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Pac-12 QB Rankings: USC’s Caleb Williams gets passed during bye week

Caleb Williams isn’t used to not being No. 1, but for a week, the Heisman winner doesn’t own the top spot of the QB rankings.

This might be a first.

Since we’ve been doing these quarterback rankings thanks to PFF.com, USC’s Caleb Williams and reigning Heisman winner isn’t No. 1. The ole bye week is the only thing that has been able to keep him down. Considering USC returns this week at Arizona State, we feel Williams will be right back to his familiar position at this time next week.

So for a little while, someone else claims the top spot, and that someone will face the biggest test of his college football career.

As for the rest, the usual names stand out and poor Stanford is still looking for a consistent signal caller after an embarrassing loss to Sacramento State of all teams.

But the Cardinal isn’t the only team with quarterback problems. Former friend of the site, Kenny Dillingham, now the head coach at Arizona State, is still trying to find the next Bo Nix.

Here are the rankings after Week 3 as the conference heads into league play on Saturday.

Ducks among 4 Pac-12 teams given realistic chance to make College Football Playoff

Can the Pac-12 end its CFP drought in 2023? PFF thinks that one of these four teams is certainly capable of doing so.

Our friends over at Pro Football Focus put together a list of the 15 teams across the country that could fill in the four precious spots in the College Football Playoff.

Oregon is, of course, expected to be one of those contenders, along with Georgia, Alabama, and a whole host of others. This will be the last playoff where just four teams make it as it will expand to 12 for the 2024 season.

There are many worthy contenders and it just shows that the bowl games outside of the playoff structure will be great matchups and could provide some memorable games.

In this list, we added PFF’s top returners for each team and how they graded out for the 2022 season. We then included our case for and against each team making the playoff and what the end result will ultimately be.

Will the Pac-12 finally make it? Will the SEC have two teams? Will Georgia 3-peat? Can Michigan keep Ohio State out, again? We attempt to answer those questions.

NFL scouts will be looking at Oregon WR Troy Franklin closely in 2023

Troy Franklin is right in the middle of what should be a special 2024 draft class for wide receivers.

The 2024 NFL draft could be known as the draft that introduced the next great group of receivers. The wide receiver talent in college football is crazy good this season and luckily for Oregon Duck fans, they’ll get to see one of those crazy-good receivers up close in Autzen Stadium.

Troy Franklin is one of those game-changing receivers that will be difficult to plan for and defend in 2023. In what will most likely be his last college season, Franklin is set for one of those special seasons that will be talked about for some time.

He will also be a catalyst for future receiving talents and show that if you’re a great up-and-coming wideout, Oregon is a place where you can flourish. As a result, Franklin is a receiver that could be a first or second-round pick next April.

Over at Pro Football Focus, they have the top 10 receivers that will be bound for the NFL draft. Check out where Franklin falls.

PFF says Oregon has one of the top quarterback rooms in the nation

With Bo Nix, Ty Thompson and Austin Novosad, the Ducks have a QB room that is viewed as one of the best in the nation in 2023.

This college football season might be the Year of the Quarterback. NFL scouts are salivating over the next generation of signal-callers with the like of Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, and Drake Maybe coming down the pike.

Beyond the obvious stars across the country, there are some intriguing freshmen and redshirts looking to take a dive into the deep end of the pool. Many teams feel they’ll be all right should their starting quarterback go down for whatever reason.

The term “quarterback room” is of the utmost importance in the world of college football. It’s not just the starter; the backup quarterback is becoming more important with the game turning even faster and more physical than it has been before. The guy with the clipboard is seeing more time on the field in recent years.

Our friends over at Pro Football Focus has put together the Top 10 quarterback rooms in the country and Oregon is on the list, as expected. But it’s who is in front and behind the Ducks that is more interesting.

Here are the top 10 and our feelings on the subject.

Brandon Dorlus among top returning pass rushers for the 2023 season

Brandon Dorlus surprised a lot of Duck fans when announcing his return for the 2023 season. He now stands among the nation’s best-returning defenders.

When Brandon Dorlus announced he would return to Eugene to play his senior season, a sigh of relief from the football offices could be heard from around the state.

Some defenders struggled in 2022 to fit into the new defense head coach Dan Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi installed, but Dorlus was not among them.

Quite the opposite.

Dorlus had his best season as a Duck in 2022 as he set a career-high for tackles (39) and sacks (2.5). While the numbers themselves don’t exactly jump off the stat sheet, opposing offensive linemen usually had to double-team Dorlus and that freed up another defender(s) to rush the quarterback.

The analytical website PFF.com (Pro Football Focus) recognized Dorlus as one of the top 10 pass rushers that will return for the 2023 college football season. He is one of four Pac-12 players so recognized.

