Pac-12 power rankings, Week 10
POWER INDEX:
OUR PAC-12 RANKINGS
1. Stanford (1) — Cardinal needed a little luck to escape Pullman unscathed, but they did, so here they are.
2. Utah (3) — Matchup with Huskies this weekend figures to be bruising, low-scoring affair.
3. USC (5) — Maybe the Trojans should just hire a series of one-year interim coaches and see how that goes.
4. Washington State (2) — Cougars fans will (rightfully) be shouting about that Christian McCaffrey non-fumble for years.
5. UCLA (4) — Got outplayed by Colorado at home, but won anyway.
6. Oregon (8) — Ducks need to ditch trick plays and just let Vernon Adams do his thing.
7. California (7) — Can Bears achieve bowl eligibility this weekend in Eugene?
8. Washington (10) — Huskies finally paired some offense with their defense, and what do you know, they won by 46 points.
9. Arizona State (6) — If ASU really does steal its opponents’ signals, it should maybe do a better job of it.
10. Arizona (9) — At 5-4 with three tough games remaining, an upset will be required for the ’Cats to make a bowl game.
11. Colorado (11) — Buffaloes are in the frustrating close-but-no-cigar phase that precedes a breakthrough.
12. Oregon State (12) — Beavers didn’t embarrass themselves at Utah but … they still lost, again.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Stats: 175 rushes, 1,060 yards, 6 TDs; 25 receptions, 310 yards, 2 TDs
Comment: Forget about the damage McCaffrey does on kickoff and punt returns, and consider this: He leads the Pac-12’s top team in rushing, receptions and receiving yards. Hard to argue there’s a more important, or more dynamic, offensive player in the Pac-12 — and he’s averaging 244.2 all-purpose yards per game.
2. Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon
Stats: 165 rushes, 1,109 yards, 6.7 ypc, 138.6 ypg, 11 TDs
Comment: His team has taken a step back this season, but Freeman has been the best pure tailback in the conference — and one of the best in the country. He leads all Pac-12 running backs in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and yards per game, and ranks second in all-purpose yards.
3. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC
Stats: 52 receptions, 956 yards, 18.4 yards per catch, 119.5 yards per game, 8 TDs
Comment: Smith-Schuster’s status going forward is somewhat cloudy due to a recent hand surgery, but his performance thus far has been spectacular. He leads the league in receiving yards, and averages more yards per reception than any other top-10 receiver in the Pac-12. Also ranks sixth in the conference in all-purpose yards.
christian.caple@thenewstribune.com
POWER INDEX:
OUR PAC-12 RANKINGS
1. Stanford (1) — Cardinal needed a little luck to escape Pullman unscathed, but they did, so here they are.
2. Utah (3) — Matchup with Huskies this weekend figures to be bruising, low-scoring affair.
3. USC (5) — Maybe the Trojans should just hire a series of one-year interim coaches and see how that goes.
4. Washington State (2) — Cougar fans will (rightfully) be shouting about that Christian McCaffrey non-fumble for years.
5. UCLA (4) — Got outplayed by Colorado at home, but won anyway.
6. Oregon (8) — Ducks need to ditch trick plays and just let Vernon Adams do his thing.
7. California (7) — Can Bears achieve bowl eligibility this weekend in Eugene?
8. Washington (10) — Huskies finally paired some offense with their defense, and what do you know, they won by 46 points.
9. Arizona State (6) — If ASU really does steal its opponents’ signals, it should maybe do a better job of it.
10. Arizona (9) — At 5-4 with three tough games remaining, an upset will be required for the ’Cats to make a bowl game.
11. Colorado (11) — Buffaloes are in the frustrating close-but-no-cigar phase that precedes a breakthrough.
12. Oregon State (12) — Beavers didn’t embarrass themselves at Utah but … they still lost, again.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Stats: 175 rushes, 1,060 yards, 6 TDs; 25 receptions, 310 yards, 2 TDs
Comment: Forget about the damage McCaffrey does on kickoff and punt returns, and consider this: He leads the Pac-12’s top team in rushing, receptions and receiving yards. Hard to argue there’s a more important, or more dynamic, offensive player in the Pac-12 — and he’s averaging 244.2 all-purpose yards per game.
2. Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon
Stats: 165 rushes, 1,109 yards, 6.7 ypc, 138.6 ypg, 11 TDs
Comment: His team has taken a step back this season, but Freeman has been the best pure tailback in the conference — and one of the best in the country. He leads all Pac-12 running backs in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and yards per game, and ranks second in all-purpose yards.
3. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC
Stats: 52 receptions, 956 yards, 18.4 yards per catch, 119.5 yards per game, 8 TDs
Comment: Smith-Schuster’s status going forward is somewhat cloudy due to a recent hand surgery, but his performance thus far has been spectacular. He leads the league in receiving yards, and averages more yards per reception than any other top-10 receiver in the Pac-12. Also ranks sixth in the conference in all-purpose yards.
christian.caple@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Pac-12 power rankings, Week 10."