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Last weekend, the Pac-12 had another week of great football, highlighted by a big upset. Pacific Northwest Sports continues our 2022 PAC-12 football power rankings, which run through the last bowl game.
The conference now has four teams in the Top 15, led by 9th-ranked USC. Here are our Power Rankings for the week ending October 17, with a Pacific Northwest twist.
Last Game: Colorado 20 – California 13
If it weren’t for bad luck, Colorado would have no luck at all. The Buffs finally get their first win of the year and can’t get out of the cellar because of what Stanford did on Saturday.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: at Oregon State, 5 PM – Pac-12 Networks
Hopefully, Colorado enjoyed their one-game winning streak. Saturday, they face a pack of hungry Beavers in Corvallis.
Last Game: Stanford 27 – Notre Dame 13
Just when everyone thought it was time to write off Stanford, they traveled to South Bend and upset Notre Dame. It was the Cardinal defense that won the day. They held the Fighting Irish to 301 yards, only 1 touchdown, and forced a pair of turnovers.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: vs. Arizona State, 1:00 PM – Pac-12 Networks
The Cardinal can make it two in a row with a very winnable game at home against Arizona State. The key, once again, is to keep McKee upright and give him a chance to complete passes.
Last Game: Colorado 20 – California 13
It was snooze-fest throughout the first half as the teams went to the locker room 0-0. Cal kicked a field goal as time expired to tie the contest at 13-all. Unfortunately, they lost in overtime.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: vs. Washington, 7:30 PM – ESPN
On the bright side, Cal plays a team that struggles away from home. However, after USC’s loss, Washington still has a shot at the Pac-12 Championship Game and will go all out to take down the Bears.
Last Week: Bye
Last Game: ASU 42 – Washington 32 (10/2)
The Sun Devils showed Washington and the rest of the Pac-12 that they might be down but are far from out. Starting quarterback Emory Jones went down early in the game, and Trenton Bourguet came off the bench to spark his team with 3 touchdown passes.
ASU scored more points in this game than they combined for in the two previous weeks (45-38).
Midseason Leaders
This Week: at Stanford, 1:00 PM – Pac-12 Networks
ASU had an entire week to build off their win over Washington. Doubling up won’t be easy on the road at Stanford Stadium.
Last Game: Washington 49 – Arizona 39
This was the second straight week that opponents hung 49 points on Arizona’s defense. Even a 4 touchdown performance from Jayden de Laura wasn’t enough to overcome the Wildcats’ poor defense.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: Bye
This is a good time for the Wildcats to regroup and prepare. After their bye, Arizona plays USC, Utah, and UCLA in consecutive weeks.
Last Game: Oregon State 24 – WSU 10
The Cougars need to win this game, and they couldn’t generate any offense against Oregon State. Wazzu had 368 yards of total offense, and 345 of them came via Cam Ward’s right arm.
Worse, every time Washington State had their opportunities to get in back into the game. But every time they came within one score of tying it up, the Coug defense gave up a touchdown.
In the end, Ward’s three turnovers (2 fumbles and 1 interception) sunk the team. Kudos to middle linebacker Daiyan Henley who had 13 tackles.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: Bye
It was a tough loss lost Saturday. Now the Cougs have an extra week to stew on it. It would be a shame if Wazzu’s hot start to 2022 was all for nothing.
The season is far from over, and it’s on head coach Jake Dickert to rally his team.
Last Game: Oregon State 24 – WSU 10
No Chance Nolan, no problem. Without their number one quarterback, the Beavers ran it down Wazzu’s gullet for 203 yards. Seven different players had carries, led by Damien Martinez, and 111 yards on 16 carries.
What OSU didn’t do on offense was made up for by their defense. The Beavers forced 3 turnovers and had 9 tackles for loss, including 6 sacks with 10 passes defended.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: vs. Colorado, 5 PM – Pac-12 Networks
Oregon State kept themselves in the hunt for a ticket to the championship game. It will be a heck of a task for the Beavers to make it that far.
Even if they don’t reach that goal, OSU is still in line to play in a good bowl game. The engine turned over against Washington State, next week, they hit the accelerator when Colorado shows up at Reser Stadium.
