USC is back on track and Stanford is heating up with a win over Utah, so how does this week’s Pac-12 Power Rankings shake out entering Week 7?
The USC Trojans dominated the Oregon State Beavers on Saturday, and in doing so, they reclaimed their spot atop the Pac-12 South Division. USC lost a conference game to Washington State last weekend, and were leapfrogged in the standings by Utah. The Utes lost a home game to Stanford on Saturday, and will now have to beat USC if they hope to get to the Pac-12 title game.
In other action, Washington continued their unbeaten season, throttling Cal at home. Washington State went on the road and beat an Oregon team starting a Freshman at quarterback, and Arizona got a record-setting performance from their backup quarterback in a huge road win against Colorado.
With all this moving and shaking, we take a look at our latest Pac-12 Power Rankings.
It was another long afternoon for the Oregon State Beavers, who were dismantled by the USC Trojans on the road. The Trojans took advantage of an Oregon State team that has been ravaged by injuries, and this one was really no contest. Oregon State got a great effort out of wide receiver Seth Collins, who led all players in receiving yards, but that was the extent of what they did right in this one.
Oregon State was looking at a 21-3 deficit when the teams went into the locker room for halftime, and the second half was more of the same. Quarterback Darell Garretson, who is filling in for the injured Jake Luton, threw for nearly 200 yards in the game, but failed to find the end zone. Artavis Pierce scored the lone touchdown for the Beavers, and finished the game with 60 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Pierce’s touchdown came in the fourth quarter, and it actually made the score 28-10. From there, USC controlled the clock, tacked on ten unanswered, and rolled to the victory. For the Beavers, it was their fourth loss this season by 28 or more points against an FBS team, and despite high hopes coming into the season, they may not even win a conference game in 2017.
The California Golden Bears were the darling of the early season, winning their first three games. However, they have fallen on hard times ever since, and have yet to win a game since getting out to that 3-0 start. They looked really bad in their loss to the Washington Huskies on Saturday night, and it looks like they will spend another season towards the cellar in the Pac-12 North Division.
Quarterback Ross Bowers was harassed all night by the Washington defense, and was even sacked eight times in this one. He completed only 11 passes for 80 yards in the game, as the Cal offense was stunted by the Huskies front. In total, Cal racked up under 100 yards of total offense, which includes a 41-yard loss on the final play of the game.
Incredibly, Derrick Clark led the Golden Bears in rushing with only 19 yards, and the team had only 46 yards of offense in the first half. By the time the teams went to the locker room at halftime, the Huskies were already up 24-0, and did not look back after the break. The only points scored by Cal came on the defensive side of the ball, as Darrius Allenworth picked up a fumble and went 37 yards for a score. It does not get easier this week, as they play host to the Washington State Cougars on Friday night.