Pac-12 Power Rankings Week 10: USC Rises, Arizona, Utah Fall

Nov 1, 2014; Corvallis, OR, USA; California Golden Bears place kicker James Langford (45) gets congratulated by defensive tackle Harrison Wilfley (80 after he kicked the extra point in the second quarter against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Susan Ragan-USA TODAY Sports

 Cal will be an underdog in their remaining conference games against USC and Stanford, but beating BYU and getting to a bowl game would be enough to save Dykes’ job, and leave Berkeley smiling all winter.

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9

California Golden Bears 5-4 (3-4)

Last week: Defeated Oregon State Beavers 45-31
Last rank: 10

Your correspondent’s joke tweet back in July that Sunny Dykes seemed to be enjoying his final Pac-12 media day may have been premature. Since then, the once-doomed coach of the Golden Bears has rejuvenated the program and the Bear-Raid is taking the Pac by storm.

 Cal is now 2nd in the Pac-12 (and 8th Nationally) in scoring, has conference wins over Colorado, Oregon State and Washington State under it’s belt and a win over Northwestern to boot. If that weren’t enough, the Bad News Bears are one win away from bowl eligibility with a home date against flailing BYU still on the schedule.

 But of course, there are still significant problems in Berkeley. The Bears are almost as bad at defense as they are good at offense. At 526 ypg allowed, Cal is the worst team in the Big 5 leagues (and 4th worst in the FBS) in total defense.

 Cal will be an underdog in their remaining conference games against USC and Stanford, but beating BYU and getting to a bowl game would be enough to save Dykes’ job, and leave Berkeley smiling all winter.