Pac-12 Power Rankings updated after Week 10 of college football
Welcome back, folks, to another edition of On3’s Pac-12 power rankings. This time, we’re looking back at an action-packed Week 10 slate.
This past weekend featured another prime slate of intra-conference action. Washington rebounded after a couple of suspect performances to handle USC on the road, while Utah responded strong as well, beating Arizona State by more than 50 points. Plus, the impressive wins just keep on coming for Arizona. So below, go ahead and check out how the On3 Pac-12 Power Rankings shake out as we round the corner and head towards Week 11.
Format: Team (Record) (Movement in rankings vs. last week)
1. Oregon (8-1)
Won 63-19 vs. California — The Ducks continue to smash every Pac-12 foe in their way since losing to Washington. It was clear Oregon was just as good or perhaps even better than the Huskies despite the loss, and they’ve done nothing but prove their worth as a top team in the nation the last few weeks.
This time around, Oregon took a hatchet to California, racing away to a 63-19 victory. Bo Nix was tremendous yet again and bounced back from some early turnovers by the offense to throw for 386 yards and four touchdowns while leading a 60+ point effort. They’ve now won their last three games by an average of 29 points.
2. Washington (9-0)
Won 52-42 at USC — The Huskies finally returned to form against a USC defense that seems to make every Pac-12 offense look spectacular. After rolling off some uninspiring single-digit victories over bottom-third staples Arizona State and Stanford , UW and Michael Penix looked themselves soaring to a 10-point road victory over a Caleb Williams-led team.
Games at home vs. Utah and on the road in Corvalis vs. Oregon State await the next two weeks — and these could be the toughest tests on the schedule aside from Oregon. After all, these two schools arguably possess the best defenses in the conference, especially Utah. This team continues to play in some pretty close games, yet, that undefeated record remains intact.
3. Oregon State (7-2) (+1)
Won 26-19 at Colorado — The Beavers went to Boulder and simply took care of business. Colorado struggled to score for much of the evening, however, they did add a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to provide a small scare late. Regardless, OSU boarded the plane home with their fourth Pac-12 victory of the season.
As mentioned in previous weeks on this post, the Beavers still control their own fate in the Pac-12 title race sitting just one game behind Oregon with the Ducks set to host Oregon State to end the year. Jonathan Smith’s club will likely have to topple both Washington and Oregon in its final two weeks to get to the league title, but if they got there, and then won, perhaps these crazy rodents from the Pacific Northwest could threaten as the first two-loss playoff team.
4. Utah (7-2) (+1)
Won 55-3 vs. Arizona State — It was a get-right game for the Utes. Well-coached football teams know how to respond well after throwing up a dud performance — which is exactly what you can call a 35-6 home loss to Oregon, no matter how good the Ducks are.
This week, Utah unleashed Oregon’s wrath tenfold upon poor Arizona State. The Sun Devils had finally won a conference game the week prior but ran into a typhoon in the form of Kyle Whittingham’s club, who finished with about as crooked a stat-line as possible, holding ASU to 83 total yards vs. the Utes’ 513 worth of offense Saturday night. Yeah, that was a brutal beatdown.
5. Arizona (6-3) (+2)
Won 27-10 vs. UCLA — No Pac-12 team has compiled a more impressive set of results over the last month than these Wildcats — and with a backup quarterback too! That reserve, Noah Fifita, likely won’t hold that title on a college football team ever again after he’s now completed 25+ passes in each of his last four outings while averaging 305 yards per game through the air.
The Wildcats have played good football all year but were coming up just short in some close games to start the year, losing to Mississippi State on the road (before their QB got injured) and then falling to USC and Washington in one-score contests. Since the loss to the Trojans, Fifita and Arizona are 3-0 with a 44-6 beatdown of then-ranked Washington State in Pullman followed by home victories over Oregon State and now UCLA.
6. UCLA (6-3) (-3)
Lost 27-10 at Arizona — UCLA hit their high-water mark in these rankings last week at No. 3 but fell back towards the middle after a loss at Arizona. It’s nothing to be ashamed of — as we just pointed out the Wildcats are en fuego over the last 30 days — but Chip Kelly certainly would have liked to keep the final tally closer than three possessions.
A loss to now-23rd-ranked Arizona also continues the Bruins’ streak of predictable results. They’ve lost to every currently ranked team that they’ve faced — Arizona, Oregon State and Utah — and all on the road, too. Those are extremely tough games for any team in the conference and they’re not bad losses whatsoever. On the flip side, losses in each of those contests means the Bruins lack a quality win as their best victories are over, maybe, Colorado and Stanford? Not great but not bad.
