Pac-12 Football Rankings And Reactions, Week 6
Week 6 Pac-12 football rankings and reactions. Utah survived a thriller with Cal to stay undefeated and the highest ranked team in the league. Surprising losses by Oregon and USC have two of the Pac-12’s premier programs reeling at the midway point in the season.
Week 6 Pac-12 football rankings and reactions. Utah survived a thriller with Cal to stay undefeated and the highest ranked team in the league. Surprising losses by Oregon and USC have two of the Pac-12’s premier programs reeling at the midway point in the season.
Week 6 Pac-12 Football Rankings
1. Utah: W, Cal 30-24
2. Cal: L, at Utah 30-24
Jared Goff threw five interceptions, yet the Bears still had a chance to win the game in Salt Lake City in the waning moments. That’s actually a sign of progress for Sonny Dykes’ budding program. Goff won’t be down for long. He’s too talented for Week 6 to define his junior season. And with the entire program likely to grow from this experience against the Utes, Cal could be an even more dangerous team over the final two months of the regular season.
3. Stanford: Bye Week
Next week: vs. UCLA
4. Washington: W, at USC, 17-12
LB Travis Feeney was the face of the Husky defense in Thursday’s upset of the Trojans in the Coliseum—fast, frenetic and fearless. For most opponents, U-Dub simply has too much athleticism at every level, harassing USC for a dozen stops for minus yards and five sacks. The Huskies were so oppressive that Cody Kessler was rendered virtually useless, finishing 16-of-29 for 156 yards, no touchdowns and two picks.
5. USC: L, Washington, 17-12
The Husky defense is vastly underrated, agreed. But the Trojans harbor far too much skill talent to be silenced the way they were Thursday night at the Coliseum. The running game was fine, thanks to Tre Madden and Ronald Jones, but pass protection was a disaster. Troy allowed five sacks and a dozen tackles for loss, unable to handle the speed or quickness of the Washington front seven. And the O-line was supposed to be one of USC’s strengths when the season began.
6. Arizona State: W, Colorado 48-23
Might Tim White be the playmaking receiver the Sun Devils have been seeking all season long? The D.J. Foster experiment out of the slot hasn’t gone quite as planned, and UCLA transfer Devin Lucien has been no better than a No. 2 or No. 3. Smith, on the other hand, is coming off his best game since transferring from the College of the Canyons (Calif.), catching seven balls for 144 yards and two of Mike Bercovici’s five scoring strikes.
7. UCLA: Bye Week
Next week: at Stanford
8. Arizona: W, Oregon State 44-7
Anu Solomon is back. The ground game rocked. There’s hope again in Tucson for a respectable season. The Wildcats flashed unexpected backfield depth against a pretty salty Beaver front seven, rushing for 368 yards and five scores. And, surprisingly, starter Nick Wilson took a backseat to senior Jared Baker and rookie Orlando Bradford, who scored three times. Grinding out yards with fresh legs is going to help a defense that can’t afford to be on the field for long stretches of time.
9. Washington State: W, at Oregon 45-38
The Cougars didn’t play a lick of defense, but it didn’t matter. They still earned one of the biggest wins of the Mike Leach era, knocking off the Ducks in Eugene in double-overtime. QB Luke Falk is growing into more than just a stats compiler, rallying Wazzu in regulation and then in the extra session. Falk had the numbers, too, completing 50-of-74 for 505 yards, five touchdowns and no picks.
10. Oregon: L, Washington State 45-38
Backs Royce Freeman and Taj Griffin aside, the Ducks have absolutely no consistency these days. The defense couldn’t stop Cougar QB Luke Falk, while Oregon QB Jeff Lockie did little to jumpstart the passing attack, going 13-of-22 for 123 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. Injured QB Vernon Adams isn’t going to be the magical solution for a program quickly approaching mediocrity, but he’ll help a suddenly predictable and unbalanced offense.
11. Oregon State: L, at Arizona 44-7
A Beaver defense that had shown flashes in September took a dramatic step back in Tucson. Oregon State lost the line of scrimmage, a particular problem since the Wildcats aren’t loaded up front this season. Arizona gashed OSU for 368 rushing yards, and rarely put any pressure on Anu Solomon. Additionally, the Beaver quarterbacks were dreadful, despite facing a D that had allowed at least 55 points in each of the previous two games.
12. Colorado: L, at Arizona State 48-23
What happened to the Buffalo ground game that showed some teeth in September? Of course, the level of competition has increased since the days of facing UMass and Nicholls State. But the Colorado backs and run blockers have been AWOL in recent losses to Oregon and ASU. And without complements to the passing game, QB Sefo Liufau and WR Nelson Spruce aren’t quite as dangerous. And a shoddy defense is forced to spend too much time on the field.
