Pac-12 Power Rankings: USC outlasts Arizona in fun offensive duel

Even with Oregon State and Washington off this weekend in the Pac-12 it was a busy slate, with five conference games providing us some further delineation in this week’s updated Pac-12 Power Rankings.

Truthfully, the results were pretty straightforward this weekend.

If you were going with the higher-ranked teams in our power rankings you would have accurately predicted each of the five weekend winners. So let’s take a look at the action to see whether there were any moves.

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Today we update the Pac-12 Power Rankings following Week 9 games.

2022 Pac-12 Power Rankings – Week 9

1. Oregon

Oregon traveled to California and easily cruised, perhaps even more impressive Saturday than the 42-24 win would have you believe. The Ducks continue to get outstanding play from quarterback Bo Nix, who threw for 412 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 59 yards and three more scores. Next up for the Ducks is a road trip to Colorado.

2. UCLA

The Bruins simply leaned on their ground game to get back in the wins column after suffering their first defeat a week ago. Running back Zach Charbonnet ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-13 win over Stanford. UCLA will be back in action next weekend on the road at Arizona State.

3. Utah

The Utes had no easy task this week, going on the road to Washington State and facing a stingy defense without starting quarterback Cameron Rising available. Backup quarterback Bryson Barnes did enough, and Utah capitalized on a special teams mistake to gain ground in an eventual 21-17 win over the Cougars. Utah probably needs Rising back in time for next week’s game against Arizona, with the Wildcats capable of scoring points in bunches.

4. USC

Even coming off a bye week USC was down several key players, including receivers Jordan Addison and Mario Williams. Didn’t matter for quarterback Caleb Williams. The Trojans played the most interesting game of the week, but still managed to best the Arizona Wildcats 45-37 on the heels of a 411-yard, five-touchdown outing from Williams. The Trojans just need to take care of business in the next two — home against California and Colorado — to setup a pivotal showdown at UCLA on Nov. 19.

5. Oregon State

The Beavers, fresh off a three-game winning streak, were on a bye this week. They got a chance to rest and recuperate before a trip to Washington, which will help sort out a tightly contested battle between the two in the middle of our Pac-12 Power Rankings.

6. Washington

Like Oregon State, Washington was on a bye this week ahead of next week’s head-to-head matchup. The Huskies have won two straight after a two-game skid and will be looking to close the season strong. Both Oregon programs are up on the docket over the next two weeks.

7. Washington State

The Cougars are tough to move the ball and score on, but they just haven’t quite gotten it fully clicking offensively this year. Quarterback Cameron Ward was an accurate 27-of-31 in the loss to Utah on Thursday, but he was also sacked four times. Washington State managed only 264 yards of offense in the game.

8. Arizona (+1)

We knew Saturday’s game between Arizona and USC had the potential to turn into a shootout, and it did. But the Wildcats played from behind most of the evening and really couldn’t ever find a way to fully break through, unable to come up with stops against Williams and even a depleted USC supporting cast. The Wildcats feel better than their 3-5 record, but with little to show for it. The next two games? At Utah and at UCLA. So it may not get a whole lot better soon.

9. Stanford (-1)

Stanford couldn’t stop the ground game against UCLA and that was pretty much that. It didn’t help that quarterback Tanner McKee had a bit of a rough day, going 13-of-29 passing for only 115 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. In fact, Stanford was limited to just 270 total yards in the contest.

10. California

The Bears, like every team not named Georgia, struggled to get a handle on Bo Nix. Nix was unstoppable even despite throwing a pair of interceptions, accounting for six touchdowns in Oregon’s 42-24 win on Saturday. The Bears have lost four straight and must hit the road to face USC now.

11. Arizona State

Despite the program drama and turmoil, Arizona State is a bit like Arizona in that it feels like the Sun Devils could easily be a good deal higher on this ranking. They just can’t quite punch through. Saturday was a fairly ho-hum 42-34 win over Colorado, and Arizona State turned things over to backup quarterback Trenton Bourguet. He was good, throwing for 435 yards and three scores as the Sun Devils flashed a bit more tempo in the offense.

12. Colorado

The Buffaloes couldn’t get stops against the Sun Devils, who used tempo to keep things off-balance. Colorado gave up 435 yards passing while starting quarterback J.T. Shrout went just 13-of-34 passing for 222 yards. He threw two touchdowns but also had an interception. The Buffaloes have games against Oregon, USC (road), Washington (road) and Utah left, so they’re almost certainly not climbing out of the bottom spot in the Pac-12 Power Rankings the rest of the way.

Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 8 Pac-12 Power Rankings here!