Huskies Sit Mired in Lower Half of Pac-12 Power Rankings

With winds recently blowing throughout the Seattle area, not everyone has their power back.

The University of Washington football team is one of those have-nots.

Almost no power.

In the current Sports Illustrated Pac-12 power rankings, the Huskies (3-4 overall, 2-2 conference) bring up far too much of the rear, drawing only enough votes to hold down the No. 9 spot.

The UW's near-upset at the hands of winless Arizona, owner of the nation's longest losing streak at 19, did little to impress anyone with access to a power rankings ballot.

Jimmy Lake's Husky team continues to lanquish below .500 as it goes into Palo Alto, California, this weekend to face Stanford (3-4 overall, 2-3 conference).

Typically, this football game is a toss-up, with Stanford holding a bare 44-43-4 edge in the all-time series, regaining an edge with last season's 31-26 victory in Seattle.

The Cardinal has stumbled similarly to the UW this year, but they blitzed USC early on and got Clay Helton fired almost immediately.

Lake's job would have been in a real precarious situation had his Huskies lost to Arizona, which was more than possible when they fell down 13-0 at halftime and went into the fourth quarter trailing.

A loss at Stanford, ranked sixth in the power rankings, won't help Lake's job security any. A victory, considering all of the issues surrounding this UW football team, which include losing ace linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio to a season-ending arm injury and surgery, would be a mild surprise.

SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS

1. Oregon (6) 6-1, 3-1 72 points

2. Oregon State 5-2, 3-1 63

3. Arizona State 5-2, 3-1 58

4. Utah 4-3, 3-1 53

5. UCLA 5-3, 3-2 52

6. Stanford 3-4, 2-3 41

7. Washington State 4-4, 3-2 33

8. USC 3-4, 2-3 31

9. Washington 3-4, 2-2 26

10. Cal 2-5, 1-3 21

11. Colorado 2-5, 1-3 13

12. Arizona 0-7, 0-4 6

DONNIE DRUIN, ALL SUN DEVILS

1. Oregon; 2. Oregon State; 3. Utah; 4. Arizona State; 5. UCLA; 6. Washington State; 7. Stanford; 8. Washington; 9. USC; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona

Comment: If an Oregon/Oregon State meeting to decide the Pac-12 North is indeed on the line in the last week of the regular season, count me in, and throw some popcorn my way, too. Even after a loss, I'm still not able to drop Utah behind ASU quite yet, although the Sun Devils did receive help by the Utes losing and UCLA also dropping another game over the weekend.

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

1. Oregon, 2. Oregon State, 3. Arizona State, 4. Utah, 5. UCLA, 6. Washington State, 7. Stanford, 8. Washington, 9. USC, 10. Cal, 11. Colorado, 12. Arizona

Comment: Ducks solidify their hold on the top spot, and Oregon State continues to be the surprise of the Pac-12, perhaps the nation. The Utah-UCLA game next weekend may break up that logjam of teams that consider themselves contenders.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

1. Oregon; 2. Oregon State; 3. Arizona State; 4. Utah; 5. UCLA; 6. Stanford; 7. USC; 8. Cal; 9. Washington State; 10. Washington; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona

Comment: Oregon earns a massive win over UCLA in what was one of their biggest remaining regular season games. If that team shows up every week I have a hard time seeing anyone in the Pac-12 beating them. Oregon State looked great in a big win over Utah and things are going from bad to worse for USC this year.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

1. Oregon; 2. Oregon State; 3. Arizona State; 4. Utah; 5. UCLA; 6. Stanford; 7. Washington; 8. USC; 9. Washington State; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona

Comment: The Pac-12 does not have any great teams. Honestly, it might not have any good teams either. Oregon's resume is good enough to make them a top-10 team, but they definitely don't play like one on a week-to-week basis. Lucky for them, the Beavers, Sun Devils, Utes and Bruins are all somewhere in the 30 to 40 range nationally, and the rest of the conference is just bad.

CLAUDETTE MONTANA PATTISON, ALL TROJANS

1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. Utah; 4. Arizona State; 5. Oregon State; 6. Stanford; 7. Washington State; 8. USC; 9. Washington; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona

Comment: The USC Trojans continue to struggle after taking their fourth loss of the 2021 season to longtime rival Notre Dame. Now the question remains, can the team become bowl eligible? The team will face Arizona State, UCLA and BYU later this season, which could all be tough contests.

DAN RALEY, HUSKY MAVEN

1. Oregon; 2. Oregon State; 3. Arizona State; 4. UCLA; 5. Stanford; 6. USC; 7. Utah; 8. Washington State; 9. Cal; 10. Washington; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona

Comment: How has the conference fallen so far? It's got a bunch of pretenders and the nation's longest losing streak. Washington is terrible. Sorry to be so harsh, but I expected so much more out of the Pac-12 this season. Commissioner George Kliavkoff, you've got your work cut out for you.

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