Huskies Still Middle of Ratings Pack, With Chance to Make Big Move

It's prove-it week for the University of Washington football team.

The Huskies have been offensively unstoppable and immeasurably better than a pair of overmatched, lower-tier opponents that popped up on the schedule seeking athletic department paydays and not much else.

It's time for Kalen DeBoer's team to show whether it belongs in a primetime football game on ABC with Michigan State, can hang with the nation's 11th-ranked entry and beat someone of significance for what seems like a decade ago.

OK, it's been four seasons since a Chris Petersen-coached Husky team sent 21st-ranked USC home from Montlake with a 28-14 defeat.

The UW remains sixth in the latest Pac-12 power rankings in the Sports Illustrated network, which is where DeBoer's club belongs until it proves otherwise with a Power 5 win.

A year ago, the Huskies came into Week 2 with another primetime game on ABC on tap, only against Michigan, and failed miserably by losing 31-10.

Jimmy Lake's team never did settle in the rest of the season, with three of its four victories coming against teams with losing records in the closing minutes that were hardly decisive outcomes. Those Huskies simply didn't scare anyone.

DeBoer's UW team, however, has drawn attention to itself by scoring practically every time it gets its hands on the ball. Actually, it's been 15 scores in 21 drives, making people want to know if these Huskies can do this against stiff competition.

The coming Michigan State game will answer a lot of questions, namely are DeBoer's. guys better than expected.

Week 3 - SI Pac-12 Football Power Rankings

1. USC 2-0 (5) . . . 82 votes

2. Utah 1-1 (1) . . . 74

3. Oregon State . . . 62

4. UCLA 2-0 . . . 61

5. Washington State 2-0 (1) . . . 58

6. Washington 2-0 . . . 52

7. Oregon 1-1 . . . 51

8. Stanford 1-1 . . . 28

9. Cal 2-0 . . . 27

10. Arizona 1-1 . . . 23

11. Arizona State 1-1 . . . 21

12. Colorado 0-2 . . . 7

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

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

Comment: If you look at results and not preseason expectations, which team has had the best results? WSU beat a ranked team (Wisconsin) on the road. No other Pac-12 team has done that. The only certainty in these rankings is that Colorado is last.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

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

Comment: Oregon bounced back in a big way and looked even better than I anticipated against Eastern Washington. That being said, hanging 70 on an FCS school isn't anything to write home about and their Pac-12 trajectory will become much clearer when they face No. 12 BYU this week in a much more difficult and physical game. Their conference opener against Washington State looks all the more intriguing after the Cougs upset Wisconsin on the road.

KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL

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

Comment: Not a lot of movement this time around, but USC did seem to solidify itself as the best team in the conference right now. Stanford, on the other hand, has a very early bye week in which it will look to get some key people healthy, and prepare for Washington next week.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

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

Comment: Outside of the Trojans, the rest of the supposed top-tier teams in the conference played and defeated a bunch of cupcakes last weekend. That gave Oregon State, Washington State and Cal a chance to assert themselves as teams to take seriously, and they each did just that. Wins over Wisconsin, Fresno State and UNLV show how the Pac-12 has improved from last year – even if they were offset slightly by Arizona and Arizona State's losses to Mississippi State and Oklahoma State – and the middle of the pack could prove to be more disruptive than initially thought.

WYATT ALLSUP, ALL TROJANS

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

Comment: Utah bounced back nicely with a strong win against a weaker opponent. Stanford gave USC a decent fight in the second half, but USC is still the team to beat in this conference. Oregon State is starting to put it together; don’t be surprised if they find themselves in the AP Top 25 soon.

COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES

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

Comment: Not much changed from the previous week. USC has firepower, but the defense is unproven. Washington still may be a dark horse and Oregon somewhat bounced back. More conference matchups will tell us what we really need to know.

DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES

1. USC; 2. Utah 1-1; 3. Washington State 2-0; 4. Oregon State 2-0; 5. Washington 2-0; 6. UCLA 2-0; 7. Oregon 1-1; 8. Cal 2-0; 9. Stanford 1-1; 10. Arizona State 1-1; 11. Arizona 1-1; 12. Colorado 0-2.

Comment: We've come to a Kalen DeBoer crossroads with the Huskies hosting Michigan State and tasked with showing whether or not they can score at will against a Big Ten team. Or beat one by a field goal, such as WSU did. Considering the Big Ten's pilfering of USC and UCLA, these are statement games now.

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