Pac-12 Football: Week 12 power rankings
By Brad Weiss
In a matchup of two high-powered offenses with great quarterbacks, the California Golden Bears just could not hang with Washington State for four quarters. Cal signal-caller Davis Webb was excellent once again, passing for over 400 yards and three touchdowns in the defeat. The only issue was that his counterpart, Luke Falk, played even better, and the team was playing from behind for most of the game.
Falk threw for five touchdowns against a Cal secondary that has been suspect all season long. With the loss, the Bears have now lost three straight, and are in danger of missing out on a bowl game. The issue all season has been the play of the defense, who came into the game allowing a Pac-12 high 44 points per game.
As is usually the case, Webb did a nice job working star wide receiver Chad Hansen into the mix. Hansen caught 11 balls for 139 yards, leading a Golden Bears offense that racked up 525 yards of total offense. It was the first time Cal has lost to Washington State since 2002, as they had some into the game winning ten of their last 11 games against the Cougars. Cal will take on a hot Stanford team this week in what could be another long day for their defense.
The Arizona State Sun Devils continued their downward spiral this past weekend, as the Utah Utes defense harassed quarterback Manny Wilkins all game long. Despite running for his life the entire game, Wilkins did manage to throw for over 300 yards, though he did make some big mistakes along the way. Wilkins threw a red zone interception in the first quarter, and then followed that up with a huge pick early in the fourth quarter that was returned for a touchdown with the game still in doubt.
The return of Wilkins did put a jolt into the offense, but it was the Sun Devils secondary that was shredded once again on Saturday. Utah quarterback Troy Williams threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns, as the Utes erased a 13-0 first quarter deficit to win the game 49-26. Arizona State, which began the season at 5-1, are now 5-5 on the season, and will need to win one of their last two games to become bowl eligible.
This week, the Sun Devils will have another tall task, as they take on seventh-ranked Washington at home. They will finish out their 2016 schedule on the road against Arizona, in what could be the game that gets them into a bowl. It has been a crazy season for the Sun Devils, but now that Wilkins is healthy, they should be able to finish the year by playing in a bowl game.
UCLA snapped their four-game losing streak this past weekend, defeating Oregon State soundly, 38-24. The Bruins are playing without star quarterback Josh Rosen for the rest of the season, and on Saturday, their running backs picked up the slack for once. Bolu Olorunfunmi rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown, and Jalen Starks scored twice, as the Bruins racked up their second-most yards in a game this season.
Quarterback Mike Faufal threw for 281 yards in the contest, but failed to find the end zone for the first time as a starter. In his previous three starts, Faufal threw for nine touchdowns, but has been bitten by the interception bug. The senior threw a big interception against Oregon State at the one-yard line that could have put the Bruins up by two scores.
The Bruins were supposed to make some serious noise in the Pac-12 this season, but that has most certainly not been the case. They will get a healthy Rosen back in 2017, though they are going to need to put together some semblance of a running game. UCLA will finish out their 2016 season at home against USC, and then on the road against Cal, and they will have to win out if they want to be bowl eligible.