This week’s Pac-12 power rankings see the top 3 of Oregon, Utah and Arizona State continue to separate themselves from the rest of the league.
The Pac-12 saw their two best teams, Oregon and Utah roll in Week 7, winning by a combined margin of 97-10. This week, there are some monster games on the slate, including a matchup between Oregon and Washington, which could decide the Pac-12 North. In the South, Utah plays host to Arizona State in another matchup with divisional championship implications.
Here are our latest Pac-12 power rankings entering Week 8.
The Oregon Ducks continue to roll after their opening week loss to Auburn and have now run off five straight victories to move to first place in the Pac-12 North Division. The Ducks got another strong effort from Justin Herbert, a consensus first round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, as he threw for over 260 yards and two touchdowns against an overmatched Colorado team. Oregon’s’ defense stifled the Buffaloes offense, holding them to three points while forcing four interceptions from a usually efficient Steven Montez.
The Utah Utes knew they had an easy one on the schedule in Week 7, as they traveled to Oregon to take on the Oregon State Beavers. This one got out of hand early, as the Utes rushed out to a 35-0 halftime lead, thanks to the play of running back Zack Moss, and quarterback Tyler Huntley. Moss incredibly rushed for 121 yards on only five carries, scoring twice, while Huntley led the way through the air by throwing for 247 yards and two scores. They have a huge matchup this week, as they host Arizona State in Pac-12 South action.
In a game that the Arizona Sun Devils absolutely needed against Washington State, the team outscored the Cougars in the fourth quarter by a score of 14-3, coming back and winning 38-34. Arizona State got another strong effort from freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels, who took care of the ball by throwing for over 360 yards and three touchdowns against zero interceptions. Daniels outdueled fellow freshman Anthony Gordon at the quarterback position, and as he has done all season, kept his cool late in games, and helped lead the Sun Devils to their second straight victory.
The Arizona Wildcats gave the Washington Huskies all they could handle for one half before the Huskies blew the doors off of the Wildcats in the second half. Sitting at 5-2 on the season, the Huskies have reestablished themselves as one of the better teams in the Pac-12 and should move back into the top-25 with their 51-27 victory on the road. Jacob Eason threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, but it was the running game that was the difference, as the team rushed for over 200 yards as a unit, including three touchdowns by Salvon Ahmed.
The Stanford Cardinal began their season with a win against Northwestern, but after injuries to some key players, they lost three straight to USC, USF, and Oregon, with two of the three being ranked at the time. Since then, the Cardinal have won two straight, and will likely make it three in a row as they play host to UCLA this weekend. Stanford has their team moving in the right direction and sitting in second place in the Pac-12 South, they are still a contender to win the conference in 2019.
Cal began their season by getting out to a 4-0 start, putting some solid wins together, and moving to first place in the Pac-12 North Division. However, since then, the Golden Bears have lost two in a row and will need to get on track against a weaker Oregon State team this week. Quarterback Chase Garbers is one of the better signal-callers in the conference and will need to get things rolling for the Golden Bears, as matchups with Utah, USC, and Stanford still loom on the horizon. Those games will make or break their season.
The USC Trojans got quarterback Kedon Slovis back for their huge matchup on the road against Notre Dame, who came into the game ranked in the top-10 in the country. While the Trojans were able to hang with the Fighting Irish, losing by only three points, the loss did knock their record to .500 at 3-3. Even with the loss, USC still finds itself sitting in first place in the Pac-12 South Division, and now that Slovis is healthy, they should be able to make a run, starting this week against Arizona.
Last week, the Arizona Wildcats were sitting in first place in the Pac-12 South Division, but after a tough loss to the Washington Huskies this past weekend, they fall to No. 8 in our power rankings. The Wildcats hung tough with Washington for two quarters, but after halftime, the Huskies went on a 38-10 run to put the game out of reach. The big issue in this one was how much pressure Washington was able to put on Arizona star quarterback Khalil Tate, who could never get a rhythm going after the half, moving the Wildcats to 4-2 on the season.
Though the Washington State Cougars lost to Arizona State this past weekend, one thing is for sure, they have a special kid playing quarterback. Anthony Gordon threw for 466 yards against a tough Arizona State defense, and had it not been for the defense blowing it in the fourth quarter, the Cougars would have had one of the bigger upsets on the Pac-12 slate in Week 7. They will play host to Colorado this weekend, in a game they should win, but this defense needs to be better if the Cougars are going to beat the likes of Oregon, Stanford, and Washington the rest of the way.
The Oregon State Beavers had played better football as of late, as quarterback Jake Luton has been one of the more consistent signal-callers in the conference this season. However, they played host to Utah on Saturday, and when it comes to the talent each team brings to the table, there is really no comparison. The Beavers fell to the Utes by the score of 52-7, as they dug an early hole, and could not hold the Utes on the ground, or through the air. They travel to take on Cal this week.
It has been rough sailing for the Colorado Buffaloes over the last two weeks, as they have seen their 3-1 record disappear, and have fallen to .500 through their first six games. On Friday night, the Buffaloes had a tall order, heading to Eugene to take on an Oregon team ranked in the top-25. Colorado had no chance in the matchup, falling to Oregon by the score of 45-3, as Steven Montez was intercepted four times, and the defense had no answer for CJ Verdell, who rushed for over 170 yards in the game.
The UCLA Bruins have been by far the worst team in the Pac-12 this season, and the schedule does not get any easier when they return from their bye week. The Bruins will have to head up to Stanford to take on a Cardinal team that is also fresh off a bye and based on the talent on each team, this one could get ugly very early on Saturday. If the Bruins fall to 1-6, you have to think Chip Kelly is firmly on the hot seat the rest of the way.
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