| Stanford: The Cardinals didn’t get things really rolling offensively until the second half, but then it was a sprint to the end for Stanford while the Cougs had to get some air. The Cardinals looked strong again last week and move their winning streak up to 14. Stanford’s defense continues to shut-out their opponents in the first quarter. This weekend will be a tougher test for the Cardinals as they battle #25 Washington. |
| Oregon: LaMichael was on the sidelines last Saturday and Darron Thomas went down in the 3rdquarter with a “tweaked” knee, but the Ducks still finished the game charging down the field in an impressive second half burst. Everything came together in the second half and backup QB Bryan Bennett put on a fantastic show, running all over the Sun Devils. Aliotti’s defensive adjustments in the second half put a lot of pressure on Osweiler and his receiving corps, virtually shutting them down. Oregon’s mental capacity for dealing with their teammates going down is high this year and they seem able to put away opponents while everyone heals. |
| Washington: The Huskies came out of their bye week looking powerful, and move up to third in these rankings. The Huskies had an almost flawless first half against the Buffs. They racked up almost 400 yards and never kicked a punt. QB Keith Price threw four touchdown passes in the first half and seemed the clear star of this show against Colorado. They are definitely a force in the Pac-12 this year and this Saturday it will be a battle of the Pac-12 power teams as Washington takes on #8 Stanford. |
| Arizona State: ASU doesn’t fall this week because they dominated USC earlier in the season. Their first-half momentum was impressive against #10 Oregon. Osweiler easily moved their offense down the field in the first half, making Oregon’s defense look like they were playing on their heels. The problem came when Oregon adjusted in the second half and ASU couldn’t maintain. Suddenly the Sun Devils heavy pass-attack wasn’t cutting it. I believe that their pass-heavy offense won’t be enough to beat the top teams in the Pac-12 but they miss #8 Stanford (unless this is the Pac-12 championship match-up) and #25 Washington so they should still win the Southern division. |
| USC: The Trojans stay right where they were last week. On paper I feel like the Trojans have a bit of an edge offensively over the Sun Devils, and their much-criticized defense looked good over the weekend, but the Sun Devils easily handled USC earlier this year. The Trojan defense shut-out the Golden Bears in the first half and only allowed one TD in the entire game. I feel like the Trojans have both a passing a running threat in their offense and that is key. QB Matt Barkley has racked up 1,782 passing yards so far with a 68.2% completion rate. Their top running back Marc Tyler 368 yards so far this season. Tyler did go down with a shoulder injury on Saturday, but has said he will be available for this weekend’s rivalry game against Notre Dame. |
| UCLA: The Bruins had a bye last week and come back into their schedule tomorrow against the Arizona Wildcats. |
| Washington State: WSU lost over the weekend to #8 Stanford, but they had an impressive first half, keeping the game tight and holding the Cardinals to only 10 points going into halftime. They couldn’t hold on in the second half though, Luck-and-crew were much too explosive and ultimately took clear control of the game and the W. |
| Cal: Cal is definitely struggling this season in the Pac-12. They have yet to get a conference victory, but they will stay ahead of Utah in my rankings because they have put up more impressive numbers than the Utes. The Golden Bears are 15th overall in passing yards (compared to Utah’s 84thranking) and also beat out the Utes in Rushing yards. This weekend the Golden Bears will be up against Utah so one of these two teams will walk away with their first Pac-12 victory. My prediction is that Cal will get the W. |
| Utah: Utah went against Pittsburgh over the weekend and may have got a little confidence boost with their victory over the Panthers. The problem I see for the rest of their Pac-12 play is that four field goals helped the Utes get this victory. Along with their injury troubles, this spells trouble for Utah. |
| Oregon State: After the Beavs knocked out their first conference win against Arizona, they couldn’t keep the train rolling last weekend against BYU. OSU couldn’t take advantage of BYU turnovers and, on top of that, they gave up a two interceptions. The Beaver’s defensive tackle Castro Masaniai also went down with a fracture to his fibula in the first half. The Beavs are coming up on a tough stretch with games against all three top-25 Pac-12 teams in the second half of their season. |
| Arizona: The Wildcats had a bye last week and will take on the Bruins tomorrow evening. The Wildcats will be looking for that elusive Pac-12 win. |
Colorado: The Buffs continue to struggle in the Pac-12. The Huskies made their win look easy against Colorado last weekend and things aren’t getting any easy for the Buffs as they take on #10 Oregon at Autzenhome this coming weekend. |
