Marsh Power PAC Rankings - Week 5

[David Marsh]

This week I feel the need to restrain myself from putting "Pac-12 Refs" in as No. 1 because it feels like they are the biggest threat to any team in the conference for now. This week has been difficult for me to judge so here are my Pac-12 Power Rankings for Week 5. 

 

1. Oregon State (4-1, 2-0) - Yes, Beaver Fans you deserve the No.1 spot this week. The Beavers beat Washington for the first time in... what seems like forever and they are 2-0 in Pac-12 play and continuing their upswing. I don't think they will make it out of conference play unscathed but for now they can live high at the top of the Pac-12 North. At the very least it should make for an interesting Civil War Game this year. To my college Mr. Z, enjoy this while it lasts! 

 

2. Arizona State (4-1, 2-0) - I still don't know what to make of this team in truth. They are 2-0 in Pac-12 play so far having defeated Colorado (not too impressive) and UCLA (more impressive) but this team still feels overrated. We will just have to wait and see how well they do in the long run. 

 

3. Oregon (4-1, 1-1) - Ughh... I don't really feel good about putting Oregon here but at the same time losing to the psudo No.1 of the refs makes their loss look less bad. Did Oregon deserve to win at Stanford? No. Did they deserve to lose? Possibly. Did they deserve to lose to the refs on a highly questionable call on what was the last play of the game? Absolutely not. Factor in losing to the refs, and the amount of injuries this team has had to overcome to date and sitting at No.3 in the Pac-12 feels ok. There is a lot of the coaching staff is going to need to do to make this team a contender for the Pac-12 Championship, namely fixing the QB situation but that will be determined the next game. 

 

4. Stanford (4-2, 2-1) - Should Stanford be ahead of Oregon? Maybe, probably but again read what I said above about the refs and the last call of the game. This team is good and they are getting players back from injuries. They will contend for the Pac-12 North but if they stumble, Oregon has a clear shot to over take them. 

 

5. UCLA (3-2, 1-1) - UCLA lost to ASU though beat Stanford, they also lost to Fresno State. They have their own set of problems to work out and actually look kinda like a mirror of Oregon where they have a good run game and short passing game but seem to lack that x-factor to get them to the next level. Their defense might be better than Oregon's but no one in the PAC has forced more turnovers to date. Still difficult to determine just how good this team is. 

 

6. Utah (2-2, 1-0) - Utah had a bye last week so they are holding here for now. 

 

7. USC (3-2, 2-2) - This team looks middle of the road. They beat a Colorado team that doesn't have any offense. USC lost to Oregon State, who are currently No.1 and Stanford. They have yet to play and beat anyone above them on this list so this feels solid. 

 

8. Washington (2-3, 1-1) - Washington has had two road games under Jimmy Lake and two road losses. This last one to the Beavers. Washington has improved on offense but they are still a far cry from being effective.  

 

9.  Washington State (2-3, 1-2) - Washington State scored a win against Cal. They also appear to have far more offense than Colorado. The offense is a far cry from the Mike Leach Air-Raid offense that was the thorn in the side of the Pac-12 and their defense has some bright spots but not enough to make up for the woeful lack of offense. However, this may be the year that Washington State may win the Apple Cup against Washington.They may be sorting out some of their problems but beating a team that has only one win of the season isn't exactly a resounding victory. 

 

10. Cal (1-4, 0-2) - Cal is bad, but they didn't lose to Washington State by that much so they really only deserve to be ranked only slightly below Washington State. This team needs an offense to make some noise, but their defense has fallen off a cliff since DeRuyter left. Cal's mission at this point is to try to get a win against a Division One program. 

 

10. Colorado (1-4, 0-2) - Colorado and Cal are honestly tied both are bad but for different reason. I know a tie is a bit of a cop-out because this is a power ranking but at this time I think Colorado and Cal are equally bad. If the two teams were to play tomorrow that game may very well in a 0-0 game heading into overtime. Colorado probably has a better defense than Cal but Cal has a better offense and vice-versa. At the end of the day I would say these two cancel each other out. However, on October 23rd these two teams play each other so we will get an answer to this question. 

 

12. Arizona (0-4, 0-1) - Arizona had a bye. Last week I had them at No. 11 this week as they didn't play and Washington State showed some life I let WSU jump them. Arizona may be better than the two teams above but we will just have to wait and see. 

 

Please feel free to argue with me. Am I too much of an Oregon homer for putting Oregon at No. 3 or is that sorta fair? Am I just too bitter after the Reffing fiasco Saturday night? Well... that's probably true. Here's to hoping Oregon gets their act together so we return to our rightful place at the top of the PAC. 

[Charles Fischer]

I think ASU's victory over UCLA is bigger than OSU over UW, thus I would put ASU over OSU.  I also think I would put the Bruins ahead of Stanford.

