Huskies Nearly Bottom Out in Pac-12 Power Rankings
How the mighty have fallen in our Pac-12 power rankings.
Rated third to begin the season, Jimmy Lake's slumping University of Washington football team has slid all the way to 11th following a pair of lackluster defeats, spurred by no offensive prowess at all.
Even 0-2 California and rival Washington State came in higher than the Huskies, who originally were 20th ranked nationally by the Associated Press.
Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report sealed the deal for the UW's low placement by voting them dead last this week. Hopefully, he didn't have these Huskies confused with the basketball version, which has finished 11th and 12th in the league standings the past two seasons.
Our six-vote Pac-12 ranking tends to swing wildly depending on immediate performance, and rightly so. You can't earn a lofty position based on name recognition alone.
We'll see if the Huskies can generate any kind of turnaround to improve their status and season standing.
SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS
1. Oregon 2-0 (6) 72 points
2. UCLA 2-0 66
3. Arizona State 2-0 59
4. Stanford 1-1 50
5. Utah 1-1 44
6 tie. Colorado 1-1 40
6 tie. USC 1-1 40
8. Oregon State 1-1 33
9. Cal 0-2 20
10. Washington State 1-1 19
11. Washington 0-2 18
12. Arizona 0-2 7
DONNIE DRUIN, ALL SUN DEVILS
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. Arizona State; 4. Utah; 5. Colorado; 6. Stanford; 7. USC; 8. Oregon State; 9. Washington; 10. Cal; 11. Washington State; 12. Arizona
Comment: Man, what a way for Oregon to bounce back. A huge victory over what many assumed to be a certain CFP team in Ohio State on the road deserves the top spot, while USC takes a hit after falling apart to Stanford in horrid fashion. I was also a fan of how Colorado battled with a top-five team in the country despite their loss.
JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT
1. Oregon, 2. UCLA, 3. Arizona State, 4. Utah, 5. Colorado. 6. Stanford, 7. USC, 8. Oregon State, 9. Cal, 10. Washington State, 11. Arizona, 12. Washington
Comment: Oregon’s road win over Ohio State trumps UCLA’s home win over LSU, and I don’t know what to make of Washington, which has people sleepless in Seattle. Stanford might be higher, but I can’t pretend that ugly loss to Kansas State didn’t happen.
MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. Arizona State; 4. Stanford; 5. Utah; 6. USC; 7. Colorado; 8. Oregon State; 9. Cal; 10. Washington; 11. Washington State; 12. Arizona
Comment: Oregon solidified themselves as the top dog in the Pac-12 after a potentially program-altering win over Ohio State. Will Clay Helton underachieve again this season after losing to an unranked Stanford team at home? I'm impressed that Colorado was able to hang with a major SEC team in Texas A&M, and it looks like Karl Dorrell might be ahead of schedule turning his program around in Boulder.
SAM CONNONS, ALL BRUINS
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. Arizona State; 4. Utah; 5. Stanford; 6. Colorado; 7. USC; 8. Oregon State; 9. Washington State; 10. Cal; 11. Washington; 12. Arizona
Comment: The Ducks gifted the Pac-12 its best nonconference win in years, and for that, they become far and away the hottest team out west. That isn’t to discount what UCLA has done so far this year, but how they perform against common opponent Fresno State this Saturday should tell us a bit more about both them and Oregon.
CLAUDETTE MONTANA-PATTISON, ALL TROJANS
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. Arizona State; 4. Stanford; 5. Oregon State; 6. USC; 7. Washington State; 8. Washington; 9. Colorado; 10. Utah; 11. Cal; 12. Arizona
Comment: USC drops down the ranks after a brutal loss to the Stanford Cardinal. Arguably, one of the worst losses in program history & in Clay Helton's career. The Oregon Ducks rise to the top of the rankings after pulling off a major upset in Columbus, Ohio against Ryan Day's Ohio State Buckeyes.
DAN RALEY, HUSKY MAVEN
1. Oregon; 2; UCLA; 3. Stanford; 4. Arizona State; 5. USC; 6. Colorado; 7. Utah; 8. Oregon State; 9. Cal; 10. Washington; 11. Washington State; 12. Arizona.
Comment: Oregon did the conference proud, this coming after UCLA showed some moxie the week before. I greatly underestimated the Ducks. No longer. Stanford apparently only needed a quarterback change. As for Washington and USC, they look poorly coached and keep the Pac-12 from feeling totally happy about itself.
