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Pac-12 Power Rankings: ASU football falls after loss to USC

This week's Pac-12 power rankings

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ASU senior defensive back J'Marcus Rhodes (17) and senior defensive back Chad Adams (21) bring down USC's C.J. Pollard (29) during the second half of the the game on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.


One week can change everything, just ask the ASU football team. At this point last week, the Sun Devils were riding high after smothering Utah 30-10. Many thought their defense would continue to play at that incredible level.

Then USC came to town, and everything came crashing down in the form of a 48-17 blowout loss

Who really knows what is going to happen each week in the Pac-12? Anyway, here are this week's rankings.



1) No. 12 Washington Huskies (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) Last week: 1

Washington cruised to an easy 44-23 win over UCLA by rushing for 333 yards and five touchdowns as a team. Quarterback Jake Browning did not have much impact on the game with 98 passing yards and an interception.

2) No. 17 USC Trojans (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) Last week: 6

The Trojans bludgeoned ASU 48-17 on the Sun Devils' Homecoming Game. USC wide receivers Tyler Vaughns and Deontay Burnett combined for 175 receiving yards and three scores, and on some plays, left the ASU defense guessing.

3) No. 22 Arizona Wildcats (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) Last week: 4

Arizona just keeps on rising, and after its 58-37 win over Washington State, who knows how high this team could go. Quarterback Khalil Tate put together another impressive game, this time with 275 passing yards, 146 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Tate deserves to be in the Heisman conversation – we'll see if he can keep up this pace and maybe win the award.

4) No. 21 Stanford Cardinal (6-2, 5-1 Pac-12) Last week: 2

Every win in college football is a good one, but Stanford flirted with disaster in its 15-14 win over Oregon State. The Cardinal were without running back Bryce Love, but almost losing to OSU is a bad sign.

5) No. 25 Washington State Cougars (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) Last week: 3

Washington State's slim College Football Playoff hopes died a miserable, fiery death at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats. The Cougars played poorly on both sides of the ball, but their quarterbacks were even worse. Head coach Mike Leach benched normal starting quarterback Luke Falk in the second quarter to play backup Tyler Hilinski, who went on to throw four interceptions.

6) Arizona State Sun Devils (4-4, 3-2 Pac-12) Last week: 5

The Sun Devils learned that old habits die hard. In their loss to USC, the defensive woes that previously plagued the team resurfaced. ASU was poor in tackling and consistently let USC wide receivers run free. The Sun Devils can reclaim their season with upcoming games against Colorado, UCLA and Oregon State, but it is clear they are not as good as they played in their two-game winning streak.

7) Oregon Ducks (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) Last week: 10

Hey, what do you know? Oregon won a game without quarterback Justin Herbert. In the Ducks' 41-20 blowout of Utah, the team leaned on the running game for 347 rushing yards and two scores. 

8) Colorado Buffaloes (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) Last week: 11

Colorado had good performances from quarterback Steven Montez and running back Phillip Lindsay in its 44-28 win over Cal. Montez tossed three touchdowns and Lindsay ran for 161 yards.

9) California Golden Bears (4-5, 1-5 Pac-12) Last week: 8

The Bears' defense could not contain Colorado in their road loss, but quarterback Ross Bowers was solid, with 359 passing yards and three touchdown passes. 

10) UCLA Bruins (4-4, 2-3 Pac-12) Last week: 7

UCLA could not stop Washington from piling up rushing yards and touchdowns, but the Bruins' real issue is the health of quarterback Josh Rosen, who injured his hand in their loss. Rosen sat out of Monday's practice, and there is no guarantee the he will play in the team's next game on Friday at Utah.

11) Utah Utes (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12) Last week: 9

The Utes are on a nasty four-game losing streak, with their most recent loss on the road at Oregon. Quarterback Tyler Huntley actually played well, with 293 passing yards and two touchdown passes, but the defense had no answer for Oregon's running backs. 

12) Oregon State Beavers (1-7, 0-5 Pac-12) Last week: 12

At this point, it is just sad when Oregon State loses. The Beavers put up a good effort in their 15-14 loss to Stanford, but could not seal the deal, as a late fumble by running back Ryan Nall led to a Stanford game-clinching touchdown. 


Reach the reporter at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.

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