Michael Penix Jr., Washington Huskies.
Conference play begins in earnest this week. Pacific Northwest Sports begins our PAC-12 football power rankings for the 2022 season. We will run this feature through the last bowl game.
Early this season, the Pac-12 suffered some difficult non-conference losses. It’s gotten better over the last two weeks. But there is still a gap to be closed.
Here are our PAC-12 Power Rankings for the week ending September 18, with a Pacific Northwest twist.
Last Game: Another week, another loss for CU. This time the Big Ten got a little payback. Minnesota absolutely crushed the Buffaloes in Minneapolis 49-7. Colorado’s lone score didn’t come until almost halfway through the fourth quarter, when they were down by 7 touchdowns.
This Week: The Buffs host UCLA. It’s a good time for an upset, and Head Coach Karl Dorrell is confident that his team is poised for a turnaround. But that seems unlikely this week.
Last Game: Things did not go as expected last Saturday. Eastern Michigan chewed up the Sun Devils to 305 rushing yards. ASU couldn’t stop running back Samson Evans. The senior, who never had a 100-yard rushing game in college, carried the ball 36 times for 258 yards and a touchdown.
Sun Devils running back Xazavian Valladay had a good game in his own right, rushing for 127 yards and on 16 carries. Valladay’s big play came in the fourth quarter when he busted through the line and went untouched for a 44-yard touchdown run.
This Week: Arizona State has to be demoralized after suffering an embarrassing home loss to EMU and the subsequent firing of their head coach, Herm Edwards. It’s going to be a bumpy debut for new coach Shaun Aguano. His career begins with a visit from defending Pac-12 champion Utah.
Last Game: The Cardinal had a bye last week. In their previous game, Stanford lost the conference opener at home to USC 41-28 on 9/11.
The Cardinal scored the game’s final 14 points, but by then, it was too late. Their 441 yards were almost evenly between run (200) and pass.
This Week: Stanford is on the road this week. They take on undefeated Washington at Husky Stadium.
Last Game: It was a little tougher for the Wildcats than expected. Visiting North Dakota State gave them all they could handle. Arizona needed a late fourth quarter, 22-yard, touchdown pass from Jayden de Laura to Jacob Cowing to pull out a 31-28 victory over the FCS school.
NDak State is a good team at their level. But they certainly shouldn’t come within five minutes of beating a Pac-12 team that supposedly is making their way back to respectability.
This Week: Has Jedd Fisch turned Arizona in the right direction? Saturday’s game at Cal in Berkeley will be a good measuring stick.
Last Game: It was a tough loss for the Golden Bears in South Bend, Indiana. They had Notre Dame on the ropes several times but couldn’t deliver a knockout. QB Jack Plummer‘s one-yard touchdown plunge put California up 17-14 after three quarters.
The Irish rallied with 10 points in the final period while holding their guests scoreless. But it still came down to the last play. Final score Notre Dame 24 – Cal 17.
This Week: Cal opens their conference schedule at home against Arizona. It’s a game they should win. But nothing is a gimme for the Golden Bears.
Last Game: UCLA closed out the early season cupcake schedule with a narrow 32-31 win over visiting South Alabama. As a matter of fact, USA held a 31-23 several minutes into the fourth quarter.
From there, Dorian Thompson-Robinson hit Logan Loya for an 8-yard score, DTR’s third touchdown pass of the day, pulling UCLA within two.
It still took a 24-yard field goal as time expired for the Bruins to seize victory. Consider this game a huge wake-up call.
This Week: The Bruins head east to take on winless Colorado at Folsom Field. It’s a soft opponent before the gauntlet UCLA has ahead of them.
In the following three weeks, UCLA plays against ranked teams Washington, Utah, and Oregon. That makes Colorado a huge trap game. Chip Kelly’s team can’t get caught looking ahead.
Last Game: Montana State came to Corvallis and got stomped 68-28 for their troubles. Beavers quarterback Chance Nolan showed why he’s one of the better quarterbacks in the conference. The junior threw for 276 yards and 4 touchdowns in three quarters.
This Week: Oregon State is on a roll with three wins to open the 2022 season.
Can OSU handle the offensive explosion they are about to face? Using a common opponent, the Beavers narrowly beat Fresno State two weeks ago, while USC handled them rather easily last Saturday. It’s a good bet that the streak ends Saturday.
Last Game: In Saturday’s late game, Utah made quick work of potential Pac-12 addition San Diego State. The Utes scored 35 unanswered points through three quarters en route to a 35-7 blowout.