So the conference will indeed feature some elite quarterbacks next season, but those signal callers will need to have their heads on a swivel to look out for some great pass rushers, including Dorlus.

PFF says Oregon’s Bucky Irving was a Top 10 running back in 2022

According to PFF, Oregon’s Bucky Irving was one of the best tailbacks in the nation for the 2022 season.

It wasn’t a major story when it happened, but the transfer of tailback Bucky Irving to Oregon from Minnesota was quietly one of the biggest portal pickups for 2022.

Irving, along with Noah Whittington, turned out to be a great 1-2 punch at the running back position for the Ducks. Who knows where Oregon would have been without that duo?

But it was Irving’s Batman to Whittington’s Robin and the Batman portion of the pair was graded by PFF as one of the Top 10 tailbacks in the country. Irving finished the season with 977 yards on the ground, averaged 6.7 yards per carry, and scored five touchdowns. He also caught 26 passes and two more scores.

Here are the Top 10 tailbacks for 2022 according to the analytics.

Who were the 10 best defensive players for the Ducks in 2022 according to PFF?

Despite the struggles in 2022, it is a group of secondary players that lead the Ducks in PFF grades after the season.

It was an up-and-down season for the Oregon defense in 2022. The Ducks struggled as a team and individually to the new scheme Dan Lanning and his coordinators Tosh Lupoi and Matt Powledge installed.

But to no surprise, Christian Gonzalez was one of the Ducks superstars on the defensive end of the ball. But to some surprise, safety Bryan Addison was just a little bit better, according to the PFF rating system. Addison was Oregon’s best cover guy and it wasn’t even close. His rating was nearly five points better than Gonzalez and that’s what put Addison’s overall defensive rating over the top.

While there were some highlights, there were some disappointments.

Noah Sewell stands out. Although his overall rating was 0.2 points better than last season, the Duck linebacker played almost 300 less snaps this season. Sewell’s run defense was seven points less and his pass rush rating went from 88.6 to just 73.5.

As a team overall, the Ducks’ defensive rating went from 74.6 in 2021 to 79.0 in 2022 under Lanning and his staff. Check out the top 10 defensive players in 2022, according to PFF.

Who were the 10 best offensive players for the Ducks in 2022 according to PFF?

According to PFF, a transfer was Oregon’s best offensive player in 2022. That transfer was not Bo Nix.

If a survey was taken of 100 Oregon Duck football fans and they were asked who was the Ducks’ best offensive player, the vast majority would say quarterback Bo Nix with some saying receiver Troy Franklin.

They wouldn’t be wrong. Nix was absolutely incredible and was on the verge of being a Heisman candidate. Franklin had a breakout sophomore season and was one of the best receivers in the Pac-12 this season.

But according to Pro Football Focus, the analytical site that tracks every snap and grades everyone accordingly, a transfer was definitely the Ducks’ best offensive player. Except that transfer isn’t Bo Nix.

Here are the Top 10 Oregon offensive players and to no one surprise, the line makes up half of the list, showing they were the best in the conference.

For the list, we made sure only to qualify those with 200 or more snaps for the regular season.

The preseason favorite is the “winner” of the Pac-12 QB rankings

There were plenty of upsets in the Pac-12 this season, but there would be no upset in the QB ratings as the preseason favorite won out.

The regular season ended last Saturday and while a few unexpected things happened in the Conference of Champions, there was one thing everybody assumed would occur did occur.

As soon as Caleb Williams transferred to USC, it was assumed that he would be the No. 1 quarterback in the Pac-12 when all was said and done. Not only is he the top QB, but he may also win the Heisman.

He did have a few challengers, however.

Bo Nix had a great chance to upset Williams if he wasn’t injured. Washington’s Michael Penix, Jr. had a much better season than anyone expected in Seattle.

There were some disappointments. JT Shrout? Tanner McKee? DTR? In truth, other than the top three signal callers, it wasn’t a banner year for quarterbacks on the West Coast. Hopefully, 2023 will be better and there are bound to be a lot of new faces.

Here is the final edition of the quarterback ratings, according to PFF.com.

Ranking the Pac-12 QBs through Week 12 according to PFF

Bo Nix’s ankle might determine the fate of the Pac-12 quarterback rankings with just one week left in the regular season.

There’s just one more week in the 2022 college football regular season and once again, we have a new leader in the Pac-12 quarterback ratings.

After leading the ratings for a week, Oregon’s Bo Nix rating suffered a bit, but his ankle is suffering more. There’s no PFF rating or analytic when it comes to pure guts and determination, however. If so, Nix wins it by a landslide.

Nix’s lack of running ability because of that ankle lowered his rating and the beneficiary was USC’s Caleb Williams, who managed to lead the Trojans to a huge win against the Bruins in the Rose Bowl. That victory sent USC into the Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas.

Here are the ratings, according to PFF.com.