SI Pac-12 Power Rankings Week 5: UCLA Football Back on the Rise

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 5 of the 2022 season.

UCLA football (4-0) went from No. 7 to No. 6 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings following its 45-17 win over Colorado on Saturday. There was not a consensus on the Bruins' current standing relative to their conference foes, with some giving them decent credit for blowing out the Buffaloes and others keeping them stuck in place.

Cal Sports Report was the highest on UCLA, slotting them in at No. 3, while Inside the Huskies had them at No. 4 and All Bruins had them at No. 5. Ducks Digest, All Cardinal, All Trojans and All Utes, however, had the Bruins pegged as the No. 7 team in the conference, despite being undefeated through four contests.

USC held onto the No. 1 overall spot in the Pac-12 after beating Oregon State on the road, but its status at the top was not unchallenged. Utah and Washington tied for second, each stealing away one first-place vote.

Here are the full preseason power rankings, as well as some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:

2022 WEEK 5 SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS

1. USC, 82 points (5 first-place votes)
2 (Tie). Utah, 74 points (1 first-place vote)
2 (Tie). Washington, 74 points (1 first-place vote)
4. Oregon, 59 points
5. Oregon State, 53 points
6. UCLA, 51 points
7. Washington State, 46 points
8. Cal, 37 points
9. Arizona, 26 points
10. Stanford, 23 points
11. Arizona State, 14 points
12. Colorado, 7 points

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

1. Washington; 2. USC; 3. UCLA; 4. Utah; 5. Oregon; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: UCLA’s soft schedule comes to screeching halt the next two weeks when it faces Washington and Utah. Then will see whether the Bruins belong in the upper echelon of the conference. ASU and Colorado are battling to join the nation's Bottom 10.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Washington; 4. Oregon; 5. Washington State; 6. Oregon State; 7. UCLA; 8. Cal; 9. Stanford; 10. Arizona; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: Oregon won a game that was almost too close for comfort in the Palouse. Nix's pick-six was erased by an amazing comeback that previous Oregon teams haven't been capable of. A late matchup against Stanford shouldn't be overlooked, but the Ducks keep stepping up when it matters most and should feel confident heading into that game.

KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL

1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Washington; 4. Oregon; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington State; 7. UCLA; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: Despite having an extra week to prepare, Stanford came out flat against Washington. It's hard to win when you get sacked 8 times and give the ball away three times. Traveling to Oregon will be no easy task, especially since it looks like they are figuring things out in Eugene.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Washington; 4. Oregon; 5. UCLA; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: All the favorites won this weekend, leaving my ballot largely unchanged. USC's road win over Oregon State was ugly but impressive, as was Oregon's at Washington State. Those two outside challengers losing keeps UCLA in the top half of the conference for the time being, but that will be tested as they take on Washington, Utah and Oregon these next few weeks.

WYATT ALLSUP, ALL TROJANS

1. USC; 2. Washington; 3. Utah; 4. Oregon State; 5. Oregon; 6. Washington State; 7. UCLA; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: USC escapes with a narrow win over Oregon State, which gave a statement performance. Oregon doesn’t travel to Corvallis until the final week of the season, but if the two played right now, I think the Beavers look better. Not much movement in the bottom half of my rankings, but UCLA deserves some credit for starting 4-0. The Bruins haven’t really played anyone, but they can only beat who they play. Tough stretch coming up for them the next three weeks.

COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES

1. Utah; 2. USC; 3. Washington; 4. Oregon State; 5. Oregon; 6. Washington State; 7. UCLA; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: While Utah is gaining momentum, USC and Oregon barely escaped this past week with wins. The next two weeks will be very telling and could cement the top 3-4 teams for the rest of the season.

DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES

1. USC; 2. Washington; 3. Utah; 4. UCLA; 5. Oregon; 6. Cal; 7. Oregon State; 8. Washington State; 9. Stanford; 10. Arizona; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: The Huskies aren't unbeatable, but they're unstoppable on offense. They're averaging 44 points and 530 yards per game. They've scored on their first drive of every game so far. If UCLA is going to beat these guys on Friday night, they'll need to attack the secondary, which has replaced three of the five starters because of injury. This is a team that hasn't faced any adversity yet.

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