ASU Football: 2017 Pac-12 Week 11 Power Rankings

Thanks to wins by ASU football, USC and Washington State, the Week 11 Power Rankings stayed pretty consistent as we enter the season’s home stretch.

Not a lot of surprises during Week 10 of the college football season as the majority of the favorites won their games last Saturday.

The second edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings were released Tuesday with Washington now up to No. 8, USC at No. 11 and Washington State at No. 19, with Arizona and Stanford dropping out of the rankings.

Despite the Pac-12’s slim chances of getting a team into the College Football Playoff, you can make the argument that the Conference of Champions is the deepest and most competitive league in the nation.

Eleven of the 12 teams have at least four wins (sorry Oregon State) and we could see the majority of the conference bowl eligible with three weeks remaining.

Without further ado, the Devils in Detail football coverage team of Alec Henden, Ethan Schmidt, Hunter Robinson, Jordan Kaye, Killian McClatchey, Sam Ficarro and Zach Pekale voted on this week’s Power Rankings.

Power Rankings: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 |

1. Washington Huskies (LW: 1)

For the fifth time in the last six weeks, the Washington Huskies sit atop of our Power Rankings after a dominant 38-3 win over Oregon last week.

After trailing 3-0 after the first quarter, the Huskies dominated the rest of the way scoring 17 points in the second quarter and 21 points in the third quarter.

Wide receiver Dante Pettis set the NCAA record for most punt return touchdowns in a career with a 64-yard run back in the second quarter en route to winning Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week.

It was not the flashiest of offensive performances, but the Huskies were efficient as quarter Jake Browning threw 11-of-19 passes for 204 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Running back Myles Gaskin was the bell cow for Washington rushing the ball 17 times for 123 yards and one touchdown.

In total, Washington out-gained Oregon 451-278 with the Huskies defense limiting the Ducks passing game to just 31 yards.

Next up for the eighth-ranked Washington Huskies is a pivotal game at Stanford Friday (8:30 p.m. MT on FS1) with Pac-12 North implications at stake.

2. USC Trojans (LW: 2)

USC remains at No. 2 in our Power Rankings after defeating Arizona 49-35 in a high-scoring affair.

The Trojans were in control leading 28-6 with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter as they were holding Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate in check.

Then Tate did his thing.

The sophomore quarterback led a massive comeback as Arizona tied the game at 35 with 8:23 remaining in the game.

Stepping up for USC was running back Ronald Jones, who had a massive fourth quarter with a pair of touchdowns to seal the victory and control in the Pac-12 South.

With USC now owning tiebreakers over Arizona and Arizona State, the Trojans only need to win one of their final two games to seal the division title.

Clay Helton’s squad will look to accomplish that feat Saturday (2 p.m. MT on FOX) when they travel to Boulder to face Colorado.

3. Washington State Cougars (LW: 5)

If there was a result that was a bit surprising, it was Washington State defeating Stanford at home 24-21 in winter-like conditions.

It was not a typical high-scoring offensive attack from the Cougars as they mustered 24 points, but that was all that was needed.

Quarterback Luke Falk had a bounce-back performance in his final game in Pullman, winning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, after completing 34-of-48 passes for 337 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

In total, Wazzu out-gained Stanford 430-198 as the defense, outside of a 52-yard Bryce Love touchdown run, held the Cardinal offense in check as quarterback K.J. Costello was ineffective in his second start of the season.

Next up for the 19th-ranked Cougars is a road game at Utah Saturday at 3:30 p.m. MT on the Pac-12 Network.

4. Stanford Cardinal (LW: 3)

It was not a pretty afternoon for Stanford in Pullman last week falling 24-21 as the offense wasn’t consistent all day.

Running back Bryce Love rushed for a 52-yard touchdown run to give Stanford the early 7-0 lead, but was shut down the rest of the day by the Cougs defense, finishing with 16 carries and 69 yards in his return from injury.

Head coach David Shaw opted to start K.J. Costello over Keller Chryst with Costello making his second start of the season after he started versus Arizona State in Week 5.

Costello finished the afternoon 9-of-20 passing for 105 yards, one interception and a 22-yard touchdown run.

The Stanford defense kept the points total pretty low versus the Cougars, but gave up over 400 yards of offense as they couldn’t hold down Luke Falk forever.

Stanford faces a must-win Friday night (8:30 p.m. MT on FS1) if they want to stay alive in the Pac-12 North when they host No. 8 Washington.

5. Arizona Wildcats (LW: 4)

The Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week streak ended for Khalil Tate as the Wildcats’ comeback fell short in Los Angeles against USC.

Arizona put up a valiant effort against the Trojans coming back from 28-6 down in the third quarter to tie the game at 35 in the fourth quarter, but USC running back Ronald Jones came in clutch down the stretch.

Jones scored a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:37 remaining to give USC a 42-35 lead, and on the ensuing possession, Tate threw a costly interception as he was trying to make a play that wasn’t there.

USC converted the turnover into points on a 11-yard touchdown run by Jones to seal Arizona’s fate.

The Wildcats need to win out and USC to lose out if they want to punch their ticket to Santa Clara for the Pac-12 Championship Game. Arizona will host Oregon State Saturday at 8 p.m. MT on ESPN2.

