Marsh Power PAC Rankings - Week 10

[David Marsh]

Well the Pac-12 is making this activity more difficult every week it seems. Again this isn't about pure record but about how good a team is doing and if they were to play anyone else in the Pac-12 how would they fair. Records do count and matter but a team like Utah started out pretty rocky this year but have since really turned it up and look a whole lot better than how they started. So keep that in mind and as always I love the debate and discussion so please make comments!

 

1. Oregon (8-1) (5-1) - The rain, wind, cold and Huskies couldn't stop Oregon so they remain at the top. A lot on this forum has been said about the Ducks so I will leave it at that. They have WSU next, followed by Utah and then Oregon State. No easy games left on the schedule. Also of note... every other Pac-12 team has at-least three losses.

 

2. Utah (6-3) (5-1) - The last best hope for Oregon to score a win over a ranked opponent this season. Utah has been surging for the past few weeks and their show down with Oregon in Salt Lake this year will definitely be a big one and probably the preview for the Pac-12 title game. The big problem for Oregon here is would a 5 loss Utah team be ranked? Yes, I am implying Oregon beats Utah twice this season.

 

3. Washington State (5-4) (4-2) - Washington State was the big winner of the Bye week. They moved up because everyone else moved down. They still have a lot to prove on the field and they will have the chance to do so against Oregon. Granted... we all hope Oregon crushes them as they should.

 

4. Arizona State (6-3) (4-2) - I guess Arizona State goes here... they haven't looked good for awhile but this is really the point in the list where everything is a bit of a crap shoot. The Pac-12 should really change their tag line "the Conference of Champions" to the "Conference of Cannibals" because that is about right.

 

5. UCLA (5-4) (3-3) - UCLA like WSU wins the Bye week. They are here because else who should be in the top half of the Pac-12 looked really bad this week.

 

6. Oregon State (5-4) (3-3) - Oregon State lost to a re-surging Colorado team. They shouldn't have lost but they did. They have Stanford up next week which will be their most important game of the season from the simple reason of it is their last easy game left on the schedule and a win will result in them going bowling for the first time since 2013. This is a must win game for the Beavers. They follow up Stanford with Arizona State (at home) and then Oregon. ASU in Corvallis gives the Beavers a nice advantage but Stanford is their last easy shot at going bowling.

 

7. Washington (4-5) (3-3) - Our first team with an outright losing record. Washington has a whole lot of problems but they are the best team in the bottom half of the Pac-12. They have a good defense though have a non-existent offense. This team will be lucky to go bowling this year but it is possible. Also Washington sits perfectly here with their record. Everyone above them have beaten them and everyone below them have lost to them. So Washington sits perfectly at No. 7.

 

8. USC (4-5) (3-4) - USC is a team with two quarterbacks which means they are a team without a quarterback. Whenever a team goes to rotating two quarterbacks into the game on a regular basis you know that team is lost. I have a morbid fascination with USC, they are quintessentially the fallen Empire, they were once great and the commentators often talk about how great they were but those days have long since passed. Though in sports those days can come again... however, against ASU USC's problems were on full display. They have no offensive line, they have no real run game, they have quarterbacks but neither is worthy of being the starter and their defense is at best ok. USC is a complete rebuild no matter what anyone says, there is a reason not many really want this job.

 

9. Colorado (3-6) (2-4) - This team has moved the most in one week. Colorado may have finally figured things out offensively and it was first on display against Oregon. They have scored more touch downs in the last two games then they have the entire season combined by a long shot. Colorado is a long shot for making a bowl game with UCLA, Washington and Utah left on their schedule and they would need to win out to make the post-season but I wouldn't be surprised if they win one or two of those games in all honesty but they'd probably be lucky to win just one more this year.

 

10. California (3-6) (2-4) - California had a great chance to finish strong and make a bowl game but they blew it against Arizona. They may still make a bowl game but after such a strong performance against Oregon State last week they really played an awful game against Arizona. They have the California gauntlet to finish the season with USC, Stanford, and UCLA up next. I see one maybe two wins for Cal on the remaining schedule but that's about it. However, this is the Pac-12 so surprises are completely possible.

 

11. Stanford (3-6) (2-5) - Stanford dropped because Colorado won, pretty simple there. The Pac-12 is very odd this year where every team above Stanford still has hope to go bowling this year but Stanford does not. With three games left on the schedule it is mathematically possible but with games against OSU, Cal, and Notre Dame that is unlikely. Notre Dame alone will probably crush any hope out of Stanford this year. Stanford will not go bowling this year and I can say that pretty safely.

 

12. Arizona (1-8) (1-5) - You read that right there is one win for Arizona. I was tempted to move them up past Stanford but those seven other losses killed any hope of that. Arizona has no path to make it to the post-season but this team is beaming with hope as odd as that sounds. Arizona was a bad team before Jedd Fisch took over, so it is no surprise they are still bad. However, this Arizona team won a game this season and came close to winning several others. This team is heading in the right direction and has a better coaching staff than many of the teams above them. Give this team a few years and they may be competing for the Pac-12 South.

 

On the whole this week was just insane. The upsets in the top 10, the near upsets, and the Pac-12's cannibalization where Oregon State lost to Colorado and Cal lost to Arizona. The Pac-12 may be far from a good conference but it is also by far the most entertaining and the most competitive.

[Duck1984]

Great analysis of a complicated subject @David Marsh.

 

When a game result doesn’t make sense, can we chalk it up to the comfort of playing at home?