ASU Football: 2017 Pac-12 Week Six Power Rankings

ASU football was gashed by Stanford’s Bryce Love and failed to move up, but Washington State’s upset win over USC shook up the rankings at the top.

While ASU football couldn’t make it 2-0 in Pac-12 play last week at Stanford, our Pac-12 Power Rankings shook up considerably at the top after Washington State’s upset win over USC.

The Cougars got their first signature win under head coach Mike Leach and quarterback Luke Falk as Wazzu are now in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.

Unfortunately for Washington State, their in-state rival Washington has looked pretty good this season and their Apple Cup rivalry game will be in Seattle in late November.

What a game that could be if they both remain undefeated.

Without further ado, here’s out Week Six Pac-12 Power Rankings consisting of 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 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5

1. Washington Huskies (LW: 2)

For the first time this season, Washington holds the top spot in our Power Rankings.

The Huskies are coming off another blowout road win defeating Oregon State 42-7 behind 509 yards of total offense.

Quarterback Jake Browning threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns as running back Myles Gaskin rushed for 113 yards and one touchdown.

Washington’s stout defense came to play again holding Oregon State to just 184 yards of total offense and eight first downs.

Next up for No. 6 Washington is Cal at home Saturday at 7:45 p.m. PST on ESPN.

2. Washington State Cougars (LW: 3)

What a win for the Cougs.

Washington State defeated USC 30-27 on a game-winning field goal from 32-yard field goal from Erik Powell with 1:40 remaining in regulation.

The story of the game wasn’t Wazzu’s offense, it was their defense.

The WSU defense pressured USC quarterback Sam Darnold and the Trojans’ injury-riddled offensive line limiting Darnold to 164 passing yards, an interception and a fumble that sealed the victory for the Cougars.

On the other sideline, Luke Falk had another great game for Washington State throwing for 340 yards and two touchdowns with running back Jamal Morrow rushing for 91 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

Next up for No. 11 Washington State is a trip to Eugene to face Oregon at 5 p.m. PST Saturday on FOX.

3. USC Trojans (LW: 1)

As discussed above, USC’s offense struggled mightily to move the ball because of the injuries sustained on the offensive line.

Darnold was unable to get into a rhythm all night and was left scrambling out of the pocket all night.

USC also turned the ball over twice and had eight fewer first downs than the Cougars.

The Trojans should bounce back this week as they host Oregon State, who’ve been outscored 94-30 in two Pac-12 games this season.

Kickoff of that game is at 1 p.m. PST Saturday on Pac-12 Network.

4. Utah Utes (LW: 5)

The Utes have quietly taken care of business this season sitting with an undefeated record and atop the Pac-12 South.

Utah is coming off a bye week after defeating Arizona on the road two weeks ago.

Coming into Salt Lake City is Bryce Love and the Stanford Cardinal as this will be Utah’s toughest test this season.

Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m. PST Saturday on FS1.

5. Stanford Cardinal (LW: 4)

So running back Bryce Love is pretty good.

Love rushed for a school-record 301 yards and three touchdowns in route to a 34-24 over Arizona State.

The junior tailback has now rushed for a staggering 1,088 and eight touchdowns this season through only five games catapulting himself into the Heisman discussion.

After losing back-to-back games versus USC and San Diego State, the Cardinal have responded with consecutive wins over UCLA and ASU and are now back into the Pac-12 North conversation.

Next up for Stanford is No. 20 Utah in Salt Lake City at 7:15 p.m. PST Saturday on FS1.

6. Oregon Ducks (LW: 7)

Oregon’s 45-24 win over California was bitter sweet as starting quarterback Justin Herbert sustained a collarbone injury and could miss the entire season.

Also sustaining injuries was running back Royce Freeman, wide receiver Dillon Mitchell and backup quarterback Taylor Alie.

Despite all that, Oregon still managed 459 yards of total offense thanks to 328 rushing yards and by running back Kani Benoit’s 138 yards and two touchdowns.

Oregon will host No. 11 Washington State Saturday at 5 p.m. PST on FOX as they look to overcome all of their injuries.

7. California Golden Bears (LW: 6)

It’s been a struggle in Pac-12 play for first-year head coach Justin Wilcox.

Cal, after going undefeated in non-conference play, has dropped their first two conference games versus USC and Oregon.

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The Golden Bears’ running game was completely shutdown by Oregon as the Bears rushed for only eight yards on 29 carries, an average of 0.3 yards/carry.

Cal’s offense was forced to be one-dimensional as quarterback Ross Bowers threw 23-of-41 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns.

The defense struggled to stop Oregon’s running game despite the injuries they accumulated during the game.

Next up for Cal is a trip to Seattle to face No. 6 Washington at 7:45 p.m. PST Saturday on ESPN.

8. UCLA Bruins (LW: 9)

After being gashed by Bryce Love, the Bruins bounced back versus Colorado with a 27-23 win.

It was once again the passing game of Josh Rosen that spearheaded UCLA’s offense as Rosen threw for 372 yards and one touchdown with wide receiver Jordan Lasley finishing with seven receptions for 146 yards.

UCLA’s defense had its best performance tying a season-best allowing only 23 points to the Buffaloes as Colorado was 4-for-16 on third down.

After tallying their first Pac-12 win, UCLA will enjoy their bye week before facing Arizona on the road next week.

9. Colorado Buffaloes (LW: 8)

Colorado has to be disappointed they didn’t leave Los Angeles with a victory.

Statistically, Colorado matched UCLA’s output as the Buffs tallied 434 yards of total offense and had 96 more rushing yards than the Bruins.

Quarterback Stevie Montez was the team’s leading passer and rusher combining for 351 yards and one touchdown.

Key of the game was Colorado’s inability to convert on third downs as UCLA was 9-for-16 on third down while the Buffaloes were 4-for-16.

Next up for Colorado is Arizona in Boulder at 5 p.m. PST Saturday on Pac-12 Network.

10. Arizona State Sun Devils (LW: 10)

Arizona State left Palo Alto with a disappointing 10-point loss versus Stanford.

The Sun Devils couldn’t stop running back Bryce Love as he rushed for a program-record for yards in a game previously held by Christian McCaffrey.

Quarterback Manny Wilkins threw his first two interceptions of the year resulting in seven points for Stanford proving to be a decisive play in the game.

A positive for Arizona State was that the running game had their best game of the season rushing for 214 yards as Demario Richard rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns and Kalen Ballage rushing for 60 yards on nine carries.

Arizona State will regroup during their bye week this week before hosting No. 6 Washington next Saturday.

11. Arizona Wildcats (LW: 11)

Arizona is coming off a bye week as they prepare for a road game at Colorado.

Quarterback Brandon Dawkins has played well this season as he’s the Wildcats’ leading passer with 670 yards and five touchdowns and leading rusher with 341 yards and six touchdowns.

The Wildcats will look to pick up their first Pac-12 win of the season after a tough six-point versus Utah last time out.

Kickoff from Boulder is set for 5 p.m. PST Saturday on Pac-12 Network.

12. Oregon State Beavers (LW: 12)

Oregon State has not had an easy schedule.

After playing non-conference games at Colorado State and home versus Minnesota, the Beavers have opened up Pac-12 play with losses versus Washington State and Washington.

Next: ASU Football: Sun Devils show fight, but Bryce Love’s big day leads Stanford to victory

The schedule doesn’t light up this week as they travel to the Coliseum to face No. 14 USC as they will look to stop quarterback Sam Darnold at 1 p.m. PST Saturday on Pac-12 Network.