Pac-12 play enters the month of November with three teams set for an epic late-season run and then a quartet of two-loss teams behind them hoping for a slip-up. Both spots in the Pac-12 title game are still very much up for grabs, and things can get real interesting should USC pull an upset this weekend in Los Angeles.

The conference has been marked by excellent quarterback play throughout the first two months of the season, so it’s not exactly a hot take to say the closing stretch will be defined by which quarterbacks rise to the moment and which ones don’t.

Bo Nix and the Oregon Ducks had a moment last Saturday. The “Bodacious” campaign was grateful. Oregon’s quarterback is right back in the thick of the Heisman conversation. And he also managed to wrestle away the top spot in this week’s power rankings.

Here’s Saturday Out West’s Pac-12 quarterback power rankings entering Week 10. These will be updated weekly throughout the season.

12. Bryson Barnes, Utah

Last week: T-7

It was a no good, very bad week for Utah on offense. The Utes were thoroughly handled at the line of scrimmage and the run game was a disaster. Utah fell behind early and had to chase. Put another way, it was the absolute worst kind of setting for Barnes to operate from. Barnes threw for just 136 yards on a 52% completion rate with two picks.

11. Trenton Bourguet, Arizona State

Last week: 12

With 274 yards through the air and a 73% completion clip, Bourguet operated smoothly in a 38-27 win over Washington State. He earned his best QBR of the year (82.1) and was among the top quarterbacks in the Pac-12 in the metric. Bourguet got major help from his ground game, which saw Cam Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks run wild. Arizona State needed him to just play mistake-free ball, which he did.

10. Ethan Garbers, UCLA

Last week: 9

Garbers completed 74% of his throws for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He looked to build something special with Logan Loya, who brought in 111 yards on nine targets — no other UCLA player had more than four targets — but did throw an interception.

9. Ashton Daniels, Stanford

Last week: 10

Daniels was the best part of the day for Stanford, which lost 42-33 to Washington but was very much within striking distance in the fourth quarter. Daniels threw for 367 yards, ran for another 85, and scored three touchdowns. He also didn’t turn the football over. Since Troy Taylor completely committed to Daniels as the quarterback, we’ve seen Daniels’ just continue to grow.

8. Fernando Mendoza, Cal

Last week: 11

Cal almost pulled off the stunner of the season as Mendoza threw for 292 yards, scored four total touchdowns, and came within a two-point conversion of beating the Trojans. Now, you don’t get props for dicing USC’s defense, but Mendoza’s play was clearly a cut above. Cal lost Jaydn Ott in the fourth quarter, blew a lead, and Mendoza still led the Bears down the field late.

7. Cameron Ward, Washington State

Last week: T-7

I will once again contend that Washington State’s problems aren’t Ward’s problems. The Cougars can’t protect him, and there is absolutely no indication they can run the football with any success to give him some semblance of offensive balance. Ward completed 35 of his 50 pass attempts for 315 yards. He also ran the ball 12 times for another 35 yards. He scored three total touchdowns, hit seven explosive pass plays, and didn’t turn the football over. That should be enough from the quarterback spot for a team to win.

6. DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State

Last week: 4

Uiagalelei had his fifth sub-60% passing game in his last six outings against Arizona. Still, he threw for 218 yards and two scores. The last one was a 20-yard throw over the shoulder to Jimmy Valsin III to claw Oregon State back within three points as the clock ticked under two minutes to play. Uiagalelei had a man right in his face as he delivered the ball. It was a really strong play to cap a much-needed drive. Oregon State just needed more on its two previous fourth-quarter possessions.

5. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

Last week: 5

Sanders is pressured on 38% of his dropbacks this season. Only Hawaii’s quarterback has been pressured more times than Sanders. The Buffs have allowed 42 sacks this year and are literally the worst rushing team in college football. The 1-4 mark in conference play is not a Sanders issue, and it certainly isn’t a Sean Lewis issue. There’s a glaring weakness with this team, and it was always going to take more than one trip through the transfer portal to fix. Sanders threw for 217 yards and a touchdown against UCLA, but he was sacked seven times. Colorado has one of the best quarterbacks in college football and the offensive line is actively trying to get him killed.

4. Noah Fifita, Arizona

Last week: 6

If Jedd Fisch hands this job back over to Jayden de Laura, we riot. Hopefully, after a second consecutive win over a ranked opponent, the Arizona quarterback position is Fifita’s win or lose. He has 11 touchdowns against just three picks this season. He’s also fifth in the conference in Total QBR. Fifita completed 78% of his passes for 275 yards and three scores in a 27-24 win over the Beavs.

3. Caleb Williams, USC

Last week: 3

Williams completed 23 of his 40 passes for 369 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for two scores on the ground, but net a loss of 13 yards on 13 rushing attempts when you factor in the four sacks he absorbed. USC scrapped by with a 50-49 win. Williams kick-started a furious 21-point run to flip the game in the fourth. He also posted his second-worst QBR in a game this season.

2. Michael Penix Jr., Washington

Last week: 1

Penix battled through an illness that limited him (and presumably affected Washington’s offensive rhythm throughout the week of practice) and threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns against Stanford.

1. Bo Nix, Oregon

Last week: 2

Nix takes the top spot. Nothing Penix did last week would, on its own, warrant dropping out of first place, but when Nix had the day he had in the win Oregon enjoyed, it’s time to have a conversation. Nix is playing outstanding football this season. He’s fourth in the country in Total QBR. He’s fifth among qualified quarterbacks in expected points added. (Penix, for those who are curious, ranks sixth and ninth, respectively.) Oregon coach Dan Lanning believes Nix to be the best quarterback in the country. The former Sun Devil piloting LSU’s incredible offense might have an argument to be made on that front, but it’s also really hard to discredit what Nix is doing. He leads the country in completion percentage and he’s almost thrown 100 more passes than the No. 2 guy. He has 21 passing touchdowns and only one interception. He doesn’t get sacked because he doesn’t let a defense even have the option. And it sounds as though Nix has the autonomy to make calls on the fly as he sees fit. That resulted in one of his three touchdowns against Utah in last week’s 35-6 drubbing. Williams appears to be out of the Heisman discussion. If Nix maintains this level and he faces Penix in the Pac-12 title game at the end of the season, both he and Penix deserve to be sitting together at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December.