Stanford Rises, Washington and Arizona State Fall in Week 5 Pac 12 Power Rankings
Saturday Blitz Pac 12 Power Rankings Week 5
8. Arizona State Sun Devils, 3-1 (1-1), Lost to UCLA Bruins 62-27 Last Thursday
It’s probably a little unfair to drop the Arizona State Sun Devils this far down the Pac 12 Power Rankings after one terrible performance, but it’s also unfair to put them ahead of other teams that did not have such a bad outing. To be fair, though, Arizona State was simply the victim of way too many big plays in their 62-27 loss to UCLA.
The offense appears to still be good without Taylor Kelly at quarterback, but the Sun Devils should not have abandoned D.J. Foster in their loss to UCLA. That’s what turned this game into a shootout, and Foster has the potential to be a star. The defense is questionable but not nearly as bad as it looked against UCLA. As long as it can avoid giving up so many big plays, Kelly can get healthy, and Foster gets his fair share of carries, the Sun Devils will be fine going forward.
The schedule unfortunately doesn’t get any easier with USC and Stanford up next, but this team is good enough to steal either of these games. And there are enough winnable games down the line that anything less than 9 wins this year is a disappointment.