Pac-12 Power Rankings: Oregon takes over top spot for first time
We had a shakeup up top out West, with a flip atop the Pac-12 Power Rankings this week the only one from the five Power 5 conferences following all the Week 8 action.
In one of the games of the week, Oregon managed to hand UCLA its first loss of the season to take the top spot in this week’s edition.
Very little else in the Pac-12 changed, with the rest of the league order having settled in pretty nicely over the past couple weekends. Let’s take a look.
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Today we update the Pac-12 Power Rankings following Week 8 games.
2022 Pac-12 Power Rankings – Week 8
- Oregon (+1)
For the first time this season Oregon takes the top spot in the Pac-12 Power Rankings after disposing of UCLA 45-30. Quarterback Bo Nix was fantastic, going 22-of-28 passing for 283 yards and five touchdowns, while also adding 51 yards rushing. The Ducks used a 28-point second quarter to take command and never looked back, taking charge in the Pac-12 standings as the league’s only unbeaten team in conference play.
- UCLA (-1)
UCLA’s run game wasn’t completely shut down, but Oregon did enough to minimize the damage that the onus ended up on quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson to play catch-up. Thompson-Robinson finished 27-of-39 passing for 262 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw an interception. The Bruins didn’t have enough in the tank to answer the Ducks down the stretch.
The Utes were off this weekend and got a chance to watch their hopes for a Pac-12 title game berth improve thanks to Oregon’s win over UCLA. Utah lost to UCLA earlier this year but still faces Oregon down the stretch. That means there’s still a ton to play for, especially with Utah having beaten USC at this point. The Pac-12 race down the stretch should be fascinating.
Like Utah, USC was on a bye this week. Unlike Utah, USC would have probably preferred for Oregon to lose. Because USC doesn’t play Oregon this season, there’s a possibility the Trojans could be left out of the Pac-12 title game in a three-way tie with Oregon and Utah at 8-1. Of course, there’s a long way to go to even entertain those complex tiebreaker scenarios yet. USC will return to action with a road trip at Arizona.
The Beavers have played some close games but have only lost to USC and Utah, reaching 6-2 with four games left to play. Four winnable games. Oregon State cruised past Colorado 42-9 as running back Damien Martinez ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Oregon State will travel to Washington for a Friday game on Nov. 4 but will get a bye week first.
Like Oregon State, Washington moved to 6-2 overall with a 28-21 win over California. Quarterback Michael Penix threw two touchdown passes early in the fourth quarter to break a 14-all deadlock as the Huskies held on down the stretch. Washington limited California to just 306 total yards in the game, holding steady in the middle of our Pac-12 Power Rankings.
The Cougars had a bye this weekend in the middle of a tough stretch of schedule that sees three of four games on the road. A date with Utah is the lone home game in that stretch following Washington State’s road losses at USC and Oregon State going into the bye. That meeting with Utah will come on Thursday as Washington State returns to action.
The Cardinal has suddenly won two close games, nipping Arizona State 15-14 on Saturday one week after clipping Notre Dame 16-14 on the road. Stanford is doing it with special teams; kicker Joshua Karty made five field goals to beat the Sun Devils, on the heels of winning Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week two of the last three weeks. Next up for Stanford is a trip to UCLA.
- Arizona (+1)
Arizona was off this weekend but moves up a slot thanks to Cal’s home loss to Washington. Cal did beat Arizona this season, but Arizona has looked the more dangerous of the two teams since then and was competitive in a road loss at Washington prior to this week’s bye. The 9-10 spots are fairly interchangeable here, but we believe Arizona is currently the better team.
- California (-1)
The Bears had chances to finish ahead but couldn’t come up with key stops in the fourth quarter when they needed them, falling to the Huskies 28-21. It was the third straight loss for California, which inexplicably lost to previously winless Colorado a week prior. The Bears are reeling right now, with their next three games coming against Oregon, then on the road at USC and at Oregon State. Not a promising trend or setup.
One game after knocking off Washington, Arizona State returned from its bye and fell on the road at Stanford. The Sun Devils had a chance to climb considerably in this week’s Pac-12 Power Rankings with a win but failed to secure one. Next up is a road trip to Colorado for the right to remain outside of the last-place spot in the rankings.
The Buffaloes couldn’t follow up their win against California, falling to Oregon State in a lopsided affair. A home date with Arizona State is the best chance for a second win, with three of the remaining four games after that against ranked opponents.
Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 7 Pac-12 Power Rankings here!