Pac-12 football power rankings: UW undefeated, Oregon controls destiny, Arizona is lurking

Washington is having its best season since 1991 when it shared the national championship with Miami, and the Huskies are winning in every way imaginable.

Their first four wins came by an average of 32.75 points. Since then, they've won seven games by an average of 6.6 points with only one double-digit victory.

There was the comeback against Oregon (36-33), the shootout against USC (52-42), the great escape against Arizona State (15-7) and last Saturday they held on to win in the rain against Oregon State (22-20).

Can they finish off an undefeated regular season against a rival with nothing to lose? We'll find out at 1 p.m. Saturday on FOX when Washington State heads to Seattle for the Apple Cup.

Win or lose, Washington is in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 1 in Las Vegas. Who its opponent will be is still TBD.

Oregon, which has been considerably more impressive than Washington in the weeks since their game in Seattle on Oct. 14, will secure its chance to play the Huskies again with a win against Oregon State at 5:30 p.m. Friday (FOX) at Autzen Stadium.

If the Ducks lose, they'll have to wait to see what happens when Arizona and Arizona State play at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. The Wildcats will advance to the championship game with a victory and an Oregon loss. If the Wildcats lose, the Ducks are in whether or not they beat the Beavers.

Here's our Pac-12 Power Rankings heading into the final week of the college football regular season.

(Last week's ranking in parenthesis).

1. Washington (1)

Record: 11-0, 8-0 Pac-12

This week: vs. Washington State

Last week:Beat Oregon State, 22-20

What to know: With their 18th straight win Saturday — second-longest streak in the nation — the Huskies became the regular-season conference champions and have clinched a spot in the Pac-12 championship game for the third time overall and first since 2018.

2. Oregon (2)

Record: 10-1, 7-1

This week: vs. Oregon State (Friday)

Last week:Beat Arizona State, 49-13

What to know: The Ducks are one of the most balanced teams in the nation as they join No. 1 Georgia as the only other team with a top-10 scoring offense (46.5) and top-10 scoring defense (16.7). Now, after losing late leads twice in three years against the Beavers, Oregon must give a four-quarter performance on Friday to get a rematch against the Huskies.

3. Arizona (3)

Record: 8-3, 6-2

This week: at Arizona State

Last week: Beat Utah, 42-18

What to know: The Wildcats' eight wins so far are the most the team has earned since going 10-4 in 2014. Arizona has also won five straight against conference opponents for the first time since 1998. With a win against the Sun Devils this week plus an Oregon loss to Oregon State, the Wildcats will play the Huskies in the Pac-12 championship game.

4. Oregon State (4)

Record: 8-3, 5-3

This week: at Oregon (Friday)

Last week: Lost to Washington, 22-20

What to know: The Beavers missed out on their chance to stay in contention for the Pac-12 championship game with the loss to the Huskies, but they can still spoil Oregon’s opportunity to play for the title. To do that, they’ll have to beat the Ducks at Autzen Stadium, where they haven’t won since 2007 and only once 1994.

5. Utah (5)

Record: 7-4, 4-4

This week: vs. Colorado

Last week: Lost to Arizona, 42-18

What to know: The Utes tumbled out of the top-25 rankings after its loss to the Wildcats on Saturday, but they received the best possible news on Sunday when Cam Rising announced he will return in 2024. The senior quarterback, who led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022, has been out with an injury this season and the Utes have struggled without him.

6. UCLA (7)

Record: 7-4, 4-4

This week: vs. California

Last week: Beat Southern California, 38-20

What to know: Did Chip Kelly do enough to silence his critics? Rumors of Kelly’s impending firing were rampant last week following the Bruins’ embarrassing loss to Arizona State. But UCLA followed with a convincing win in its rival’s stadium on Saturday, which included its best offensive performance in a month.

7. Southern California (6)

Record: 7-5, 5-4

This week: Regular season is over

Last week: Lost to UCLA, 38-20

What to know: The Trojans regular season is over, and what an unimaginable tumble they took in the final six weeks. USC was ranked as high as No. 5 in the AP poll in mid-September and was 6-0 going into its game against Notre Dame on Oct. 14. Then came five losses in the last six games, a drop out of the rankings and the mid-season firing of its defensive coordinator. Gonna be a long offseason for the Trojans.

8. California (8)

Record: 5-6, 3-5

This week: at UCLA

Last week: Beat Stanford, 27-15

What to know: The Golden Bears have won back-to-back games for the first time this season, an impressive response in the weeks following the way they played against Oregon on Nov. 4 in a 63-19 loss. A win against the Bruins on Saturday will give Cal its first non-losing season since 2019.

9. Washington State (12)

Record: 5-6, 2-6

This week: at Washington

Last week: Beat Colorado, 56-14

What to know: The Cougars won for the first time since Sept. 23 and they now have a chance to possibly ruin their rival’s shot at making the College Football Playoff. A long shot for sure, but Washington State’s 4-0 start to the season included wins against Oregon State and Wisconsin.

10. Stanford (11)

Record: 3-8, 2-7

This week: vs. Notre Dame

Last week: Lost to California, 27-15

What to know: The season is about to be over on the Farm but not before one last nonconference game against visiting Notre Dame. It’ll be a tough one for offensively challenged Stanford, as the Irish have the No. 7 scoring defense in the country. Notre Dame allows an average of 16.0 points per game. The Cardinal are 113th nationally in scoring offense at 20.4 points per game.

11. Arizona State (10)

Record: 3-8, 2-6

This week: vs. Arizona

Last week: Lost to Oregon, 49-13

What to know: The Sun Devils and coach Kenny Dillingham need a quarterback, preferably one that looks anything like the one they used to have in LSU’s Jayden Daniels, who transferred out of Tempe before the 2022 season and is now in contention for the Heisman Trophy.

12. Colorado (9)

Record: 4-7, 1-7

This week: at Utah

Last week: Lost to Washington State, 56-14

What to know: Coach Prime’s team was a no-show in Pullman last weekend as the Buffaloes got routed by a Cougars team that had lost six straight. Despite all the early season hype, Colorado remains a bad team with a conference record that is one loss away from being exactly what it was last season when the Buffaloes tied Stanford for last place in the Pac-12.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Pac-12 football rankings: UW undefeated, Oregon controls destiny