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ASU Football: 2017 Pac-12 Week Three Power Rankings

BySam Ficarro|
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Vavae Malepeai
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Vavae Malepeai

While ASU football is coming off a disappointing loss versus San Diego State, other Pac-12 teams made statements with wins last week.

ASU football had a rough game last Saturday night falling at home to the San Diego State Aztecs 30-20 where the defense was absolutely gashed by running back Rashaad Penny.

The team will look to take out their frustration this week with a trip to Texas Tech in what will likely be a shootout just like last year.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, USC played Stanford in the first conference game of the young season with Oregon and Washington State also picking impressive victories at home.

Without further ado, here are the Week 3 Power Rankings featuring our football coverage team of Alec Henden, Ethan Schmidt, Hunter Robinson, Jordan Kaye, Killian McClatchey, Sam Ficarro and Zach Pekale

Power Rankings: Week 1 | Week 2

1. USC Trojans (LW: 1)

USC remains atop the power rankings after an impressive 42-24 win over then-No. 14 Stanford. Quarterback Sam Darnold was productive once again for the Trojans throwing only five incompletions, 316 yards and four touchdowns.

The Trojans outgained the Cardinal 623-342 with Stanford having nine minutes less of possession than USC and that was with Stanford having a +2 turnover margin.

USC will now host the Texas Longhorns Saturday in their first meeting since the iconic 2006 National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl in which Vince Young‘s run to the corner of the end zone won the title for the Longhorns.

2. Washington Huskies (LW: 2)

After a tough win at Rutgers in Week One, Washington played their home opener and routed Montana 63-7 behind 506 yards of total offense and four takeaways from the defense.

Quarterback Jake Browning was 22-for-26 passing with 259 yards and two touchdowns with wide receiver Dante Pettis continued his stellar form on special teams with a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Arguably the best defense in the Pac-12, the Huskies tallied five sacks, 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions and two fumbles against the Grizzlies.

Washington will play their final non-conference game Saturday versus Fresno State.

3. Stanford Cardinal (LW: 3)

Stanford is coming off their first loss of the season losing at USC.

Quarterback Keller Chryst struggled to get the passing game going finishing 15-for-28 passing with 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Bryce Love had a great game for the Cardinal rushing for 160 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.

Defense has been the strength of this football team for years now, but they struggled last week allowing 623 yards.

That will need to change Saturday as they’ll face San Diego State in another road test before resuming Pac-12 play next week.

4. Oregon Ducks (LW: 6)

It was an electrifying first half for Oregon’s offense as they led Nebraska 42-14 at halftime thanks to three touchdown passes from quarterback Justin Herbert and two touchdowns from running back Royce Freeman.

The Ducks were strangely shut out in the second half by Nebraska’s defense with the Cornhuskers making it a game only losing 42-35.

Oregon outgained Nebraska 566-361 including winning the turnover battle with four interceptions vs. Cornhuskers quarterback Tanner Lee.

Next up for Oregon is a trip to Wyoming to face the Cowboys and one of the most talked about NFL prospects, quarterback Josh Allen.

5. Washington State Cougars (LW: 4)

#Pac12AfterDark

That’s the best summarization of this game as the Cougars overcame a 31-10 third quarter deficit versus Boise State to force overtime on a six-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Hilinski to running back Jamal Morrow with 1:44 remaining in regulation.

Game went into triple overtime with the Broncos only getting a field goal and Cougars scoring a winning touchdown on another touchdown pass form Hilinski to Morrow to win the game.

Luke Falk left the game with an apparent injury after breaking the school-record in this game for most career passing yards, but has been named the starter for this week’s game.

After the wild finish, Washington State will host Oregon State Saturday in their Pac-12 opener.

6. UCLA Bruins (LW: 5)

After their version of #Pac12AfterDark versus Texas A&M, the Bruins came out firing and had a comfortable 56-23 win over Hawaii.

The Bruins led 35-7 at halftime and never looked back thanks to another fantastic performance from quarterback Josh Rosen who had more touchdown passes (5) than incompletions (3).

UCLA’s defense is still a work of progress as they allowed 515 yards of total offense versus the Rainbow Warriors.

No. 25 UCLA will see a familiar face Saturday as they’ll face Memphis coached by former Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell.

7. Utah Utes (LW: 7)

Utah were in a dog fight with in-state rival BYU and left Provo with a 19-13 win for their seventh straight win over the Cougars and their 16th win in the last 19 meetings.

Quarterback Tyler Huntley had an effective game throwing for 300 yards and rushing for 89 yards one touchdown.

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Wide receiver Darren Carrington II had another 100-yard game finishing with seven receptions for 129 yards.

The Utes’ stout defense was at it again allowing just 233 yards of offense versus BYU to go with three sacks and three interceptions.

Next up for Utah is a home game versus San Jose State Saturday.

8. Colorado Buffaloes (LW: 8)

After scoring only 17 points in their season opener versus in-state rival Colorado State, the Buffaloes’ offense got going with a 37-3 win over Texas State.

Colorado finished with 430 total yards of offense as quarterback Steven Montez threw for 299 yards and one touchdown and running back Phillip Lindsay rushed for 87 yards and one touchdown.

The Buffs’ defense forced two takeaway while holding Texas State to 283 yards of offense.

Colorado will face another in-state opponent in their final non-conference as they’ll face Northern Colorado Saturday.

9. California Golden Bears (LW: 9)

After an impressive road win over North Carolina, Cal struggled in their home opener versus Weber State.

The Wildcats led 20-17 entering the fourth quarter with the Golden Bears scoring 16 points in the final quarter to win the game 33-20.

Weber State quarterback Stefan Cantwell threw for 431 yards and one touchdown matching the offensive output of the Golden Bears as a team.

Running back Patrick Laird rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns with two of those coming in the fourth quarter.

Cal will look to put this shaky performance behind them as they’ll host Ole Miss Saturday.

10. Arizona State Sun Devils (LW: 10)

Arizona State’s struggles versus San Diego State has been well-documented.

ASU was unable to stop the San Diego State rush attack as running back Rashaad Penny finished with 353 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns including a 99-yard kick return for touchdown to begin the second quarter.

While the run game for the Sun Devils is struggling, quarterback Manny Wilkins has excelled throwing for 598 yards and four touchdowns to open up the season.

Arizona State will travel to Lubbock to face Texas Tech Saturday.

11. Arizona Wildcats (LW: 11)

Just like Arizona State, the Wildcats dropped a non-conference home game losing 19-16 versus Houston.

In an evenly-matched game, Houston’s defense made the crucial plays with a safety in the third quarter and two takeaways.

Arizona struggled to punch the ball in the end zone settling for three field goals as quarterback Brandon Dawkins threw for 178 yards and running back J.J. Taylor rushed for 87 yards.

The Wildcats will look to get back on track Friday night at UTEP.

12. Oregon State Beavers (LW: 12)

Oregon State remains on the bottom after a 48-14 loss to Minnesota at home.

The Beavers allowed 411 yards of offense with Minnesota rushing the ball 58 times compared to just eight pass attempts.

Golden Gophers running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks rushed for a combined 183 yards and four touchdowns.

Next: ASU Football: Kalen Ballage could be Pac-12’s Jaylen Samuels

Oregon State begins Pac-12 play Saturday with a trip to Pullman to face No. 21 Washington State.

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