ASU Football: 2018 Pac-12 Week Two Power Rankings

ASU football‘s upset win over Michigan State, Stanford’s win over USC and Colorado’s last-second win at Nebraska headlined a solid Week Two for the Pac-12.

Pac-12 After Dark was in full effect in Week Two with Arizona State’s thrilling fourth-quarter comeback to upset No. 15 Michigan State.

The now 23rd-ranked Sun Devils, ranked for the first time in three years, prepare for their first road test at San Diego State who will be without starting quarterback Christian Chapman.

Other notable scores was Stanford stifling USC’s offense in a 17-3 win to open up conference play, Colorado’s road win at Nebraska and Arizona getting demolished in Houston by the Cougars as the Wildcats are now 0-2 to open the season.

Without further ado, our Week Two Power Rankings with the Washington Huskies maintaining the top spot.

Power Rankings: Preseason | Week One |

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

The Huskies got back on track in Week Two, returning home to obliterate North Dakota by 42 points.

Jake Browning again had turnover concerns, but looked more comfortable in the pocket while throwing for 313 yards and two touchdown passes. Myles Gaskin and the backfield combined for 195 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in support.

Following last week’s loss to Auburn, UW knows they’ll have to win out to have a shot at the College Football Playoff. With impressive showings by Stanford, Arizona State and Colorado, they might have some future competition to boost their case.

Better yet, all three of those games will be at home. You have to like their chances.

– Trevor Booth

2. Stanford Cardinal (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) LW: 2

Despite only 186 yards on the ground from Heisman candidate Bryce Love, the start of the new season for the Cardinal has been more than ideal.

Stanford starts the year with a 2-0 record with wins over two double-digit win teams from a season ago in San Diego State and USC.

At quarterback, K.J. Costello has been spectacular as the junior has completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 515 yards and five touchdowns.

With Costello firing on all cylinders in the passing game and with Heisman candidate in the backfield in Bryce Love, the Cardinal could potentially jump Washington in both the polls and the power rankings for good in 2018.

– Koki Riley

3. Oregon Ducks (2-0) LW: 3

The Oregon Ducks are off to a hot start on offense. Junior quarterback Justin Herbert is racking up solid numbers already and currently holds a spot on ESPN’s Heisman Watch list.

However, the Ducks have not been truly tested thus far, playing Bowling Green and Portland State. The 20th-ranked team in the country will welcome San Jose State into Eugene this weekend. It won’t be until Week 4 where the Ducks face their first true test against No. 9 Stanford to begin conference play.

– Ethan Schmidt

4. Arizona State Sun Devils (2-0) LW: 6

While ASU’s rival from down south is on the verge of the worst start in college football, the Sun Devils are competing for the best. A 16-13 victory over No. 15 Michigan State propelled Arizona State into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2015.

The No. 23 Sun Devils will look to carry the momentum from their victory as they take on San Diego State. The Aztecs will look to once again defeat ASU for consecutive years after last year’s 30-20 victory.

The biggest difference? Former SDSU defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales will be on ASU’s sideline as the battle of the 3-3-5 defenses will take place. Senior Manny Wilkins will look to have a another productive week after throwing the ball 48 times for 380 yards against MSU.

– Cody Whitehouse

5. USC Trojans (1-1, 0-1 Pac-12) LW: 4

It’s not time to panic quite yet about the Trojans, but it is fair to wonder how long it’ll take quarterback J.T. Daniels to come into his own.

Faced with astronomical expectations as a five-star recruit, the true freshman has put together two uninspiring performances to begin his career, tossing two interceptions against one touchdown while completing just over 55 percent of his passes.

Against Stanford, the Trojans were held to three points. Credit the Cardinal defense, but the bottom line is USC possesses too much talent on its roster to not score a single touchdown.

USC looks to rebound in a non-conference matchup with Texas, another former powerhouse program searching for an identity.

– Zach Pekale

6. Utah Utes (2-0) LW: 5

Utah dropped a spot in our power rankings in large part to Arizona State’s upset win over Michigan State.

