Pac-12 power rankings, Week 3: USC beats Stanford, UCLA impresses
By Brad Weiss
Arizona Wildcats (1-1)
Last week: L 19-16 vs. Houston
Last rank: 9
In a real heartbreaker this weekend, the Arizona Wildcats lost at home to the Indiana Hoosiers. The Wildcats never really got anything going on offense throughout the game, though they did battle to hang on and make it close. Arizona looked so good on offense in their season opener, but it was clear they had no answer for Indiana on Saturday.
Indiana came into this game off of a solid effort against one of the best teams in the country in Ohio State. Their pressure defense showed up against the Wildcats as well, as they really had a good answer for quarterback Brandon Dawkins. Dawkins is one of the better two-way quarterbacks in the conference, but he struggled to get it going with his legs or his feet in this one.
Khalil Tate was hobbled coming into this one, and he did not look good against Indiana. J.J. Taylor was the only bright spot for the Wildcats on offense, as he rushed for 87 yards in the contest. Arizona will hit the road to take on UTEP this weekend, looking to get back over the .500 mark before they begin Pac-12 play in two weeks.
California Golden Bears (2-0)
Last week: W 33-20 vs. Weber State
Last rank: 10
All of a sudden, the California Golden Bears look like a pretty solid team. Cal came into the 2017 season expected to finish last in the Pac-12 North, but have quickly strung together two straight wins. A week after going on the road and beating the North Carolina Tar Heels, Cal got Weber State at home and came away with the win. They have now scored at least 30 points in each of their first two games, and are starting to build some confidence.
Quarterback Ross Bowers has proven to be pretty efficient in his first year under center for the Golden Bears, and he had another good game on Saturday. Bowers threw for 200 yards in the game while doing a nice job of protecting the ball. The real star on offense in this one was Patrick Laird, who rushed for 191 yards on only 12 carries against Weber State while finding the end zone three times.
The defense was led by Raymond Davison III, who racked up 12 tackles in the game. The Golden Bears have a tough game on deck this weekend, as they play host to Ole Miss. If Cal can go out there and pick up a victory against a good SEC team, then they just may be for real this season, after struggling mightily in 2016.