Pac-12 Football Power Rankings, Week 13: Washington takes top spot
By Dana Becker
Despite missing a bowl game for the first time in years, and a three-game losing streak that was part of a 1-5 slide to end the season, USC will stick with Clay Helton as head coach. Athletic director Lynn Swann shocked many when he made the decision quickly after a loss to Notre Dame.
To say the Trojans were green this year would be an understatement. Freshman JT Daniels was the starting quarterback in all but one game, as he threw for 2,672 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Junior Michael Pittman Jr. and freshman Amon-Ra St. Brown both went over the 700-yard mark as wide receivers.
USC loses senior running back Aca’Cedric Ware, but will return Vavae Malepeai, who had eight rushing touchdowns, and Stephen Carr, who was once a top-ranked recruit. Four losses this year came by a touchdown or less, including three straight to conclude the season vs. California, UCLA and the Fighting Irish.
A missed field goal to end the game gave Herm Edwards a win over in-state rival Arizona and pushed Arizona State’s record to 7-5, including five league victories, in his first year as head coach.
The Sun Devils overcame a slow start in which they were just 3-4 after back-to-back losses to Colorado and Stanford. Eno Benjamin had the kind of breakout season most expected, rushing for 1,524 yards and 15 touchdowns. And while Manny Wilkins‘ numbers were down, he had a strong 19-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Arizona State could have one of the better running back-wide receiver duos in the nation if N’Keal Harry opts to return instead of heading to the NFL. Harry, a junior, had 73 receptions for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns.
Despite sitting at the moment with less points scored in conference games than allowed, California has a chance to finish over .500 and win eight games when they take on Stanford this week in a rescheduled contest.
The Golden Bears are coming off back-to-back wins, including a triumph over Colorado to get them to 7-4 on the year. They are 4-2 at home this season and appear to have settled on Chase Garbers as the starting quarterback.
Garbers, a freshman, has started the last five games, going 4-1 during that time including wins over Washington and USC. Garbers has completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,216 yards with 13 touchdowns. Patrick Laird has a chance to reach the 1,000-yard mark, sitting at 816 with two games to go.
At home this year, Oregon has looked like the Oregon of old, winning six of seven games. Away from Eugene, though, the Ducks have struggled, going just 2-3 on the year.
Also, of all the teams in the Pac-12 who have a winning record, Oregon has allowed the most points at 324 on the year and 264 in the conference alone. There is also the Justin Herbert question, as the junior battled several injuries this year and could be a top draft pick in the spring.
Herbert threw for just under 3,000 yards with 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. CJ Verdell is only 25 yards from reaching 1,000 on the year, with Travis Dye adding another 721.