Sports Illustrated Week 8 Pac-12 Football Power Rankings
It was another crazy week of Pac-12 football despite Oregon having its bye week. Their next opponent UCLA also had a bye, setting up a massive showdown between the two teams without a loss in Pac-12 play.
As we do every week, our Pac-12 publishers got together to give our thoughts on how the conference power rankings shake out.
Week 8 SI Pac-12 Football Power Rankings
1. UCLA 6-0, 3-0 (7 first place votes)...84 points
2. Utah 5-2, 2-1...71
3. USC 6-1, 4-1...70
4. Oregon 5-1, 3-0...59
5. Washington 5-2, 2-2...54
6. Oregon State 5-2, 2-2...51
7. Washington State 4-3, 1-3...40
8. Arizona 3-4, 1-3...31
9. Cal 3-3, 1-2...25
10. Stanford 2-4, 0-4...22
11. Arizona State 2-4, 1-2...21
12. Colorado 1-5, 1-2...8
Jake Curtis, Cal Sports Report
1. UCLA; 2. Utah; 3. USC; 4. Oregon; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Arizona State; 11. Stanford; 12. Colorado
Comment: The top four teams are the only ones that matter and you could probably put them in any order you want. The Fab Four are bunched nicely in the AP rankings between No. 9 and No. 15. The bottom five teams are becoming an embarrassment. Cal should probably be dropped lower after Saturday's loss to Colorado, but none of the other four deserve to be higher.
Max Torres, Ducks Digest
1. UCLA; 2. Oregon; 3. USC; 4. Utah; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Arizona State; 10. Cal; 11. Stanford; 12. Colorado
Comment: Oregon was on their bye week ahead of a massive showdown against UCLA. It's great to rest up before a big game, but the challenge this week will be maintaining that momentum from their Arizona win. Utah's win over USC is significant, as Oregon and UCLA are the only remaining teams without a Pac-12 loss. Cal losing to Colorado is absolutely embarrassing after things were looking a bit more promising this year in Berkeley.
READ MORE: Recruiting visitor list for Oregon vs. UCLA
Kevin Borba, All Cardinal
1. UCLA; 2. USC; 3. Oregon; 4. Utah; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: I will gladly admit that up to this point we were completely wrong about UCLA. The Bruins will again have a chance to prove how good they are with GameDay in Eugene for their matchup against Oregon. Lincoln Riley led defenses have always been an issue, and continue to be the thing that holds his teams back. Stanford had a HUGE win over Notre Dame that may have saved jobs, morale, and their season. They are playing a bad Arizona State team at the perfect time.
Sam Connon, All Bruins
1. UCLA; 2. Utah; 3. Oregon; 4. USC; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Cal; 10. Arizona State; 11. Stanford; 12. Colorado
Comment: It feels like there's a "Game of the Year" every week at this point, and that just goes to show how genuinely good the top of the Pac-12 is this year. Last Saturday, it was Utah defending its home turf and beating USC. This week, it's UCLA and Oregon facing off following byes with ESPN sending "College GameDay" to spotlight the showdown in Eugene, and the winner will ultimately be in the driver's seat for the conference crown.
Wyatt Allsup, All Trojans
1. UCLA; 2. Oregon; 3. USC; 4. Utah; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Arizona State; 10. Stanford; 11. Colorado; 12. Cal
Comment: Utah narrowly beat USC Saturday, but it never felt like they were the better team. Oregon takes on UCLA this week to contend for the top spot in the conference. Overreaction: Colorado picks up its first win on the season and gets to jump Berkeley this week.
Cole Bagley, All Utes
1. UCLA; 2. Utah; 3. USC; 4. Oregon; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Stanford; 10. Arizona State; 11. Cal; 12. Colorado
Comment: Someway, somehow Utah kept their Pac-12 Championship hopes alive and defeated USC in dramatic fashion to shake things up amongst the top four. This week, a matchup between UCLA and Oregon will provide a similar situation as the Bruins hope to stay on top but Oregon is nearly unbeatable at home. Outside of these four programs, nobody really seems to be a threat and it'll be a tight race to the finish line as there are still several matchups that involve the top teams.
Dan Raley, Inside the Huskies
1. UCLA; 2. Utah; 3. USC; 4. Oregon; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Stanford; 8. Cal; 9. Washington State; 10. Arizona; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: This Pac-12, this next-to-last conference as we know it, is about as fun as it gets. Upsets. Lots of points. Great quarterbacks. UCLA will be hard-pressed to go unbeaten and hold off Utah. Any one of the top four looks like a complete team. Washington could have the best offense of all, but oh that secondary, makes it a mortal team. Can’t wait for the next six weeks of games.
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