College football ahead: Five things to watch this week

Five things to watch this week in college football:

1: You can’t do better than perfect. The Pac-12 enters a heavy load of league play this week with momentum after a weekend in which it went 10-0 in nonconference games. The league stumbled early in out-of-conference action but answered with several key wins, notable: UCLA over Brigham Young, Colorado over Colorado State and California over Texas.

2: Is it deja Delta all over again? Mississippi (3-0) rocketed 12 poll spots to No. 3 in this week’s Associated Press poll after Saturday’s epic defeat of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Ole Miss is a cinch to get to 4-0 this week as it hosts Vanderbilt. Lest we forget: The Rebels started 7-0 last year before losing four of their last six.

3: BYU is trying to gain traction as an independent by taking on a killer national schedule that continues this week at Michigan. The Cougars are a solid 2-1 after games against Nebraska, Boise State and UCLA. “This is what it’s going to be like,” BYU Coach Bronco Mendenhall said of scheduling philosophy.

4: Oregon’s scary visit to Utah last year nearly derailed the Ducks’ run to the national title game. This week’s game in Eugene figures to be just as tough for Oregon, which chose to sit quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. last weekend to nurse a broken finger on his throwing hand.

5: Texas Christian (3-0) has managed to stay in the top five despite suffering several season-ending injuries on a defense that was already replacing nine starters. TCU’s resolve figures to get tested again this week at Texas Tech, coming off a big upset win at Arkansas.

— Chris Dufresne