The Washington Huskies escaped the desert and the Oregon Ducks won big. Again. But was it enough for a change at the top of this week’s Pac-12 football power rankings?
The Washington Huskies escaped the desert and the Oregon Ducks won big. Again.
But it wasn’t enough for a change at the top of this week’s Pac-12 football power rankings from The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The Huskies remained in the No. 1 spot with 82 points, earning five first-place votes from the seven-member voting panel, after defeating Arizona 31-24. The lethargic win staved off second-place Oregon, which earned a season-high 78 points and two first-place votes — one more than last week — after breezing past Stanford 42-6.
USC remained in third place in our rankings, recording 70 points, after hanging on to beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-41. But the Trojans did not receive a first-place vote for the first time this season.
The Washington State Cougars (64) and the Oregon State Beavers (56) were the only risers this week, leapfrogging the Utah Utes (49) to climb one spot in the rankings to fourth and fifth place, respectively. The Cougars were idle last week, but benefitted from the Beavers’ 21-6 victory over Utah, which fell from fourth to sixth.
How did the rest of the conference fare?
Here are this week’s power rankings from The Oregonian/OregonLive sports staff:
(Voting panel: James Crepea, Nick Daschel, Aaron Fentress, Joe Freeman, Sean Meagher, Joel Odom, Bill Oram)
1. NO. 7 WASHINGTON HUSKIES (5-0, 2-0)
Poll points: 82 (5 first-place votes)
Last week (1): Beat Arizona 31-24.
This week: Idle
2. NO. 8 OREGON DUCKS (5-0, 2-0)
Poll points: 78 (2 first-place votes)
Last week (2): Beat Stanford 42-6.
This week: Idle.
3. NO. 9 USC TROJANS (5-0, 3-0)
Poll points: 70
Last week (3): Beat Colorado 48-41.
This week: Arizona at USC, 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday (ESPN).
4. NO. 13 WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (4-0, 1-0)
Poll points: 64
Last week (5): Idle.
This week: Washington State at UCLA, Noon PT Saturday (Pac-12 Networks).
5. NO. 15 OREGON STATE BEAVERS (4-1, 1-1)
Poll points: 56
Last week (6): Beat Utah 21-7.
This week: Oregon State at Cal, 7 p.m. PT Saturday (Pac-12 Networks).
6. NO. 18 UTAH UTES (4-1, 1-1)
Poll points: 49
Last week (4): Lost at Oregon State 21-7.
This week: Idle.
7. UCLA BRUINS (3-1, 0-1)
Poll points: 40
Last week (7): Idle.
This week: Washington State at UCLA, Noon PT Saturday (Pac-12 Networks).
8. COLORADO BUFFALOES (3-1, 0-1)
Poll points: 37
Last week (8): Lost to USC 48-41
This week: Colorado at Arizona State, 3:30 PT Saturday (Pac-12 Networks).
9. ARIZONA WILDCATS (3-2, 1-1)
Poll points: 25
Last week (9): Lost to Washington 31-24.
This week: Arizona at USC, 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday (ESPN).
10. (tie) CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (3-2, 1-1)
Poll points: 22
Last week (10): Beat Arizona State 24-21
This week: Oregon State at California, 7 p.m. PT Saturday (Pac-12 Networks).
10. (tie) ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (1-4, 0-2)
Poll points: 22
Last week (11): Lost to Cal 24-21.
This week: Colorado at Arizona State, 3:30 PT Saturday (Pac-12 Networks).
12. STANFORD CARDINAL (1-4, 0-3)
Poll points: 8
Last week (12): Lost to Oregon 42-6.
This week: Idle
