SI Pac-12 Week 7 Power Rankings: UCLA Creeps Back Up Following Win
The Fan Nation and Sports Illustrated publishers of the Pac-12 have come together to for the latest update of the conference's hierarchy following Week 6.
UCLA football (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12) moved up from No. 5 to No. 3 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings following its win over Arizona on Saturday. The six voters were relatively split on the Bruins, but everyone at least had them in the top half of the conference and the top half of the South division.
Ducks Digest and Cal Sports Report were the highest on UCLA, placing them at No. 3. All Trojans was the most negative towards them, slotting them in at No. 5. All Bruins, All Sun Devils and Husky Maven all placed the Bruins at No. 4.
Arizona State, despite being nearly 10 spots behind Oregon in the AP and Coaches polls, once again took the top spot over the Ducks for the second consecutive week. Cal Sports Report was the only outlet that held firm on Oregon being the top team in the Pac-12, while everyone else sided with the Sun Devils.
There are some pretty clear lines being drawn in the rankings, with Arizona State and Oregon making up tier one, UCLA, Oregon State and Utah comprising tier 2, a whole group of middlers in tier 3 and Colorado and Arizona down by themselves in tier 4.
Here are the full Week 7 power rankings, as well as some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:
SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS
1. Arizona State (5-1, 3-0), 71 points (5 first-place votes)
2. Oregon (4-1, 1-1), 67 (1 first-place vote)
3. UCLA (4-2, 2-1), 55
4 (tie). Oregon State (4-2, 2-1), 52
4 (tie). Utah (3-2, 2-0), 52
6. Stanford (3-3, 2-2), 44
7. Washington State (3-3, 2-2), 32
8 (tie). USC (3-3, 2-3), 29
8 (tie). Washington (2-3, 1-1), 29
10. Cal (1-4, 0-2), 19
11. Colorado (1-4, 0-2), 12
12. Arizona (0-5, 0-2), 6
DONNIE DRUIN, ALL SUN DEVILS
1. Arizona State; 2. Oregon; 3. Utah; 4. UCLA; 5. Oregon State; 6. Stanford; 7. Washington State; 8. Washington; 9. Cal; 10. USC; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: Man, what a week for the Pac-12. ASU beats a fairly decent Stanford team and looks as if they're the top team at the moment, although Oregon could rebound nicely off of their bye week. A big road test at Utah awaits against Arizona State team trying to go 4-0 in conference play.
JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT
1. Oregon, 2. Arizona State, 3; UCLA, 4. Oregon State; 5. Utah, 6. Stanford, 7; Washington State; 8. USC, 9. Washington; 10. Cal, 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona.
Comment: I’m not sure Oregon is the best team at the moment, but I can’t ignore that road win over Ohio State. If Arizona State dominates Utah, the Sun Devils might supplant the Ducks.
MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST
1. Arizona State; 2. Oregon; 3. UCLA; 4. Oregon State; 5. Stanford; 6. Utah; 7. USC; 8. Washington; 9. Washington State; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: Not too many games this past weekend, but Arizona State continues to look strong and in the driver's seat in the south. Cameron Rising and Utah's win at USC shows not only how rough a shape the Trojans are in, but that Utah can make noise in any game with an offense full of weapons. Washington State's win could shake things up a bit in the north and I'm curious to see how Oregon State responds.
SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS
1. Arizona State; 2. Oregon; 3. Utah; 4. UCLA; 5. Oregon State; 6. Stanford; 7. Washington State; 8. USC; 9. Washington; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: For the first time in a while, the top team in the conference actually played like it, as the Sun Devils went out and beat a Cardinal team that had just upset the Ducks. The all-over-the-place nature of the Pac-12 is still very much present, but Arizona State and Oregon look lIke two real contenders. UCLA-Oregon, even with the Bruins’ recent struggles, still stands to be a great showdown later this month though. This week, Colorado-Arizona may be the most entertaining game, just for the pure chaos and horror of it all.
CLAUDETTE MONTANA PATTISON, ALL TROJANS
1. Arizona State; 2. Oregon; 3. Oregon State; 4. Stanford; 5. UCLA; 6. Utah 3-2, 2-0; 7. USC 3-3, 2-3; 8. Washington State; 9. Washington; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: USC suffered another historic loss at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the Utah Utes on Saturday. As the Arizona State Sun Devils and Oregon Ducks continue to hold spots in the AP Top 25, the Trojans are virtually nowhere to be found. Now, the focus turns to finishing out the 2021 season bowl eligible, as the loss to the Utes pretty much eliminated their chances of ending the season back in the Pac-12 title game.
DAN RALEY, HUSKY MAVEN
1. Arizona State; 2. Oregon; 3. Utah; 4. UCLA; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Stanford; 8. Washington State; 9. USC; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: OK, which one from this former power trio is the Pac-12's most disappointing team: Stanford, USC or Washington? Yes, Trojans, you get my vote for futility. This should never happen to a USC team. Ever. They should fire the coach again. Maybe all of the assistants.
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