 

I have no idea where to put Oregon...

 

[30Duck]

Agreed. ASU certainly has a claim to No.1, but I watched the Beavers win, so that get's something. As far as Oregon and Stanford, Oregon, I feel like Oregon lost it more than Stanford won it. 

[Jon Joseph]

Great take. Thanks.

 

I'd have ASU at 1. They L at BYU only happened because of undisciplined Sun Devil play. ASU outplayed BYU in every respect. ASU's last drive in Provo resembled that Oregon's Keystone Kops last drive on The Farm.

 

On Saturday, ASU looked both bigger and faster than UCLA. I was expecting a close game but ASU controlled the 2nd half for an 'easy' win.

 

Stanford comes to Tempe Friday night and I think ASU will make the Ducks L on The Farm look even worse?

 

USC plays at ASU. And ASU's trip to Salt Lake City looks far less daunting than in the preseason.

 

ASU plays at both UW and at OR ST down the road and on the road. Chance to see the Herms going against your week's #1 Oregon State. Will weather be a factor?

 

ASU takes care of Stanford on Friday and it, not the Ducks, will likely have the best odds to make the Final 4? With BYU ranked 10, the loss at BYU was a 'good' loss. Far better than the Ducks loss last Saturday. 

 

ASU is 22 in the AP. But if it runs the table, ASU will be ranked far higher than this by the PO committee on 11/2.

[Charles Fischer]

On 10/5/2021 at 9:08 AM, Jon Joseph said:

ASU is 22 in the AP. But if it runs the table, ASU will be ranked far higher than this by the PO committee on 11/2.

 

Exemplary research for the community and commentary....again.  Thanks Jon.

 

[David Marsh]

ASU is a good team... I'm just not convince how good. There is a good argument that they should be No.1 over OSU right now. I just see a Beaver team playing with more passion than ASU. If the two teams played tomorrow I feel OSU would win that game.

 

ASU has a better roster on paper and we will just have to see how they continue to do moving forward. 

 

The Pac-12 this year is as dangerous as ever... 

[Haywarduck]

Well done and the beavs win against sc in LA was huge too. The beavs are riding a wave, when it crashes, and can they ride it out are the questions.

[Jon Joseph]

On 10/5/2021 at 1:43 PM, David Marsh said:

ASU is a good team... I'm just not convince how good. There is a good argument that they should be No.1 over OSU right now. I just see a Beaver team playing with more passion than ASU. If the two teams played tomorrow I feel OSU would win that game.

 

ASU has a better roster on paper and we will just have to see how they continue to do moving forward. 

 

The Pac-12 this year is as dangerous as ever... 

 

BTW, as I should have noted earlier, I love your thought of ranking the refs #1! The cannibal conference on display. Take Ls against teams OOC and then eat our own!

 

Refs #1? Think this observation was made by a Forum fan previously? If it was Bama playing at MS ST on Saturday, would that PI call have been made to extend the game?

 

This is really fun stuff to debate and consider David.

 

Arizona State plays at Oregon State on November 20. If both run the table until 11/20, this could be a game with national and PO consequences?

 

The Beavers loss at Purdue was not a 'good loss.' Nevertheless, ASU, Oregon and Oregon State are still in the PO hunt.

 

Like the Pac-12, the B1G teams will be putting the hurt on one another. Big drop in the SEC after Bama/UGA and I don't see Cincinnati running the table?

 

And root for Sark and UT to take down OK Saturday.

[David Marsh]

On 10/5/2021 at 11:14 AM, Jon Joseph said:

Arizona State plays at Oregon State on November 20. If both run the table until 11/20, this could be a game with national and PO consequences?

 

ASU maybe... they have enough hype to get them into the conversation. OSU, not a chance, they don't have enough media support to boost them into the conversation and even though we don't want to admit it at times, the media power will determine whether or not they can get into the playoff. Cinci stands a better chance than Oregon State at getting into the Playoff. 

[Jon Joseph]

Good call.

 

Whether ND is all that or not a W in South Bend carries a lot of weight. Look no further than ND dropping only to 14 with a close W at FSU and another close W vs Toledo.

 

But I think ND is looking at 1 more L at least? 

 

SC's passing attack is potent and the ND O is not all that. The final score at Wisconsin is deceptive. WI gifted ND 3 4th Q TDs after ND was trailing in the 4th Q. Michigan's win in Madison on Saturday was more impressive than was ND's win in Chicago. And at Va Tech a team that already beat UNC at home will not be an easy out for the Domers.

 

No matter what the Beavs do the rest of the way the L at Purdue is an albatross. I don't see it happening but in theory, the Beavs at 13-1 would at least have to be in the discussion?