Pac 12 Power Rankings Week 12: Arizona State Falls, UCLA and USC Rise

Nov 15, 2014; Tucson, AZ, USA; Washington Huskies running back Dwayne Washington (12) walks off of the field after the fourth quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Arizona won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

They could finish strong, though, with Oregon State at home and Washington State on the road as the games to close out the year. But both gams could be toss-ups, so there’s not much to celebrate yet.

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9

Washington Huskies 6-5 (2-5)

Last week: Lost to Arizona Wildcats 27-26
Last rank: 8

We understand that the Washington Huskies and Chris Petersen deserve some respect for playing Arizona so tough on Saturday. And with the way the offense gained more than 500 yards, these guys are really starting to play together.

But coming away with a loss when you play that good of a game shows that this team simply doesn’t have the mentality to be one of the Pac-12 elite yet, despite being a very good team.

Washington is different from the rest of the Pac-12 in that it uses power running and efficient quarterback play along with tough defense to win games. And that formula still allowed the Huskies to gain more than 500 yards of offense. That’s a great sign for this team going forward. It’s just that these guys are 2-5 in the conference right now, so they haven’t fully developed as a team yet.

They could finish strong, though, with Oregon State at home and Washington State on the road as the games to close out the year. But both gams could be toss-ups, so there’s not much to celebrate yet.