Washington won the Pac-12 North. Oregon won the Pac-12. Who wins the top spot in our Pac-12 Power Rankings?
Photo: Sean Meagher/ The Oregonian
Article By Nick Battey
1. Oregon
The Oregon Ducks are Pac-12 Champions for the second consecutive year. There will always be questions about the 2020 championship but when given the opportunity to win the title on the field, the Ducks did just that. The Ducks were led by the defensive efforts of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jamal Hill against USC and Oregon will now rep the conference in the Fiesta Bowl vs Iowa State.
2. USC
The Trojans finish off another season on a disappointing note, seeing the Ducks celebrating on their home field. This might not be what USC fans want to hear, but this was a successful year for USC. Going undefeated in the regular season and setting the blueprint up for a successful 2021 campaign where the Trojan offense will be explosive yet again.
3. Washington
Washington announced they won’t be going to a bowl after their COVID outbreak. The Husky season ends but the future looks promising for a young and talented team.
4. Colorado
Colorado was idle this week after Oregon was tabbed to replace Washington in the Pac-12 Title. Colorado will take on Texas in the Alamo Bowl which is certainly a high profile game for the Buffs after a very impressive year under Karl Dorrell.
5. Stanford
The Cardinal had the most difficult year of any team in the country and they ended on a four game winning streak with each of the games on the road. David Shaw deserves credit for an amazing coaching job and the Cardinal have talented pieces returning in 2021 and should contend for the North.
6. ASU
Arizona State may have been the most impressive Pac-12 program over the final 2 games of the season with dominant wins over Arizona and Oregon State. ASU was just a play away from beating both USC and UCLA and could find themselves at the top of conference in 2021. ASU finished the regular season #1 in both scoring offense and defense in the Pac-12.
7. Utah
After a tough start, Utah came storming back to defeat WSU by three scores. In what was a late start for the Utes, they ended up being one of a few teams to get rolling by the time the shortened season wrapped up. Ty Jordan was a revelation for the Utes and Kyle Whittingham had his team playing their best football of the season in December.
8. UCLA
A very up and down season for Chip Kelly and the Bruins ends on a low with a 2OT loss to Stanford. Even with the 3-4 final record, UCLA is in a great spot to be a real contender in 2021 as they have great QB play and are building up their lines of scrimmage well to compete with anyone in the conference.
9. OSU
A 2-5 season for OSU didn't live up to expectations for a resurgent program but the Beavers lost close games and should turn those close losses into wins in 2021. Jonathan Smith continues to do an outstanding job landing 4 star transfers to bolster his roster.
10. WSU
After a blistering start in Salt Lake City, the Cougars ended with a whimper as they lost by 17. A 1-3 record for WSU was disappointing but they laid the groundwork for 2021 while getting experience for their freshman QB.
11. Cal
Cal’s disappointing season ends with a couple lost games due to COVID contact tracing. Even though it didn’t come close to the expectations of competing for the Pac-12 North, the 2020 season was so crazy that there isn’t much that can be taken away from it for a team that was affected by the virus as much as Cal was. 2021 is still looking bright in Berkeley.
12. Arizona
The Jedd Fisch era begins in Tucson and Arizona fans will need to be patient during a rebuild. Fisch comes with plenty of experience working with some of the best coaches in football. The offensive side of the ball should be solid under Fisch so nailing the DC hire will be key to success.