Pac-12 Football: Where Will Washington Be in the First CFB Rankings?
This weekend brought a series of memorable – and not so memorable – moments, but it starts with the big reveal on Tuesday, Halloween, when the first College Football Playoff rankings are released.
Where will Washington and Oregon fall in the first CFP rankings?
Washington has not looked CFP-worthy the past two weeks but is ranked No. 5 in the AP top-25 poll released Sunday, while Oregon looked like world beaters while crushing Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the Ducks are up to No. 6 in the rankings.
So where will they be placed in the first CFP rankings on Tuesday (ESPN, 4 p.m. Pacific time)?
Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan presumably will be the top three, although you can argue which should be No. 1. The No. 4 spot is the question with Washington and Florida State in contention for that placement. Florida State’s victory over LSU and Washington’s win over Oregon basically cancel each other out, and there is little to choose between the teams otherwise. The Seminoles’ convincing recent wins over Duke and Wake Forest were more impressive than the Huskies close victories over Arizona State and Stanford the past two weeks, and that may mean more at this point than the general perception that the Pac-12 is the best overall conference in the country this season.
However, you could make a pretty good argument that Oregon is really the best Pac-12 team at the moment, so how will the CFP committee judge the Ducks? There’s no chance that the CFP committee will rank Oregon ahead of Washington even though the Huskies won their head-to-head matchup? Or is there?
Remember, these rankings don’t mean anything. You may recall that the top four in the first CFP rankings last year were 1. Tennessee, 2. Ohio State, 3. Georgia, 4. Clemson. Only Georgia and Ohio State received berths in the CFP national semifinals, and TCU, which wound up in the national championship game, was No. 7 in the opening CFP rankings.
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And now for the interesting moments of the weekend:
The catch of the season perhaps, courtesy of UCLA’s Logan Loya:
Officials assumed he couldn’t possible have kept a foot inbounds and ruled it incomplete. But video reviews showed Loya someone dragged his left foot inbounds while making a one-handed grab.
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A protest, a first-half play after halftime, a comeback and a two-point decision
Only in Berkeley, right?
The start of the Cal-USC game was delayed about 10 minutes when 15 people (13 of them students) ran onto the field after the coin toss and sat down on the 50-yard line to demand the reinstatement of a professor who had been suspended for alleged harassment.
The start of halftime was delayed because of an odd officiating ruling. Ten minutes after on-field officials ruled the first half was over, causing the players to leave the field and Cal band to occupy the field, review officials ruled that one second should be put on the clock, leading to big-time ire from Cal head coach Justin Wilcox. So after halftime, when the players returned had returned to the field and the bands were back in the stands, USC lined up to end the first half with a 33-yard field-goal attempt. Denis Lynch missed the kick. Talk about much ado about nothing.
USC overcame a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit to take a seven-point lead before Cal scored to get within a point with 58 seconds left. The Golden Bears went for two – as they should have considering the injuries Cal had acquired on offense and defense during the game and the ease with which USC’s offense blew through Cal’s offense in closing minutes of the fourth quarter – but Fernando Mendoza’s two-point pass fell incomplete.
Although the Trojans have looked mediocre at best over the past six weeks and have generally been a disappointment, they will be tied for first place if they can somehow beat a slumping Washington team next week in Los Angeles.
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A perfect play that failed and ended Stanford’s upset hopes
With Stanford facing a fourth-and-2 at its own 28-yard line and trailing Washington by two points with 3:23 left in the game, Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor called the perfect play.
Quarterback Ashton Daniels pitched to wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier, who was circling around, and Bachmeier lofted an accurate pass to Jayson Raines, who was standing alone at the 35-yard line with room to run after he made the routine catch.
One problem: Raines, a junior who had just two career receptions, dropped the pass. Washington took possession and scored a clinching touchdown.
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A call that will live in infamy
Oregon State had the ball at the Arizona 16-yard line in a tie game with three seconds left in the first half. Oregon State lined up for a 33-yard field goal attempt. But instead of kicking to take the lead, Smith called for a fake, with kicker Atticus Sappington taking a pitch from the holder at the 24-yard line and trying to run for a touchdown on the final play of the half. He did well to get 9 yards before being tackled at the 7 as the half ended.
When I saw the play live, I assumed it was an errant snap or the holder had fumbled the ball and the Beavers were left to scramble. Why would Jonathan Smith, perhaps the most respected coach in the Pac-12 for what he has done with the Oregon State program, call a fake at that point, hoping that a 5-foot-10, 188-pound kicker who grew up as a soccer player and had never carried the ball in his three college seasons, could cover 24 yards for a touchdown?
But, no, that’s what Smith called and it failed miserably, leaving the game tied at 10-10 at halftime.
The fact that the Beavers lost the game by three points brought additional attention to that call.
“Ultra-aggression,” Smith said afterward. “Asking Atticus to score from 20 yards out. We had the look we wanted and all of that, but it was just a bad call.”
The final six words of that quote are all you need.
I guess Sappington can take some solace in the fact that he is now second on the team in rushing yards per attempt at 9.0, ahead of Damien Martinez and Deshaun Fenwick.
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Pac-12 Player of the Year Standings
--1. Quarterback Bo Nix, Oregon – His performance against Utah’s tough defense on the road makes him the clear leader, even though he is behind Michael Penix Jr. in Heisman Trophy odds.
--2. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Washington – Penix is back on top in the Heisman Trophy race based on odds posted on betting sites Sunday, passing Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, who did not play this week.
--3 Quarterback Caleb Williams, USC – Despite his mediocre stats and fumble against Cal, Williams helped his team score 50 points and is the reason USC is still very much in the Pac-12 title chase.
--4. Wide receiver Tony Franklin, Oregon – He's seventh in the nation in receiving yards per game (108.4) and fourth in touchdown catches (9).
--5. Wide receiver Rome Odunze, Washington – He is virtually tied for the final spot on our list with teammate Ja’Lynn Polk with Bucky Irving not far behind.
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Top Five Pac-12 Teams
(We rank based on which teams have had the best results, not which teams we believe are the best teams)
--1. Washington (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) – The Huskies have looked vulnerable the past two weeks, but they are the only unbeaten team in the conference.
--2. Oregon (7-1, 4-1) – The Ducks seem headed for a rematch against Washington in the Pac-12 title game.
--3. USC (7-2, 5-1) – The Trojans don’t look like the third-best team in the conference and have beaten no one of note, but they would move into a tie for first place if they beat Washington at home next week.
--4. UCLA (6-2, 3-2) – Bruins are 3-0 with Ethan Garbers as their starting quarterback and are up to No. 20 in the AP poll.
--5. Arizona (5-3, 3-2) – It may seem silly to put the Wildcats ahead of Oregon State and Utah, but Arizona continues to improve with Noah Fifita at quarterback and is one win from its first bowl berth since 2017.
Cover photo of Oregon's Bucky Irving by Christopher Creveling, USA TODAY Sports
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