Pac-12 Power Rankings updated after Week 8 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 8 slate.
This past weekend featured another prime slate of intra-conference action. The bow and stern of these rankings met for an ugly defensive showdown in Seattle, while Utah once again overcame the USC Trojans and UCLA and Oregon took care of business. 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 9.
Format: Team (Record) | Movement in rankings vs. last week
1. Washington (7-0)
Won 15-7 vs. Arizona State — The Husky hangover was real this week as Washington certainly came out flat against the Pac-12’s last-place team. Arizona State actually led for the majority of the evening before a fourth-quarter pick-six ultimately did them in.
For Washington, Saturday was the worst performance of the year for their lethal offense, as well as Heisman front-runner Michael Penix. He tossed two interceptions and threw for his second-lowest passing yards total, 275, since he transferred to UW. Meanwhile, the run game was nonexistent with just 13 total yards in that department.
2. Oregon (6-1)
Won 38-24 vs. Washington State — Well, the Ducks avoided letting one loss turn into two and returned home to take care of business against Washington State a week after they lost in heartbreaking fashion to Washington. This week, the Bucky Irving Show continued as the Oregon RB turned in another 100 yard performance.
Against the Cougars, Irving needed just 15 carries to come up with 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That’s 256 rushing yards against the state of Washington the last two weekends. But it wasn’t all done on the ground, as Bo Nix still tossed for a shade under 300 yards and two touchdowns against WSU.
3. Oregon State (6-1)
Bye — So far, OSU was home for its two toughest foes — Utah and UCLA — and won those, while losing their one ranked away game vs. Washington State, 38-35. Coming out of the bye, though, the Beavers could be in prime position to make a conference title run.
Mainly because 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. Utah (6-1) (+1)
Won 34-32 at USC — Kyle Whittingham just did it again! You can consider him and the Utes the Caleb Williams Kryptonite, because they simply own that man. Williams has five career losses as a USC Trojan and three of them have come to Utah, including every Pac-12 loss he’s ever been apart of.
This time around, the Utah offense really came to play against what’s been a porous and disappointing Trojan defense. Quarterback Bryson Barnes led the best passing day of the year for Utah with 235 yards and three touchdowns while the run game racked up just shy of 250. Then, of course, Cole Becker came through with two huge field goals late, including the game-winner.
5. UCLA (5-2) (+1)
Won 42-7 at Stanford — UCLA simply wins and loses exactly which games you would expect them to. So far, their losses came at Oregon State and Utah, which are extremely tough places to win against ranked teams. Meanwhile, they’ve taken care of business against everyone else, mostly at home.
Going forward, you can almost predict how the season plays out. The home games vs. Colorado, Stanford and California all ought to be wins while road matchups vs. USC and Arizona are tougher challenges. Assuming they fall on the road vs. the Trojans, that Arizona matchup is likely the swing game between a darn good 9-3 season and a more decent record at 8-4.
6. USC (6-2) (-2)
Lost 34-32 vs. Utah — USC runs through every other Pac-12 challenger like they’re beginner levels on Super Mario Bros, but they just can’t defeat the big bad boss in the form of Kyle Whittingham’s Utah. For a third straight matchup, the Utes toppled the Trojans, and for the second straight season, they’ve handed USC that wretched second loss which likely eliminates them from the College Football Playoff discussion.
This time around, USC simply didn’t do quite enough on either side of the ball to lock down the win. The defense gave up 230+ yards on the ground and through the air while allowing just under seven yards per play to the Utes. Then, offensively, Caleb Williams had another down game by his standards with 256 yards and no scores.
7. Arizona (3-3)
Bye — Arizona has slowly climbed up from the bottom tier of these rankings as the season has progressed, and took their big leap last week after decimating Washington State 44-6 in Pullman as part of the wackiest final score of the entire college football season. These next two weeks, they can keep climbing.
First up this weekend is No. 11 Oregon State, followed by UCLA. Now, it’d be far too optimistic to expect wins, even at home, against two of the better Pac-12 clubs. The Wildcats really need to nab one to maintain their momentum while a 2-0 stretch would thrust them into the upper tier of the league.
8. Washington State (4-3)
Lost 38-24 at Oregon — You could say Washington State responded pretty well to their humiliating home loss to Arizona the week prior. Obviously, the Cougars did not win against Oregon, but they did make a game out of it in Eugene as Cameron Ward threw for 438 yards and was also the team’s leading rusher at just 30 yards on the ground.
The loss vs. the Ducks capped off a rough four-game stretch of schedule for Wazzu. But the good news is that their next four games come against the four teams ranked below them in this week’s rankings. A 4-0 or 3-1 run in those contests could mean the Cougars find their way back into the top-25.
9. Stanford (2-5)
Lost 42-7 vs. UCLA — You could argue the only thing standing between Stanford and last place in these rankings is the second half and overtime periods vs. Colorado a few Friday nights ago. Because, aside from those precious moments, the Cardinal have been a tough watch on the football field in 2023.
They just lost by 35 points to UCLA, and lost by 36 against Oregon the week before the Colorado game, and also suffered a 46-point defeat vs. USC, and even picked up a home loss vs. Sacramento State earlier in the year. Aside from one half where Elic Ayomanor was touched by the heavens, this club has been brutal.
10. Colorado (4-3)
Bye — What’s tough here is that Colorado definitely has a better body of work than Stanford with twice as many wins and no losses nearly as bad as the one to Sacramento State. However, you just can’t rank the Buffaloes ahead of the Cardinal after what transpired during that 29-point comeback.
Going forward, there’s good and bad news for Colorado. The good is that they have a ton of opportunities to pick up quality wins, but the bad is that they face a murderer’s row to end the season and may not be favored in another game. It’s a road tilt vs. UCLA this weekend followed by four more games against teams ahead of them in these rankings, including Utah and Oregon State. Bowl eligibility is a real concern.
11. California (3-4)
Bye — The Golden Bears picked up their only conference win of the season against Arizona State a couple of weeks ago, before losing two in a row vs. Oregon State and Utah heading into the bye. With USC and Oregon up next and a trip to UCLA waiting at the end of the season, the path to bowl eligibility is tough.
Cal would certainly have to take care of business against Washington State and Stanford to keep their postseason hopes alive, but if so, they’d need just one upset of those aforementioned teams to make it. Still, all of that seems like a long shot.
12. Arizona State (1-6)
Lost 15-7 at Washington — Credit Kenny Dillingham and these Sun Devils, who still haven’t won an FBS game but are competing their tails off every time out, no matter the competition. Seriously, there can’t be a team ever who hadn’t won a FBS game but was as competitive as this Sun Devil squad.
After losing to Fresno State 29-0 with nine turnovers, they could have laid down and given up. But no, ASU engaged in back-and-forth battles that were close in the fourth quarter in their last four contests, all losses, vs. USC, California, Colorado and most recently Washington. They’re the only defense to make Michael Penix look human as the Huskies scored ZERO offensive touchdowns vs. Arizona State. Keep up the solid play, boys, because that breakthrough performance and Pac-12 victory is coming.