Pac-12 Football Rankings – Week 11


Pac-12 football rankings heading into Week 11 of the 2016 season. Washington and Washington State keep on rolling.


Louisville’s Lamar Jackson might be the best dual-threat quarterback in the nation, but Washington’s Jake Browning probably is the country’s best pure thrower. His six touchdown passes led the Huskies to a blowout victory over California on Saturday night as he tries to push his team toward a berth in the College Football Playoff.

This season’s Apple Cup is shaping up to be a good one, as rival Washington State won for the seventh straight time by crushing Arizona. The Cougars might be the last real threat preventing the Huskies from running the table.

Now that the dust has settled, here’s a look at the rest of the Pac-12 heading into Week 11.

Week 11 Pac-12 Football Rankings

12. Arizona (Last Week – 12)

Man, Arizona is really bad. It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Rich Rodriguez was out after this season (or before it’s over?). The Wildcats have lost six straight, including the last five by double digits, and were absolutely trounced in Saturday’s 69-7 loss to Washington State. They’ve been outscored 151-31 over their last three games.

11. Oregon State (11)

Gary Andersen has a long road ahead of him to make Oregon State a contender. The Beavers’ fourth straight loss dropped them to 2-7 after falling, 26-15, at Stanford on Saturday. They finished with 266 yards of offense.

10. Oregon (10)

The Ducks finally ended their losing streak last week against Arizona State. Then, they went right back to their losing ways while getting blown out by USC, 45-20. Justin Herbert had a mediocre game with 162 yards and a touchdown, and coach Mark Helfrich remains on the hot seat.

9. Arizona State (9)

The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for Arizona State. The Sun Devils have lost three in a row – including last week to an Oregon team that had lost its previous five – and now has Utah and Washington awaiting them the next two weeks.

8. UCLA (8)

Mike Fafaul is no Josh Rosen. The fifth-year senior has thrown nine interceptions after tossing another in Thursday’s 20-10 loss to Colorado that dropped the Bruins to 1-5 in Pac-12 play with their fourth straight defeat. They finished with 210 total yards and committed a whopping 13 penalties for a team that seems in complete disarray.

7. California (7)

Cal has lost back-to-back games for the first time all season, but it is still 4-5, and these last two defeats were pretty bad. After the Bears fell to USC, 45-24, they were outscored 31-7 in the second half of Saturday’s 66-27 trouncing at the hands of Washington. Davis Webb tossed three interceptions for the second time this season.

6. Stanford (6)

Stanford finally has won back-to-back games for the first time since winning its first three. It’s not as if they got much resistance from Arizona or Oregon State, but the Cardinal at least seem to be getting back some confidence. The disappointing season has basically made Christian McCaffrey an afterthought, though. He ran for 199 yards and a touchdown against the Beavers, a performance that would make more highlight reels if Stanford had lived up to expectations.

5. Colorado (5)

Colorado’s fourth victory in a row brings it to 7-2 and 5-1 in the Pac-12, one-half game ahead of USC in the South. However, the Trojans hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, and the Buffaloes still have to play Utah on Nov. 26 with the Utes lurking at 4-1 in conference play. Colorado has a date with Arizona next week before a showdown with Washington State.

4. Washington State (4)

The Cougars just keep rolling. They’ve won seven straight since dropping their first two and made easy work of Arizona this week after winning their previous three by a combined 15 points. And how about Luke Falk’s line against the Wildcats: 32 of 35, 311 yards, four touchdowns. Washington State controls its own destiny in the Pac-12 North, as the showdown with Washington on Nov. 25 could decide the division.

3. USC (3)

The Trojans have won five in a row since losing their first two Pac-12 games to Stanford and Utah. That loss to the Utes could hurt in the South race as they would lose the tiebreaker, but Clay Helton’s team continues to play well since that disappointing 1-3 start.

2. Utah (2)

Utah used the bye week to recover from last week’s heartbreaking 31-24 loss to Washington that ended up being decided by a Huskies’ punt return in the fourth quarter. The Utes face Arizona State on Thursday before finishing with games against Oregon and a potentially crucial matchup with Colorado.

1. Washington (1)

If Lamar Jackson wasn’t scoring touchdowns at a record pace for Louisville, one would have to think Jake Browning would be the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. He’s thrown 34 touchdowns against only three picks and is the only FBS quarterback with multiple games of six TD strikes. Browning accomplished that feat again Saturday against Cal and has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for the Huskies, who should slip into the top four of Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings.