Pac-12 Logo.
Pacific Northwest Sports begins our PAC-12 football power rankings. We will run this feature through the last Bowl game.* It’s a bit difficult in some places to rank teams because of COVID-19 related cancellations. But as Bill Parcels once said, you are what your record says you are. Needless to say, there aren’t many surprises.
Only eight conference teams were in action last week because there were teams that couldn’t field the required 53 available scholarship players due to positive tests and contact tracing. Here are our PAC-12 Power Rankings for the week ending November 22, 2020, with a Pacific Northwest twist.
Last game: (11/21) Cal 27 – Oregon State 31. Just when victory was in sight, quarterback Chase Garbers threw a pick at the OSU 1-yard line. It’s a good thing more people are socially distancing because if they weren’t, the Cal athletic complex would be surrounded by pitchforks and torches.
This week: Cal plays in The Big Game against Stanford on Friday. After last week’s debacle, the Golden Bears need this one.
Last game: (11/21) The Wildcats went north to Seattle and got stomped 41–27. The game was nowhere near that close.
This week: Arizona looks for their first win of the season at UCLA.
Last game: (11/14) Down by 19 points, two seconds into the fourth quarter, Stanford rallied for a pair of touchdowns at home. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. The Cardinal fell 35–32 to Colorado.
This week: The Big Game is always special. Stanford would love nothing better than to keep Cal winless this year.
Last game: (11/21) An honest to goodness win for the Oregon State Beavers, 31–27 over the University of California. OSU running back Jermar Jefferson absolutely devastated Cal’s defense. He ran for 196 yards on 18 carries (10.9 average) and scored a touchdown.
Too bad the Pac-12 is only playing seven (7) games this season. Otherwise, the OSU yard eater would be a Heisman candidate. He still might break 1,000 yards in 2021, which would be a huge accomplishment.
This week: The Beavers host the game formerly known as “The Civil War” against the University of Oregon. It would be huge for Oregon State to knock their in-state rivals out of any chance (albeit slim) for a spot in the National Championship hunt.
Last game: (11/21). It was a tie game, 10–10, until five minutes into the second quarter. Then Southern Cal poured it on. From then on, the Utes offense couldn’t get out of its own way. Final Score USC 31 – Utah 17.
This week: Two weeks without a game, then they faced USC. Now Utah gets redirected to the Washington Huskies at the last minute. Not very fair, but it’s a situation the Pac-12 brought on themselves with a late start.
Last game: (11/21) Even with freshman Chase Griffin replacing Dorian Thompson-Robinson for coronavirus reasons, it was a game UCLA should have won. Four turnovers cost the Bruins dearly in a 38–35 loss to Oregon at Autzen Stadium. The biggest misstep was Griffin’s pick-six as time expired in the first half.
This week: The Bruins can get back to .500 with a win at home against Arizona. They better shore up their defense because the Wildcats can put points on the board in a hurry.
Last game: (11/7) The Sun Devils let a big win slip through fingers. USC scored a pair of touchdowns in the last three minutes to pull out a 28–27 win.
This week: For the third straight week, Arizona State had to cancel. Their next scheduled game is December 5 against UCLA. It’s really too bad that ASU has so much trouble with coronavirus; Herm Edwards put together a good team for this season.
Last game: (11/14) – The Cougars have to be kicking themselves. They had Oregon on the ropes at home and let the game get away from them. Holding a 19–7 lead with 20 seconds left in the first half, UO receiver Jaylon Redd beat the secondary for a 59-yard completion to WSU’s three-yard line. One play later, the Ducks punched it into the endzone.
Washington State’s defense was no match for Oregon’s offense in the second half, yielding 353 yards and 29 points. In what could be a harbinger of things to come, Wazzu’s true freshman quarterback Jayden de Laura threw for 321 yards and a pair of touchdowns against a tough defense.
This week: There is no game this week for Wazzu. Because of COVID-19 concerns, the Cougars had to cancel for the second straight week. This one hurts a little more because it was supposed to be against Washington in the Apple Cup. Hopefully, WSU can get healthy for their next scheduled game on December 4 at USC.
Last game: (11/14) Colorado got out to a 19-point lead at Stanford more than halfway through the third quarter. Then the defense collapsed. They barely held on as the Cardinal scored 23 of the final 30 points to eke out a 35–32 victory.
This week: The Buffaloes have been in a few barn burners during this condensed season. In their two games so far, they outscored the opposition 83–74. Colorado’s offensive love-fest should continue again this week in Southern California. The Buffs head to USC with first place in the Pac-12 South Division on the line. They better find some defense quick; Southern Cal averages almost 32 points-per-game.
Last game: UW featured both the run and pass in a 42–27 win. Arizona was ready for the Huskies’ ground and pound attack, so quarterback Dylan Morris came out firing passes. Wide receiver Puka Nacua scored a touchdown on the Huskies first series with a nifty 65-yard catch and run. That scoring play was the beginning of an onslaught.
The Huskies put up points on their first four possessions of the first half while holding their opponents scoreless. By the end of quarter three, Washington held a commanding 37–0 lead. Arizona rallied back against the Huskies’ second string in the fourth quarter, but it was over by then.
This week: On Sunday, word came down that the annual Apple Cup game wouldn’t happen because WSU is still battling the COVID-19 monster. That left the Huskies scrambling for an opponent this weekend.
After the Pac-12 lifted their ban on non-conference games, Washington reached out to eighth-ranked Brigham Young, who had a bye week on their schedule. Since a guaranteed game wasn’t possible due to conference rules, BYU turned down the offer.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), Utah’s opponent this week, Arizona State, was unable to play for the same reason as WSU. So the Pac-12 paired to two healthy teams this week, meaning Utah will face UW at Husky Stadium on Saturday.
Last game: After a couple of close games, the 18th ranked Trojans won, going away at Utah 33–7. It helped that USC forced five turnovers. Even with the turnover, Southern Cal barely won the total yardage game 357–327.
This week: Before beating Utah, USC narrowly escaped the Arizona schools in games one and two. Going back to you are what your record says you are, the Trojans are undefeated and ranked in the top 20. Saturday, they could find themselves in hot water against the explosive Colorado offense. Anyone who likes high scoring games should watch this one.
Last game: (11/21) The Ducks were in a dogfight last Saturday when they hosted upstart UCLA. Oregon couldn’t put the visitors away. As a matter of fact, it looked like the Bruins would go in at the half with a lead. That is until Jordan Happle had a pick-six as time expired, which gave the Ducks a lead they never relinquished. One of four turnovers UCLA had on the day.
Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough threw for 334 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Three games in, and he’s taken over quite nicely for Justin Herbert.
This week: Oregon faces Oregon State in Corvallis. OSU is no slouch; they can score points. The Ducks can’t afford a let-up, especially after the first BCS Poll ranked them 15th.
There are some good matchups this week. Check back with us on Tuesday for our updated power rankings.