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The Utes are off to a solid 2-0 start after a closer-than-expected road win at Northern Illinois last week in one of the strangest road games featuring a Power Five school this season.

After trailing 3-0 at halftime, Utah got on the board on a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Zack Moss and sealed the game on a pick six from linebacker Chase Hansen.

Utah’s defense held the Huskies to 228 yards of total offense and two field goals. The Utes will have to play much better this week as they open Pac-12 play at home against No. 10 Washington.

– Sam Ficarro

7. Colorado Buffaloes (2-0) LW: 10

While the Sun Devils got most of the national attention for knocking off then No. 15 Michigan State, the Buffaloes quietly came away with a win of their own over a Big Ten opponent to move to 2-0.

Colorado played spoiler to Scott Frost in his return to Nebraska, denying the Huskers a win on the game’s final drive.

Quarterback Steven Montez has been impressively accurate, completing over 73 percent of his passes while wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. has emerged as one of the top playmakers in the conference. His 388 receiving yards are the third-most in the NCAA.

Up next, the Buffaloes take on New Hampshire looking to complete their non-conference slate undefeated.

– Pekale

8. California Golden Bears (2-0) LW: 8

What do we know so far about Justin Wilcox’s football team?

For starters, they’re 2-0. They held on to defeat North Carolina in Week One and outlasted a late BYU surge on the road over the weekend.

But there is some cause for concern. The Bears have gone away from 2017 starter Ross Bowers, leaning toward redshirt freshman Chase Garbers. At the moment, Patrick Laird and sophomore quarterback Brandon McIlwain have assured things are well on the ground.

We’ll look to find out more about the Bears as they return home for their final non-conference game this Saturday against Idaho State.

– Booth

9. Washington State Cougars (2-0) LW: 9

Washington State pitched a shutout last week against San Jose State defeating the Spartans 31-0.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew starred again for the Cougars throwing for 414 yards and three touchdowns including two to wide receiver Davontavean Martin.

The Cougs outgained San Jose State 544-109 and had 19 more first downs than the Spartans (27-8). Washington State limited SJSU to nine yards on 23 carries.

Washington State will wrap up non-conference play this weekend against Eastern Washington before facing USC in the conference opener next Friday.

– Ficarro

T10: Arizona Wildcats (0-2) LW: 7

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the Wildcats are off to quite possibly the worst start in college football. After the offseason hiring of former Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, Arizona has began the season 0-2.

After rushing for 1,411 yards last season, quarterback Khalil Tate has been forced into a much more traditional pocket passer role with a mere 15 carries for 22 yards in the opening two games of the season.

The defense has shown no sign of being able to stop opposing offenses after allowing 31 points in the first half alone against Houston. The Cougars ran for 297 yards and completely dominated the line of scrimmage.

Arizona will look to get back on track as they play Southern Utah and Oregon State the next two weeks before a matchup against No. 22 USC.

– Whitehouse

T10: UCLA Bruins (0-2) LW: 11

The Chip Kelly era has taken off in the wrong direction.

Some experts picked the UCLA Bruins to potentially win the Pac-12 South with Kelly at the helm, but the Bruins dropped their season opener at home to Cincinnati, and then proceeded to Norman last week only to get smacked by No. 5 Oklahoma.

The Bruins’ offensive line is struggling to protect the quarterback as it has allowed 11 sacks in the first two games. The fortunate think for Kelly and company is they can only go up from here. UCLA faces Fresno State at home in Week 3.

– Schmidt

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

Oregon State remains at the bottom of our Power Rankings despite picking up their first win in the Jonathan Smith era.

The Beavers defeated Southern Utah 48-25 behind a monstrous performance from running back Jermar Jefferson who rushed for 238 yards and four touchdowns in the victory.

Quarterback Conor Blount got the start for Oregon State and he played well recording 226 yards and one touchdown.

Oregon State posted 649 yards of total offense outgaining the Thunderbirds by 161 yards.

Next. ASU Football: Herm Edwards: “Rankings don’t help you win”. dark

The Beaver will play at Nevada Saturday in their final non-conference game before opening Pac-12 play against Arizona.

– Ficarro

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