Post Week 5 Power Rankings, Pac-12 2019 Football Recreation

We’re five weeks into our recreated 2019 season in the Pac-12 and some certainties have been absolutely true. What has been interesting, however, is to see how the mighty have fallen, so far through five weeks of action.

We haven’t seen a whole lot of the Utah Utes, but what we have seen, has been abysmal this year.

The Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies, has been supremely impressive, and don’t forget the Oregon State Beavers, who currently sit at 5-0, with the best record in the conference.

So, let’s rank ‘em. Because who doesn’t love a good set of Power Rankings.

No. 1 — Oregon Ducks

The Ducks are the clear cream of the crop in the Pac-12 and no one should want to see their big ole O on their schedule in 2019. Justin Herbert has come to play in his final season and Juwan Johnson has been tremendous so far. CJ Verdell is the reigning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and the defense has been lights out. No one can throw on the Ducks and no one has been able to run against them either. A perfect 12-0 is absolutely in their sights.

No. 2 — Washington Huskies

The Huskies have found their quarterback, or at least the one that can win them some games. Sure, he had some turnover issues in Week 5 (3 picks is an issue), but his defense is as solid as they come. They saved the day with a crucial stop against the dynamic Khalil Tate and the rushing attack of Salvon Ahmed did the rest. No one wants to play this team this year.

No. 3 — Arizona State Sun Devils

Jayden Daniels had a rough outing against USC but his running back and defense did him well in Week 5. Still, the rain had something to do with it, certainly, and this is a team who can run. Literally. They are fast at all levels and should contend in every game for the remaining of their schedule including games against Washington and Washington State.

No. 4 — Oregon State Beavers

As surprising as this may seem, the Beavers are a complete team, five weeks into the year. Their offense has kept them afloat and their defense has shut down opponents when necessary this season as they sit with a perfect 5-0 record. Vegas projected them at 4.5 wins in the offseason, so to the over-bettors, congratulations, you’ve already won. For the Beavers, though, this is just the beginning as this is a team who can seemingly win at all levels of the field. Impressive.

No. 5 — Washington State Cougars

Yeah, they scored just seven points, but let’s look at it the other way in Week 5: Their defense allowed just three points and those came with just two minutes remaining. If that defense can show up again, this is a scary team who can outscore just about any team in the country.

No. 6 — USC Trojans

The rain certainly clamped down their offense in Week 5 as they couldn’t work down the field but Kedon Slovis will certainly want to burn that game tape as he looked sloppy throwing to any level of the field. The defense needs to tighten up but they have all the ability outside to score with anyone in the conference. As long as it’s not raining.

No. 7 — UCLA Bruins

Dorian Thompson-Robinson has looked shaky at best this year but the defense and rushing attack of Joshua Kelley has won them some games. They’ll need DTR to get back into form that he showed early in the year to contend, but with two bye weeks already gone, they have the biggest chance of sliding down these rankings.

No. 8 — Arizona Wildcats

Khalil Tate is as fun as any other player when he’s healthy and when he has remained so, he nearly defeated Washington in Week 5. Unfortunately, nearly-defeating teams isn’t the same and they’ll need some more all-around performances to contend through their tough schedule.

No. 9 — Stanford Cardinal

Their defense did everything possible in Week 5 but their offense has been terrible of late. K.J. Costello nor Davis Mills has taken grasp of the starting quarterback job and until that happens, they can’t logically think they can compete in the conference. Still, this defense is good enough to keep them in play for most of their remaining scheduled games.

No. 10 — Colorado Buffaloes

They’re been close. Just not quite close enough. They had Oregon State at the brink of defeat but collapsed in the fourth quarter. They lost the game to Fresno State in embarrassing fashion but their first two wins are certainly quality victories. They’ve got a tough two-game stretch against Oregon and Arizona State but it lightens up as they go through the schedule.

No. 11 — California Golden Bears

Ugh, what could have been so far this year. They’ve left games on the table so far and sit at just 2-2 but have looked ugly in their two defeats. They’ve lost two straight and their defense has struggled against Ohio State and Oregon in back-to-back weeks. Unfortunately, the road doesn’t get much easier this year as they still have to play Washington State, UCLA and Oregon State before taking on Washington and USC over their last five games. They had one of the toughest schedules before the year opened and the way the cards have fallen, have not been kind to them.

No. 12 — Utah Utes

No, this isn’t a typo. The Utes are that bad in this recreated season. Their defense has only allowed 91 points through four games but their offense has scored just 74 total points, 15 points shy of the next closest team. They’re just one of three teams to not have triple-digit points scored yet this year and Tyler Huntley has done little to impress anyone. They’ve got to pick it up, and pick it up quick. Their bye week came at the right time after they just lost the Holy War to BYU.

Reminder, this is a fictional take on our recreation of the 2019 NCAA football season using last year’s updated rosters and playing the games in NCAA Football 14 on a Playstation3. For more information, check out our intro story.