Fansided

College Football conference power rankings: Week 12

By Nathaniel Reeves

Nov 12, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes place kicker Keith Duncan (3) watches his game winning field goal against the Michigan Wolverines at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes won 14-13. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes place kicker Keith Duncan (3) watches his game winning field goal against the Michigan Wolverines at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes won 14-13. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
Nov 12, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates with the team mascot as he walks back to the locker room following a 26-13 victory against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates with the team mascot as he walks back to the locker room following a 26-13 victory against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Pac-12 

The Pac 12’s lone undefeated team went down on Saturday, which hurts the conference’s perception as a whole. Still, there’s a good chance that a one-loss Pac-12 champion could make the playoff following Saturday’s results.

Led by outstanding freshman quarterback Sam Darnold, USC marched into Husky Stadium and controlled Washington from start to finish in a 26-13 win. There’s a compelling argument that USC is the best team in the conference right now, and it will be interesting to see how high the three-loss Trojans end up in the playoff rankings.

The only Pac-12 team who has played as well as USC recently is Washington State, which destroyed California for its seventh straight win in conference play. No matter what happens next week, the Cougars will have at least a shot to play for the Pac-12 North title in the Apple Cup to close out the regular season.

The middle of the conference isn’t strong, but the Pac-12 features a solid top tier, and is getting closer and closer to passing the ACC. Colorado and Utah also picked up easy victories in Week 11, which could earn both a spot in the top 10 of the committee’s rankings.

With everything else that happened on Saturday, Washington likely still controls its own destiny, as it would be hard to keep a one-loss Pac-12 champion out. A two-loss conference champion also has a glimmer of hope, although Washington State is a long shot after losing to FCS Eastern Washington at the beginning of the year.

Next Saturday features a critical game between the Cougars and Buffaloes in Boulder. Just two seasons after going 2-10, Colorado could be in the playoff picture with a win.

Home/College Football