Pac-12 Power Rankings: Four-team race at the top after UCLA's big win?
Another week come and gone in the Pac-12 and, outside of the unbeaten matchup between UCLA and Washington, not a whole lot that would have generated movement in our Pac-12 Power Rankings.
Still, the league title race is pretty clearly established at this point, with four main contenders barring a surprising series of twists.
UCLA firmly established itself as one of those legitimate contenders after taking down previously unbeaten Washington on Friday in the game of the week in the conference.
So let’s dive into the action to see where the movement was.
CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel
Today we update the Pac-12 Power Rankings following Week 5 games.
2022 Pac-12 Power Rankings – Week 5
The Trojans weren’t quite firing on all cylinders in a win over the Arizona State Sun Devils, but quarterback Caleb Williams was a good deal sharper than he was last week. USC did turn it over for the first time this season, with Williams throwing one interception. But the Trojans pulled away late in a 42-25 win and continue to look like the class of the Pac-12.
If USC has an edge on top of the league it isn’t by much. Utah continues to look terrific. Quarterback Cameron Rising accounted for four scores (three with his arm, one with his legs) as Utah cruised by Oregon State 42-16 at home. The Utes came away with four takeaways, including a pair of red-zone interceptions. That Week 1 loss at Florida is the only thing keeping Utah from being a borderline top-5 team nationally right now.
Another game, another comfortable win for the Ducks. Oregon topped Stanford — which lost running back EJ Smith for the season — behind another strong outing from quarterback Bo Nix. Nix threw for two scores, while rushing for 141 yards and two more. Oregon won 45-27 and will head to Arizona next week before a bye and then a big home showdown with undefeated UCLA on Oct. 22.
- UCLA (+2)
UCLA’s two-man show included a third party on Friday night in a convincing 40-32 win over then-No. 15 Washington. The Bruins got one of the best performances of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson‘s career, with Thompson-Robinson finishing 24-of-33 passing for 315 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 10 carries for 53 yards and another touchdown. Receiver Jake Bobo caught six passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Charbonnet rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown as UCLA’s defense untracked red-hot Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in a really important win.
- Washington (-1)
The Huskies don’t fall far following a competitive loss against an unbeaten league foe. Still, it was the first sign that Kalen DeBoer‘s offense could be slowed down. Penix threw two first-half interceptions that allowed the Bruins to build a two-score lead that they maintained most of the game. Washington will have to bounce back with a road trip to Arizona State.
- Washington State (-1)
After a heart-breaker against Oregon a week ago, not letting one loss turn into two was a real concern for Washington State. No problem in a 28-9 win over California that would have been more lopsided if not for a pair of interceptions by Cougars quarterback Cameron Ward in the end zone. The Cougars allowed just 31 yards rushing in the game.
The Beavers didn’t put up much of a fight against the Utes, though few teams have so far in 2022. Still, it was a disappointing road showing for a team that managed to beat Utah a year ago. The Beavers will get a chance to right the ship on the road at Stanford after facing the top two teams in our Pac-12 Power Rankings the past two weeks.
Despite a pretty big loss to Washington State on Saturday, California remains in the same spot in our Pac-12 rankings. The head-to-head win over Arizona last week keeps the Wildcats from advancing. A road trip to Colorado next week will be the last easy win for a bit, with a three-game stretch against Washington, Oregon and at USC up after that.
Arizona trounced Colorado 43-20 as quarterback Jayden de Laura went absolutely berserk in the win. De Laura finished his night tying the school record with six touchdown passes while going 33-of-46 passing for 484 yards. Five different targets caught touchdown passes. Arizona faces the five ranked Pac-12 teams over the next six weeks: No. 12 Oregon, at No. 24 Washington, No. 6 USC, at No. 11 Utah, at No. 18 UCLA.
With top offensive weapon EJ Smith out for the season due to injury, it’s hard to see this year getting much better for 1-3 Stanford. Saturday’s loss to Oregon was at least respectable on the scoreboard (45-27 Oregon), so there’s that. But Stanford, which still has non-conference games to play at Notre Dame and against BYU, will likely find more than a win or two tough to come by the rest of the way.
Credit Arizona State, the Sun Devils have not looked like a team that’s quit on the 2022 season despite losing their head coach, Herm Edwards. Of course, quarterback Emory Jones went through that a year ago at Florida, so perhaps his experience is helping in that regard. In any case, Jones threw for 243 yards and a touchdown, also running for a score, but Arizona State couldn’t come up with defensive stops in the second half of a 42-25 loss at USC.
With Colorado pretty much completely lifeless through the first five weeks of the season it seemed more a matter of when than if coach Karl Dorrell got the pink slip. Despite the Buffaloes scoring a season-high 20 points in the loss to Arizona, Dorrell was fired on Sunday afternoon. It’s going to be a long rest of the season at Colorado.
Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 4 Pac-12 Power Rankings here!