7. USC (7-3) (-1)
Lost 52-42 vs. Washington — Caleb Williams delivered big time in a loss this weekend, which is why his emotion at the end of the game is understandable. The likely top pick in next spring’s NFL Draft dazzled scouts in a QB showdown vs. Michael Penix, completing 27 of 35 throws for 312 yards and three touchdown passes, one of which was absolutely extraordinary.
With that performance, which would have been tough to improve upon, USC still couldn’t even keep the final score to a single possession on their home field. As a result of allowing 52 points and blowing another game despite some wizardry from Williams, Lincoln Riley made the immediate change to fire defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
8. Stanford (3-6) (+1)
Won 10-7 at Washington State — At one time, USC and Stanford as neighbors in these rankings seemed impossible, with the Trojans occupying the top spot and Stanford down at No. 11 back in September after USC stomped the Cardinal 56-10 in the teams’ conference opener. There’s still a bit of a chasm between Stanford and USC, but the Trojans are on the downside while Stanford is on an upswing.
The Cardinal picked up Pac-12 victory No. 2 on the season, toppling a Washington State team who’s snowballed the wrong direction since the start of October. With the comeback win over Colorado, the win vs. Wazzu and the competitive matchup vs. Washington last week, the Cardinal have put up strong performances in three of their last four games .
9. Washington State (4-5) (-1)
Lost 10-7 vs. Stanford — What a plummet in Pullman. After beginning the year 4-0 with the fourth win over Oregon State, Washington State has been in total free fall. They just lost their fifth straight game and haven’t won since the Beavers came to down on Sept. 23.
At 4-5, perhaps the path to a bowl is still alive with winnable games vs. California and Colorado coming up the next two weeks. But then again, these Cougars just lost at home to Stanford and on the road vs. Arizona State two weekends back — and that duo certainly isn’t any better than the Buffs and Bears.
10. Colorado (4-5)
Lost 26-19 vs. Oregon State — Well, through three quarters of their home game vs. Oregon State last Saturday, a 98-yard scoop-and-score on a Beaver two-point try accounted for 40% of Colorado’s points. The Buffaloes trailed by an odd 20-5 score at the beginning of the fourth and added two touchdowns while allowing one more to ultimately lose a third straight game.
The loss drops CU to 1-5 in league play and just 4-5 on the year, leaving Deion Sanders with three opportunities to win two games to finish his first regular season in Boulder with a bowl appearance. Looking at the remaining slate, though, that accomplishment could be tough. Arizona comes to town as hot as anyone in the league, followed a trip to Washington State which must to end in a win before Colorado will be thoroughly outmatched at Utah to end the season.
11. California (3-6) (+1)
Lost 63-19 vs. Oregon — The Golden Bears’ basement stay only lasted one week, but it’s hard to say they really earned this upgrade. Hosting an angry and dominant Oregon team, Cal let the Ducks have their way in Memorial Stadium en route to a 63-19 spanking of the Golden Bears.
Cal did force two early turnovers, including a scoop-and-score, then kicked a field goal to make it 14-13 early in the second quarter. But Oregon quickly snapped into focus and reminded Cal which squad stood at the front of these rankings vs. the back. Box Nix added three touchdowns in the second quarter alone and then the Ducks tacked on four more TDs to California’s one in the second half.
12. Arizona State (2-7) (-1)
Lost at Utah 55-3 — Arizona State was the toast of the conference in this post a week after they finally picked up their first Pac-12 victory in a home shootout win over Washington State. But this past weekend featured regression for a Sun Devil squad that was trending in the right direction lately as Utah molly wopped them 55-3 for their worst beating since the nine-turnover fiasco in the 29-0 loss to Fresno State.
This one was just pitiful for ASU in every single category. The Devils were held to a measly 83 yards of total offense and averaged only 1.4 yards per play. Meanwhile, they gave up SIX TIMES as many yards to the Utes who went for 513 total and 350+ on the ground while rolling off the final seven scores of the game after ASU’s lone field goal made it 14-3 in the second quarter.
Good thing for the Sun Devils is they are just as equally in ninth place as they are last place in the conference standings. That’s right, four teams are tied with a 1-5 tally with three weeks to play. The race for last place is as heated as the race for first.