Pac-12 QB Power Rankings entering Week 4: How high can Shedeur Sanders climb?
Pac-12 quarterbacks had another unbelievable week in Week 3. And that was without the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Against Colorado State, CU’s Shedeur Sanders delivered a brilliant one-man show. Several others had monster performances against overmatched opponents.
Here’s Saturday Out West’s Pac-12 quarterback power rankings entering Week 4. These will be updated weekly throughout the season.
12. Jaden Rashada/Trenton Bourguet/Drew Pyne, Arizona State
Last week: 12
There is context that makes the result less jarring, but eight turnovers in a 29-0 home loss will be remembered in 10 years and all that context won’t. Arizona State played about as poor as possible on the offensive side of the football against Fresno State. Rashada didn’t play, and won’t for at least the next month. Bourguet threw a pick before getting hurt. Pyne threw two picks before getting hurt. Then Jacob Conover came in and threw two more picks. The pass game averaged 5.1 yards per attempt at a combined 46% completion rate. A no good, very bad day.
11. Ashton Daniels/Justin Lamson, Stanford
Last week: 11
The quarterbacks combined to go 11-for-24 for 207 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in a 30-23 home loss to Sacramento State. Lamson threw 10 more passes than Daniels and finished with a QBR of 6.2. Out of 100. (If you’re hearing Mrs. Puff talking, we’re on the same page.) Stanford had big completions in the game, but I don’t know if coach Troy Taylor has a guy who can do what he needs the quarterback in this offense to do.
10. Sam Jackson V/Ben Finley, Cal
Last week: 10
Finley threw just two passes against Idaho. His name will stay up there this week, but it looks like the full-time spot is safely back in Jackson’s hands. Cal opened its 31-17 win over Idaho down 17-0. Jackson threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter to claw the Bears back into the game, but he did nothing in the second half — 5-for-11, 22 yards.
9. Jayden de Laura, Arizona
Last week: 9
The Arizona passer did what he was supposed to against UTEP and Arizona walked away with a 31-10 win. That’s the rub. No interceptions and a 79% completion rate is exactly what you hoped to see from de Laura against the Miners.
8. Cameron Rising/Bryson Barnes/Nate Johnson, Utah
Last week: 7
This pass game is begging for Rising to return. Barnes is 1-for-7 on passes more than 20 yards downfield. The one completion was the first pass of the season. Johnson is 0-for-4. Barnes was also 4-for-9 on intermediate throws. (Johnson is 6-for-7.) Some of this is Utah doesn’t have a player like Brant Kuithe in the lineup (or Devaughn Vele of late) to go win those balls. The other part is that Utah just isn’t taking those throws. Rising won’t fix everything overnight, but he’ll let offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig exhale a little bit.
7. DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State
Last week: 5
Against San Diego State, the old DJ U resurfaced a bit. He completed just 14 of his 30 passes with two interceptions. Oregon State powered its way past San Diego State because it was the more complete football team. But San Diego State managed to go scoreless off the two Oregon State takeaways and that won’t happen against Pac-12 offenses.
6. Dante Moore, UCLA
Last week: 8
Dante Moore hit a 67-yard touchdown pass on his first throw of the game last week, giving him a 60-plus-yard completion in each of his first three collegiate appearances. He threw another 30-yard touchdown on his fifth pass and UCLA was off to the races. The Bruins held a 35-0 lead after one quarter. Moore is playing very, very well right now.
5. Cameron Ward, Washington State
Last week: 6
Ward was exceptional in helping Wazzu thump Northern Colorado. A 77% completion rate, no interceptions, 12.6 yards per pass attempt, and five total touchdowns. Exceptional. No notes.
4. Bo Nix, Oregon
Last week: 3
The senior quarterback for the Ducks hit 21 of his 27 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns before an early exit. Oregon dominated the proceeding, winning 55-10 against an overmatched Hawaii team. Nix had completions to eight different Oregon receivers and wasn’t sacked. He hasn’t done much with his legs to this point in the year, but Oregon also hasn’t needed him to do much more than stand and deliver in two of its three games.
3. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Last week: 4
You can pick apart several pieces of Colorado’s 3-0 start. It’s hard to find fault in anything Sanders is doing right now. He hit 38 of his 47 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns against Colorado State. He threw his first interception of the year, but I can forgive him for the throw considering what happened on the play. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Sanders led a 98-yard touchdown drive in 1:30 and threw the game-tying two-point conversion pass with 36 seconds left to force overtime. This man is an assassin.
2. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
Last week: 2
Penix is currently on pace to throw for more than 5,300 yards before the Pac-12 title game is played. He is on track to own just about every passing record in Washington program history. UW is leaning on him and he is delivering. Against Michigan State, he had 473 yards and four touchdowns while completing 77% of his passes. It is entirely possible the Heisman Trophy ceremony this season has three Pac-12 quarterbacks sitting in the front row as finalists.
1. Caleb Williams, USC
Last week: 1
Williams and the Trojans were on a bye this past weekend and still no one did enough to move him out of the top spot.