Caleb Williams, USC Trojans.
Last weekend, the Pac-12 had another slate of exciting games. Pacific Northwest Sports continues our 2022 PAC-12 football power rankings, which run through the last bowl game.
Rumors of the Pac-12’s demise appear to be greatly exaggerated. The conference now has five teams in the Top 25 (Washington State was 26th in the AP Poll). That’s more than the Big Ten (3), Big 12 (4), and ACC (4).
Here are our Power Rankings for the week ending October 3, with a Pacific Northwest twist.
Last Game: Arizona 43 – Colorado 20
Colorado lost one of their best chances to pick up a “W” this season. It was costly in more ways than one.
After the loss, Karl Dorrell became the second Pac-12 coach to lose his job this season (Herm Edwards – ASU). And it’s only early October.
This Week: Bye
A bye week is good news in Boulder. Colorado can’t lose if they don’t play.
Last Game: USC 42 – ASU 25
The Sun Devils went to Los Angeles and made a game of it in the first half, trailing 21-17 at the break. Then the wheels fell off.
This Week: vs. Washington, 1:00 PM – Pac-12 Networks
This probably isn’t the best week to take on Washington. The Huskies dropped their first game of 2022 last week at UCLA. They’ll want to bounce back strong on Saturday and make an example out of Arizona State.
Last Game: Oregon 44 – Stanford 27
Another week, another big loss to a Top 15 Pac-12 team. This game wasn’t as close as the 17-point differential suggests. The Cardinal couldn’t stop Oregon’s run game.
Tanner McKee didn’t help his NFL aspirations with a 19 for 33 performance for 165 yards. Aside from a 42-yard hookup with Casey Filkins (which was more of a screen pass), McKee averaged 3.9 yards per attempt.
This Week: vs. OSU, 8 PM – ESPN
At least Stanford doesn’t play a ranked team this week. Even so, they face a group of Angry Beavers in Palo Alto. It will be extremely hard for the Cardinal to get their first conference win this week.
Last Game: WSU 28 – California 9
The first half of the game was very lackluster as the defenses stood tall. After both teams went scoreless in the first quarter, Wazzu took a 7-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.
While California’s offense was better in the second half, they struggled to get any traction. Quarterback Jack Plummer took more than his share of hits throughout the game and was knocked out late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury.
The Bears had 311 yards of total offense. 30% of it came on one 90-yard drive. And over half of that was the result of a 49-yard pass from Plummer to Jeremiah Hunter.
This Week: Bye
Justin Wilcox made a ton of changes to his starting group against Washington State, and it showed. He’ll have an extra week to get the Bears ready. Those preparations should start with protecting the passer.
Last Game: Utah 34 – OSU 16
Oregon State lost their offensive leader early. And their chances of winning went downhill from there.
After Ben Gulbranson took over for injured Chance Nolan, he moved the ball between the goal lines but couldn’t get it over. Then Gulbranson threw a pair of late interceptions that Utah cashed in. That was the ballgame.
This Week @ Stanford, 8 PM, ESPN
It’s gut check time for Oregon State. Both their losses came against ranked teams. They regrouped once. Can they do it again? Probably, but with two losses, the Beavers are likely out of the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Last Game: Arizona 43 – Colorado 20
It was total domination from wire to wire. Wildcats QB Jayden de Laura had a career day. The sophomore transfer was 33 of 46 for 406 yards and 6 touchdowns. Receivers Jacob Cowing and Dorian Singer combined for 21 catches, 343 yards, and a pair of TDs.
Arizona’s D stifled Colorado for most of the day. No Buffalo had more than 75 yards from scrimmage.
This Week: at Oregon, 5:00 PM, Pac-12 Networks
It was a fun one-game win streak while it lasted. Oregon is on a mission and won’t let the Wildcats get in their way.
Last Game: WSU 28 – California 9
On Saturday, Washington State’s offense was like a muscle car with a bad starter. It took a little while to get started, but that baby took off once it did.
Aside from two interceptions, Cameron Ward played well. He threw for 343 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Renard Bell was the main target this week. He pulled in 8 passes for 115 yards and a score. Robert Ferrel also had 6 catches for 74 yards and a TD.
The Wazzu defense brought their A-game. A week earlier, running back Jaydn Ott torched Colorado for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns. Washington State was ready for him on Saturday.
They held the freshman to 69 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown. But three of his runs totaled 41 yards, so he averaged 2.15 yards per carry on the other 13 attempts.
This Week at USC, 4:30 PM, FOX
The Cougs face an uphill climb on Saturday; USC is ranked 6th in the country for a reason. Wazzu has to find a way to stop the Trojans’ explosive offense.
Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams would be grabbing all the headlines if it wasn’t for Michael Penix. Williams is a dynamic dual-threat who will eventually play on Sundays. Middle linebacker Daiyan Henley will have his hands full as the “spy.”
