This might have been the worst week for the Ducks to have a bye. It doesn't impact them in the power rankings but it does for something much more meaningful: the College Football Playoff. The committee's rankings won't be released until Tuesday, but there's a good chance Oregon won't be the new No. 1. With Mississippi State losing to Alabama, it opened up a door for a new top dog. Florida State barely beat Miami, but it moved into the top spot in the AP and coaches polls. If the Ducks had played and won, they would have likely been a shoe-in for No. 1. Instead, they'll likely come in at No. 2 or 3.
For the first time this season, the top-two teams in the power rankings both had byes. UCLA's arrival at No. 2 comes because of ASU's upset loss to Oregon State. Although the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 teams all won last week, the previously No. 3 Bruins move up a spot. Rather than switch up the order, the teams behind the Sun Devils also simply moved up a spot. Nothing the Trojans, Utes or Wildcats did was impressive enough to move them ahead of the Bruins, who have quietly become the second-highest ranked Pac-12 team in the polls, too.
UCLA now has the easiest path to the Pac-12 South title, but USC can change that this week. All Sun Devil fans should be rooting for the Trojans this week if they want ASU in the Pac-12 title game. If ASU wins out, it will have the tiebreaker over the Trojans, who, along with ASU, would have two losses. UCLA, UA and Utah would all have at least three conference losses in that scenario. It, however, may end up being more beneficial in the long run to not win the Pac-12 South, and thus not play Oregon in what would likely be a loss (or a really impressive win).
In a battle for the worst offense in the Pac-12, Stanford outlasted Utah in overtime. But in a battle to actually win the game, it was the Utes who outlasted the Cardinal. The game was tied 7-7 at the end of regulation and no points were scored in the second half before the two teams exploded in overtime, scoring a combined 20 points. Ever since the loss of Dres Anderson, Utah has had basically no passing attack. In the three games since, they've averaged 184.67 yards through the air, bolstered by 320 yards in a loss to Oregon that included two interceptions.
Take away the Wildcats' win over Oregon, and they're a 7-2 team that's best win might have been the one this week over Washington. Obviously, that Oregon win exists and should be counted, but nine times out of 10, the Ducks win that football game. The point being: UA hasn't looked any better than an average or slightly above average football team at any point this season. Yet, it's winning games and ranked near the top 10. The Wildcats beat Washington, but the Huskies gained more yards through the air and on the ground, while converting 10 more third downs.
No, I don't think the Sun Devils are the sixth-best team in the Pac-12. I also don't think they're the sixth-best team in the country. But they had to be punished in the power rankings, just like their résumé dictated them being ranked No. 6 in the playoff rankings. It just looked like an off-night all around for the Sun Devils in their loss to Oregon State. Those happen. But when you have the ball twice in the final two minutes of the game with chances to tie or take the lead, you have to at least cross the 50-yard line. Bottom line, Saturday was a terrible loss for ASU. If the Sun Devils had to lose a game, UA would have been the best (for its résumé) and Oregon State would probably have been second, but there's a large gap in between.
Just when it looks like the Huskies might catch a break and get a solid road win, everything crumbled apart. We'll never know what coach Chris Petersen's "chart" said exactly, but it told him to continue running the ball, rather than take three knees and then punt with about 10 seconds left on the clock. And just when you thought that would be the peak of his coaching blunders, he iced the Wildcats' kicker, who missed the attempt that didn't count, then made the one that did. The game encapsulated the Huskies disappointing season almost perfectly. Now, they have to win at least one game against Oregon State and Washington State just to get bowl eligible.
The Cardinal's fall from grace continued against Utah on Saturday. Granted, both teams have one of the top defenses in the conference, but it was an embarrassing performance from the offenses of both teams. We're entering the 12th week of the season now, and Stanford still isn't bowl eligible. At 5-5, the Cardinal has two games to get at least one win. Those games come against Cal and UCLA and could easily both be losses. If Stanford does get bowl eligible, does it even accept the bid? It would likely be for either the Cactus Bowl or Las Vegas Bowl.
Apparently, my last-place ranking of the Beavers gave them enough motivation to come out fired up Saturday night and end the Sun Devils' playoff hopes. Or maybe just that was the reason. Either way, it kept the Beavers' bowl dreams alive and gave them a signature win in what has been an otherwise disappointing season.
Once again, the Golden Bears weren't awful. In fact, they were competitive. Despite trailing 31-2 late in the first half, the Bears stormed back and at least made the box score look like it was a close game. A win over USC would have given Cal bowl eligibility. Now, it'll take either a win over Stanford or BYU. Either way, 2014 has to be considered an incredible success, and the future only looks brighter with quarterback Jared Goff still having two more years of eligibility.
Just like at the top, neither of the bottom two teams played this week either. If you thought there was nothing to say when the top two teams weren't in action, imagine how little there is for the bottom two. With its bowl dreams extinguished, once again the success of the Cougars season is dependent on the result of the Apple Cup. This rivalry game rivals only Cal and Stanford for the worst in the Pac-12 this season.
It has to be hard to be the Colorado Buffaloes. Just as they get out of the cellar in the power rankings, the team that takes over the spot goes out and upsets the No. 6 team in the nation. So it's back to the bottom for the Buffaloes, and they're likely here to stay. Their game against Oregon this week shouldn't pique the interest of anyone who's a fan of competitive football, but it should appeal to the same people who slow down to see car crashes on the side of the road: It's more of a morbid curiosity just to see how bad it will be. If that's you, hopefully you don't have DirecTV: Colorado at Oregon, 2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks.
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
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