Pac-12 Football Power Rankings, Week 14: Utah makes playoff case

Last week, two of the top three Pac-12 football teams lost. So where does everyone sit now heading into rivalry week?

Another week of Pac-12 football, and finally, we see clearly who the top team of the conference is. Oregon was the front-runner to break the Pac-12 trend of missing the College Football Playoff, but after a thrilling loss to Arizona State, Utah is the only team that remains.

Many pundits predicted the rise of Utah to the top of the conference back in the offseason, with one of the strongest defensive lines in college football, a leader at the quarterback position and Zack Moss, one of the best running backs in college football. This team stacked, and while a lot of people haven’t taken the time to watch them, they can beat anyone in the country.

Utah has definitely earned its place at the top of the conference. And maybe, the College Football Playoff.

Here are the latest Pac-12 rankings.

The continuation of the season from hell for David Shaw, this Stanford team is just abysmal to watch, as they are the second worst offensive team in the conference. Losing to your rival is never good, but giving up 14 points in the fourth quarter for Cal is terrible given the state of Cal’s offense. Rough season for the Trees, and they officially won’t play in a bowl game for the first time in David Shaw’s tenure.

This team hasn’t shown much this season, but they’re just awful. They can’t play defense, the offense has no creativity to it. They’re just not as fun of a football team as they should be with the players on the roster. Hope they figure it out next season, as Kevin Sumlin is firmly on the hot seat.

Two wins in a row now for the Buffaloes, after losing five straight. What once looked like a potentially promising season has kind of gone by the wayside, as the offense completely fell flat once they hit Pac-12 play.

Big game, and probably the catch of the season last week for Laviska Shenault, as he had seven catches, 100 yards and the unreal touchdown. He had 41 percent of Steven Montez’s completed passes in the win, and will surely be a first round pick in the NFL Draft.

UCLA has shown where they are these past couple of weeks: good enough to beat up on a few of the lower rated Pac-12 teams, but not quite good enough to step up to the giants.

Outside of the weird win against Washington State, UCLA hasn’t really swung its weight this season. Still, if I were to bet one team to make a leap next season, it’d be the Bruins and that strong offensive attacks. Dorian Thompson Robinson just has too many mind-boggling plays combined with flashes of brilliance.