North
1. Stanford
Christian McCaffrey got bored of his weekly 100-plus yard rushing outing, so he decided to throw a touchdown last week too. If he does not win Pac-12 Player of the Year, then the voters have failed us all.
2. Washington State
Wazzu coach Mike Leach beat the Sun Devils then took a jab at ASU coach Todd Graham, so the Cougars earn the tiebreaker over Oregon in this week’s rankings. All is forgiven for ruining Arizona’s Homecoming and possible bowl-bid.
3. Oregon
The Ducks somehow still have a shot to win the Pac-12 North, as they are only two games back of Stanford and play them this week.
4. California
After losing their fourth straight conference game, the Golden Bears have a tune-up game against Oregon State before they end the season at Stanford.
5. Washington
The Huskies lost 34-23 to Utah last week, so it is now an uphill battle for them at 4-5 to become bowl eligible.
6. Oregon State
Basketball season tips off this weekend in Corvallis, as Oregon State takes on Northwest Christian. The Beavers football team, on the other hand, lost 41-0 to UCLA.
South
1. Utah
The Utes have an outside shot at the College Football Playoff at No. 10 in the current playoff poll, and are up against an Arizona team that has upset a ranked opponent every year in the Rich Rodriguez era. If Utah and Stanford win out, though, the Pac-12 Championship could be a de facto playoff game involving two teams nobody would have predicted prior to the season.
2. UCLA
After a tune-up game against Oregon State, the Bruins face Wazzu this week before ending their season on the road at Utah and USC in virtual Pac-12 South playoff games.
3. USC
After losing three out of their first four Pac-12 games, the Trojans have won three straight to climb back into Pac-12 South contention. I am channeling my inner Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre and predicting USC to beat Colorado on Friday. This coupled with an Arizona win over Utah would give USC the Pac-12 South lead, and the Trojans beat ASU with a drunken coach. So Arizona owes them.
4. ASU
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit picked ASU to make the College Football Playoff and they repaid the favor by playing to under .500 in mid-November. ASU needs a win over Washington this week, or it will have to knock off Arizona in the Territorial Cup to keep the slim possibility of bowl eligibility alive.
5. Arizona
Instead of getting blown out like most expected, the Wildcats took a double-digit lead before losing, just to make the loss that much more painful. Utah comes to town in what will be Arizona’s last home game of the season, where the Utes will be looking to avenge last season’s blowout loss when Arizona destroyed them 42-10 during their senior night.
6. Colorado
Colorado was the latest victim of the McCaffrey train, as he ran rampart in the same state where his NFL pro-bowler father made his name. With Arizona’s season in the dumps, watching Mike Macintyre lose after guaranteeing a victory over Arizona is a fun alternative.
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