Marsh Power Rankings (Week 6)

[David Marsh]

This week's snap shot into how I view the Pac-12. Do you agree or disagree? 

 

12. Colorado (0-5) - Colorado is bad and that isn't going to change this year. They had a bye week so they didn't lose, good for them. 

 

11. Stanford (1-4) - They lost to Oregon State in the final minute at home. Stanford players really seem to have an attitude problem and watching parts of the Oregon State-Stanford game it became even more clear that refs really don't throw many flags at Stanford and the players know it. They seemed to rough up Oregon State players, and get away with it with far more regularity than the other way around. As far as I'm concerned Stanford can rot at the bottom of this list. They don't play Colorado this year so we won't see the battle of the worst teams in the Pac-12 this year. 

10. Arizona (3-3) - I will be honest, I love where this team is going and I think Jed Fisch is going to be a brilliant head coach. They, however, are not there yet. This team is playing spirited football and are not giving up and they have a dangerous offense. Their defense is what is letting them down right now, especially their rush defense. They will realistically have the opportunity for two more wins this season at Washington and against Arizona State, otherwise their schedule does not line up well for them. 

 

9. Oregon State (4-2) - It feels difficult to put Oregon State higher even though I moved them down from last week and they won. If they figure out quarterback they are going to rocket up this list. They have a solid defense, a strong run game, and their receivers aren't too bad, but they do drop more passes than they should. They get the quarterback thing figured out, and this is a team that belongs at the top half of the PAC but quarterback is too important of a position to be uncertain about.  

 

8. Washington (4-2) - Washington has a good offense but their defense has a lot of holes. They are also still a bad road team. We will see what happens this week when they get Arizona at home. It will probably be a win as Arizona's defense is pretty bad but if it's a shootout--it's anyone's game. 

 

7.  Arizona State (2-4) - ASU feels too high on this list I'll be honest but they are playing with a fire about them right now. They have an offense that can score some points and a defense that can get a few stops. Are they good? Not really, but I think they are dangerous and coming off a win against Washington they are going to continue to be dangerous. Or they fall flat on their faces, and flame out... haha more fire jokes about the Sun Devils! I don't expect them to stay this high but at this moment in time I feel they are probably here as I feel they can beat anyone below them after last Saturday's showing. 

 

6. Cal (3-2) - Cal had a bye so not much to say about them right now. They are below Washington State (spoilers!) because they lost to Washington State the previous week. Cal is better than they have been in a while but they still have a lot to prove. 

 

5. Washington State (4-2) - I was disappointed in Washington State against USC. They felt like the team that could take down the Trojans, and if they were home then maybe they would have done so but they didn't. This is still a good team and a team that can probably beat everyone below them in the conference rankings. 

 

4. Utah (4-2) - I thought Utah was going to beat UCLA, but they couldn't hang in LA. Utah is not the team they were last year. They are a good team but they have holes. They get USC at home this week so this is an opportunity to prove themselves. However, as it stands right now--Utah is not in control of their own destiny when it comes to the Pac-12 Championship game. 

 

3. USC (6-0) - I suppose I need to give USC some respect here because they keep managing to win. They have athletes and those athletes have allowed them to defeat teams with inferior athletes, but it hasn't been pretty. USC has been good enough to win so far, but can they keep doing it? This reminds me of USC's 2020 team that went undefeated until the Pac-12 Championship game when they had to play a team with comparable athletes and they fell apart, this would be when they played Oregon and lost. It feels like USC is one misstep away from losing. 

 

2. UCLA (6-0) - Well UCLA looked suspect early in the year but they have pulled it together so far. The biggest reason they are number two on this list is because they haven't had a real road game yet with a hostile crowd. They have an offense that can score points, but can they run the ball against Oregon that has the best run defense in the Pac-12?  Oregon's secondary is starting to put it together as well.

 

Then on the other side of the ball--do they have the athletes needed to break through Oregon's Great Green Wall of Offensive linemen? No one has gotten pressure on Bo Nix yet this year, including Georgia even though the score for that game isn't pretty. 

 

1. Oregon (5-1) - Am I an Oregon homer here? Probably... but Oregon is a different team than the one that got clobbered by Georgia. Oregon has also been tested on the road and are the better team for it. Oregon gets a chance to truly earn this top spot next week when they square off against UCLA. 

[Charles Fischer]

I have to agree with your logic all the way through, as I did not consider some of the points you made--good stuff.  Thanks!

[Duck 1972]

Great job David. Very precise, logical, and analytical observations. I agree with the home/away thoughts. It's so true you have to have the ability to have been tested in the least favorable situations and then pass that test to be considered the best team in the conference.

