SI Pac-12 Power Rankings Week 4: UCLA Football Continues Fall
The Fan Nation and Sports Illustrated publishers of the Pac-12 have come together to unveil their takes on the conference's hierarchy heading into Week 4 of the 2022 season.
UCLA football (3-0) dropped from No. 4 to No. 7 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings following its 32-31 win over South Alabama on Saturday. There was not a consensus on the Bruins' current standing relative to their conference foes, but every pundit moved them down considerably from past weeks despite the perfect record.
All Bruins was the highest on UCLA, slotting them in at No. 5, while All Trojans was the most pessimistic and put them at No. 8. Every other publisher had the Bruins at No. 7, moving them from safely inside the top third of the power rankings all the way into the bottom half of the league.
USC held onto the No. 1 overall spot in the Pac-12 after beating Fresno State at home, but yet another outsider chipped away with a top vote of their own. Utah remains in second with one of those first-place votes, while Washington stole the other from Washington State after its 39-28 win over Michigan State on Saturday.
Here are the full preseason power rankings, as well as some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:
2022 PRESEASON SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS
1. USC, 81 points (5 first-place votes)
2. Utah, 73 points (1 first-place vote)
3. Washington, 72 points (1 first-place vote)
4. Oregon, 58 points
5. Oregon State, 57 points
6. Washington State, 56 points
7. UCLA, 43 points
8. Stanford, 30 points
9. Arizona, 28 points
10. Cal, 27 points
11. Arizona State, 14 points
12. Colorado, 7 points
JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT
1. Washington; 2. Washington State; 3. USC; 4. Oregon State; 5. Oregon; 6. Utah; 7. UCLA; 8. Arizona; 9. Cal; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: Herm Edwards is gone, so how much longer will Karl Dorrell keep his job? The only certainty in the conference is that, as of now, Colorado and Arizona State are the two worst teams. The rest will begin to sort themselves out this week. Is Utah only the sixth-best team? No, they're better than that, but the Utes need to beat someone to move up on my list.
MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Washington State; 4. Washington; 5. Oregon; 6. Oregon State; 7. UCLA; 8. Stanford; 9. Arizona; 10. Cal; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: Oregon showed it should be able to compete with anyone in the conference after passing a big test against BYU. USC takes over the top spot for me and I can't wait to see them square off against Utah this season. Washington continues to impress, and their latest win over Michigan State shows that Kalen DeBoer has the Huskies headed in the right direction after two gimme wins to start the season.
KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Washington; 4. Oregon State; 5. Washington State; 6. Oregon; 7. UCLA; 8. Stanford; 9. Arizona; 10. Cal; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: Washington is trending all the way up after their impressive win over No. 11 Michigan State. Stanford is tasked with taking them on after their huge win, which is typically when some teams will slip after riding a high.
SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Washington; 4. Oregon; 5. UCLA; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Cal; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: The Pac-12 racked up some real quality wins to close out nonconference play, with Washington and Oregon becoming the latest to tick that box this past Saturday. The top half of the league looks genuinely very strong, and a team that was gifted a 3-0 record due to a lighter schedule like UCLA may show its true colors in the coming weeks against those more tested squads.
WYATT ALLSUP, ALL TROJANS
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Washington; 4. Oregon; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington State; 7. Stanford; 8. UCLA; 9. Cal; 10. Arizona; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: USC stays on top after playing its most complete game of the season. Washington jumps up the list and shows it could contend for a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. Oregon can find itself back toward the top if it keeps up the impressive play — it’s looking like that Week 1 blowout loss said more about No. 1 Georgia than it did Oregon.
COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES
1. Utah; 2. USC; 3. Washington; 4. Oregon; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington State; 7. UCLA; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: Every single week Washington continues to impress me and they just might compete for the conference if they stay on track. Also, Oregon significantly bounced back and Bo Nix looked great against BYU. For now, Utah and USC are still the top contenders, but Washington and Oregon are gaining momentum.
DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES
1. USC; 2. Washington; 3. Utah; 4. Oregon State; 5. Oregon; 6. Washington State; 7. UCLA; 8. Stanford; 9. Cal; 10. Arizona; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: If he can stay healthy, Michael Penix Jr. could be one of the top four or five players in the conference. He makes the UW a team to fear. The defense, however, brings the Huskies back to earth, capable of being exploited. For the time being, they should be rewarded for beating Michigan State.
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