ASU Football: 2018 Pac-12 Week One Power Rankings

ASU football‘s dominant win over UTSA was one of many blowout wins for Pac-12 teams as Washington, Arizona and UCLA stumbled in their openers.

No, the Pac-12’s College Football Playoff hopes aren’s shattered.

That seems to be a popular takeaway after Washington fell to Auburn in Atlanta 21-16.

The Huskies struggled to get anything going on offense, but did hold a 16-15 lead in the fourth quarter.

The AP voters only slid Washington three spots to No. 9 in the AP Poll, which is quite remarkable considering the trends of seismic moving the first couple weeks of the season.

Washington still controls their destiny if they win out and claim the Pac-12 championship considering they have Oregon and Stanford on their schedule in conference play.

Also don’t sleep on Stanford, who defeated San Diego State 31-10 despite Bryce Love recording 18 carries for 29 yards.

The biggest surprise of opening weekend was Arizona’s home loss to BYU as the Wildcats struggled in Kevin Sumlin‘s first game in charge.

As we head into Week Two, here are our updated power rankings with a familiar team sitting atop the table.

Power Rankings: Preseason

1. Washington Huskies (0-1) Last Week: 1

With a neutral site matchup against Auburn in week one of the season, no team in the country had a more critical first week than the Huskies.

Unfortunately for Chris Petersen’s squad, Washington fell to the Tigers in Atlanta by a final of 21-16.

The narrow defeat to the elite SEC side places the Huskies at 0-1 to start the season and for a team that was hoping to become a top four team in the nation by December, the Huskies may have just lost their chance of becoming a final four contender for the National Championship.

What makes matters worse for Washington is that Auburn was their toughest opponent this season, and a win over the Tigers could have put the Huskies in prime position for a spot in the playoff considering their recent dominance in Pac-12 play.

– Koki Riley

2. Stanford Cardinal (1-0) LW: 2

As expected, Bryce Love received most of the attention from San Diego State’s defense on Friday night, finishing with 18 rushes for 29 yards. The Cardinal needed a spark from elsewhere.

Junior quarterback K.J. Costello was that spark, throwing for 332 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-10 victory for Stanford. He connected with JJ Arcega-Whiteside for 226 of those yards and three scores, a proficient aerial attack that helped negate an off night for Love.

It’s hard to believe that the Heisman candidate will have many nights like that this season, but Costello’s performance showed that teams will have to focus on every aspect of Stanford’s offense.

Up Next: The Cardinal return to Palo Alto next Saturday with a huge matchup against their rival in USC.

– Trevor Booth

3. Oregon Ducks (1-0) LW: 4

Things did not look promising at the start of Oregon’s season opener against Bowling Green when the Ducks trailed 10-0 early. But things changed quickly.

The Ducks eventually found their identity in the passing game, with Justin Herbert throwing five touchdowns. And while no one individually rushed for over 60 yards, the team combined for 212 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

First-game jitters and growing pains with new head coach Mario Cristobal are likely responsible for the slow start, but those should fizzle down as the season continues.

The Ducks shouldn’t have any trouble in week two when they host FCS opponent Portland State, who lost to Nevada by 53 points in their opener.

– Carson Field

4. USC Trojans (1-0) LW: 3

Freshman J.T. Daniels shook off some early nerves and used a 24-point fourth quarter to guide the 15th-ranked Trojans to victory over UNLV.

The 2017 Gatorade National Player of the Year will be under a microscope this season as he fills in for former USC quarterback Sam Darnold who was most recently named the New York Jets starter for week one.

Expect a closer game this upcoming week as two Pac-12 powerhouses will square off as the Trojans take on No. 13 Stanford.

– Cody Whitehouse

5. Utah Utes (1-0) LW: T5

After falling behind 10-0 against in-state opponent Weber State, the Utes rallied to blow out the Wildcats 41-10.

Utah’s defense has become a trademark under head coach Kyle Whittingham who enters his 14th season with the Utes as the Pac-12’s longest tenured coach. The defense was once again the key for Utah as they limited Weber State to 13 yards passing and 46 yards on the ground on 31 carries.

Quarterback Tyler Huntley looked much improved from a year ago as he collected four touchdowns through the air while Zack Moss led the ground attack with 150 carries on 16 carries.

– Whitehouse

6. Arizona State Sun Devils (1-0) LW: 7

Few people knew what to expect in Herm Edwards’ return to the sidelines.

More from Devils in Detail

But after a 49-7 victory over UTSA in which the defense recorded three takeaways and the offense outgained UTSA 503-221 in total yards, critics of Arizona State and the Edwards hire were temporarily silenced.