 

Go Ducks Fly High beat dem Bruins. One game at a time til you are the champion.

[Steven A]

On 10/10/2022 at 7:19 PM, David Marsh said:

They had a bye week so they didn't lose, good for them.

They lost their coach 

[David Marsh]

On 10/11/2022 at 8:00 PM, Steven A said:

They lost their coach 

They didn't lose anything new... lets go with that... they lost their coach in a previous week.

[SoGaDawg]

I agree with Charles, your logic is sound.  I appreciate the points you’ve made.  Great post!

 

Riley does seem to have USC heading in the right direction, yet while they certainly have some ballers (especially on offense) I don’t think they are quite yet equipped to be dominate this season.

 

UCLA I’m not sure about.  Chip has that offense looking strong.  My gut tells me they won’t keep it up all season.  Their offense puts them in every game but it will not win them every game IMO.

 

As for the Ducks, I think they have the most potential in the PAC.  As you said they aren’t the same team that played GA.  On O the line is making headway and the RBs are responding tremendously to that great o-line play.  Bo hasn’t been too shabby either, he is showing his talent and playing with heart.  I honestly think this team can be special if the defense keeps improving.  They have started playing with a little swagger, and it’s fun to watch.  Long way to go, but the potential is there.  Got a bye week to get ready for the Bruins.  One of you guys buy Chip a beer in a few weeks, he deserves it and my guess is, he will need it!

 

GO DUCKS!!!

Edited October 12, 2022 by SoGaDawg

[DazeNconfused]

USC two weeks in a row were in close game at halftime. Then they came out and won the second half - I saw good coaching adjustments by the DC Grinch.

[30Duck]

My main adjustment would be No.5 Oregon State, who but for 4 INT's, would have taken down USC. They corrected their QB situation, and have a W on the road, albeit against Stanford, in a thriller

So. No.12 Colorado

No.11 Stanford

No.10 Arizona *

No.9 Washington*

No.8 ASU

No.7 Cal

No.6 WSU

No.5 OSU

No.4 USC

No.3 Utah

No.2 UCLA

No.1 Oregon

 

* Could switch next week

 

[David Marsh]

On 10/12/2022 at 10:30 AM, 30Duck said:

They corrected their QB situation, and have a W on the road, albeit against Stanford, in a thriller

I think there is merit to moving Oregon State up. Right now I don't feel they have fixed their QB problem. I think they are still trying to fix it and it is an ongoing process. 

 

Oregon State gets Washington State this next week and or will be another opportunity to prove themselves. 

 

I need to see they have the quarterback figured out better. Their recievers stepped up in a big way against Stanford that's for sure and that can help the quarterback problem. 

[Mic]

On 10/10/2022 at 7:19 PM, David Marsh said:

This week's snap shot into how I view the Pac-12. Do you agree or disagree? 

 

9. Oregon State (4-2) - It feels difficult to put Oregon State higher even though I moved them down from last week and they won. If they figure out quarterback they are going to rocket up this list. They have a solid defense, a strong run game, and their receivers aren't too bad, but they do drop more passes than they should. They get the quarterback thing figured out, and this is a team that belongs at the top half of the PAC but quarterback is too important of a position to be uncertain about.  

 

8. Washington (4-2) - Washington has a good offense but their defense has a lot of holes. They are also still a bad road team. We will see what happens this week when they get Arizona at home. It will probably be a win as Arizona's defense is pretty bad but if it's a shootout--it's anyone's game. 

 

7.  Arizona State (2-4) - ASU feels too high on this list I'll be honest but they are playing with a fire about them right now. They have an offense that can score some points and a defense that can get a few stops. Are they good? Not really, but I think they are dangerous and coming off a win against Washington they are going to continue to be dangerous. Or they fall flat on their faces, and flame out... haha more fire jokes about the Sun Devils! I don't expect them to stay this high but at this moment in time I feel they are probably here as I feel they can beat anyone below them after last Saturday's showing. 

Here I stumble with your analysis. I'd flip these three.

[30Duck]

On 10/12/2022 at 10:36 AM, David Marsh said:

Right now I don't feel they have fixed their QB problem. I think they are still trying to fix it and it is an ongoing process. 

It's definitely a process. I saw replacing the QB who threw 5 INT's in 6 quarters as a very productive step. The new guy isn't great, but as much as the Beavs can fix their QB, they have. I don't think the comeback against Stanford happens with Nolan.

[Steven A]

On 10/10/2022 at 7:19 PM, David Marsh said:

It feels like USC is one misstep away from losing. 

Yes, and thanks to the legal "Bush push" against the Beavs, they are.