“Pac-12 Power Rankings” is a column by Will Camardella ranking the Pac-12 football teams on a week-to-week basis.
It’s amazing how quickly the season goes by. USC has already completed its regular season, while the other 11 teams in the Pac-12 will play their final game on their schedules this coming weekend. Week 12 had some particularly telling results in some high-profile matchups. Teams such as Washington and Arizona again rose to the occasion against strong competition, while the Trojans and Colorado appeared eager to turn the page to 2024.
Since each game makes up less of a team’s overall body of work as the season progresses, these rankings are seeing less radical change week over week. This week, no team moved up or down more than one spot, usually as a result of a direct head-to-head matchup. However, it has become clear that the three teams still alive to make the Pac-12 Championship game have established themselves as the cream of the crop in the conference. So, starting with those three contenders, here’s how the Conference of Champions stacks up after its penultimate week of games.
1. Oregon Ducks (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12) | Last Week: 1
Much like its game against Colorado back in September, Oregon won a game by 36 points while the box score makes the game seem closer than it was. Bo Nix threw six touchdown passes as the Ducks put together over 400 yards of offense in the first half alone. After 30 minutes of play, they led 42-0 over Arizona State.
This game against the lowly Sun Devils came the week after Oregon hosted USC and the week before it battles its in-state rival. Yet, Dan Lanning’s team did not in any way stumble against a team that was able to scare Washington. This effort proves that the Ducks have a rare trait in college football in 2023; they always give their opponents their “A” game. They rank second in the country in average scoring margin, as they average 25 more points per game than their opponents.
This consistency will be put to the test over the next two weeks, as Oregon battles Oregon State in a high-stakes rivalry game and will likely go on to a rematch with Washington. It will be a grueling task for this team to make its way to the College Football Playoff, but if there’s any team that can handle it, it is the Ducks.
2. Washington Huskies (11-0, 8-0 Pac-12) | Last Week: 2
If you had to draw up the perfect game scenario to give Washington its first loss of the season, Saturday’s game in Corvallis would have been pretty close. The Huskies were playing in a raucous road atmosphere against a strong defensive team in torrential rain. Dropped passes were an issue, Michael Penix Jr. completed less than half his passes and the Huskies barely eclipsed 20 points of offense.
The fact that Washington still found a way to pull out the win says a lot about the character of its football team. Its often-scrutinized defense came through in a big way this weekend, getting timely stops to prevent Oregon State’s furious comeback attempt. The Huskies held the Beavers to three conversions on 12 third-down attempts, and they won the turnover battle three to one.
Washington deserves a lot of credit for surviving every big test they have faced this year. None of the team’s obvious flaws have resulted in a loss despite tight matchups against teams like Oregon State, Oregon and Utah. If the Huskies’ defense that held Oregon State to 20 points and shut out Utah in the second half shows up in Vegas in a few weeks, they will be Pac-12 champions.
3. Arizona Wildcats (8-3, 6-2 Pac-12) | Last Week: 4
College football is a funny thing. If Jedd Fisch had started Noah Fifita at quarterback instead of Jayden de Laura against Mississippi State and gone for two in overtime against USC, I believe Arizona would be a dark horse for the College Football Playoff. Do not take those as large-scale criticisms of Fisch. He has built a program that is still alive for a Pac-12 Championship Game berth when the likes of USC, Utah and Oregon State have all been eliminated.
Arizona welcomed Utah, one of the most consistently good programs in the country and the back-to-back conference champs, into Tucson and absolutely dominated, winning 42-18. The Utes have one of the best defenses in the conference, but that did not stop the Wildcats from building a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Noah Fifita was extremely effective with a QBR of 97, and Tetairoa McMillan had an eight-reception, 116-yard day. The Arizona defense forced two Bryson Barnes turnovers and turned both interceptions into points.
The Trojans were the most surprisingly disappointing team in the Pac-12, but the Wildcats have been the biggest positive surprise. An effort like that against Utah would have been unthinkable for Arizona to have in years past, but it has become the norm for this team in 2023, especially at home.
4. Oregon State Beavers (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) | Last Week: 3
Oregon State is a solid football team that went toe-to-toe with one of college football’s few undefeated teams. Its defense kept the explosive Washington passing attack in check, and its offense won the yardage battle and dominated possession time. Unfortunately for the Beavers, none of those things translated to victory because of very shaky quarterback play.
