Pac-12 Football: Week 14 power rankings
By Brad Weiss
The Colorado Buffaloes defeated the Utah Utes this past weekend, sending the team to the Pac-12 Championship Game to represent the North Division. It has been an incredible turnaround for a team that finished last in the division last season. The Buffs have now won six straight games heading into their Friday night matchup against the Washington Huskies.
It has been an impressive two-week stretch for the Buffs, who have had to beat a white-hot Washington State team, before downing a tough Utahv team last week. The big story in their win against the Utes was their defense, which hounded quarterback Troy Williams all game long. The team had eight tackles for loss, four takeaways, and three sacks, while stopping the Utes twice on fourth down. It was a dominating effort by a defense that will certainly have their work cut out for them against Jake Browning and the Huskies on Friday.
Through their first 45 Pac-12 games since joining the conference in 2011, the Buffaloes had lost 40 times, making this year’s run that much more impressive. Quarterback Sefo Liufau has played very well as of late, and was a catalyst for the team in last week’s win. The senior passed for 270 yards and a touchdown, while running for 59 more and a score. The team is going to have to get more out of star running back Phillip Lindsay on Friday night if they hope to keep the Huskies high-octane offense off of the field.
Washington kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive this past weekend, throttling a very good Washington State team in the Apple Cup. The Huskies got the scoring going early and often, scoring 28 points in the first quarter alone. By the time the final whistle blew, Washington had defeated the Cougars 45-17, and will now head to the Pac-12 Championship Game to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.
The Pac-12 Championship Game will feature two of the top defenses in the conference, and Washington quarterback Jake Browning just may be the difference. One of the best signal-callers in the country, Browning has been dominant during his sophomore season, and could be the top overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He has two elite receivers at his disposal in Dante Pettis and John Ross, and will likely go to them early to open up the Colorado defense.
The Huskies have only one blemish on their record, and that was a bad home loss to a red-hot USC team. Still, a win in the conference final may be just they need to be one of the final four teams selected to the College Football Playoff. At 11-1, it has been an incredible run for the Huskies in 2016, and they should be elite once again next season, as both Browning and star running back Myles Gaskin are both only sophomores.