This Week: Utah hits the road for a very winnable game in Tempe, Arizona. The Utes are a focused team under Kyle Wittingham. This should be Utah’s first step in defending their Pac-12 Championship.
Last Game: The Ducks got a measure of redemption on Saturday when they knocked off Brigham Young 41-20 at Autzen Stadium. Their offense was close to 50/50 as UO threw for 222 yards and ran for 212.
Quarterback Bo Nix had his hand in all five Ducks touchdowns. He ran for three and added two more through the air.
Oregon gave up 303 passing yards to BYU but held tough when it mattered. They forced four turnovers on downs.
This Week: Despite Oregon’s offense getting held to just a field goal at Georgia, Nix is having a great season. The Auburn transfer has completed over 70% of his passes for 672 yards and 7 touchdowns. UO’s offense will give Wazzu all they can handle and then some.
Last Game: After winning at Wisconsin two weeks ago, what would the Washington State Cougars do for an encore? Well, they came back home to demolish Colorado State, 38-7.
Cougs quarterback Cameron Ward had his best game since transferring to the Palouse. He threw to 9 different receivers for 299 yards and 4 touchdowns. The defense was also outstanding, racking up 7 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, and an interception.
This Week: It’s the next big one for Wazzu. Oregon is coming to Pullman with something to prove.
The Washington State Cougars have something to prove as well. Wazzu is on the verge of cracking the top 25. A win over Oregon should put them on the list for the first time since September 15, 2019.
This could be the Cougs’ year. And not just because they have an exciting Air Raid offense. Under Jake Dickert, their defense has been outstanding so far. Their 12.7 point-per-game allowed is 19th in FBS.
The Cougs will need to bring their best to control Nix. If they can get injured safety Jordan Lee back for this game, it would help greatly.
For the first time in quite a few years, Oregon’s defense can be had. They allow 277 yards and 2.3 touchdowns against the pass. Additionally, the Ducks only have 3 sacks this year.
Look what Wazzu did in Wisconsin. They aren’t intimidated by a good team, and the contest is on their home field. Regardless of the outcome, this game should be lots of fun.
Last Game: It’s fair to say that last Saturday’s 39-28 win over Michigan State was the Biggest Washington Huskies win since their 2018 Pac-12 Championship Game victory. In front of a loud Husky Stadium crowd, Washington took it to Michigan State early and often leading by 3 touchdowns at the half.
Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. put himself in Heisman contention by throwing for 399 yards and 4 touchdowns against a good Michigan State defense. His main target was Ja’Lynn Polk, who caught 6 passes for 153 yards and 3 TD s.
In the fourth quarter, Michigan State began to take advantage of UW s tired secondary. Giving up 14 points in the final 6:51 isn’t the way Washington’s defense wanted to finish.
This Week: The Washington Huskies open Pac-12 play with their fourth straight home game of 2022. Husky Stadium should be rocking once again when Stanford comes in for Pac-12 After Dark on Fox Sports 1.
Last week UW cracked the Top 25; this week, they can solidify their spot among college football’s top teams. Stanford may not be the conference’s best football team, but there is plenty of history between the former Pac-12 North Division Schools.
Look for the Huskies’ dynamic offense to give their guests fits all afterburner. Penix is now a Heisman candidate. On Saturday, he has another opportunity to turn some heads on national television again this week.
On the other side of the ball, UW needs to tighten up. They have to play for four quarters and not leave their defensive backs out on an island.
That starts with the men in front. Getting pressure on Cardinal QB Tanner McKee and putting Stanford in uncomfortable down and distance situations is key.
For those wondering why Washington and Washington State are ahead of Oregon and Utah, there is a good reason. The Washington schools both defeated ranked Big Ten teams while Utah lost to Florida, and the Ducks were handled easily by Georgia.
Last Game: As expected, USC crushed Fresno State at the LA Coliseum. The Trojans only held a 21-10 lead at halftime but found another gear in the second half, cruising to a 45-17 victory.
Running backs Austin Jones and Travis Dye each ran for over 100 yards, averaged between 9.2-9.3 yards per carry, and scored a touchdown. That’s a dangerous 1-2 punch.
This Week: In the second-best conference game this week, the Trojans have a chance to flex their muscle against a very good and undefeated group of Oregon State Beavers.
It’s a big week in the Pac-12. Check back with us next Tuesday for our updated power rankings.