If the Cougars’ defense can get some stops, then it’s on Ward and the offense to not only score points but also avoid turnovers. They can’t give the home team any extra chances.
He’ll need protection from the hog mollies up front. With enough time to throw, Ward has an excellent set of receivers to call on.
Washington State is a good football team. Unfortunately, USC is on another level.
Last Game: UCLA 40 – Washington 32
What a game. Washington seized momentum early with a touchdown and defensive stop. But Wayne Taulapapa’s fumble in his own end zone on the next possession turned the game around.
Michael Penix had a rough first half throwing two interceptions. His turnovers led to two long UCLA drives and a touchdown, putting the Huskies in a deep 26-10 hole at the half.
He shook it off in the second half and showed maturity beyond his years. Washington scored touchdowns on all three of their second-half possessions, led by a cool and calm Penix.
The defense, however, continued to struggle. They couldn’t stop Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson or get much pressure on him.
If DTR wasn’t beating them with the RPO, Zach Charbonnet ran wild. The defending Pac-12 rushing leader had 170 yards and a touchdown on 25 touches.
This Week: at ASU, 1:00 PM – Pac-12 Networks
UW stayed in the Top 25 despite the loss and now looks to regain ground. If Southern Cal could torch ASU for 328 yards, the country’s third most prolific passing offense will burn Sun Devil Stadium to the ground.
Get ready for the Michael Penix Jr. tour stop in Tempe, Arizona. He leads all of FBS with1,733 passing yards, and his 16 passing touchdowns are fifth-best. But it’s more than numbers.
The senior has demonstrated remarkable maturity this season in leading the Washington Huskies. He gets everyone involved in the offense, making UW very difficult to defend.
That’s one of the reasons why Washington will pound the ball down ASU’s throat. Arizona State yields 173.4 yards per game on the ground. The other reason is that U-Dub has a running back, Wayne Taulapapa, who is looking for redemption after his early fumble changed the tide of the game around last week.
Washington’s defense is pretty good too. They seek redemption after a disappointing performance against UCLA.
Utah took advantage of OSU’s backup quarterback en route to a 34-16 win at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Cameron Rising had a solid day both passing (199 yards) and running (73 yards). He accounted for 4 touchdowns.
The Utes intercepted OSU passers 4 times. Clark Phillips III had 3 of them, including 1 for a pick-six.
This Week: at UCLA, 12:30 PM – FOX
Both of these teams are among the highest scorers in the country. The big difference is Utah’s defense. Coach Kyle Whittingham’s crew allows an average of 14.4 points against.
It will be tough sledding on the road, but the Utes have a defense that can stop UCLA’s offensive machine. The Bruins’ defense is a bit more suspect.
Last Game: Oregon 44 – Stanford 27
The Ducks literally ran the ball down Stanford’s gullet. Bo Nix had two rushing touchdowns. The second was a thing of beauty as he took off on a QB keeper and went 80 yards untouched. He finished with 141 yards to lead Oregon’s 351-yard ground and pound.
UO’s defense was really good too. They gave up 332 total yards, 85 of which came after they jumped out to a four-score lead.
This Week: vs. Arizona, 5 PM – Pac-12 Networks
The question isn’t if Oregon will win this game; it’s by how much. Jayden de Laura might have nightmares about giant green and yellow ducks chasing him across a green field after this game.
Last Game: UCLA 40 – UW 32
UCLA, welcome to the top two; you deserve it after last week. There were doubts about the Bruins after a weak non-conference schedule, but those were put to rest on Friday. DTR and running back Zach Charbonnet make for a dynamic one-two punch.
This Week: vs. Utah, 12:30 PM – FOX
The Bruins have a huge advantage as the home team. They’ve won six straight at the Rose Bowl. If UCLA plays like they did against UW, they can win this game.
This should be a fantastic matchup. UCLA scores 41.4 points per game which is 13th in FCS. Meanwhile, Utah puts up an average of 42 points (11th).
The winner will have an inside track to the Championship Game.
Last Game: USC 42 – ASU 25
It was the result at Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum that everyone expected. USC is an offensive juggernaut that Arizona State (like everyone else so far) couldn’t stop.
The Trojans racked up almost another 500 yards of total offense yet had the ball only 10 seconds more than their guests. Quarterback Caleb Williams completed 20 of 37 passes for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns. The sophomore transfer now has 21 scoring strikes on the season against just 4 interceptions.
This Week vs. WSU, 4:30 PM – FOX
Part 2 of this week’s FOX doubleheader should be as good as its earlier counterpart. The Trojans need to keep doing what they did in the first five games to make it 6-0. Score, force turnovers, and score some more.
It’s another big week in the Pac-12. Check back with us next Tuesday for our updated power rankings.