Where every Pac-12 team ranks in ESPN's FPI after Week 8

If you haven't been following the Pac-12 this season, you may be missing out on some of the most competitive and intense football of the year.

The conference has had up to five teams ranked at once, and is full of surprises. These past two weekends may have been two of the most important weekends for the conference, as we have seen the last two undefeated teams fall. Now, the conference is in a four to maybe even six team race for the two spots in the Pac-12 Championship.

Let's take a look where every Pac-12 team stands in ESPN's latest FPI rankings. A reminder, the data base as explained by ESPN is a "...measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily."

118. Colorado

Previous Ranking: 115

After a win over Cal, Colorado was blown out by Oregon State. They reverted back to their old ways of losing.

83. Arizona

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Jayden de Laura (7) gestures at the line of scrimmage during the second half against the San Diego State Aztecs at Snapdragon Stadium. — Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Previous Ranking:81

The FPI has never been high on Arizona, and their tough schedule that has them playing four ranked teams in five weeks won't help.

75. Cal

California Bears running back Jadyn Ott (6) carries the ball as Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Marist Liufau (8) attempts to tackle in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. — Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Previous Ranking: 73

Consecutive losses for Cal has hurt their rankings, but should come as no surprise. This team overachieved early in the year.

67. Arizona State

Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous Ranking: 71

Arizona State played a pretty sound game against Stanford despite losing. It's not often you can hold a team to 0 touchdowns and still lose.

64. Stanford

Previous Ranking: 62

Stanford's offense has been terrible over the past couple weeks. They cannot capitalize on any of the opportunities they are getting, and it will come back to bite them.

56. Washington State

Washington State Cougars quarterback Cameron Ward (1) scrambles with the football under pressure from Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Nick Herbig (19) during the fourth quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. — Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Previous Ranking: 58

Washington State continues to disappoint after being a team that was just a few votes away from being ranked.

39. Oregon State

Oregon State Beavers wide receiver Tre'Shaun Harrison (0) looks on during the Oregon State Spring Football game at Reser Stadium. — Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Previous Ranking: 46

Oregon State is beginning to surge again, winning three straight. Their Pac-12 Championship hopes are still alive.

35. Washington

Previous Ranking: 34

Washington won a close one over Cal, and have a huge game with Oregon State this weekend.

30. UCLA

UCLA Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) throws a pass against the Southern California Trojans in the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. — Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Previous Ranking: 26

The FPI hates UCLA, and that loss to Oregon did them no favors. In terms of where they stand in the Pac-12 they get to play a stretch of Stanford, ASU, and Arizona which can help them immensely.

13. Oregon

Ducks quarterback Bo Nix (10) rushes for an 80 yard touchdown during the second half against the Stanford Cardinal at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks won the game 45-27. — Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Previous Ranking: 12

Oregon had a huge win over UCLA, but the FPI doesn't value UCLA as highly as other schools.

10. USC

Previous Ranking: 10

USC is still in major contention for the Pac-12 and the playoff, but they need to win out.

8. Utah

Utah Utes running back Tavion Thomas (9) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the 2022 Rose Bowl college football game at the Rose Bowl. — Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Previous Ranking: 9

Despite having two losses, Utah is still viewed as the best team in the Pac-12 by the FPI. That win over USC is really paying dividends.

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