Pac-12 Football: Which 1-Loss Team Has the Best Chance at Winning the League?

Before the 2014 college football season began, the Pac-12 took on the identity of a deep conference that was likely to cannibalize itself when league games commenced.

That's exactly what's happened, and though every team still has at least five league games remaining, the list of contenders has been reduced to five.

We're talking of course about the five one-loss teams still with a shot at the conference championship game, and while two-loss squads like UCLA and Stanford shouldn't give up hope, the road ahead is foggy and bleak at best.

ESPN.com's Kevin Gemmell notes that Oregon's win against the Washington Huskies on Saturday added a few more pieces to the puzzle, but that anything can (and probably will) still happen.

The South Division is perhaps as deep as any in college football outside of the SEC West, and counting the Bruins out would be a mistake. But for the sake of the argument, we're taking a look at which one-loss teams have the best chance to win the Pac-12.

It should be noted that USC has two losses to its name, but the only one that matters in the race for the division is the home defeat to Arizona State.

The Favorite: Oregon Ducks

We've seen two different Oregon football teams take the field in 2014. The first team started 3-0 and had arguably the most impressive performance to date of anyone when it whipped Michigan State 46-27 back on Sept. 6.

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

The Spartans hung close for three quarters, but the Ducks wore out the mighty defense of Pat Narduzzi and coasted to a comfortable win.

The other team from Eugene we saw after the 3-0 start went just 1-1 with a narrow victory at Washington State and a disappointing home loss to Arizona.

What made this team different was an inability to rush the passer on defense or deny offenses from gaining large chunks of yards, as well as an offensive line that was simply dreadful.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota still put on a show in both outings, but without time or room to throw, the offense sputtered, and the undefeated mark went out the window.

Then, in a must-win game at UCLA, the first team showed up again. Oregon dominated on the ground en route to a 42-30 victory that was never very close.

The obvious difference was the return of offensive tackle Jake Fisher, who had been out since the Wyoming game. And with an improved line to help protect Mariota and open up holes in the running game, points came fast and easy.

That same team showed up on Saturday and blasted the Huskies 45-20 in a performance that looked a lot like what we've come to expect out of Oregon in recent years. The defense allowed yards but not very many points, and the offense moved the ball on the ground to open up an effective passing attack.

If the past two weeks are any indication, Oregon looks like the favorite to win the Pac-12. But difficult games against Stanford and Utah lie ahead, and after a misstep against Arizona, no one would be too surprised to see the Ducks falter once again.

The Sleeper: USC Trojans

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Much like Oregon, the USC Trojans have also put forth two different teams in 2014. The first was a team that walloped Fresno State before eking out a win at Stanford.

Then the other version of the Trojans reared its ugly head in an embarrassing 37-31 loss at Boston College. It was ugly for several reasons, not the least of which was the fact that the Eagles lost at home to Colorado State just two weeks later. But the biggest concern had to be getting dominated in the trenches.

Boston College ran for 452 yards at over eight yards per carry, with quarterback Tyler Murphy leading the way by piling up 191 yards on just 13 carries.

He only threw for 54 yards, which makes you scratch your head even more. How could USC allow that to happen knowing the Eagles' passing attack was limited at best?

When it was USC's turn to score, the passing attack kicked it into high gear, while the ground game managed just 20 yards. That's a 432-yard difference, and when you have Javorius Allen lined up in the backfield, that's a disgraceful statistic.

It was that effort that should give you pause when considering USC as a possible Pac-12 champion, but we can end the doom and gloom right there. Since then, the only sour note has been poor defense on a Hail Mary from Arizona State that cost the Trojans a conference loss.

USC also boasts a road win in Tucson against a then-undefeated Arizona squad, and it did so with a punishing ground attack and athletic defense that limited the Wildcats' uptempo, spread-rushing formula.

Steve Sarkisian's team is the sleeper of the group because it disappeared from national consciousness following the loss to Boston College and has stayed there since the defeat to the Sun Devils.

But USC has the most talent of any team in the conference, and if Cody Kessler can keep hurting defenses following the punishing runs of Allen, the Trojans can hang with and beat anyone.

Teams	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14
Arizona	@ Washington State	@ UCLA	vs. Colorado	vs. Washington	@ Utah	vs. Arizona State
Arizona State	@ Washington	vs. Utah	vs Notre Dame	@ Oregon State	vs. Washington State	@ Arizona
Oregon	@ California	vs. Stanford	@Utah	BYE	vs. Colorado	@ Oregon State
USC	@ Utah	@ Washington State	BYE	vs. California	@ UCLA	vs. Notre Dame
Utah	vs. USC	@ Arizona State	vs. Oregon	@ Stanford	vs. Arizona	@ Colorado

The Rest

Normally, this is the point in the piece where you have your long shots, but is that an accurate way to describe any of the one-loss teams left in the Pac-12?

We're talking about Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, and it's safe to say that no one would be shocked to see any of these teams wearing the crown come December.

No one has been perfect; hence the losses on their respective resumes. But Utah has solid wins at UCLA and Oregon State and plays host to Oregon in three weeks.

Arizona has the best win of anyone with its 31-24 victory in Autzen Stadium, and the best all-around performance may have been on Saturday when Arizona State effectively shut down Stanford in a 26-10 romp.

Then there are the blemishes on each team's record that leave room for doubt. Utah has the worst loss of the group after letting Washington State crawl back from a 21-point deficit to win, while Arizona State can only try to forget about the 62-27 beatdown it received at the hands of UCLA.

Arizona probably wins the argument of "best loss" considering it fell to USC after missing a potential game-winning field goal in the closing seconds. But a loss is a loss—who has the best one won't be a factor in the division race.

Both the Arizona schools have played USC, and the Wildcats have already traveled to Oregon. The Ducks will miss both Arizona State and the Trojans, but beyond that, everyone will still have to square off.

With as wild and wacky as the majority of Pac-12 games have been, there's no predicting how it will play out. The safe bet stays on the Ducks, who have the conference's best player along with a host of weapons on offense to mask a defense that has been up and down.

But USC is hitting its stride, and the rest of the one-loss teams all have what it takes to represent the Pac-12 as its champion during bowl season.

The fun part for all of us? Without a clear-cut front-runner, the next six weeks should be as exciting as any in recent memory. Buckle up.

All stats via CFBStats.com.