Emerald City Swagger: PAC-12 Football Power Rankings week of 10/9

Counting down 8 through 4

California (3-2, 0-2). Last Week: Bears quarterback Brandon McIlwain threw the game away. He had no touchdowns to his own team and three interceptions, two of which Arizona ran back for scores. This Week: vs. UCLA. Note: The Bruins proved they weren’t pushovers last week against Washington. A Cal loss on Saturday sinks a once-promising season.

Utah (3-2, 1-2) – Last Week: Utah finally got a conference win, beating then #14 Stanford 40-21. The game featured a 100-yard interception by Utah’s Jaylon Johnson. This Week: vs Arizona. Note: The two Washington schools should breathe a sigh of relief that they already played the Utes, the rest of Utah’s opponents in 2018 better be ready.

USC (3-2, 2-1) – Last Week: Idle. This Week: vs. Colorado. Note: A win over the Buffs on Saturday puts Southern Cal in the driver’s seat for a PAC-12 South title.

Stanford (4-2, 2-1) – Last Week: The trees were beaten up badly at home by Utah, losing 40-21. From the get-go, Stanford was behind the eight-ball and their defense was terrible. This Week: Idle. Note: Things were looking good for the Cardinal after the beat Oregon to go 4-0 on September 22. Two straight losses have knocked them out of the top 25. The next one probably removes them from the PAC-12 title hunt.

Washington State (5-1, 2-1). Last Week: Washington State pulled out a 59-37 win over a pesky Oregon State team on the road. Gardner Minshew II threw for 430 yards and five touchdowns. Additionally, the ground game went from 0 to 100, as in zero net yards, two weeks ago and 100 yards last Saturday. This Week: Idle.

Note: The Cougs get a week off before their big game against Oregon at home on October 20. You can bet Mike Leach and company will be watching the UW-UO game intently. Washington State is in the hunt and the Apple Cup game on November 23 could be for the division. If you are a Cougars fan, this season has been lots of fun so far and will get even better soon.