Marsh Power Rankings (week 9)

[David Marsh]

In a big shock... a few small changes this week but not really anything dramatic in terms of changes. 

 

12. Colorado (1-7) - And the loser of the Garbage Bowl for worst team in the Pac-12 is... COLORADO! Though they did put up a respectable effort but they are just a really bad team this year. 

 

11. Arizona State (3-5) - Arizona State defeated Colorado but that's not saying much. But the good news for the Sun Devils is they can hold their heads up knowing they are not the worst team in the Pac-12 this year. 

 

10. Stanford (3-5) - I moved Cal ahead of Stanford here mostly because of key injuries. Stanford is now on their third string runningback and its showing. Stanford in the transfer portal era has struggled but what is even more clear now is that they really don't have any depth at all. 

 

9. Cal (3-5) - It's close between Cal and Stanford which is worse but I think Cal barely has the edge here. 

 

8. Arizona (3-5) - Arizona has an offense that's for sure. They still don't have a defense but they have a dynamic and dangerous offense. Arizona is absolutely on the right track right now and it may seem rediculous but I do think Arizona may need to give Jed Fisch a raise by the end of the season to ensure he doesn't go elsewhere. Arizona won't make a bowl game this year but I would be shocked if they don't make one next year with the way this team is improving. They just need to get a defense and they would honestly move up about 2 spots on these rankings. 

 

7. Washington State (4-4) - I have so many questions about this team now. They have suffered some injuries that's for sure but they have lost some real momentum over the past month. Oregon clearly got their best shot this year and Oregon survived it. Last week I felt confident that Washington State would be able to beat the Huskies but at this moment I'm not so sure which is why I moved them down a spot, in really the only change from last week. 

 

6. Washington (6-2) - The Huskies move up here mostly because I have so many questions about the Cougs. Washington had a bye week so not much to say about them but they get to host the Beavers this weekend. So... Go BEAVS! 

 

5. Oregon State (6-2) - The Beavers are ranked in the AP Poll at No. 24. They had a bye week so not much to talk about but I do feel they are clearly headed in the right direction right now. 

 

4. USC (7-1) - USC traveled to Arizona and found themselves in a shootout. Not too surprising at this point as USC hired a Big-12 coach and the Big-12 is all about the shootout so USC's defense played just good enough to get a few stops to avoid an upset and their offense is plenty talented to score enough points. But at this point it doesn't look like USC is going to have the ability to stop the teams that sit ahead of them, namely UCLA and Oregon. USC will play UCLA towards the end of the season but I don't think they will win that match-up, their defense will not be able to stop UCLA's offense and the USC defense will get stopped just enough to give UCLA the edge. 

 

3. Utah (6-2) - This ranking hasn't moved but it comes with a MAJOR caveat. If Utah is without Cam Rising going forward they drop below USC no questions. Utah is not the same team without Rising and without him they are lucky to escape Washington State with a win. So if Rising is out going forward Utah drops but as we really don't know anything about his injury I will leave Utah here for the moment. 

 

2. UCLA (7-1) - UCLA took a loss to Oregon but still looks like the No.2 team in the conference. They are the most well rounded team and they trashed Stanford on Saturday. If I were to place a bet for the Championship game I would probably give a slot to UCLA at this point.  

 

1. Oregon (7-1) - Oregon is the best team in the conference and is close to locking in their trip to Las Vegas. If Oregon keeps on winning they are looking at a Rose Bowl at the very least and potentially a trip to the College Football Playoff... on Tuesday evening we will have a better idea what that path for the Ducks might look like. 

 

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Championship Game Predictions.... 

 

Right now it looks like Oregon v UCLA for the Pac-12 crown looks the most likely. Utah will have to play Oregon at Autzen and I don't think they leave with a win this year. I give the edge to UCLA over USC. Also in terms of where things stand right now for that second spot in terms of tie breakers goes like this.... 

 

UCLA > Utah > USC 

 

USC has the best chance to unseat UCLA for the second spot as they will need to beat UCLA to win that tie breaker... unless heaven forbid Utah beats Oregon in which case everything goes absolutely bonkers. 

[Steven A]

On 10/31/2022 at 11:51 AM, David Marsh said:

bonkers.

Looking to the future, my Cristobal (which thankfully is now in Miami) says no bonkers this year.