Pac-12 Football: Week 12 power rankings
By Brad Weiss
As we look towards Week 12 of the Pac-12 schedule, there are five Pac-12 teams ranked in the AP Poll. Here are our Pac-12 rankings after Week 11.
What a week it was for the Pac-12, as the final unbeaten team from the conference went down at home. The USC Trojans went into Washington and defeated the fourth-ranked Huskies on Saturday night, ensuring no Pac-12 team will have a perfect season. In the process, the Trojans likely ruined the Huskies chance at a College Football Playoff berth.
In other Pac-12 news, the Washington State Cougars won their eighth straight game, and is still the only team unbeaten in conference play. Colorado continues to roll, as they are still in first place in the Pac-12 South Division. There is plenty of movement in our rankings this week, as the conference continues to take shape as we enter Week 12.
Here is our Pac-12 Power Rankings after Week 11 of the 2016 college football season.
The Arizona Wildcats continue to get nothing from their defense, which was the sole reason for the team’s drubbing this past week at the hands of Colorado. The Wildcats offense actually out-gained the Buffaloes in total offense, but were unable to stop them at all during the 49-24 loss. Running back Samajie Grant rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns for an Arizona team that fell to 0-7 in conference play.
Arizona played undisciplined football on both sides of the ball, racking up 13 penalties for 143 yards. The teams headed into the fourth quarter with Colorado up 42-10, as the Wildcats just could not hang with the top-25 team for a full game. Head coach Rich Rodriguez will need to find a way to win his final two games or else his team could finish the 2016 season winless in the Pac-12.
As has been the case for most of the season, Arizona used two quarterbacks on Saturday. However, both Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins failed to find the end zone, though they did manage to move the ball well. The Wildcats play Oregon State and Arizona State to close out the year, so a win is definitely possible if they can find a way to play any defense.
The 2016 season has been a horror show for the Oregon Ducks, who came into the year with high expectations. Boasting a roster that featured one of the better running backs in college football, and a transfer quarterback with a ton of talent, the Ducks appeared ready to make another run at a Pac-12 title. However, that notion has quickly evaporated, and they are now guaranteed to be home for the holidays.
With their loss to Stanford on Saturday, the Ducks ensured themselves a losing season in 2016. This Ducks team will be the first since 2004 to end the season with a losing record, though there are some bright spots. Freshman quarterback Justin Herbert continues to play solid football, and will be a top signal-caller in the conference for the rest of his collegiate career.
On Saturday, the Ducks were blown out by Stanford by the score of 52-27. Incredibly, the game featured two unranked teams for the first time since 2008. The biggest issue on the day for Oregon was stopping Christian McCaffrey, who rushed for three touchdowns in the win. Oregon running back Royce Freeman has a solid day of his own, rushing for over 100 yards and a score, but the Ducks defense had no answer for the Cardinal offense all game long.
The Oregon State Beavers are playing better football as of late, but they just aren’t quite there yet as a team. This past weekend, the Beavers played well against the UCLA Bruins, but eventually lost by two touchdowns. Quarterback Marcus McMaryion appears to be headed in the right direction, but he did make a mistake that cost Oregon State the game on Saturday.
McMaryion threw a big pick-six late in the Beavers’ 38-24 loss to UCLA, though he did finish the game with 232 yards on 22-of-33 passing. With the loss, the Beavers fell to 1-15 in conference play under head coach Gary Andersen. However, they are much more competitive than they were last year, and have lost four conference games by one score.
Against UCLA, the defense and special teams actually played well, and the team should be able to pick up a win this week against Arizona. Oregon State was missing Ryan Nall to injury against the Bruins, but backup running back Artavis Price rushed for 73 yards and two scores. It has been a rough season for Oregon State in 2016, but the arrow is certainly pointing up for the program going forward.