Pac-12 Football Power Rankings: Thanksgiving Edition

Describe each Pac-12 football team as a Thanksgiving dish.

1. Oregon

Ricky Widmer, Autzen Zoo: If Oregon football was a Thanksgiving dish, it would be "cranberries" because of their speed. Cranberries are filled with sugar and what does sugar do? Makes you hyper. This is the Thanksgiving gift I would relate to the Oregon Football team.

Nathan Roholt, FishDuck: The whole meal. You wait all year for it, it's always exciting and delicious; almost perfect. Yet you can't shake the feeling that it would be a complete meal if one of these days it were served on Waterford Crystal.

2. Stanford

Hank Waddles, Go Mighty Card: Stuffing, because they're always stuffing the run!

Scott Allen, Rule of Tree: (S)mashed potatoes, because it describes the way Stanford makes opposing offenses and defenses feel.

3. UCLA

Ryan Rosenblatt, Bruins Nation: All of the dishes because I'm too happy to consider them not being all of the deliciousness.

4. Oregon State

Jon (j_irwin1704), Northwest Sports Beat: The stuffing. While the always present turkey (USC), dynamically flowing gravy (Oregon) and the well-loved-though somewhat irrelevant-pumpkin pie (Washington) remain the stars of the meal, the underrated stuffing makes things interesting. Most people appreciate the stuffing for what it is, but very few people would say they love the stuffing, or rate it as the most important part of the meal.

Over the last four seasons, two Rose Bowls and one BCS Championship entry have come down to Oregon State. If Stanford loses to UCLA, that would again become the case. And though they're generally underrated in the Pac-12, the Beavers are always a team to be reckoned with.

Andy (AndyPanda), Building The Dam: I go with the potatoes and gravy. Always there, and always enjoyable, but not what anyone drove over the river and through the woods for.

Robert (rvm), Building The Dam: Hmm, going with Andy here and potatoes and gravy. The underrated staples of the meal.

5. Arizona

Kevin Zimmerman, Arizona Desert Swarm: Mashed potatoes. The Wildcats aren't the main show in the Pac-12 (and not even on campus with the basketball team). Still, you can't leave them out of the meal. While impressive by no means, they're a key part to Pac-12 football as a whole. If they beat ASU and have an 8-win team in RichRod's first year, then they'll be mashed potatoes with the gravy on top.

Adam Butler, Pacific Takes and Pac Hoops: Look, this is still the early years of the RichRod era and Arizona is still a basketball school so if the plate is the athletic program and hoops is the Turkey, Arizona Football is the stuffing. You love it and it's vital to the dish and - if done poorly - can just as easily be dismissed from the plate. Arizona football fits this bill as they leaving an increasingly good taste in Wildcat mouths and are beginning to pile on their plates. A win Friday and we just might call the ‘Cats turkey-stuffing.

Alec Sills-Trausch, Zona Zealots: The last piece of Pumpkin Pie. This Arizona Wildcats team has it's sweet moments. They have beaten Oklahoma State and USC, while taking Stanford and Oregon State down to the final seconds. However, this team also makes you so frustrated because it makes one long for more and more, and then the team shows up to UCLA and gets blow out by 56. One would like there to be another piece of Pumpkin Pie, but this year, there just isn't enough "sweets" to go around.

6. USC

DC Trojan, Conquest Chronicles: Every year, my wife's grandmother (now 93) asks my wife to makes pumpkin pies for the family Thanksgiving dinner, and every year, without fail, she *deliberately* puts sour cream on slices of pie until someone intercepts her and starts using whipped cream. Because apparently whipped cream is too middle class, or pumpkin pie is supposed to be a savory dessert; her actual motivation has never been clear. Anyway, USC football this season is, for me, like that slice of pie with sour cream - plenty to enjoy and then AW SHIT WHAT THE HELL WHY WHY WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THAT AGAIN etc., etc.

Michael Castillo, Reign of Troy: Sweet potatoes because they look and sound like a good idea but in the end wind up disappointing.

7. Washington

Gekko Mojo, UW Dawg Pound: Sweet Potato Casserole; It doesn't always go down the right way, but you always come back for more.

Jack Follman, Pacific Takes: Mashed potatoes, they aren't very exciting, but they get the job done.

8. Arizona State

If you were to describe ASU football as a Thanksgiving dish, it would be ____ because _____.

Justin Karp, Bold Saguaros: A delicious pumpkin pie, qualified by the situation in which it's presented to you when you don't think you could eat anymore. Think about it - you're stuffed from all the previous goodness, but you KNOW there's room for pie. So you sit and you scarf a piece, then work through a second. As you work toward the crust, though, you start to feel uncomfortable, like that second piece wasn't the best idea you've ever had. Eventually, the last bite tastes terrible and you want to crawl under the table for a while with your eyes closed. That's Arizona State football lately.

9. Utah

If you were to describe Utah football as a Thanksgiving dish, it would be ____ because _____.

Sean Reynolds, Block U: The turkey ... because we're cooked.

Matt Quinney, Academically Ineligible: It would be turkey because sometimes it can be good but for the most part it just keeps disappointing.

10. Cal

Kodiak, California Golden Blogs: Honey baked ham. It sounds good. Looks good. But unless you really know what you're doing, it's all sizzle and no taste. Plus, it's just not all that healthy for you.

Atomsareenough, California Golden Blogs: Cranberry sauce. It's not the main turkey course (USC) that is always on everyone's mind when they think of Thanksgiving, it's not the pumpkin pie that takes top billing among the desserts (Oregon), but it's there, maybe oft-overlooked, but underrated and pretty damn good, and Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without it. I'm glad it gets to have its moment in the sun at least a couple of times a year.

11th & 12th: Colorado and Washington State in some order

No responses here. I guess because all of their fans have starved themselves to death to avoid watching more of their football team.