Pac-12 Football in the Rankings: UCLA Up to No. 16
UCLA’s victory over then-No. 16 LSU on Saturday made a big impression on top-25 voters, as the Bruins are ranked 16th in both the Associated Press media poll and the coaches poll released Tuesday.
Perhaps more interesting is that UCLA is No. 5 in this week's CBS Sports' power rankings, but let's get back to the polls that most people pay attentions to.
As was the case in the preseason AP poll, five Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 25. UCLA jumped in after being unranked last week, and Washington, which lost to FCS school Montana 13-7, dropped out after being No. 20 a week ago. In fact, the Huskies were not even among the 48 teams that received a vote.
The Southeastern Conference, with six top-25 teams, is the only conference with more ranked teams than the Pac-12. The Big Ten and ACC have four ranked teams apiece, and the Big 12 has three.
TCU, Cal’s opponent on Saturday in Fort Worth, barely missed making the top 25 in the AP poll. The Horned Frogs received 80 voting points, but Auburn edged them out for the No. 25 spot with 83 voting points. TCU is listed as a 10 ½-point favorite over Cal at the moment.
Not surprisingly, Cal did not receive any votes in either poll, but Nevada -- the team that beat Cal 22-17 – received votes in both polls, and would be 35th in the AP poll. The Wolf Pack received seven voting points in the preseason poll and got 23 this week.
Oregon is still the highest ranked Pac-12 team. The Ducks are No. 12 in the AP poll, where it dropped one spot after a surprisingly close 31-24 win over Fresno State, and the Ducks are No. 11 in the coaches poll, where they moved up one position.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this week’s AP poll from a Pac-12 perspective is that Arizona, which was projected to be the worst team in the conference and lost its opener to unranked BYU 24-16, received five voting points.
Perhaps the voter mistakenly cast a No. 21 vote for Arizona when he intended to vote for Arizona State.
The top six teams overall in both polls are No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 6 Clemson. Oklahoma dropped two spots in the AP poll after its 40-35 victory over Tulane.
The first College Football Playoff rankings don't come out until Tuesday, November 24.
UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet was named the Pac-12 offensive player of the week after rushing for 117 yards in the win over LSU, and Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd was the defensive player of the week after recording 12 tackles in the victory over Weber State.
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Pac-12 teams ranked in the AP top 25
No. 12 Oregon
No. 14 USC
No. 16 UCLA
No. 21 Utah
No. 23 Arizona State
Receiving votes: Arizona 5
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Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 25 of the coaches poll
No. 11 Oregon
No. 14 USC
No. 16 UCLA
No. 18 Utah
No. 25 Arizona State
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Cover photo of UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet is by Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports
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