The Oregon Ducks and Utah Utes both won their games this weekend and heading into Week 10 of the college football season, both stand at 7-1.
We are already entering the final stretch of the college football season, and in the Pac-12, only two teams have any chance of making it to the College Football Playoff. Both the Oregon Ducks and Utah Utes stand at 7-1, and if they appear to be on a collision course for the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Here are our Pac-12 power rankings enter Week 10 of the college football season.
The Utah Utes absolutely throttled the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday, as the team got a monster game from star running back Zack Moss. Moss rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on only 17 carries while leading the team with 89 receiving yards. Quarterback Tyler Huntley was efficient under center, throwing for 214 yards against a tough Cal defense, as the Utes kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
The Oregon Ducks have come a long way since losing their season opener at Auburn and now have reeled off seven straight victories to move their record to 7-1. In total control of the Pac-12 North, Oregon got a video game performance from running back C.J. Verdell in their 37-35 victory over the Washington State Cougars on Saturday. Verdell rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, as the Ducks won the game on a 26-yard field goal by Camden Lewis as time expired.
Fresh off a close loss to the Oregon Ducks their last time out, the Washington Huskies went into their bye week just in time. Overall, the Huskies have been riding a roller coaster all season but has gotten solid play from new quarterback, Jacob Eason. Eason has 16 touchdowns against only three interceptions this season, and while the Huskies are talented, there is no way they catch Oregon in the Pac-12 North this year.
The USC Trojans got the party started in the Pac-12 on Friday night, beating a tough Colorado team on the road in comeback fashion. Star freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis continues to impress, and in this one, he led his team to a 35-31 victory by throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdowns. The Trojans are currently tied for first place in the Pac-12 South Division after winning two straight.
The Washington State Cougars gave the Oregon Ducks all they could handle on Saturday, and it actually took a field goal as time expired for the Ducks to come away with the victory. For the Cougars, freshman quarterback Anthony Gordon was once again elite running Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense, throwing for 406 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, the defense had no answer for C.J. Verdell, who rushed for over 250 yards in the game.
In one of the bigger upset in the Pac-12 on Saturday, the Arizona State Sun Devils were beaten on the road against a two-win UCLA Bruins team. Down 32 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils made a valiant effort, losing by only ten, but there are serious questions about the defense after this one. Freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels had another magnificent game under center, throwing for 267 yards and three touchdowns against zero interceptions.
The doormat of the Pac-12 nearly every year, the Oregon State Beavers have been solid in 2019, and sit in third place in the Pac-12 North Division. Jake Luton has been one of the more consistent signal-callers in the conference, tossing 16 touchdowns against only one interception, and the running back tandem of Jermar Jefferson and Artavis Pierce has been stellar as well. Oregon State is led defensively by Hamilcar Rashed Jr., who has registered nine sacks this season.
The return of quarterback K.J. Costello proved huge for the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, as he led the team to a convincing victory over the Arizona Wildcats. Costello missed the previous three weeks dealing with a hand injury, but with him under center, the Cardinal offense was unstoppable in this one. The senior dominated Arizona all game long, throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns, leading a balanced attack that helped the Cardinal move their record back to .500.
All of a sudden, the Chip Kelly hire looks like a smart one for UCLA, who absolutely blew the doors off of the Arizona State Sun Devils in the biggest upset in the Pac-12 this weekend. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was steady under center, throwing for two touchdowns, but running back Joshua Kelley was the big story in this one. Kelley set a career-high by scoring four rushing touchdowns and finished the game with over 160 yards against the No. 24 ranked team in the country.
Cal has lost four straight games, and their last time out, they had one of their worst showing of the season. The Golden Bears were blanked by the Utah Utes in Week 9 in a game that was over at the half, as Utah led 28-0. For Cal, the loss of Chase Garbers has been too much to overcome, and on the ground, they averaged 1.1 yards per carry on Saturday.
The Arizona Wildcats probably wished K.J. Costello missed his fourth straight week, as the senior quarterback shredded the Wildcats defense all game long. For Arizona, the loss was their third straight, as the once 4-1 Wildcats are now back to .500, and trying to hang on to a bowl game berth. Arizona also got another look at prized recruit Grant Gunnell, who completed all seven of his passes, and looks to be a bright spot for this roster heading into next season.
The Colorado Buffaloes may have lost to the USC Trojans on Friday night, but it was by far their best game in quite a while. With the loss, the Buffs are now 0-14 lifetime against USC, though, in this one, Steven Montez looked stellar, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Finally healthy, Laviska Shenault Jr. made his presence felt, racking up 172 yards through the air.
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