Pac-12 power rankings Week 7: Rising Arizona, Washington rides struggle bus

The Oregon Ducks and Arizona Wildcats currently stand in first place in the North and South divisions of the Pac-12, respectively entering Week 7.

The Pac-12 has no undefeated teams left in 2019, but that does not mean the conference does not boast some of the more talented teams in college football. Currently, the Oregon Ducks and Arizona Wildcats hold first place in their respective divisions, but there is a ton of football left to play this season.

Here are our latest Pac-12 power rankings entering Week 7.

After losing their season opener to the Auburn Tigers, the Oregon Ducks have been unstoppable, running off four straight victories to move their record to 4-1. Quarterback Justin Herbert is ticketed for the top of the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and has played remarkable football over the past month. This past weekend, he led the team back from a 7-0 deficit at the half, scoring 17 unanswered against Cal, as the Ducks sit solely in first place in the Pac-12 North Division.

The Utah Utes had the weekend off in Week 6, but sitting at 4-1 on the season, with only a road loss to USC on their docket, they land at No. 2 in our rankings. Quarterback Tyler Huntley has thrown for over 1,100 yards this season, with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions, as he has cemented himself as one of the better signal-callers in the Pac-12. Utah will pick right back up where they started in Week 7, as they will take on an over-matched Oregon State team on the road before hosting Arizona State in two weeks.

The Arizona State Sun Devils could be the best-kept secret in college football, as head coach Herman Edwards has come in and completely revamped the program over the last two years. Fresh off a victory over previously unbeaten Cal, the Sun Devils had their bye this past weekend and will start their schedule back up next Saturday at home against Washington State. Freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels has been wonderful under center, completing better than 60 percent of his passes, while star running back Eno Benjamin has found the end zone six times on the ground.

Khalil Tate made a stunning return from his leg injury in Week 6, putting the Arizona Wildcats on his back, and leading them to a 35-30 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes on the road. Tate threw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns, as the Wildcats won their fourth straight game after losing their season opener. Tony Fields II led a Wildcats defense that bent but did not break against Colorado, accounting for 11 tackles in the game, as Arizona moved into first place in the Pac-12 South Division.

The Stanford Cardinal pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the Pac-12 weekend, beating No. 15 Washington in front of the home fans on Saturday night. Cameron Scarlett put the team on his back, rushing for a career-high 157 yards, while the Cardinal long drives kept the high-powered Washington offense on the sidelines. The Cardinal was staring at a lost season a few weeks ago, but their two straight wins have brought their record back to .500.

Sitting at 4-1, the Washington Huskies were supposed to go to Stanford and throttle the 3-2 Cardinal. Instead, the Stanford offense stayed on the field for long chunks, keeping the Huskies offense at bay, while winning their sixth straight home game against Washington. For the Huskies, Aaron Fuller had another remarkable game, hauling in nine passes for 170 yards, but the nearly 20 minutes difference in time of possession proved to be too much in this one.

After starting the year off at 4-0, the Cal Golden Bears have lost two straight, while also losing starting quarterback Chase Garbers along the way. Junior Devon Modster made his first start for the Golden Bears this weekend against Oregon, and while he looked a lot better than he did after taking over for Garbers when he was injured last week, the offense still struggled. The Cal defense, led by Evan Weaver, tried to keep them in the game, blanking the Ducks through the first half, but Oregon was able to pull away in the second.

It has been a roller coaster of a season for the USC Trojans, who beat the No. 10 ranked Utah Utes two weeks ago, and then lost on the road to the Washington Huskies the next week. The Trojans had their bye week this past Saturday, which was perfect timing for a team reeling with injuries this season. They have been through three different quarterbacks already in 2019, and the schedule does not get any easier, as they have to go to South Bend to take on the No. 9 Fighting Irish this Saturday.

Ever since running out to a 3-0 record to start the season, the Washington State Cougars have dropped two straight, including an embarrassing loss at the hands of 1-5 UCLA a few weeks back. In their last time out, the Cougars were beaten on the road by a very good Utah team, in a game that they were not competitive in at all. Washington State will try to get their season back on the right track this weekend, but the competition does not get any easier, as they have to go on the road to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Without star wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., the Colorado Buffaloes offense did enough to win on Saturday, but unfortunately, their defense was done in by the talented Khalil Tate and the Arizona Wildcats offense. The Buffaloes got a strong effort from Steven Montez, who threw for nearly 300 yards and a touchdown, hitting Tony Brown ten times for over 100 yards in the game. Leading 20-14 at the half, the Buffaloes defense allowed 21 in the second, and sorely missed star safety Mikial Onu, who left the game early in the second half.

Even though the Oregon State Beavers have only one win on the season, it has been a pretty successful season for them in 2019. There were very little expectations for this team heading into the season, but they have a bonafide star in quarterback Jake Luton, who threw for five touchdowns against the UCLA Bruins this weekend. Running back Artavis Pierce rushed for nearly 120 yards in the victory as well, as the Beavers put up 48 points, including getting out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.

It has been a few weeks since the UCLA Bruins shocked the world and beat the Washington State Cougars on the road, but since then, they have fallen back on hard times. This past weekend, they were absolutely dominated by the Oregon State Beavers in front of the home fans, and the Chip Kelly Era has certainly not gone the way anyone could have expected. The Bruins are one of the worst teams in college football, and it does not look like it is going to get better any time soon.

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