Pac-12 Power Rankings: Utes fall from top spot, Trojans sneak up

College Football has finally begun in earnest, with a slew of Week 1 games giving us our first glimpse at who the contenders and the pretenders might be and allowing us to update our Pac-12 Power Rankings.

Now that we have some real football games to go off of let’s dive in.

The top tier in the Pac-12 took a bit of a beating, highlighted by Utah‘s narrow fourth-quarter loss at Florida and Oregon‘s shellacking at the hands of defending national champion Georgia. The rest of the league mostly held serve against inferior opponents.

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Today we update the Pac-12 Power Rankings following Week 1 games.

Pac-12 Power Rankings 2022 – Week 1

1. USC (+1)

Forget that the opponent was Rice, USC was absolutely dominant in Lincoln Riley‘s debut. The Trojans scored on every offensive possession in the first three quarters, star Pittsburgh receiver transfer Jordan Addison scored twice and the USC defense housed three pick-sixes. It’s too early to know whether USC’s depth will hold out the whole year, but it’s clear Riley’s got some top-line pieces in place to make a run for the Pac-12 crown with.

2. Utah (-1)

It’s hard to ding the Utes too much for their heart-breaking loss at Florida, given the game came down to the final minute and only ended in an interception near the goal line as Utah searched for a winner rather than settle for a game-tying field goal attempt. Tight end Brant Kuithe and running back Tavion Thomas gave the Gators problems throughout the night, and quarterback Cameron Rising gives the Utes a strong veteran to rally behind coming off a tough loss.

3. UCLA (+1)

It wasn’t the cleanest game for Chip Kelly‘s Bruins, who went into halftime leading by only a touchdown. But UCLA pitched a shutout after halftime en route to a 45-17 win over Bowling Green. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson figures to give the Bruins a shot in every game; he accounted for 298 yards passing and two touchdowns, while adding 87 yards and two scores on the ground.

4. Oregon (-1)

Dan Lanning has work to do. Sure, facing off against the defending national champs in a de-facto home game for Georgia was a tall task, but it probably shouldn’t have been as ugly as it was. Auburn quarterback transfer Bo Nix threw a pair of interceptions without a touchdown pass, while the Ducks had absolutely no answers for anything the Bulldogs did on offense.

5. Oregon State (+1)

The Beavers scored an impressive season-opening win over the Boise State Broncos, winning 34-17 after a strong day from the defense. Oregon State forced five turnovers and chased Broncos starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier from the game. Beavers quarterback Chance Nolan threw a couple interceptions but finished with 251 yards passing and two touchdowns to pace the offense.

6. Washington State (-1)

The Cougars ultimately came out on top of FCS Idaho 24-17 but struggled to put the game away thanks, in part, to a shaky kicking game. Washington State needed a game-sealing interception at the goal line for the win after kicker Dean Janikowski missed a pair of field goals in the game, including a 23-yard chip shot that would have made it a two-score game with just 53 seconds left.

7. Washington

The Huskies debuted a fun new offense triggered by Indiana quarterback transfer Michael Penix Jr., who finished with 345 yards and four touchdowns passing in a 45-20 win over Kent State. The Huskies scored on all five of their first-half possessions. Washington gets another tune-up next week against Portland State before a ranked Michigan State squad visits in Week 3. Washington could be a real mover in the Pac-12 Power Rankings in the next few weeks.

8. Stanford

Stanford cruised 41-10 over Colgate in the season opener, with quarterback Tanner McKee throwing for 308 yards and a pair of touchdowns as running back EJ Smith added another pair of touchdowns and 118 yards rushing. We’ll learn a lot more about Stanford next week when it plays host to USC in primetime.

9. California

After gaining just 3 yards of offense on the first four possessions of the game, Cal and new quarterback Jack Plummer settled into a rhythm offensively. Plummer finished with 268 yards passing and three touchdowns to one interception. Jaydn Ott added 104 yards rushing, as Cal dispatched UC Davis 34-13. A trip to ranked Notre Dame looms in two weeks.

10. Arizona State

Following arguably the most tumultuous offseason of any FBS program, Arizona State got off to a good start in Week 1 led by new Florida quarterback transfer Emory Jones. Jones rushed for two touchdowns, as did running back Xazavian Valladay. Valladay finished with 116 yards rushing. The Sun Devils knocked off Northern Arizona easily, winning 40-3.

11. Arizona (+1)

The Bears turned in an impressive road debut that probably wasn’t done full justice by the 38-20 final score in the win over San Diego State. Washington State transfer Jayden de Laura threw four touchdown passes, with UTEP transfer Jacob Cowing hauling in three of them and looking every bit the part of one of the most coveted offseason transfers. The Wildcats will clearly be a better team than last year’s 1-11 squad, and next week’s home date with Mississippi State should be a good early indicator just how much better.

12. Colorado (-1)

The Buffaloes managed to keep a game against the TCU Horned Frogs close for 30 minutes, going into the half trailing just 7-6. It was all downhill from there, though, with TCU outscoring Colorado 31-7 after the break. The Buffaloes could have a quarterback change coming after former Tennessee transfer J.T. Shrout replaced Brandon Lewis in the second half and threw the team’s only touchdown pass.

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