Pac-12 power rankings, Week 3: USC beats Stanford, UCLA impresses
By Brad Weiss
Washington State Cougars (2-0)
Last week: W 47-44 3OT vs. Boise State
Last rank: 8
The Washington State Cougars played an incredible game against the Boise State Broncos this past weekend and were able to come away with the victory. Down 31-10 in the fourth quarter, the Cougars came all the way back, winning the game in triple overtime. The most impressive thing may have been that they did it without their star quarterback, who will be back this week.
Luke Falk was benched during the game by head coach Mike Leach and was then held out for precautionary reasons. Backup Tyler Hilinski came in and threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns, though there is no quarterback controversy. Falk will be back under center in Week 3 when the Cougars open up their Pac-12 slate against Oregon State at home.
The defense was picked apart by Boise State early on but was able to put the clamps down late in this one. Linebacker Peyton Pelluer racked up 14 tackles in this one and tacked on an interception return for a touchdown in a solid effort. The Cougars should take care of the Beavers this weekend, as they will likely move to 3-0 on the young season.
Stanford Cardinal (1-1)
Last week: L 42-24 at USC
Last rank: 3
In the marquee matchup on the Pac-12 slate in Week 2, the Stanford Cardinal went to USC to take on the Trojans. The Cardinal were able to hang in with the Trojans for a quarter or two, but in the end, USC proved to be too much. Stanford got a nice effort out of their usual suspects on offense, but it was the defense who really let them down in this one.
USC quarterback Sam Darnold threw for four touchdowns against the Cardinal on Saturday night, showing why he is the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. For Stanford, they got a great effort out of Bryce Love, who rushed for 160 yards on only 17 carries in the game. Quarterback Keller Chryst also played well against the USC defense, throwing two touchdowns against zero interceptions.
Senior defensive tackle Harrison Phillips had the best effort for a Cardinal defense that really struggled in this one. The Cardinal will hit the road to take on San Diego State this weekend, so they should get back to their winning ways. They are going to be one of the better teams in the Pac-12 this season, but USC is just on another level at this point.