It's all come down to this. A winner-take-all Apple Cup. A Shillelagh with a crown on the side. Whatever Colorado and Utah do in the mountains. Those three games will determine which two teams square off in the House that Frank Gore Built next week. Here's the final Pac-12 football power rankings.
1. Washington (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12)
The Huskies regain the top spot after their throttling of ASU on Senior Day Saturday to set up the most important Apple Cup of the 21st century. Sophomore quarterback Jake Browning officially bowed out of the Heisman Trophy race when he was intercepted twice by the Sun Devils, but games are always far more important than hardware.
2. Colorado (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12)
The Buffaloes ended their home schedule with a big win over Washington State to halt the Cougs' eight-game win streak. Colorado has a chance to win its 10th game for the first time since 2001, when it travels to Salt Lake City, where the Buffaloes have won once (in two tries) since 1958.
3. USC (8-3, 7-2 Pac-12)
The Trojans might be the second-hottest team in the nation right now, winning seven games in a row, all in the conference. Freshman Sam Darnold has received high praise from all over the college football universe, making himself a household name. Next up is the fuchsia Fighting Irish, bowl ineligible for the first time since 2007.
4. Washington State (8-3, 7-1 Pac-12)
The hot Cougars were finally rejected Saturday in Boulder, after making life hard on opponents for two months. Missing senior receiver River Cracraft, redshirt junior quarterback Luke Falk completed under half his passes in the game. He'll need to regain his form next week, though, with a trip to California on the line against heated rival Washington.
5. Stanford (8-3, 6-3 Pac-12)
The Cardinal have recovered nicely from their early-season skid, reeling off four wins in a row against arguably the four worst teams in the Pac-12. Somehow, Stanford finagled playing its final game at home against Rice, so a nine-win Cardinal team will be waiting for a bowl game to come calling.
6. Utah (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12)
The Utes lost at home in dramatic fashion to officially eliminate it from Pac-12 Championship Game contention. But the Utes can certainly play spoiler at home against South favorite Colorado, who just needs a win to clinch the berth.
7. Oregon (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12)
Why the Ducks? Because they have the the best win among the teams below them and it's my list, dammit. Freshman Justin Herbert has led Oregon to two wins in his last four games, making them look like a respectable football team, more than a good portion of the league can say right now.
8. ASU (5-6, 2-6 Pac-12)
The Sun Devils are in trouble. ASU's five losses in a row are the most since the losing streak that cost Dennis Erickson his job in 2011. Not to say this skid is the end of head coach Todd Graham, but his seat could get warmer if his team loses its sixth straight game on Friday to lowly Arizona, causing the Sun Devils to miss out on bowl eligibility.
9. Cal (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12)
The Golden Bears have gone under the radar during their four-game skid, mainly because all four were to teams currently ranked in the top-25. No game has been especially close, but at least Cal can say they were definitively outmatched.
10. UCLA (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12)
Despite the loss, Mike "Pretty When You Cry" Fafaul played well enough for the Bruins, tossing two touchdown passes. UCLA gets its final shot at a win in Berkeley this weekend, as both teams fight for that coveted 5-7 bowl berth due to APR.
11. Oregon State (3-8, 2-6 Pac-12)
The Beavers took it to Arizona at Reser Stadium, as sophomore quarterback Marcus McMaryion was nearly perfect through the air and sophomore running back Ryan Nall ran for 124 yards and scored. Oregon State hosts Oregon in the rare meaningless Civil War at Reser Stadium, with the Beavers looking for their first state title since 2007.
12. Arizona (2-9, 0-8 Pac-12)
The Wildcats are still very bad, losing to the second-worst team in the conference by 25 points Saturday night. Arizona is just one of five FBS teams without a conference win and just one of the team's two wins are against a fellow FBS team. Don't count the Wildcats out this week though, as anything can happen when the Territorial Cup is involved.
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
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