By no measure was Arizona State close to perfect in its season opener. The Sun Devils were called for 11 penalties, five against the special teams unit, and struggled to sustain drives with consistency, relying too heavily on big plays.

Up Next: ASU will look to clean up its mistakes in practice before welcoming No. 11 Michigan State to Tempe, the first ranked non-conference opponent on the Sun Devils’ schedule since Notre Dame in November 2014.

– Zach Pekale

7. Arizona Wildcats (0-1) LW: T5

Kevin Sumlin and Khalil Tate were expected to light off fireworks in the Wildcats’ opener against BYU.

Instead, they didn’t get off the ground.

Tate unexpectedly became a pocket passer in UA’s 28-23 loss to the Cougars, throwing the ball 34 times and rushing only eight times for 14 yards. Last season, he rushed for 1,411 yards in 11 games on 9.2 yards per carry.

The fact that Sumlin, who coached Johnny Manziel, would limit Tate’s rushing seemed puzzling. We’ll have to see how the offense adjusts.

Up Next: The Wildcats will look to rebound next Saturday as they travel to Texas to take on the University of Houston.

– Booth

8. California Golden Bears (1-0) LW: 9

Justin Wilcox’s second season at the helm in Berkeley got off to a strong start after Cal defeated North Carolina 24-17. The Golden Bears got off to a 17-0 lead holding off a late comeback from the Tar Heels

Running back Patrick Laird was Cal’s main source of offense rushing the ball 29 times for 95 yards and one touchdown.

The Golden Bears rotated quarterbacks in-and-out of the lineup last Saturday as the three combined to throw for 119 yards and one touchdown.

Cal’s defense was opportunistic forcing four interceptions against North Carolina starter Nathan Elliott.

Next up for the Golden Bears is a road test against BYU, who are riding high after stunning Arizona in Tucson last weekend.

– Sam Ficarro

9. Washington State Cougars (1-0) LW: 10

The Cougars went on the road to play the Josh Allen-less Wyoming Cowboys leaving with a 41-19 win.

This was notably Washington State’s first game since the graduation of quarterback Luke Falk. Despite not having Falk, head coach Mike Leach continued to heavily rely on the passing game as new starter Gardner Minshew went 38-for-57 passing for 319 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

After trailing Wyoming 19-16 at halftime, Washington State outscored the Cowboys 28-3 in the second half as the Cougars defense limited Wyoming to just 206 yards of total offense.

Washington State will host San Jose State in their home opener Saturday before wrapping up their non-conference slate against Eastern Washington next week.

– Ficarro

10. Colorado Buffaloes (1-0) LW: 11

After a disappointing 2017, not many people new what to expect in the season opener against Colorado State. But regardless, the Buffaloes came out firing on all cylinders.

Junior quarterback Steven Montez was brilliant in the win, completing 22-of-25 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns. Colorado also excelled on the ground, rushing for 258 yards.

Despite being picked to finish fifth in the division, Colorado could be a force in the Pac-12 South race if their offense stays hot.

However, the competition increases in week two when the Buffs travel to Lincoln for a showdown against former Big 12 foe Nebraska.

– Field

11. UCLA Bruins (0-1) LW: 8

Game one of the Chip Kelly era at UCLA did not go as planned.

Kelly and the Bruins fell 26-17 at home to Cincinnati, a team that a season ago finished just 4-8 in the American Athletic Conference.

In the defeat, recently declared starting quarterback Wilton Speight left the game in the second quarter with a back injury and his replacement, Dorian-Thompson Robinson, failed to throw a single touchdown pass.

If this week was any indication of where the Bruins season is heading toward, then it is going to be a very long and challenging year one of the Chip Kelly era at UCLA.

– Riley

12. Oregon State Beavers (0-1) LW: 12

Clearly, Urban Meyer’s suspension caused no on-field distractions for Ohio State against Oregon State on Saturday. The Buckeyes rolled the Beavers 77-31 in Jonathan Smith’s head coaching debut.

Oregon State conceded 721 yards of total offense, 35 first downs and allowed Ohio State to convert on 80 percent of its third downs.

The lone bright spot of the day for the Beavers was running back Artavis Pierce. The junior ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries, although the scoring plays were from 78 and 80 yards out.

Next. ASU Football: Best, average and worst case scenarios against Michigan State. dark

Up Next: The Beavers will look to get into the win column when they host FCS opponent Southern Utah on Saturday.

– Pekale

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