The Pac-12 started with five teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll. That was tied for first, joining the SEC and the Big Ten. Now, 10 weeks later, only Oregon remains ranked.
The SEC and the Big Ten have a combined 11 teams still ranked in the AP Poll. The Pac-12, however, are down to one ranked team for the third week in a row. Last year only two teams from the Pac ended their seasons with a bowl game, partially due to COVID-19 implications. This year trends in the same direction, only there are far fewer excuses.
A preview for week 10
Utah (5-3, 4-1 Pac-12) @ Stanford (3-5, 2-4 Pac-12)
Don’t look now, but the Utes are starting to come back to life after a rocky start. Utah has now won four out of its last five games, including a victory over then-ranked Arizona State.
Sophomore running back Tavion Thomas is coming off a career game, where he tied the school record with four rushing touchdowns. Utah will need to rely on his success again if it wants to maintain its spot at the top of the Pac-12 South.
Stanford has not won a game since pulling off one of its biggest upsets in school history. Beating top-five Oregon didn’t give the Cardinal the momentum they were expecting as they now sit at the bottom of the Pac-12 North.
Tanner McKee will need to return to his early-season play if there will be any chance of an upset. Stanford’s Pac-12 chances might already be out of the picture at this point, but if it wants to at least get a bowl game, it needs this win at home.
Cal (3-5, 2-3 Pac-12) @ Arizona (0-8, 0-5 Pac-12)
Not many teams in the conference have been playing as well as Cal lately. After just missing out on an upset in Eugene, the Golden Bears have won two straight against who?
Much of the success is due to the play of quarterback Chase Garbers. Garbers has not thrown an interception in three weeks while the Cal defense had two interceptions of their own last week. Playing on the road is never easy, but Cal aims to make it three victories in a row against a winless Wildcat team.
The Wildcats’ season is one to forget. This team has nothing to lose since they are already out of bowl contention and are without a win. The only thing left to play for is a chance to bounce back next year.
After having their highest-scoring outing of the season last week, the Wildcats look to bring a win to their home crowd in Tucson. The chances of victory are still slim for Arizona on Saturday. But, if the defense can create some turnovers, they could erase that zero.
Oregon State (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) @ Colorado (2-6, 1-4 Pac-12)
The Beavers are looking to put together their first winning season in eight years. This season might just be the one. The run game has surprisingly been one of the strong points for this team. After losing Jermar Jefferson to the NFL Draft last season, B.J. Baylor has taken over the role and leads the conference in rushing yards (872). Away games have been the Beavers’ weakness this season, so an improved performance is a must if they want to keep up their impressive year.
Colorado has had one of the stranger seasons this conference has seen, almost upsetting a top-five opponent earlier this year, but not keeping up to the standard. The Buffs return home after a blowout loss in Eugene the week prior. Colorado doesn’t have much left to play for this season, but with a similar offensive performance to the one a week ago, they could add a win to their total.
USC (4-4, 3-3 Pac-12) @ Arizona State (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12)
USC started the season as one of the Pac-12 favorites, but have not lived up to the hype. The Trojans fired their head coach in hopes of righting the ship. Looking to win their first back-to-back games of the season, the Trojans will need to have another big game from running back Keaontay Ingram, as he comes off a 200-yard rushing performance.
The Sun Devils were one of the best teams in the conference earlier this year. Back-to-back losses have derailed their momentum, however. Bowl season and a chance at a Pac-12 championship appearance are more than obtainable for Arizona State, but not without improvement on the defensive side.
Bye Weeks – UCLA (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12), Washington State (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12)
UCLA hopes a bye week will help them after losing in back-to-back games. Utah has a large lead in the South, but bowl eligibility is still in sight for the Bruins. In a year of a balanced mix of ups and downs, UCLA will try to finish out strong in what may likely be Chip Kelly’s final season.
The Cougars are chasing the Ducks for the North title and will likely need to win out for a real chance. Coming off a big road win, Washington State looks to utilize the week off to prepare for a big matchup in Eugene.
