Pac-12 Power Rankings and a Daschel UW-OSU Prediction

The Oregonian beat writer weighs in with insights on the Beavers and picks a winner.

Nick Daschel remains a sports-writing fixture In Oregon and Southwest Washington for nearly three decades, spending the past 13 years working for the Oregonian. 

Even if he wanted, Daschel couldn't leave now — the Oregon State football team is turning relevant again. 

He's watched Jonathan Smith begin to turn the Beavers into the fearsome opponent they once were when Smith was their record-setting quarterback. 

"He came in with a plan and he didn't have much to start with," Daschel said. "He wanted to build a program with culture and his way of doing an offense. He's slowly built it with the transfer portal and certain recruits. They certainly don't have a lot of 4-star guys. 

"But he's got the kind of guys he's been able to coach and he's got a great coaching staff."

The Beavers come in fresh off a 45-27 upset of USC in Los Angeles — their first win over the Trojans on the road in 61 years. 

They have a new quarterback in Chance Nolan, sort of a Chase Garbers play-a-like, a guy who can throw and run effectively. Originally beginning his career at Middle Tennessee, Nolan took over for Colorado transfer Sam Noyer, who started the opener and struggled against Purdue, OSU's only loss. 

Both of these quarterbacks have rated higher on the depth chart than Tristan Gebbia, the Nebraska transfer who ran the OSU offense in last year's 27-21 loss at Washington. Gebbia, however, severely injured a hamstring muscle last season against Oregon and hasn't been able to fully recover.

Daschel talks about all of these developments in advance of Saturday night's game, which should draw a lot of Oregon interest following the USC upset. The Huskies also bring a nine-game series winning streak into the weekend game. He provides a game prediction in the video.

Also, we have Sports Illustrated's Pac-12 network of writers weighing in on the conference with their latest weekly power rankings and various comments. 

The Huskies climbed some since last week. Oregon State climbed a lot.

SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS

1. Oregon (6) 4-0, 1-0 72 points

2. UCLA 3-1, 1-0 65

3. Arizona State 3-1, 1-0 57

4. Oregon State 3-1,1-0 56

5. Stanford 2-2, 1-1 45

6. Utah 2-2, 1-0 41

7. Washington 2-2, 1-0 39

8. USC 2-2, 1-2 32

9. Cal 1-3, 0-1 24

10t. Colorado 1-3, 0-1 15

10t. Washington State 1-3, 0-2 15

12. Arizona 0-4, 0-1 7

DONNIE DRUIN, ALL SUN DEVILS

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

Comment: Again, another not great week for the Pac-12. Oregon appears to be the only hope for the conference’s national pedigree.

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

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

Comment: The easy picks are the one at the top and the one at the bottom, although it’s starting to look like the Pac-12 has a bunch of pretty bad teams lingering in the bottom half of the rankings.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

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

Comment: Oregon State continues to impress and looks like they've found their quarterback in Chance Nolan. Oregon's game against Stanford this week looks significantly more meaningful than many expected before the season, and the Ducks look vulnerable after an underwhelming performance against Arizona. It looks like the Bruins moved on from the Fresno State loss and should be dangerous the rest of the way.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

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

Comments: All eyes are surely on Oregon vs. UCLA coming up on Oct. 23, but don’t sleep on Arizona State visiting the Rose Bowl on Oct. 2. Far and away the two best teams in the Pac-12 South will go head-to-head in what stands to be a key matchup for the hierarchy of the division by year’s end. Oregon State showed they can be fun and legit, while USC’s performance up in Pullman a week ago was clearly a flash in the pan.

CLAUDETTE MONTANA PATTISON, ALL TROJANS

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

Comment: The USC Trojans disappoint again with a brutal loss to the Oregon State Beavers at home, 45-27. This was the first time the team has lost to the Beavs in the Coliseum since 1960. As the Bruins and Ducks continue to rise, the Trojans begin to fall further down the rankings.

DAN RALEY, HUSKY MAVEN

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

Comment: Is this the year of the Oregon schools? Both of them! The Beavers give hope to underdogs everywhere after ending six decades of futility against USC in Los Angeles. They haven’t been this good since Jonathan Smith played at OSU. If they can beat Washington at home, always a nemesis, anything goes.

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