Pac-12 Power Rankings updated after Week 7 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 7 slate and glaring ahead at Week 8.
This past weekend featured another prime slate of intra-conference action. The top two clubs in the rankings met for a firework show in Seattle that ended with tears and a missed field goal. Meanwhile, some lower-ranked teams really brought out all the stops to pull off some incredible upsets. So below, go ahead and check out how the On3 Pac-12 Power Rankings shake out as we pass the mid-point of the regular season.
Format: Team (Record) | Movement in rankings vs. last week
1. Washington (6-0) (+1)
Won 36-33 vs. Oregon — Six long years into his career and Michael Penix is finally at the summit of the sport for now. He surpassed 300 yards for the sixth game out of six this season, and this performance was the most important of all.
In one of the biggest regular season games in the history of the Washington program, the Husky superstar came through against a top Pac-12 defense and delivered in the biggest moments to earn the victory. For UW, it means a path to the College Football Playoff is very real. For Penix, it means he’s now the Heisman Trophy frontrunner.
2. Oregon (5-1) (-1)
Lost 36-33 at Washington — Well, someone just had to lose that Clash of the Pac-12 Titans in Seattle over the weekend. Oregon looked down and out in the fourth quarter but rallied to score 15 quick points and tie it up before Washington scored again and the Ducks ultimately missed the game-tying field goal at the buzzer.
We’ll highlight the other half of that electrifying quarterback showdown right here with Oregon’s Box Nix. He threw for 337 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Bucky Irving was a beast on the ground with 127 rushing yards to his name.
3. Oregon State (6-1) (+1)
Won 36-24 vs. UCLA — The Beavers have now reached their high-water mark in On3’s Pac-12 rankings by simply taking care of business against one of the friendlier conference slates. So far, OSU has been home for its two toughest foes — Utah and UCLA — while losing their one ranked away game vs. Washington State, 38-35.
That schedule only eases up in the next three weeks too with Arizona, Colorado and Stanford due up. The Beavers do have to go through Washington and Oregon at the tail end of the year, but there will be Pac-12 title implications on the line when those contests are played if Oregon State remains undefeated until then.
4. USC (6-1) (-1)
Lost 48-20 at Notre Dame — USC looked like a sinking ship on Saturday night as Notre Dame put together their best performance of the season. The Fighting Irish were finishing up a rocky and hellish four-week which already included losses to Ohio State and at Louisville, plus a narrow win at Duke, and they desperately needed another to save their season.
Well, they got it thanks Caleb Williams having perhaps the worst game of his career, throwing for 199 yards and and three interceptions to just one touchdown, which meant a tough overall day for the offense and a season-low 20 points, which is less than half of their next-lowest output in 2023. Defensively, the Trojans gave up a season-high as well, 48 points. That’s also their third straight game allowing 40+.
5. Utah (5-1)
Won 34-14 vs. California — In his best two games of the year, against Boise State and Michigan State, Washington’s Michael Penix threw for more total yards (923) than the entire Utah passing offense has thrown for through six games (897). Yet, the Utes are a strong 5-1 with some spoiler opportunities coming their way.
It’s that Kyle Whittingham defense killing every team Utah faces. They’re currently fifth in the country allowing just 12.2 points per game, and in a conference where scoring and elite passing offenses are the culture. With matchups against USC, Oregon and Washington coming up in three of the next four games, Utah can play their way in or out of the league title game.
6. UCLA (4-2)
Lost 36-24 at Oregon State — UCLA has lost the games they should — on the road vs. ranked Oregon State and Utah teams — while taking care of business in all the rest, including a solid win vs. Washington State last weekend.
Even with dropping the contest in Corvallis, UCLA is in fine position in the Pac-12 race, especially with their easier schedule. The Bruins may not be underdogs in more than one game the rest of the way as they get five out of their last six against unranked opponents with the one away trip coming against USC. That will be tough, but a 9-3 regular season is very much on the table otherwise.
