SI Pac-12 Week 9 Power Rankings: UCLA Falls Back To Middle of the Pack
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 8.
UCLA football (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) slid down from No. 2 to No. 5 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings following its loss to Oregon on Saturday. There was almost a consensus on the Bruins' standing, although one voter gave them quite the boost considering their defeat at the hands of the Ducks.
All Trojans was the highest on UCLA, placing them at No. 2. All Sun Devils, Cal Sports Report, Ducks Digest, All Bruins and Husky Maven, on the other hand, all placed the Bruins at No. 5. Even if All Trojans had joined in on slotting UCLA at No. 5, the Bruins would still be safely in the No. 5 team overall.
Oregon stood its ground in first place, despite not being able to pull away from an unranked team for the second weekend in a row. Oregon State took UCLA's spot at No. 2 after beating previous No. 3 team Utah, also allowing idle Arizona State to move up a spot to No. 4.
With the Ducks earning the No. 1 spot in a unanimous sweep, the second tier of teams continues to be lumped together pretty closely. The Beavers and Bruins separated by just 11 total points with two teams between them, then the third tier of Stanford, Washington State, USC and Washington is another step behind.
Here are the full Week 9 power rankings, as well as some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:
SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS
1. Oregon (6-1, 3-1), 72 points (6 first-place votes)
2. Oregon State (5-2, 3-1), 63
3. Arizona State (5-2, 3-1), 58
4. Utah (4-3, 3-1), 53
5. UCLA (5-3, 3-2), 52
6. Stanford (3-4, 2-3), 41
7. Washington State (4-4, 3-2), 33
8. USC (3-4, 2-3), 31
9. Washington (3-4, 2-2), 26
10. Cal (2-5, 1-3), 21
11. Colorado (2-5, 1-3) 13
12. Arizona (0-7, 0-4) 6
DONNIE DRUIN, ALL SUN DEVILS
1. Oregon; 2. Oregon State; 3. Utah; 4. Arizona State; 5. UCLA; 6. Washington State; 7. Stanford; 8. Washington; 9. USC; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: If an Oregon/Oregon State meeting to decide the Pac-12 North is indeed on the line in the last week of the regular season, count me in, and throw some popcorn my way, too. Even after a loss, I'm still not able to drop Utah behind ASU quite yet, although the Sun Devils did receive help by the Utes losing and UCLA also dropping another game over the weekend.
JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT
1. Oregon, 2. Oregon State, 3. Arizona State, 4. Utah, 5. UCLA, 6. Washington State, 7. Stanford, 8. Washington, 9. USC, 10. Cal, 11. Colorado, 12. Arizona
Comment: Ducks solidify their hold on the top spot, and Oregon State continues to be the surprise of the Pac-12, perhaps the nation. The Utah-UCLA game next weekend may break up that logjam of teams that consider themselves contenders.
MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST
1. Oregon; 2. Oregon State; 3. Arizona State; 4. Utah; 5. UCLA; 6. Stanford; 7. USC; 8. Cal; 9. Washington State; 10. Washington; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: Oregon earns a massive win over UCLA in what was one of their biggest remaining regular season games. If that team shows up every week I have a hard time seeing anyone in the Pac-12 beating them. Oregon State looked great in a big win over Utah and things are going from bad to worse for USC this year.
SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS
1. Oregon; 2. Oregon State; 3. Arizona State; 4. Utah; 5. UCLA; 6. Stanford; 7. Washington; 8. USC; 9. Washington State; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: The Pac-12 does not have any great teams. Honestly, it might not have any good teams either. Oregon's resume is good enough to make them a top-10 team, but they definitely don't play like one on a week-to-week basis. Lucky for them, the Beavers, Sun Devils, Utes and Bruins are all somewhere in the 30 to 40 range nationally, and the rest of the conference is just bad.
CLAUDETTE MONTANA PATTISON, ALL TROJANS
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. Utah; 4. Arizona State; 5. Oregon State; 6. Stanford; 7. Washington State; 8. USC; 9. Washington; 10. Cal; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: The USC Trojans continue to struggle after taking their fourth loss of the 2021 season to longtime rival Notre Dame. Now the question remains, can the team become bowl eligible? The team will face Arizona State, UCLA and BYU later this season, which could all be tough contests.
DAN RALEY, HUSKY MAVEN
1. Oregon; 2. Oregon State; 3. Arizona State; 4. UCLA; 5. Stanford; 6. USC; 7. Utah; 8. Washington State; 9. Cal; 10. Washington; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona
Comment: How has the conference fallen so far? It's got a bunch of pretenders and the nation's longest losing streak. Washington is terrible. Sorry to be so harsh, but I expected so much more out of the Pac-12 this season. Commissioner George Kliavkoff, you've got your work cut out for you.
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