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Pac-12 power rankings – Week 7: USC back on track, Stanford heating up

By Brad Weiss

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 07: Sam Darnold #14 hands of the ball to Ronald Jones II #25 of the USC Trojans against the Oregon State Beavers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 07: Sam Darnold #14 hands of the ball to Ronald Jones II #25 of the USC Trojans against the Oregon State Beavers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images) /
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EUGENE, OR – OCTOBER 07: University of Oregon RB Kani Benoit (29) leaps to avoid a tackle by Washington State S Hunter Dale (26) during a college football game between the Washington State Cougars and Oregon Ducks on October 7, 2017, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR. (Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
EUGENE, OR – OCTOBER 07: University of Oregon RB Kani Benoit (29) leaps to avoid a tackle by Washington State S Hunter Dale (26) during a college football game between the Washington State Cougars and Oregon Ducks on October 7, 2017, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR. (Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Oregon Ducks (4-2)

Last week: L 33-10 vs. Washington State
Last rank: 6

The Oregon Ducks played host to the Washington State Cougars on Saturday night, and the loss of Justin Herbert last weekend loomed large. In his place, the Ducks had to go with Freshman quarterback Braxton Burmeister, who looked like a player making his first collegiate start against the undefeated Cougars. He had a couple of nice moments in the game, but his costly turnovers really kept the Ducks from making this a game.

Oregon struggled without Herbert on all facets of the offense, as they could not get anything going on the ground either. Washington State was able to key on Royce Freeman all game long, and really held him in check. The Ducks were also without star wide receiver Charles Nelson in this one, so they were at a serious disadvantage going up against a Washington State team that has been one of the best in the conference this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Oregon got another solid effort from safety Troy Dye. Dye led the team with 11 tackles, and had a huge forced fumble in the game. As a team, Oregon got to Luke Falk four times, but he just proved to be too much on this occasion. Oregon will looked to get back to their winning ways on Saturday, when they travel to take on Stanford.

7

Arizona State Sun Devils (2-3)

Last week: Off
Last rank: 9

The Arizona State Sun Devils had the week off this past weekend, and will now have two weeks to prepare for the best team in the conference. Arizona State will play host to Washington this weekend, and will be trying to stop a team headed for their second straight conference title. The Sun Devils are actually still alive in the Pac-12 South, as they have only one conference loss up to this point in the season.

Quarterback Manny Wilkins has been terrific for the Sun Devils this season, and if he can protect the ball, he should give the Huskies a look they have not seen yet this season. He can make plays happen with his arm, and his feet, making him quite the dual-threat option for the Sun Devils. Arizona State also has some solid running backs in Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard, so Saturday could get interesting.

In their last game, the Sun Devils looked pretty bad against Stanford, as running back Bryce Love ran all over their defense. They will be going up against another solid Pac-12 running back in Myles Gaskin this weekend, so hopefully they have a better gameplan than they had against Love. This is a team who can play with anybody in the conference, and you can expect star wide out N’Keal Harry to be featured a ton against the Huskies on Saturday.

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