Last Game: Washington 49 – Arizona 39
Washington rebounded nicely last week from two consecutive losses. Well, at least their offense did.
Huskies quarterback Michael Penix had the best game of his college career. The fifth-year junior completed 36 of 44 pass attempts for 516 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also ran one into the endzone.
Rome Odunze had 9 catches for 169 catches and 2 touchdowns, while Jalen McMillan had 6 for 77 yards and 1 touchdown. UW needed those performances because they had problems running all day.
Defense continues to be an issue. The Washington Huskies gave up over 32 or more points for the third straight week. Additionally, Arizona gained 526 yards.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: at California, 7:30 PM – ESPN
The Huskies season that started so promising was derailed after two straight road losses. They got new life last week after beating Arizona and USC’s loss to Utah.
Run the table, and there is a good chance UW makes it to the championship game.
That journey resumes someplace the Huskies haven’t won in 2022, the road. They’ll need to win at California to prove to themselves that they can get a “W” outside of Husky Stadium.
A victory on Pac-12 After Dark on national television could put the Huskies back into the Top 25.
It would be a mistake to overlook California. The Bears suffered an embarrassing loss to Colorado last week. If they beat Washington, it makes their season.
Last Game: Utah 43 – USC 42
It was a great weekend of college football action. Fans can debate what the best game was. Alabama-Tennessee, TCU-Oklahoma State, and James Madison-Georgia Southern are all worthy of consideration.
But Utah beating undefeated USC by making a two-point conversion with 43 seconds left in the game might beat them all. Give Utes head coach Kyle Wittingham some credit for having the guts to go for it.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: Bye
Beating USC turned Utah’s season around. The Utes have this week off to prepare for Washington State on Thursday, October 27.
Last Game: Utah 43 – USC 42
What a heartbreaking defeat. The Trojans led this game from the first possession until Utah’s two-point conversion with 43 seconds left in the game.
If this game happened in Los Angeles instead of Provo, the results might have been different. There aren’t many teams that can keep up with USC’s potent offense. Unfortunately, the Trojans found one last week that did.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: Bye
USC has an extra week to let their loss to Utah sink in. The Trojans have to run the table if they want any chance to reach the college football playoff.
Last Week: Bye
Last Game: Oregon 49 – Arizona 22 (10/2)
The Ducks’ offense put on a show at Arizona Stadium. They scored over 40 points for the fifth game in a row and piled up 580 yards of total offense while doing it.
Leading the Ducks again was quarterback Bo Nix who completed 20 of 25 passes (80%) for 265 yards. He also ran 8 times, picking up 80 yards and 3 touchdowns.
UO’s defense was pretty good too. The Ducks had 5 tackles for loss, 4 passes defended, 2 fumble recoveries, and an interception.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: vs. UCLA – 12:30 PM – FOX
A win on Saturday puts Oregon in pole position for the Championship Game. Even though this one is at Autzen Stadium, UCLA has looked close to unbeatable the last month.
Ducks QB Bo Nix is having a great season. He’ll need another top performance to pull this game out. A little help from the defense couldn’t hurt, either.
Last Week: Bye
Last Game: UCLA 42 – Utah 32 (10/2)
It was like a heavyweight title fight at the Rose Bowl. UCLA and Utah went blow-for-blow. Ultimately, the Bruins won it in the final round.
Running back Zach Charbonnet ran for 198 of UCLA’s 502 yards from scrimmage. Meanwhile, quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson passed for 299 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Midseason Leaders
This Week: at Oregon – 12:30 PM – FOX
The Bruins have two big hurdles left to an undefeated season; Saturday at Oregon and November 19 against Southern Cal. The first of those two is a trip to the lion’s den in Eugene, Oregon.
DTR can put himself squarely into the top tier of the Heisman race with a good showing on national television. Charbonnet could do the same.
UCLA needs to win the time of possession game to keep the ball away from Oregon’s potent offense.
It’s another big week in the Pac-12, highlighted by a marquee matchup between UCLA and Oregon. Check back with us next Tuesday for our updated power rankings.