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Pac-12 power rankings, Week 4: USC struggles, Washington rolls

By Brad Weiss

SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 16: Wide receiver Dante Pettis #8 of the Washington Huskies is congratulated by a teammate after returning a punt for a touchdown against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Husky Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 16: Wide receiver Dante Pettis #8 of the Washington Huskies is congratulated by a teammate after returning a punt for a touchdown against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Husky Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TX – SEPTEMBER 16: Manny Wilkins #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks to pass during the first half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on September 16, 2017, at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX – SEPTEMBER 16: Manny Wilkins #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks to pass during the first half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on September 16, 2017, at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
10

Arizona State Sun Devils (1-2)

Last week: L 52-45 at Texas Tech
Last rank: 11

Even though the Arizona State Sun Devils lost to Texas Tech this past weekend, I was pretty impressed by what I saw on the offensive side of the ball. Because of that, we move them up one spot despite the loss, as Manny Wilkins continues to show that he is no slouch when it comes to Pac-12 quarterbacks. Wilkins threw for three touchdowns against the Red Raiders defense, racking up over 326 yards without throwing an interception.

The problem for the Sun Devils was that they could not stop the opposing quarterback, as Nic Shimonek went off in this one. Shimonek threw for over 540 yards and six touchdowns in the game, dominating an over-matched Sun Devils defense. Arizona State plays a high-powered offense in Oregon this upcoming weekend, so they could be in for another long afternoon.

The combination of Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard rushed for over 100 yards in the game, finding the end zone twice. Wide receiver N’Keal Harry continued to show why he is one of the best wideouts in the Pac-12, catching 13 balls for 148 yards and a touchdown. Junior linebacker Christian Sam led the team with 11 tackles, but this defense needs to figure it out in a hurry before the Ducks come to town.

9

Stanford Cardinal (1-2)

Last week: L 20-17 at San Diego State
Last rank: 7

A week after suffering a bad loss to the USC Trojans, the Stanford Cardinal took another step back this past weekend. The Cardinal lost to a lesser team in the San Diego State Aztecs, as Stanford could not get anything going in the passing game. The Aztecs scored a touchdown with under a minute left, and then picked off a last-second pass by Keller Chryst to seal the victory.

For Chryst, it was a long afternoon, as he accounted for three turnovers. The Cardinal was actually able to run the ball with consistency against San Diego State, as Bryce Love continued his strong start to the season. Love rushed for over 180 yards on only 13 carries, finding the end zone once for the Cardinals in this one.

Outside of the poor effort from Chryst, the Cardinal actually played well in this game. Harrison Phillips proved to be the star on defense again for Stanford, racking up ten tackles and a sack in the game. As a team, the Cardinal had six sacks, and would have come away with a tight loss had Christian Chapman not hit David Wells for that touchdown pass with under a minute left in the fourth. Definitely a bad loss for the Cardinal.

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