Emerald City Swagger: PAC-12 Football Power Rankings week of 10/9
By Ed Stein
Top 3
Colorado (5-0, 2-0) – Ranked 19. Last Week: The invading Sun Devils were repelled by the 21st ranked Buffaloes, 28-21 in Boulder. Colorado overcame a 14-7 second-quarter deficit and pulled away in the third quarter. The Buffs had 494 yards of total offense. They were led by PAC-12 Offensive Player of the week Laviska Shenault Jr., who had 13 catches for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also scored two more TD’s on the ground, giving him all four of Colorado’s scores.
The Buffaloes also got 136 yards rushing from Tavon Mcmillan and quarterback Steven Montez was 24 of 33 passing for 328 yards. This Week: at USC. Note: Colorado has been slowly stepping up their level of competition, but still haven’t played a top team. Next week’s game against Washington will be their biggest test, but they can’t afford to look ahead or USC will beat them at home.
Oregon (4-1, 1-1) – Ranked 17. Last Week: Idle. This Week: vs Washington. Note: It’s a monster game for both teams, but Oregon comes into it a little more desperate. Their 38-31 loss to Stanford has them a game down in the loss column for the PAC-12 North title. A win on Saturday gives UO the tiebreaker if they and Washington finish in a tie. A loss knocks them out of contention, barring a miracle. No matter the outcome, WSU is waiting for them next week in Pullman.
Washington (5-1, 3-0) – Ranked 7. Last Week: Washington won a closer than expected game at the Rose Bowl, 28-21 over UCLA. The Bruins forgot they were winless and stuck around all game, making Washington earn their victory the hard way. Huskies running back Myles Gaskin had a great game with 130 total yards (116 rushing, 14 receiving), and two touchdowns. Wideout Aaron Fuller caught five passes for 100 yards and a score.
This Week: at #17 Oregon. Note: In his Monday press conference UW coach Chris Petersen said the defense started to get fatigued at the end of the UCLA game. That had to make the boys in Eugene smile a bit. Now the Huskies can expect UO to step on the accelerator Saturday. If UCLA’s offense wore them down, Washington could be in trouble facing quarterback Justin Herbert and his big offensive line.
Next. Chris Petersen's weekly press conference. What we learned.. dark
* There will be one edition after the PAC-12 Championship game and one after the final Bowl game.