Pac-12 power rankings – Week 6: Washington State is legit contender
By Brad Weiss
Week 5 of the Pac-12 slate was highlighted by a huge Washington State home victory against the USC Trojans on Friday night.
The marquee matchup of the Week 5 Pac-12 slate was the USC-Washington State game, and it certainly did not disappoint. The Trojans and Cougars battled it out until the end, and it was the Cougars who came away with the upset victory. Sitting at 5-0, Washington State is tied with Washington atop the Pac-12 North Division, in a battle that should go down to the wire.
With the loss, USC is now behind Utah in the South Division, as the Utes had the week off. The UCLA Bruins picked up a big win against Colorado, and Stanford got a huge game from their star running back against Arizona State. With Week 5 in the books, we take a look at our Pac-12 Power Rankings.
Oregon State Beavers (1-4)
Last week: L 42-7 vs. Washington
Last rank: 12
The Oregon State Beavers had the week off last weekend and had a long time to prepare for the Washington Huskies. During the first half, the Beavers had the right game plan, as the game was a one-score game when the teams headed into the locker room for halftime. The Huskies blew the Beavers doors off after the break, which was to be expected in this one.
Oregon State got nothing from star running back Ryan Nall, who rushed for under 20 yards in the game. Quarterback Jake Luton was sitting this one out with an injury, as the team turned to Darell Garretson to get the job done. Garretson struggled against the Huskies but did protect the ball, though he finished with only 74 yards through the air.
Thomas Tyner was the only standout on offense for Oregon State in this one, as he scored the team’s lone score. Tyner rushed for 54 yards on nine carries, helping carry the load when Nall struggled to get the ball rolling. The defense played well early, led by Manase Hungalu, who racked up 11 tackles, including seven which were solo. Freshman safety David Morris had a career highlight, intercepting Huskies star Jake Browning.
Arizona Wildcats (2-2)
Last week: Off
Last rank: 11
The Arizona Wildcats had the weekend off, and will now have to play every week for the rest of the season. They have one of the harder schedules in the Pac-12 this season but have been playing better football as of late. Head coach Rich Rodriguez has an extremely talented quarterback in Brandon Dawkins, and he has been the unquestioned leader of this offense this season.
Dawkins is not only getting it done through the air, but he is also the team-leader in rushing yards. He does need to do a better job protecting the ball, but that is going to come as he gets more experience under center. Dawkins has thrown for 670 yards and five touchdowns this season while rushing for over 340 yards and six scores. His six rushing touchdowns also lead the team.
As stated earlier, the schedule is going to be daunting for the Wildcats in the next couple of weeks. They are coming off a solid loss to Stanford their last time out, and will now have to go on the road to take on Colorado this weekend. Following the game against the Buffaloes, they will have to travel to take on UCLA, so it is possible they could see their 2-2 record go to 2-4 before all is said and done.