SI Pac-12 Power Rankings Week 8: UCLA Football Remains at No. 1

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 8 of the 2022 season.

UCLA football (6-0, 3-0) stayed put at No. 1 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings coming off of its bye week. There was finally a complete consensus on the Bruins' current standing relative to their conference foes, with every voter slotting them in atop the entire league thanks to their undefeated record and two recent ranked wins.

Cal Sports Report, Ducks Digest, All Bruins, All Utes and Inside the Huskies already had UCLA at No. 1 in Week 7, but All Cardinal and All Trojans bumped the Bruins up after their top team fell. As a result, UCLA became the first unanimous No. 1 team in the weekly poll since Utah earned the distinction in the preseason.

USC dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 and lost all of its first-place votes after losing to Utah, who UCLA had beaten the week before. Oregon – UCLA's next opponent – actually slipped from No. 3 to No. 4 during their bye week, with some voters giving the Utes the edge after they held off the previously unbeaten Trojans.

Here are the full power rankings, along with the ballots and some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:

2022 WEEK 8 SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS

1. UCLA, 84 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Utah, 71 points
3. USC, 70 points
4. Oregon, 59 points
5. Washington, 54 points
6. Oregon State, 51 points
7. Washington State, 40 points
8. Arizona, 31 points
9. Cal, 25 points
10. Stanford, 22 points
11. Arizona State, 21 points
12. Colorado, 8 points

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 Oreon 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.

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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