Week 2 of the season is now in the books and it’s time to take a look at the newest edition of our Pac-12 football power rankings.
Welcome back to the home of the only perfect and correct Pac-12 power rankings, this time we are in Week 3. The league has comported themselves very well in their non-conference games.
Over the next couple weeks, analyst will start to reluctantly give the Pac-12 it’s due. The conference is undefeated against other Power Five conferences. The top nine schools in the Week 3 power rankings have shown they will be serious threats to win the Pac-12 title.
As a former player, analyst and college football fan, I cannot express how excited I am for conference play. Without further ado, here are the Week 3 power rankings.
The Beavers lost to Minnesota 48-14 in Week 2. Their fans were very hopeful for a bowl game. Unless the ‘Angels in the Outfield’ help Oregon State out for the rest of the season, there will be no bowl game. The Beavers are having trouble running the ball and passing the ball effectively. They are no threat to any top Pac-12 team on their schedule.
Week 3 opponent: at Washington State
Arizona State lost to San Diego State 20-30 in Week 2. There are only two things wrong with the Sun Devils football game, their offense and their defense. Arizona State only managed 44 rushing yards on 31 carries, while giving up 279 rushing yards. If this poor play continues from the Sun Devils, Todd Graham coaching seat may go from burning to incinerator.
Week 3 opponent: vs. Texas Tech
Houston beat Arizona 19-16 in Week 2. At least this loss is against a respectable team. There was one major positive takeaway from this game for the Wildcats. They held the Houston Cougars to 19 points. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they are still unsettled at the quarterback position. Teams without quarterbacks lose a lot. At this point, the likelihood of Arizona moving up to the top half of the Pac-12 Power Rankings is doubtful.
Week 3 opponent: at UTEP
Cal beat Weber State 33-20 in Week 2. The Golden Bears had a clear let down after beating North Carolina last week. There is no circumstance where a Pac-12 team should struggle to get a victory against Weber State. However, a win is a win, no matter how ugly. I am concerned about their defense. Cal better pick it up before the Ole Miss game this week after giving up 431 yards passing to Weber State.
Week 3 opponent: vs. Ole Miss
Colorado downed Texas State 37-3. The Buffaloes are still rolling to start the season. I was very concerned about the long-term prospects of their defense after losing defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt to Oregon. However, the Buffaloes have remained very stingy. Colorado sits in the eighth spot of the Pac-12 Power Rankings, because there is a logjam up in front of them. They will need to show more offensive firepower to be competitive it the pac-12 South.
Week 3 opponent: vs. Northern Colorado Bears
The Utes knocked the BYU Cougars off 19-13. The Utes are putting up pretty good-looking stats. Darren Carrington might very well end up the number one receiver in the Pac-12. Through the first two games he has amassed 17 receptions for 256 yards. Utah’s defense has been great through two games. The Utes will have to find the end zone more often if they want to have any chance at the Pac-12 south title.
Week 3 opponent: vs. San Jose State
It only took four hours for Washington State to finally beat Boise State 47-44 in double overtime. Knocking off the Broncos is a solid win for the Cougars. Even though they go the win, they now may have a quarterback controversy. Luke Falk came in the season with the potential to be a first round draft pick.
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There is no way anyone would think he would be benched. However, he was. Mike Leach took him out after being ineffective, and replaced him with Tyler Hillinski. The Cougars will be hard pressed to move up the Power Rankings until their quarterback situation is settled.
Week 3 opponent: vs. Oregon State
The Ducks beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 42-35. Oregon was up at halftime 42-14. They nearly let the Cornhuskers come all the way back and tie the game. This game is a clear indication that the Ducks are better, but still a huge work in progress. It was encouraging to see the offense be explosive and nearly unstoppable in the first half. The second half was discouraging because the offense was stagnant and turned the ball over twice. I was relatively pleased with the defense, because they held on to the lead despite the offense making it tough on them.
Also, big props to the Ducks who wore Stomp Out Cancer uniforms to benefit Portland’s OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
Week 3 opponent: vs. Wyoming
USC beat Stanford 42-24. This game was a good news, bad news game for the Cardinal. The good news is: Stanford picked off Sam Darnold twice, ran the football well, and didn’t turn the football over. The bad news is: Stanford allowed fout touchdown passes by Darnold, barely completed over 50 percent of their own passes, and gave up 307 yards rushing. I am totally rethinking what I believed about the Stanford defense. They didn’t look as physical and stout as years past. David Shaw’s team may tumble down the power rankings if they do not play better next week.
Week 3 opponent: vs. San Diego State
Congratulations Washington, you beat Montana 63-7. There is literally nothing to say about the Huskies right now. We have not learned much in their first two games. First, they played Rutgers, followed that up with Montana, and have Fresno State in Week 3. Starting the season 3-0 is important but it sucks for fans when top teams have no competitive non-conference games. The Huskies will remain flapping in the Power Rankings wind until Week 4 when they play a decent football team.
Week 3 opponent: vs. Fresno State
UCLA smashed Hawaii 56-23. Following up that thrilling comeback against Texas A&M with a good performance was important for the Bruins. Teams often have huge emotional let downs after games like that. However, the Bruins did not. They were able to dominate. Josh Rosen put on a scintillating performance against Hawaii. He only had three incompletions while passing for 329 yards and five touchdowns. UCLA has a chance to give USC a run for their money for the No. 1 spot in the power rankings over the next few weeks.
Week 3 opponent: at Memphis
USC dominated Stanford 42-24. I was truly impressed with the Trojans offensive line against Stanford. They controlled the line of scrimmage and opened up nice holes for the running backs. Both Carr and Jones II rushed for over 100 yards. USC’s pass defense was also impressive versus the Cardinal.
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Their run game still needs a little cleaning up, but that’s just nit picking. The only real area of concern is turnovers. Sam Darnold has thrown two interceptions in each of the Trojans first two game. He will need to protect the football better if the Trojans want to be in the top four of the College Football Playoff.
Week 3 opponent: vs. Texas