I’ve talked a lot this year about DJ Uiagalelei’s up-and-down season, but the fact is he failed to produce in the biggest spotlight this program has had in a while. He completed less than half his pass attempts and threw a pair of backbreaking interceptions as Oregon State was trying to climb back into the football game. His offense had the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to win the game, but Uiagalelei could not get the Beavers past midfield.
Oregon State did enough to win the football game, but the Clemson transfer has been unable to make the plays that other quarterbacks in this conference have to get his team over the hump. He will have one more opportunity to prove me wrong when the Beavers take on Oregon in Eugene, but I have not seen anything to make me think he can hang with Bo Nix.
5. Utah Utes (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) | Last Week: 5
Utah has faced a ton of adversity throughout the season, especially with injuries at the quarterback position. A 4-4 conference record was probably predictable given the strength of the Pac-12, but it is still very disappointing for a program of this caliber.
The one thing that the Utes absolutely cannot do if they want to win a football game is to fall behind early, but that’s exactly what happened against Arizona on Saturday. Some early turnovers and an uncharacteristically poor showing from the Utah defense allowed the Wildcats to storm out to a 28-0 lead. Once that happened, Bryson Barnes had to throw the ball 53 times to try and come back.
After the early scoring blitz, Arizona actually did not put points on the board again until the fourth quarter, but, because of how limited the Utes’ offense is in the passing game, they could never make things interesting. They should be able to handle a reeling Colorado team in the season finale, but this was a season where too much went wrong for them to compete for the conference this season.
6. UCLA Bruins (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) | Last Week: 7
Ethan Garbers’ return at quarterback was all UCLA needed to get its season back on track, as the Bruins reclaimed the victory bell in a 38-20 rout of USC. Garbers protected the football and tossed three touchdown passes against the porous Trojan defense.
While the UCLA offense had one of its best performances in the conference schedule, it was just another day at the office for the defense. USC only recorded three rushing yards the entire game, while the Bruins recorded four sacks. Overall, the unit held Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley’s offense to its lowest point total of 2023.
UCLA has had its ups and downs, but the one thing Chip Kelly was missing this season was a signature win. The Trojans have not lived up to expectations, but winning a game on the road against your archrival in dominant fashion will always make a head coach look good. There have been some rumors that the Bruins may want to make a coaching change this offseason, but a win like that should ensure that Kelly stays put.
7. USC Trojans (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) | Last Week: 6
Having been officially eliminated from Pac-12 Championship Game contention the week prior, USC had nothing to play for against its crosstown rival on Saturday except pride.
Pride did not motivate the Trojans. They barely put up a fight against a mediocre UCLA in an 18-point loss in their home stadium.
USC has been a bad team at the line of scrimmage for most of the season, and that showed against a stout Bruin defense. The Trojans never got their run game going; they averaged one-tenth of a yard per carry on 22 rush attempts.
Caleb Williams was also under siege, getting sacked four times and pressured even more often. USC had a generational talent at quarterback who can avoid the rush and make great plays, but when he’s asked to do so as often as he was this season, a disastrous game like this is inevitable.
The game was also an underperformance for the Trojans’ defense given how poor UCLA’s offense had been on the road this year. The only other Pac-12 defense to allow over 30 points to the Bruins was Stanford. Major changes should be coming to the defensive coaching staff in the offseason, and they are sorely needed.
I only dropped USC one spot in these rankings, because I felt a lack of effort in their last game factored into the final result. Any way you slice it, having the L.A. Coliseum stands three-quarters empty in the fourth quarter of USC’s biggest rivalry game is a horrible look for the program. Year two under Lincoln Riley was a major step back from year one, and he will have a lot of work to do in the offseason to be prepared for the Big Ten in 2024.
8. Cal Golden Bears (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12) | Last Week: 8
Cal established that it is the superior Bay Area football program heading into the ACC in 2024, handling Stanford in Palo Alto 27-15. Surprisingly, the Golden Bears will enter the final weekend of the regular season with a real possibility to make a bowl game.
Cal did not light up the scoreboard on Saturday, but it did execute its gameplan about as well as it could have. Jaydn Ott was given 36 carries, and he systematically churned out 166 yards. His effectiveness on the ground set up the passing game, as Fernando Mendoza threw for almost 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Ashton Daniels was held to a 51% completion percentage, and the Golden Bears did not allow a single Stanford skill-position player to gain more than 67 yards. This was the first time since September that Cal held an opponent to fewer than 30 points.
