Pac-12 Power Rankings Have 2 Unbeatens, 2 Headless Entries, UW in Middle
Coming up on the halfway point of the Pac-12 football season, the Big Ten-bound USC and UCLA are the only unbeatens remaining, trying to see how long they can make that last. And, of course, it won't.
Utah and Oregon remain their normal sturdy and established selves, pressing the Los Angeles schools for spots in the league championship game. The Utes still might be the best the Pac-12 has to offer.
The University of Washington and Washington State have bounced back quite nicely following in-season coaching changes a year ago that could have created long-term damage and they maintain an upper-half of the standings presence.
Oregon State can't quite get over the hump, but under Jonathan Smith remains capable of beating anyone in the conference, which is where Arizona, in Jedd Fisch's rebuild, is headed.
The Bay Area schools California and Stanford have respected coaches in place without the desired results. Here's wondering how long those academic-minded, not-football-first schools remain patient.
Which, of course, leaves us with Arizona State and Colorado, the headless horsemen of the Pac-12, inartistically bringing up the rear of the power rankings. Just five weeks into this season, each school bid farewell to its head coach and is unceremoniously starting over.
Oh, what a mess the Sun Devils and Buffaloes have made of their football programs.
SI PAC-12 POWER RANKINGS/WEEK 6
1. USC 5-0, 3-0 . . . (5) 81 points
2. Utah 4-1, 2-0 . . . (1) 77
3. UCLA 5-0, 2-0 . . . (1) 69
4. Oregon 4-1, 2-0 . . . 66
5. WASHINGTON 4-1, 1-1 . . . 55
6. Washington State 4-1, 1-1 . . . 48
7. Oregon State 3-2, 0-2 . . . 43
8 tie. Cal 3-2, 1-1 . . . 32
8 tie. Arizona 3-2, 1-1 . . . . 32
10. Stanford 1-3, 0-3 . . . 19
11. Arizona State 1-4, 0-2 . . . 16
12. Colorado 0-5, 0-2 . . . 7
JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT
1. UCLA, 2. USC, 3. Utah, 4. Oregon, 5. Washington, 6. Washington State, 7. Oregon State, 8. Cal, 9. Arizona, 10. Arizona State, 11. Stanford, 12. Colorado
Comment: L.A. is where it's at this week. (I can almost hear Randy Newman singing). I'm still not convinced about USC, but it is 5-0 and ranked in the top 10. And what in the world has happened to Stanford the past few years?
MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Oregon; 4. UCLA; 5. Washington; 6. Washington State; 7. Oregon State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Arizona State; 11. Stanford; 12. Colorado
Comment: UCLA showed that it wasn't a mistake that it is undefeated earning its first win over a ranked team this year. USC stays perfect and that Utah game has to be circled on everyone's calendars. Oregon's offense is explosive and exciting but there are still some areas it needs to figure out on defense.
KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Oregon; 4. UCLA; 5. Washington; 6. Washington State; 7. Oregon State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: Stanford fell to its third straight ranked opponent, and was simply just outmatched. This week the Cardinal will look to beat a struggling Oregon State to get back on track.
SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. UCLA; 4. Oregon; 5. Washington State; 6. Washington; 7. Oregon State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: The Trojans don't look unbeatable after getting off to a slow start against the lowly, coach-less Sun Devils, which should make the race at the top of the conference all the more interesting. The Bruins already knocked off the Huskies to assert their position among the other top-tier teams, but they're going to have to do it again versus the Utes if they're going to want to stick around at all. UCLA-Utah and USC-Washington State will both be extremely important games, and the rankings could be in for another shakeup next week.
WYATT ALLSUP ALL TROJANS
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Oregon; 4. UCLA; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Cal; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: USC and Utah are almost interchangeable at this point. USC’s game with Arizona State was too close for too long. UCLA is undefeated, but I don’t think it would beat Oregon right now. The bottom three teams in this conference are significantly worse than the rest.
COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES
1. Utah; 2. USC; 3. UCLA; 4. Oregon; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Cal; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: Utah has nearly cemented itself as the team to beat while others still have a lot of questions to answer. Washington's momentum came to a screeching halt, UCLA looks good but Utah will be a real test and USC still needs to show they can comfortably beat a respectable opponent. These next two weeks will prove who is the real deal and who is a fraud.
DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. UCLA; 4. Oregon; 5. Washington; 6. Washington State; 7. Arizona; 8. Oregon State; 9. Cal; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: Get ready for rapid-fire. Seven of the 12 coaches have changed over in the past 22 months. Welcome to realignment, Pac-12 style. League-wide, only two teams are unbeaten, the ones not long for the league. Yet five Pac-12 members made it into the AP Top 25 this week, so there is outside respect for what's going on. Told you someone would exploit that thin Husky secondary.
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