Ranking the Best Pac-12 Football Matchups of Week 7
It's a relatively light weekend in the Pac-12 Conference for football, with one-quarter of the league's teams getting a bye to recharge the batteries for the home stretch. That leaves us with only four conference matchups as well as a non-league tilt, one that in the past has national championship implications but this time around pits fading powers.
We've ranked these games in order of how good the matchups should be as well as how likely you are to watch them. Follow along and see what's in store for Week 7 in the Pac-12.
5. No. 21 Utah (5-1, 2-1) at Oregon State (2-3, 1-1)
1 of 5
When: Saturday, Oct. 15; 4 p.m. ET
With No. 5 Washington getting the weekend off, Utah is the Pac-12's only ranked team in action. But the Utes are limping into Corvallis with an uncertain run game after senior Armand Shyne suffered a season-ending knee injury in Saturday's win over Arizona.
Three other Utes rushers are either hurt or have retired because of injury, which will put pressure on quarterback Troy Williams to carry the offense.
Oregon State will be dangerous now that it's ended a 12-game Pac-12 losing streak. The Beavers upset California last week thanks to 221 rushing yards and three touchdowns from sophomore Ryan Nall, though he's questionable with a foot injury.
The Beavers' pass game is among the worst in the country, with only three TD passes and a combined passer rating of 95.68.
4. USC (3-3, 2-2) at Arizona (2-4, 0-3)
2 of 5
When: Saturday, Oct. 15; 3:30 p.m. ET
Teams headed in opposite directions will meet under the still-hot desert sun in Arizona's first non-night game of the 2016 season. The Wildcats' previous six contests had all started at 7 p.m. (local time) or later, including their consecutive defeats to Washington and at UCLA and Utah.
Maybe in the light of day Arizona will be able to avoid another spate of injuries that has ravaged its offense. Junior quarterback Anu Solomon has missed the last five games and sophomore Brandon Dawkins has been knocked out of the last two, prompting coach Rich Rodriguez to pull true freshman Khalil Tate's redshirt. The Wildcats are also so thin at running back they've been using wide receivers at the position.
USC isn't much healthier, but at least it's playing with some positive momentum. After a 1-3 start, the Trojans have won two straight to right the ship, and they can partly thank redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold for the turnaround. He's thrown for 963 yards and six touchdowns along with two rushing scores in his three starts.
3. UCLA (3-3, 1-2) at Washington State (3-2, 2-0)
3 of 5
When: Saturday, Oct. 15; 10:30 p.m. ET
Josh Rosen threw for a career-high 400 yards in UCLA's loss at Arizona State on Saturday, but he was also hurt twice in that game, including to his throwing shoulder. If he can't go, the Bruins will have to turn to senior Mike Fafaul, who was 3-of-11 for 44 yards in relief of Rosen.
UCLA will need all the offensive help it can get to keep up with a Washington State attack that's on a roll and suddenly diverse. Cougars coach Mike Leach is known for his dislike of the run game, yet they've averaged 35 carries during a three-game win streak. In WSU's previous 52 games under Leach, it ran the ball 30 or more times on just five occasions.
Having to respect the run just makes WSU quarterback Luke Falk all the more dangerous. The junior leads the nation in passing accuracy (74.1 percent) and is averaging 370.4 yards per game with 16 touchdowns.
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2. Stanford (3-2) at Notre Dame (2-4)
4 of 5
When: Saturday, Oct. 15; 7:30 p.m. ET
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
When Notre Dame visited Stanford last November, a spot in the playoffs was at stake as each team was among the Top Nine in the rankings with Notre Dame at No. 6. The game came down to the final seconds, with the Fighting Irish going ahead with 30 seconds to go only to have the Cardinal kick a game-winning field goal as time expired, and both teams ended up playing in major bowls.
No such luck this time around. In fact, any postseason implications this contest has in 2016 revolves around whether either team will end up being bowl-eligible.
Stanford has lost two straight, looking abysmal on offense in the process as teams have managed to stifle Christian McCaffrey. In losses to Washington (44-6) and Washington State (42-15), the Cardinal have managed only 509 yards with 90 on the ground, and McCaffrey has managed just 84 rushing yards.
Notre Dame's problems are mostly on the defensive end, having allowed 33 or more points to four opponents. And with three of its remaining opponents currently ranked, the Irish may end up missing a bowl for the first time since 2009.
1. Arizona State (5-1, 2-1) at Colorado (4-2, 2-1)
5 of 5
When: Saturday, Oct. 15; 8 p.m. ET
The winner of this game will be no worse than tied for first place in the Pac-12 South, depending on how Utah fares at Oregon State. That's not something many would have thought possible back in the summer, when Arizona State and Colorado were picked by the league's media to finish fifth and sixth, respectively, in the division.
ASU is coming off a 23-20 win over UCLA in which it had to scrape by after losing another quarterback to injury. Redshirt freshman Brady White, starting in place of Manny Wilkins, suffered a season-ending foot injury after throwing for 179 yards and a touchdown. Wilkins is expected back for this game, but if not, true freshman Dillon Sterling-Cole will get the nod.
Colorado, which lost 21-17 at USC for its first conference defeat, has gotten solid play from redshirt freshman QB Steven Montez while senior Sefo Liufau has been recovering from injury. Liufau played briefly last week, but Montez remains the starter until Liufau, the school's career passing leader, is at 100 percent.
A win for ASU matches its victory total from a season ago, while Colorado would surpass its four wins from 2015 if it comes out ahead.
All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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