Zona Zealot Pac 12 Football Power Rankings: Week 4
By mschmidt
September 22, 2012; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Kenjon Barner (24) runs the ball in the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-US PRESSWIREOregon’s 49-0 drumming over Arizona shows that they are, by far, the team to beat. Will anyone challenge them?
1. Oregon (4-0) Last week’s position: 1
Everyone thought that the Arizona v. Oregon game would be a shootout with little defense involved, but Oregon’s D made the Wildcats look silly. A 49-0 blowout in Autzen Stadium shows the rest of the Pac-12 that there might not be much competition for the Ducks if their defense can perform the way it did this weekend.
2. Stanford (3-0) Last week’s position: 3
Stanford didn’t play this week, but gets bumped up due to UCLA’s loss at home.
3. USC (3-1) Last week’s position: 5
After a devastating upset to Stanford last weekend, USC regained its swagger and took care of business with a 27-9 victory over Cal. The Trojans dominated on the ground with 296 yards, or 46 more yards than Cal’s entire offensive production.
4. UCLA (3-1) Last week’s position: 2
A loss to Oregon State at home ends the Bruins’ offensive domination. UCLA’s run dominant offense was limited to 72 yards against the Beavers.
5. Oregon State (2-0) Last week’s position: 8
The Beavers have played only two games, but have made those games count with upsets over then #13 Wisconsin and #19 UCLA at UCLA. Next week’s game against the Wildcats in Arizona Stadium should show whether OSU’s defense is for real.
6. Arizona (3-1) Last week’s position: 4
The Wildcats turned a lot of heads with a 3-0 start coming into a matchup against the mighty Ducks, and many (myself included) held on to the false hope that they might have a chance. Not so much. Oregon ran a clinic against Arizona, showing the thin and inexperienced Wildcats how to play both offense and defense for and against teams that run the read-option. Arizona, meanwhile, gave the Ducks the victory, committing 5 turnovers and failing to score once out of the six times they were in the red zone. The Cats will have to recover quickly from the 49-0 spanking: they have Oregon State next.
7. Washington (2-1) Last week’s position: 6
The Huskies didn’t play this week, but get bumped due to Oregon State’s upset over UCLA. They can get it back–and then some–with an upset over Stanford next week.
8. Arizona State (3-1) Last week’s position: 10
After making a tough loss to Missouri riddled with error, ASU’s offense looked for real again and rebounded with zero mistakes in a demanding 37-7 victory over Utah.
9. Utah (2-2) Last week’s position: 7
In the last three games–including their upset over then #25 BYU–the Utes have failed to muster more than 325 yards of total offense or more than 100 yards of rushing offense per game. This is somewhat surprising considering Utah returns 9 starters from last year’s lineup.
10. California (1-3) Last week’s position: 9
With only 250 yards of offense, 77 yards of rushing and 2 turnovers, the Bears could not punch it into the end zone once, losing to an angry USC team 27-9. We feel bad for Cal, who has faced two tough opponents in two straight weeks (Ohio State, USC), but they will get their shot at redemption against ASU next week.
11. Colorado (1-3) Last week’s position: 12
It looks like the Buffs will not go winless this year after all, and they have the Cougars to thank for this. Washington State allowed Colorado to score three touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the game, including two plays that went for 70 yards or more (70, 84). Wow Washington State….just, wow.
12. Washington State (2-2) Last Week’s position: 11
Allowing one of the worst teams in the country put up 531 yards of offense and score 21 points in the 4th quarter for a 35-34 upset over you while you’re home crowd watches in utter horror is downright pathetic. We still believe Colorado is the worst team in the Pac-12, but we will put Washington State in timeout for a week or two (WSU has Oregon next) so that they can sit and think about what they have done.