9. Washington State Cougars (5-6, 2-6 Pac-12) | Last Week: 10
Washington State finally snapped its six-game losing streak by taking care of business against a reeling Colorado team. The Buffaloes were far from the most impressive opponent to take down, but given some of the losses the Cougars have taken in this stretch, any win is a welcome one.
The WSU defense stepped up in a big way, especially up front. The unit sacked Shedeur Sanders four times in the first half before he left the game with an injury. The Cougars also forced three turnovers, including two scoop-and-score touchdowns. On offense, Cameron Ward accounted for four total touchdowns and hit a few big plays throughout the night. Carlos Hernandez was a major threat in the passing game; he had just two catches but both were for at least 29 yards.
Colorado is a team with a lot of weaknesses, and Washington State exploited those weaknesses in a way it could not against the likes of Stanford and Arizona State. A game like that does not salvage the season in my mind, but it does at least prove that the Cougars have not quit with bowl eligibility still on the table.
10. Colorado Buffaloes (4-7, 1-7 Pac-12) | Last Week: 9
You could make a variety of compelling arguments as to what moment could be considered “rock bottom” for Deion Sanders in his first season at Colorado, but I believe Friday night’s blowout takes the cake. Against a Washington State team that had lost six games in a row, the Buffaloes were utterly uncompetitive in a 56-14 drubbing.
The most surprising thing about Colorado’s season may have been it took until Week 12 for Shedeur Sanders to get injured. He was knocked out of the game in the second quarter, in another game where the Buffaloes’ offensive line could not protect him. They had 10 offensive drives after Shedeur departed but found the end zone just one time.
It is increasingly clear that Shedeur was covering a lot of the underlying problems with this Colorado roster, which is why the team was so uncompetitive without him on the field.
The defense allowed 42 points in the first half to the Cougars in another uncompetitive performance. The Buffaloes now rank second to last in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, allowing just one-tenth of a point fewer per game than Stanford. Deion called this 1-7 stretch the hardest stretch of his life. With a matchup with Utah and Kyle Whittingham on deck to close 2023, I see no reason why that will not continue.
11. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-8, 2-6 Pac-12) | Last Week: 11
I chose not to drop Arizona State despite an embarrassing loss because they were far from the first team Oregon has embarrassed this season. Even still, it was disappointing to see that the Sun Devils could not make that game competitive in their stadium, where they have had much stronger efforts in weeks past.
The ASU offense only functions when it runs through Cam Skattebo. When the Ducks score 42 unanswered points in the first half alone, the running game cannot be much of a factor in the comeback attempt. Thus, Skattebo only had eight carries for less than 50 yards. The Sun Devils wound up having to throw the football 47 times but only averaged 4.4 yards per attempt. Trenton Bourguet had a QBR of 22.7.
Defensively, Arizona State gave up big play after big play, as eight separate Oregon pass catchers had receptions of at least 16 yards on a 400-yard passing day for Bo Nix. The roster was not equipped to match up with the likes of Troy Franklin and Gary Bryant, and it showed on the final stat sheet. All around, it was a poor effort for Kenny Dillingham in his second-to-last home game, but because of the respect I have for Oregon, I will not extensively punish them for it.
12. Stanford Cardinal (3-8, 2-7 Pac-12) | Last Week: 12
Stanford is the only team in the FBS that has not won a game at home this season. Normally, the Cardinal do not have much of a home-field advantage with sparse crowds. However, Saturday’s game against Cal was above capacity, and it did not matter.
The Golden Bears’ defense has been one of the worst in the country; they allow over 40 points per game in Pac-12 matchups. However, Stanford could not eclipse even 20 points in a game where it only picked up four first downs. The running game was particularly ineffective; Ashton Daniels scrambled for 67 yards, but the actual running backs on the roster combined for just 34 on 12 carries.
This game was Troy Taylor’s final realistic opportunity to earn a fourth win this season with the motivation of a home rivalry game to fire up his team. Instead, the Cardinal again looked uncompetitive. With the way this team has looked at its worst this season and how often we see its bottom-tier effort, three wins seems like an overperformance for Stanford in 2023.
“Pac-12 Power Rankings” runs every Monday.