Marsh Power PAC Rankings - Week 9

[David Marsh]

Oh boy this last weekend created some big changes in the Pac-12. As always please disagree with me as it is always a good conversation. 

 

1. Oregon (7-1) (4-1) - Well this week our Ducks are making this easy on me. They are far and away the best team in the Pac-12 right now and their offense is looking like it is finally coming together. They get the Huskies next and we all would love to see them leave Seattle with a big victory. If the offense and defense ever get in sync at the same time this could be a terrifying team. 

 

2. Utah (5-3) (4-1) - Utah is getting better as the weeks go by. Their overall record doesn't look so good but they really have been the most dominant team in the Pac-12 South. However, they their only conference loss comes from Oregon State to date and that does tell us a lot about how weak the south may be on the whole this year. 

 

3. Oregon State (5-3) (3-2) - Does Oregon State deserve its place at No. 3? Maybe, maybe not, they played very poorly at Cal on Saturday and really weren't ever in that game. Cal is rising pretty fast right now. Oregon State still has plenty of games left to play with Colorado and Stanford the next two up which they should walk away with two wins. Then they have Arizona State, at home which should give them a major advantage and then they finish the year against Oregon. I can see Oregon State going 3-1 in their last four games of the year.  

 

4. Washington State (5-4) (4-2) - Washington State needed to do something to impress me to move up my power rankings and the did just that. Maybe this team doesn't need those five coaches who were fired? Or maybe they just caught Arizona State with their pants down and took advantage of the situation. With that win over ASU though it is really making Washington State reconsider how much they need Rolovich. 

 

5. Arizona State (5-3) (3-2) - Arizona State didn't look good against Washington State by any stretch of the imagination. Honestly, I am conflicted whether they belong here in the rankings at all. However, the Pac-12 only has one bowl eligible team at this time, Oregon, and something has to be said for the the teams that only need one more win in order to make a bowl game being ranked above those who may miss a bowl game entirely. Arizona State beat UCLA in a head-to-head so they get the nod over UCLA for now. 

 

6.   UCLA (5-4) (3-3) - UCLA has come completely off the rails. KT and company completely trashed DTR and it resulted in DTR not playing at all against Utah and it showed. UCLA had a few good drives but the defense was run off the field and UCLA largely didn't look competitive. UCLA should win against their remaining schedule and make a bowl game as they have Colorado, USC and Cal left. UCLA is a better team than all of those but maybe Cal bites them as Cal is starting to peak right now. 

 

7.  California (3-5) (2-3) - Cal has been a team all year long where they have come up sort by a score. They beat a good Oregon State team at home and the previous week they beat Colorado. They are on a two game winning streak and they get Arizona, USC, Stanford, and UCLA to finish the year. Right now if this Cal team keeps up the pace they are looking at winning at least three of the four if not finishing the season undefeated. 

 

8. Washington (4-4) (3-2) - Can Washington make a bowl game this year? Maybe... they have Oregon, Arizona State, Colorado, and Washington State left on the year. I see Washington losing to Oregon and probably Arizona State, unless Arizona State continues their decent which definitely looks like that is their current trajectory. Colorado is probably the only sure win left on Washington's schedule though if Colorado plays the way they did against Oregon they it could be a anyone's game. Additionally, if Washington State continues the way they have been they will beat Washington. I am just not quite sure what to make of Washington State still but for the moment they look good. 

 

9. USC (4-4) (3-3) - USC lost their star receiver Drake London and that is the reason more than anything why I have dropped them this week. They beat Arizona but Arizona gave them a spirited game. Can USC make a bowl game? Its possible but without London that looks less and less likely. They might pick up one more win but unless something more disastrous happens to another team this could be as many wins as USC gets this year. 

 

10. Stanford (3-5) (2-4) - This Stanford team is bad and sadly this is the team that Oregon bottomed out and lost to this year. Their remaining schedule is tough with Utah, Oregon State, Cal, and Notre Dame. It is unlikely for Stanford to win another game this year. Even with all that said they will only drop a spot in these rankings if Colorado manages to beat anyone on their remaining schedule. 

 

11. Colorado (2-6) (1-4) - Colorado fired their offensive line coach last week and that may have helped them. They played far more aggressively and had some success. Oregon's defense was lacking due to injuries and half of Colorado's points came in the 4th quarter when Oregon was going deep into the bench but still, Colorado has some life and they might steal a game from someone but that is highly unlikely due to their remaining schedule. 

 

12. Arizona (0-8) (0-5) - Arizona will sit at the bottom where they belong this year. They are putting up a fight but just vastly out gunned at this point. Again they may steal a game but that is looking less-and-less likely at this time. 

 

Well folks there it is... please agree or disagree with me as you please. Always fun to debate where these teams should rank. 

[Charles Fischer]

Great stuff David, but I would politely disagree about No. 3 as I would put the Cougars there for two reasons: 1) they are looking darned impressive right now, and 2) they beat Oregon State two weeks ago.

[David Marsh]

I was really torn... 

 

Do the cougs keep it rolling or was the ASU win was a fluke. With so much coaching turnover in such a sort period of time it is really difficult to judge. 

[Charles Fischer]

Here is the Sports Illustrated Power Pac-12 Rankings. Fun to ponder...

 

I think Washington State beating the Beavs and ASU...is pretty impressive.  The Cougs could beat us.

 

                Don't you DARE say that!

[1Ducker1]

Losing to the Cougs would be going back to the drawing board--. The Cougs look kind of good because the PAC is so bad

Edited November 2, 2021 by 1Ducker1

[Jon Joseph]

Great stuff! With the same record, head to head has to matter. OS ST ahead of Utah.

[David Marsh]

On 11/2/2021 at 7:14 AM, Jon Joseph said:

Great stuff! With the same record, head to head has to matter. OS ST ahead of Utah.

And if that's the case next week that will be reflected... but Utah had a dominant win over UCLA and Oregon State looked pretty lost against Cal. I feel that has to stand for something as well. 

 

The Pac-12 isn't making power rankings easy this year. Basically Oregon and Arizona are the only two easy placements at this time. After that it is a complete mess. 

[Jon Joseph]

On 11/2/2021 at 1:50 PM, David Marsh said:

And if that's the case next week that will be reflected... but Utah had a dominant win over UCLA and Oregon State looked pretty lost against Cal. I feel that has to stand for something as well. 

 

The Pac-12 isn't making power rankings easy this year. Basically Oregon and Arizona are the only two easy placements at this time. After that it is a complete mess. 

 

Spot on. Easier to rank success in relation to success than junk vs junk. OR ST ? Not a band of road warriors.

[Haywarduck]

On 11/2/2021 at 10:50 AM, David Marsh said:

 

The Pac-12 isn't making power rankings easy this year. Basically Oregon and Arizona are the only two easy placements at this time. After that it is a complete mess. 

This!