UW Holds Steady in Pac-12 Power Rankings

When it comes to Pac-12 power rankings in the SI.com network, the good news for the University of Washington football team is it didn't budge from sixth place from Week 1 to the current listing.

The halfway mark is a good spot for a program on the rebound from major disappointment in 2021.

A year ago, the Huskies lost to FCS Montana in their opener and rightly so disappeared from all polls and rankings, never to be heard from again.

Trying to rekindle its image, the UW can't hope to attract any attention until it plays someone tough, such as Michigan State in another week, and beats them.

A lopsided win over Kent State and likely another over Portland State this weekend tells the analysts, pollsters and league observers absolutely nothing about this rebounding Husky team now under the direction of Kalen DeBoer.

Sixth place in the conference is a safe, comfortable spot for the UW for now.

WEEK 2 / SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS

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

2. Utah 0-1 (2) . . . 76

3. UCLA 1-0 . . . 67

4. Oregon State 1-0 . . . 59

5. Oregon 0-1 . . . 55

6. Washington 1-0 . . . 54

7. Washington State 1-0 . . . 36

8. Arizona 1-0 . . . 33

9. Stanford 1-0 . . . 28

10. Cal 1-0 . . . 26

11. Arizona State 1-0 . . . 23

12. Colorado 0-1 . . . 7

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

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

Comment: I go by results, not preseason expectations. Look at the results from Week 1, and USC, Arizona and Oregon State had the best performances. I give teams little credit for beating FCS teams. Of course, this ranking is likely to change dramatically over the next few weeks.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

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

Comment: It was a rough debut for Dan Lanning as a head coach as Oregon got throttled by the defending national champions. The Ducks looked bad, but they won't play any opponents of Georgia's caliber the rest of the season. I don't think the sky is falling in Eugene, but there's loads of work for this team to do to reach its full potential. The better litmus test will be BYU in week 3.

KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL

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

Comment: For the second week in a row the top team in this poll has a chance to be knocked off. If Stanford can establish the run, get a few stops, and prevent turnovers they could pull off the huge upset at home.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

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

Comment: While most of the storylines across the conference are justifiably centered on the struggles of the teams at the top like Utah and Oregon, the rest of the Pac-12 actually fared pretty well in Week 1. Outside of Colorado – and to an extent, Oregon – the rest of the conference avoided any crushingly embarrassing losses and all took care of business against Group of Five and FCS opponents. Given the losses to Fresno State, Montana and others early in 2021, that is actually an improvement.

WYATT ALLSUP, ALL TROJANS

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

Comment: Not to overreact to a big win over Rice, but USC’s new offense looked excellent Week 1. I’m buying the hype for now, and I think Oregon should have as many question marks as USC. Until proven otherwise, the Ducks are not in the same tier as the Trojans and the Utes, but they should be much better than the rest of the conference. Teams 4 through 7 are very interchangeable. Look out for Arizona to climb the ladder throughout the season — last year, the Wildcats may have been the worst Power 5 team, but it’s starting to turn around in Tucson.

COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES

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

Comment: Despite a Week 1 loss to the Gators in Gainesville, Utah is still the team to beat in the PAC-12. Meanwhile, USC demonstrated a lot of fire power, Oregon was incredibly disappointing and Washington looks dangerous.

DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES

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

Comment: Washington might not stop anybody on defense, but the Huskies will make opponents have to score a lot of points to beat them. Note to Oregon: If the dismal UW team of 2021 showed anybody anything, the days of hiring assistant coaches to run the show are over. Of course, there's not a team in the Pac-12 that can beat Georgia.

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