6. Arizona State Sun Devils (LW: 6)

Arizona State stays in the same position after a fourth-quarter comeback sealed a 41-30 win over Colorado last week for the 600th win in program history.

Running backs Demario Richard and Eno Benjamin made their presence known combining for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as ASU outscored Colorado 24-3 in the final frame.

The Sun Devils rushed for a season-high 381 yards and three touchdowns with Richard the leading rusher at 189 yards.

Quarterback Manny Wilkins had a solid game for the Sun Devils with 297 total yards and three total touchdowns.

The Sun Devil defense played pretty well limiting Colorado running back Phillip Lindsay, the nation’s third-leading rusher entering Week 10, to 23 carries for 80 yards and two short-yardage touchdowns.

Arizona State travels to Pasadena Saturday (7:30 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Network) to face UCLA with a chance to become bowl eligible with a win.

7. Utah Utes (LW: T8)

Utah routed UCLA last Friday night 48-17 with quarterback Tyler Huntley throwing four touchdowns and running back Zack Moss rushing for two TDs.

The Utes were facing an injury-filled Bruins team who were without starting quarterback Josh Rosen after not traveling to Salt Lake City due to a concussion.

Huntley had a bounce-back performance after two sub-par games since returning from injury combining for 327 yards.

Along with the two rushing touchdowns, Moss rushed for 153 yards as the Utes out-gained the Bruins 506-249.

Utah will look to become bowl eligible with a win Saturday (3:30 MT on Pac-12 Network) versus No. 19 Washington State.

8. California Golden Bears (LW: 11)

California had the biggest jump in this week’s Power Rankings after the Golden Bears defeated Oregon State 37-23.

Quarterback Ross Bowers had a productive game completing 24-of-30 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns.

One of Bowers’ favorite targets last week was wide receiver Vic Wharton, who had one of his best game of the season with eight receptions, 121 yards and one touchdown.

Running back Patrick Laird had his best game of the season rushing for a season-high 214 yards and one touchdown.

Cal’s defense held Oregon State to 299 yards and 18 first downs allowing no more than seven points in a quarter.

The Golden Bears will enjoy their bye week this week before resuming action for their rivalry game Nov. 18 at Stanford.

9. Oregon Ducks (LW: 7)

The Ducks passing attack continues to be non-existent as Oregon was blown out 38-3 in Seattle against Washington.

Oregon’s only points came in the first quarter on a 30-yard field goal from placekicker Aidan Schneider.

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Quarterback Braxton Burmeister continues to struggle after throwing for only 31 yards and one interception on just 7-of-13 passing.

Running game carried Oregon’s offense rushing for 247 yards as Royce Freeman finished with 122 yards.

With the offense’s ineffectiveness, it’s negatively impacting Oregon’s defense as they’ve been put in unfavorable situations.

Oregon will look to get things right during the bye week before hosting Arizona next week.

T10. Colorado Buffaloes (LW: 10)

The Buffaloes played three strong quarters against Arizona State last week, but fell apart in the fourth quarter as they couldn’t stop the Devils running game.

Quarterback Steven Montez had one of his best games of the season throwing for 345 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Wide receiver Shay Fields had another 100-yard game finishing with six receptions, 128 yards and one touchdown.

Running back Phillip Lindsay did not have the same success against ASU as he did last year as he finished with 23 carries, 80 yards and two touchdowns.

Colorado was in control, but struggled to put drives together in the fourth quarter finishing with a field goal, two punts and an interception.

The Buffs defense allowed 24 fourth-quarter points with ASU gashing the Colorado defense with massive runs up the middle, breaking numerous tackles and carrying defenders.

Colorado will seek that elusive sixth win against No. 11 USC Saturday at 2 p.m. MT on FOX.

T10: UCLA Bruins (LW: T8)

It was a forgettable and costly night for Jim Mora’s squad as UCLA were routed 48-17 to the hands of Utah.

In addition to Rosen being out for a concussion, the Bruins leading receiver Darren Andrews suffered a torn ACL in the defeat causing him to miss the rest of the season.

Rosen’s absence greatly impacted UCLA’s offense as the Bruins threw for only 115 yards while rushing for 134 yards.

The defense continues to struggle allowing 506 yards and 24 first downs against Utah.

Rosen expects to play Saturday (7:30 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Network) against Arizona State as the Bruins need to win two of their final three games to become bowl eligible.

12. Oregon State Beavers (LW: 12)

For the first time this season, Oregon State was not a unanimous selection for 12th place in our Power Rankings.

The Beavers are coming off their biggest loss under interim head coach Cory Hall after a 37-23 loss in Berkeley against California.

Oregon State couldn’t contain Cal running back Patrick Laird, who had a season-high 214 yards and one touchdown.

In total, the Beavers defense allowed 475 yards and 34 first downs.

It was not a great day for the Beavers offense with quarterback Darell Garretson finishing 13-of-25 passing with 169 yards as the OSU running game tallied 104 yards with five rushers.

Next: ASU Football: Big fourth quarter propels Sun Devils to victory vs. Colorado

Oregon State will continue their hunt of their first Pac-12 win in Tucson Saturday (8 p.m. MT on ESPN2) against Arizona.