7. Arizona (3-3) (+2)
Won 44-6 at Washington State — That final score to your left may stand as the most shocking tally of the season. Arizona had a backup quarterback that was 0-2 entering the game and ripped off 342 passing yards, 516 total for the offense, as the Wildcats beat a ranked Washington State team by 38 points on their home field.
That’s just astonishing. What’s crazy? There was nothing weird about the game. That second-string QB, Noah Fifita, just ripped apart the Cougar secondary as WSU couldn’t stop the run or the pass whatsoever. Meanwhile, the Wildcat D held Wazzu to just 234 total yards, less than half of their output. That was just a butt-kicking, plain and simple.
8. Washington State (4-2) (-1)
Lost 44-6 vs. Arizona — Now we get to the victims of that lopsided hide-tanning Arizona issued on Saturday. Like, what happened to the Washington State Cougars? What happened to Cameron Ward? And what happened to force the defense to allow double its season average on their own home turf?
After a 4-0 start, the last two weeks, and mostly the letdown vs. Arizona, has WSU facing far more questions than answers. Matchups vs. Oregon and Washington bookend the rest of the season for the Cougs, so winning those games in between will be key to repairing the damage in the back half of the schedule.
9. Stanford (2-4) (+2)
Won 46-43 (2OT) at Colorado — The Arizona-Washington State game may take home the blue ribbon for Most Jaw-Dropping Final Score so far this college football season, but no comeback in 2023 has been crazier than what the Cardinal pulled off on Friday night. In some vintage Pac-12 After Dark action, Stanford erased a 29-0 lead to mute the Deion Sanders mania for good in a 46-43 overtime win, just their second this season.
Obviously, we’ve got to highlight the gluttonous numbers and terrific performances put up by QB-WR combo Ashton Daniels and Eric Ayomanor. Ayomanor hauled in 13 grabs for 284 yards and three touchdowns, including one over Travis Hunter that Randy Moss would be jealous of. Meanwhile, Daniels finished with 396 yards through the air and four TDs.
10. Colorado (4-3) (-2)
Lost 46-43 (2OT) vs. Stanford — That 3-0 start with impressive wins over TCU and Nebraska feels like a distant memory now that the Buffaloes have had three absolutely awful halves of football lead to losses in three of their last four games. We won’t recount the Stanford comeback any longer, but that second half was obviously a total disaster.
Let’s take a look at the tale of two halves of late for CU. In the first halves vs. USC and Oregon and the second half and OT vs. Stanford, Colorado was outscored 115-28. However, in the second halves of the USC and Oregon losses, and the first half against Stanford, Colorado outscored the opponent 62-21. A real case of Jekyll and Hyde in Boulder.
11. California (3-4) (-1)
Lost 34-14 at Utah — California really isn’t a bad football team as much as they simply aren’t as good as the top half of the conference. Teams like USC, Washington and Oregon have no issue moving the ball and racking up 40+ points on them, while defenses like Utah and Auburn have had little trouble stopping the Golden Bears offensively.
They sort of throw the ball well, but have had three different quarterbacks cycle through so far. The big strength is the run game, where Cal is top-20 in the country in yards per game and has two primary rushers going for more than 5.5 yards per carry. There’s a sliver of a chance at a bowl but it’s unlikely.
12. Arizona State (1-6)
BYE — Poor ASU. The Dun Devils are already 1-6 and likely have five straight losses coming right at ’em at out of the bye week. First, it’s games at Washington and home for Washington State, may be the easiest remaining game on the schedule. After that come road trips to UCLA and Utah before Oregon comes to town in the penultimate regular season affair.
The final game is, of course, the Territorial Cup, this year in Tempe, and you’d like to think Kenny Dillingham can rally the troops for a win there. Although, those Wildcats looked terrific this weekend and have looked much better than ASU all season. Sun Devil fans ought to strap in for a long and brutal fall and winter. But hey, at least it won’t be a frigid one!
Well, there you have it, folks. Following a truly nuts weekend of Pac-12 football action in Week 6 as we make the turn towards the second half of the season, there were quite a few shakeups in this week’s power rankings. Return next week for more fun banter and Pac-12 delirium. At least we know for sure we’ll have the latter.