Pac-12 Week 8 Power Rankings: Utes In The Driver’s Seat

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Utes started slow but later rolled to a big win over USC to put themselves in great position to take the Pac-12 South title.

The Utes now hold a tiebreaker over the Trojans who hold similar records in Pac-12 play. If they win out, they’ll be playing for the Pac-12 championship against the winner of the North division.

Here’s how the Pac-12 schools did in the eighth week of play. Teams are listed by division, in order of their KSL Sports Power Ranking.

NORTH

1. No. 15 Washington (6-2, 4-1)

Result: Defeated Colorado 27-13 at home.

Recap: Colorado struck first, but was held scoreless in the second half as the Huskies managed to hand the Buffaloes their first loss in conference play. Washington put up 201 rushing yards and kept the Colorado running game in check by holding it to just 119 yards.

Previous ranking: 2

Next up:  at California, Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on FS1.

Good family win at home. #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/5pc4Svvgyx

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) October 22, 2018

2. No. 13 Washington State (6-1, 3-1)

Result: Defeated Oregon 34-20 at home.

Recap: With the Ducks threatening to complete a second half comeback effort, Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew found Dezmon Patmon in the end zone with 3:40 left in the game to keep Oregon at bay.

Previous ranking: 4

Next up: at Stanford, Saturday at 5:00 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.

#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/rVDXgp1FLD

— WSU Cougar Football (@WSUCougFB) October 21, 2018

3. No. 24 Stanford (5-2, 3-1)

Result: Defeated Arizona State 20-13 on the road.

Recap: The Sun Devils got the ball back with 2:00 remaining in the game and marched down to the Stanford 18-yard line before they were denied by the Cardinal in their comeback effort. Bryce Love picked up just 21 yards on 11 carries in the win.

Previous ranking: 3

Next up: vs. No. 13 Washington State, Saturday at 5:00 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.

4. No. 19 Oregon (5-2, 2-2)

Result: Lost at No. 13 Washington State 34-20.

Recap: Oregon was held scoreless in the first half and attempted a comeback in the second half. Ultimately the Ducks fell short and saw their Pac-12 North title chances slip away with a loss to the Cougars.

Previous ranking: 1

Next up: at Arizona, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

5. California (4-3, 1-3)

Result: Defeated Oregon State 49-7 on the road.

Recap: Freshman quarterback Chase Garbers had a career day with three touchdowns through the air. Patrick Laird found the end zone twice on the ground in the Golden Bears’ blowout win over Oregon State.

Previous ranking: 5

Next up: vs. No. 15 Washington, Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on FS1.

6. Oregon State (1-6, 0-4)

Result: Lost to California 49-7 at home.

Recap: Not much went right for the Beavers in their big loss to Cal. Oregon State was severely out-gained in yards 539 to 241. Oregon State also managed just 2.3 yards per rushing attempt.

Previous ranking: 6

Next up: at Colorado, Saturday at 1 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.

SOUTH:

1. No. 23 Utah (5-2, 3-2)

Result: Defeated USC 41-28 at home.

Recap: The Utes fell behind 14-0 quickly before getting their legs under them and rolling to a 41-28 win. Quarterback Tyler Huntley continued his streak of strong play with 341 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Britain Covey thrilled the crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium with a 46-yard touchdown reception.

Previous ranking: 3

Next up:  at California, Friday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

.@brit_covey2 opened up the scoring for @Utah_Football, and the rest is history. 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/8YFhtLAtQS

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 21, 2018

2. USC (4-3, 3-2)

Result: Lost to No. 23 Utah 41-28 on the road.

Recap: The Ute defense completely stifled quarterback JT Daniels. The freshman completed just 6-of-16 attempts for 89 yards with two interceptions and one TD pass. The running game had nowhere to go either as they were held to 73 yards as a group.

Previous ranking: 1

Next up: vs. Arizona State, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN2.

3. Colorado (5-2, 2-2)

Result: Lost to No. 15 Washington 27-13 on the road.

Recap: Colorado may have been exposed for having an easy schedule to start the season with a loss to a real opponent in Washington. The Buffs were held scoreless in the second half and failed to capitalize on winning the takeaway battle two to one.

Previous ranking: 2

Next up: vs. Oregon State, Saturday at 1 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.

4. Arizona (3-5, 2-3)

Result: Defeated UCLA 31-30 on the road.

Recap: The Wildcats failed to get the ball away from UCLA on the Bruins final possession, allowing them to burn six minutes of clock at the end of the fourth quarter to win the game. Arizona allowed 8.8 yards per passing attempt in the loss.

Previous ranking: 5

Next up: vs. Oregon, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

5. Arizona State (3-4, 1-3)

Result: Lost to No. 24 Stanford 20-13 at home.

Recap: Manny Wilkins’ completion to Eno Benjamin fell 18 yards short of the end zone on the final play of the game as the Sun Devils were denied of a would-be comeback attempt. The Cardinal overcame the fact that Arizona State collected 437 yards of offense.

Previous ranking: 4

Next up: at USC, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN2.

6. UCLA (2-5, 2-2)

Result: Beat Arizona 31-30 at home.

Recap: The Bruins squeaked away with a home win over Arizona thanks to two touchdown passes by Wilton Speight and 136 yards on the ground by Joshua Kelley.

Previous ranking: 6

Next up: vs. No. 23 Utah, Friday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.