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Final Pac-12 power rankings: How many teams actually had good years?

By Brad Weiss

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 06: Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Browning (3) back to pass in the second quarter of a game against the UCLA Bruins played on October 6, 2018 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 06: Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Browning (3) back to pass in the second quarter of a game against the UCLA Bruins played on October 6, 2018 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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BOULDER, CO – OCTOBER 06: Eno Benjamin #3 of the Arizona State Sun Devils carries the ball in the first quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on October 6, 2018 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
BOULDER, CO – OCTOBER 06: Eno Benjamin #3 of the Arizona State Sun Devils carries the ball in the first quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on October 6, 2018 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

The Arizona State Sun Devils made a huge hire at the head coach position this past offseason, bringing Herm Edwards off of the television set, and back onto the sidelines. The former head coach of the New York Jets, and Kansas City Chiefs, Edwards led the Sun Devils to a bowl game in his first season at the helm in the desert and has quite the running back to help them take the next step in 2019.

While star quarterback Manny Wilkins will run out of eligibility, running back Eno Benjamin will look to build on an incredible freshman campaign that saw him rush for over 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns. Linebacker Merlin Robinson led the team in both tackles (77), and sacks (5), and Arshari Croswell was a true leader in the secondary. The Sun Devils were one of the hotter teams in the conference for a spell this season and should build on their momentum next Fall.

The Utah Utes were the champions of the Pac-12 South Division this season and went on to take on the Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Unfortunately for the Utes, they had to take on the Huskies without two of their stars, as quarterback Tyler Huntley and running back Zack Moss both went down with season-ending injuries within days of each other a couple of weeks prior.

While Jason Shelley stepped up admirably for Huntley at the quarterback position, he just does not have the talent Huntley does at this point, and the offense struggled. Still, it was an impressive season for Utah, and if Huntley and Moss did not go down,  you have to think they could have beaten Washington in the title game. Huntley will be back in 2019 and could be one of the better signal-callers in the conference.

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