Utah gets a dominant win over Stanford and have nearly locked up the Pac-12 South Title.
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Article by WestCoastCFB
1. Oregon
Oregon traveled to Seattle and ran all over the Huskies in the rain. Travis Dye was spectacular with 224 yards from scrimmage and the Duck defense suffocated the Husky offense. Now, Oregon faces their toughest stretch of games. They must beat WSU, Oregon State and Utah twice to potentially reach the College Football Playoff.
2. Utah
Utah is playing like the best team in the conference right now after a 52-7 win over Stanford. The Utes are a virtual lock to reach the Pac-12 Title Game and a win there would send them to the Rose Bowl.
3. Washington State
The Cougs are well rested after a bye week and now travel to Eugene where a win would put them in 1st place in the Pac-12 North. It's remarkable that WSU is in contention for the Rose Bowl this late in the season and its a testament to the players that they've never folded after adversity.
4. Arizona State
ASU got a much needed win against USC to right the ship but now have two straight road games in Seattle and Corvallis. The Sun Devils need to win at least 2 of their final 3 games at minimum to appease their fans and they will likely be favored in all 3.
5. UCLA
The Bruins will be at home against Colorado this Saturday and Chip Kelly should be able to clinch bowl eligibility barring a disaster. The UCLA faithful won't be truly happy though with the season unless they can secure a win against the Trojans the following week.
6. Oregon State
Jonathan Smith was the favorite for Pac-12 Coach of the Year two weeks ago, before losses to Cal and Colorado. Now the Beavers may just need to be happy with a 6 win season with Stanford, Arizona State and Oregon remaining on the schedule.
7. USC
USC has now lost 3 of their past 4 games but I'm not sure their fans really care at this point. The goal is just to hire an elite coach to win long term.
8. Washington
It's been a rough week for Washington and sources have indicated to us that Lake will not return as the Husky head coach in 2022. UW will face Arizona State this coming weekend without Lake, who is suspended and without their Offensive Coordinator, who was fired. It will likely be a nightmare matchup for the Dawgs as the Sun Devils love to run the ball. This one could get ugly.
9. California
Due to many players being out from exposure to Covid, the Golden Bears lost 10-3 to lowly Arizona and are now 3-6 on the season. Justin Wilcox should be able to keep his job in 2022 regardless, but next year the Bears need to make a Bowl at minimum.
10. Stanford
The Cardinal may have suffered their worst loss yet under Shaw as they were demolished 52-7. The Cardinal need to overhaul their offense and defense this off-season to get things back on track.
11. Colorado
The Colorado offense has begun to show life after putting up 29 points on Oregon and 37 on Oregon State. The UCLA defense has been vulnerable this season so this might be another big game for the Buff's offense led by Brendon Lewis.
12. Arizona
The Wildcats finally get a win! It may have been ugly at times but a win is a win and now Fisch has something to build on and the players have something to celebrate after all of their hard work. Things can only go up from here.
Best in the West Power Rankings:
1. Oregon
2. BYU
3. San Diego State
4. Utah
5. WSU