teams.
The Ducks had won 12 in a row against Washington from 2004 through 2016. Oregon has won four of the last five against USC. The Ducks are one of the few teams that spooks Utah with Oregon winning 7 of the teams’ 11 meetings in the Pac-12 era. It’s hard to classify Oregon as spooky for the same reasons as Washington and USC, but Oregon is definitely the spookiest of that group.
7. Washington State Cougars
Teams spooked by Washington State: Arizona, Oregon, Oregon State
The Cougars may not necessarily have the best record against the other teams in the conference, but a trip to the Palouse coming up on a team’s schedule will cause any head coach to tense up in fright.
Believe it or not, the team that might be the most afraid of WSU is Oregon. The Cougars beat the Ducks four straight times from 2015 through 2018 and it took a last-second Camden Lewis field goal in 2019 for Oregon to finally break the curse of the Cougars. Diehard Pac-12 fans will also remember that WSU was a missed pass interference call away from potentially knocking Oregon off on the Ducks’ run to the College Football Playoff in 2014.
6. UCLA Bruins
Teams spooked by UCLA: Washington, Washington State
UCLA is another team to be wary of even if the Bruins are having a down year. But in particular, for some reason, the Bruins scare the life out of the Washington schools. UCLA is 4-2 against each school since 2011 and the Bruins’ last win over Washington effectively ended the Huskies’ Pac-12 title hopes last season. Also, who can forget when UCLA overcame a 32-point second-half deficit against the Cougars in 2019?
If you go trick-or-treating in a Dorian Thompson-Robinson jersey in Pullman, people might be too afraid to open their doors.
5. Arizona Wildcats
Teams spooked by Arizona: Cal, Oregon, USC
Arizona has brought the fright to some of the conference’s top schools over the years. Ten of the Wildcats’ last 13 games against USC have been decided by one score and the last four have been decided by an average of less than six points. Arizona is also one of two schools to beat Marcus Mariota twice while he was at Oregon and handed Mariota his largest loss while he was a Duck — a 42-16 beating in 2013. If you go trick-or-treating in a Scooby Wright jersey in Eugene… You know the rest.
4. Oregon State Beavers
Teams spooked by Oregon State: UCLA, USC, Utah
They say that great seasons go to die in Corvallis. The Beavers are 15-1 at home since 2021 with the only loss coming against last season’s eventual Heisman Trophy winner — by three on the ghastly Pac-12 Network. USC has had other issues with Oregon State over the years as well. In 2006, USC finished the season ranked No. 4 in the nation. In 2008, USC finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation. In both seasons, the Trojans were knocked off by the Beavers in Corvallis. There are few teams scarier than Oregon State at home.
3. Utah Utes
Teams spooked by Utah: Arizona, Oregon State, Oregon, Stanford, USC
Does Utah need any explanation? Utah has become a program capable of beating just about anyone. USC has lost four games in a row to the Utes. Utah holds an 8-4 record against UCLA and a 5-1 record against Stanford during the Pac-12 era.
Utah and Oregon are probably the only two teams in the conference spooked by each other. Oregon won the last meeting on Saturday and sunk Utah’s College Football Playoff hopes in the Pac-12 Championship in 2019. The Utes returned the favor in 2021 by knocking off Oregon twice within a two-week period — the first by 31 points and the second by 28 points in the Pac-12 Championship.
2. Arizona State Sun Devils
Teams spooked by Arizona State: Arizona, Oregon, USC, Utah, Washington, Washington State
If you’re a top team and have a trip to Tempe on your schedule, you can pencil in a loss right away. As their mascot might suggest, the Sun Devils frighten just about every team in the Pac-12. They took down No. 21 Washington last season. They put Justin Herbert’s College Football Playoff dreams to bed on primetime television in 2019.
It’s also worth noting that Arizona State has a 6-3 record against Washington in the Pac-12 era and currently holds a 6-5 record against Utah in the same span. Saturday’s game will determine whether the Sun Devils end the Pac-12 era with a winning record over the Utes.
1. Stanford Cardinal
Teams spooked by Stanford: Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
Stanford has mastered the most terrifying spook of them all — the jump scare. The Cardinal can play terribly against horrible opponents and then, out of nowhere, beat Oregon a week after the Ducks took down Ohio State in Columbus. Or they can come back from a 29-point half-time deficit at Colorado. Or they can nearly knock off No. 5 Washington — a program Stanford has beat in seven of their last 10 meetings at Stanford Stadium. Or… you get the point.
Stanford is never a team you expect to challenge you, but it’s almost inevitable that the Cardinal will catch a few teams off guard every year. Good luck to anyone who’s set to face Stanford in the ACC — they’ll need it.
“Shout” runs every Tuesday.