Pac-12 power rankings, Week 5: Stanford gets back on track
By Brad Weiss
Week 4 of the Pac-12 season was full of surprising outcomes, which causes a major shakeup in our power rankings heading into Week 5.
The Pac-12 has been one of the more exciting conferences in college football this season, and the conference did not disappoint in Week 4. There were some incredible upsets, a dominating victory by the Washington Huskies, and the Arizona State Sun Devils pulled off a nice win against the Oregon Ducks.
This weekend, the games get even more intense, and are headlined by the USC Trojans taking on the Washington State Cougars. Both teams are undefeated this season, which should make this one an incredible matchup. In this week’s Pac-12 power rankings, there is a lot of shakeup, as teams continue to impress each week. Here is our latest edition as we head into Week 5.
Oregon State Beavers (1-3)
Last week: Off
Last rank: 12
The Oregon State Beavers are battling through another difficult season, and the road continues to get rough for them in the upcoming weeks. The Beavers had a bye last week, and through their first four games, only have a victory against Portland State to show for the efforts. They have been blown out in their other three games, including a 52-23 loss to Washington State their last time out.
This weekend, they will play host to Washington, who comes in as the hottest team in the Pac-12. This one could get out of hand early, as the Huskies offense is one of the best in the country. The Beavers have gotten another solid season out of Ryan Nall in 2017, but he has really bee the long bright spot for the team so far.
After they play host to Washington, the Beavers will head to USC, which means they will have played the two best teams in the conference in consecutive weeks. They then return home to host the Colorado Buffaloes and Stanford Cardinal, so this season could get out of hand in the next couple of weeks. This program has a lot of work to do if they want to be consistent, but maybe they can have a late-season push like they did in 2016.
Arizona Wildcats (2-2)
Last week: L 30-24 vs. Utah
Last rank: 11
The Arizona Wildcats are playing pretty inconsistent ball as of late, but there has been some bright spots along the way. Quarterback Brandon Dawkins has the makings to be a star in the conference, and if he can just hang on to the ball, the Wildcats should be in good shape. Dawkins did it with his legs, and his arm this past weekend, but his multiple turnovers really killed Arizona in this one.
In total, Dawkins led the team in rushing with 90 yards, and also threw for 248 yards through the air. While the statistics were solid this past weekend, it was his fumble with a little over two and half minutes left in the game that put the game out of reach. In total, Dawkins turned the ball over four times in the game, as he was intercepted three times as well.
Arizona was supposed to get blasted in this game, but they actually hung tough against the Utah Utes. Utah has one of the better defenses in the Pac-12, though when Dawkins hit Troy Ellison for a fourth-quarter touchdown, the Wildcats were only down 30-24. That would prove to be the final score, but Arizona had plenty of solid takeaways from the loss.