Pac-12 Power Rankings: Deion Sanders drops with a win, while top tier stands pat
For a weekend of college football that was billed as “boring” by most national media members, there were certainly some fireworks in Week 3, especially in the late-night window.
While No. 11 Tennessee and No. 15 Kansas State were upset, others such as No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Florida State and No. 10 Alabama were tested in ways they certainly weren’t expecting.
It all led up to a firework show from Boulder, Colorado, that went late into the night. The No. 18 Buffaloes nearly fell flat on their faces at the hands of an unranked and winless Colorado State team that had been just happy to be part of the conversation all week. Fortunately for Deion Sanders — and the Oregon Ducks, to be honest — Colorado pulled out the win in double-overtime and kept the shine on their marquee matchup with Dan Lanning in Eugene a week from now.
Suffice it to say that Saturday was eventful. Here are our updated Week 3 power rankings in the Pac-12 after all of the action:
Stanford Cardinal | 30-23 Loss to Sacramento State
Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 11th
Current Record: 1-2
AP Ranking: N/A
Next Game: vs. Arizona Wildcats
Analysis: In the Troy Taylor Bowl, Troy Taylor lost. The Stanford coach was unable to beat his former team, Sacramento State, and his Cardinal fell to the bottom of the Pac-12 rankings. It’s going to be hard for them to move up any time soon.
Arizona State Sun Devils | 29-0 Loss to Fresno State
Previous Ranking: 12th
Current Record: 1-2
AP Ranking: N/A
Next Game: vs. No. 5 USC Trojans
Analysis: If Stanford didn’t look so bad against Sac State, Arizona State would have easily held onto the bottom spot in the rankings. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy for Kenny Dillingham in his first year with the Sun Devils, but I didn’t think it would look quite this bad.
California Golden Bears | 31-17 Win vs. Idaho
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 10th
Current Record: 2-1
AP Ranking: N/A
Next Game: vs. No. 8 Washington Huskies
Analysis: California ultimately earned the victory, but there was quite a while where this game was in doubt. I think the Golden Bears can look OK on occasion, but this is not a good team, but any means.
Arizona Wildcats | 31-10 Win vs. UTEP
Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 9th
Current Record: 2-1
AP Ranking: N/A
Next Game: vs. Stanford Cardinal
Analysis: Arizona feels like the midpoint for the Pac-12. The Wildcats don’t belong in the bottom tier of bad teams, but they also don’t belong in the tier of good teams, either. We will see if they can make their way up the rankings at any point this year.
Colorado Buffaloes | 43-35 Win vs. Colorado State (2OT)
Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 5th
Current Record: 3-0
AP Ranking: N/A
Next Game: vs. No. 13 Oregon Ducks
Analysis: I don’t care that Colorado got the win. If it takes you two overtimes to put away a winless Mountain West school (Colorado State) after all of the trash talk and hype that led up to the game, you deserve to fall in the rankings. The Buffaloes are a severely flawed team, and we are going to see a lot of holes poked in their armor next week at Oregon.
UCLA Bruins | 59-7 Win vs. NC Central
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 8th
Current Record: 3-0
AP Ranking: No. 24
Next Game: vs. No. 12 Utah Utes
Analysis: They’ve faced nothing but bad teams so far, but UCLA has looked pretty good this season. They will go as far as true-freshman QB Dante Moore can take them, and we will see how far that is next week against a good Utah team.
Washington State Cougars | 64-21 Win vs. N. Colorado
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 7th
Current Record: 3-0
AP Ranking: No. 23
Next Game: vs. No. 16 Oregon State Beavers
Analysis: Washington State keeps on winning, and it keeps looking good in the process. Next week is going to be a great showdown between the Cougars and the Beavers.
Oregon State Beavers | 26-9 Win vs. San Diego State
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 6th
Current Record: 3-0
AP Ranking: 16th
Next Game: vs. No. 23 Washington State Cougars
Analysis: Oregon State didn’t play a great game against SDSU, but it finished the nonconference schedule undefeated with high hopes going forward. I can’t wait for that game next week against Washington State.
Utah Utes | 31-7 Win vs. Weber State
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 4th
Current Record: 3-0
AP Ranking: 12th
Next Game: vs. No. 24 UCLA Bruins
Analysis: Utah continues to win without Cam Rising, which is impressive. However, he needs to return to the field soon, because the schedule is about to get a lot tougher.
Oregon Ducks | 55-10 Win vs. Hawaii
Previous Ranking: 3rd
Current Record: 3-0
AP Ranking: 13th
Next Game: vs. No. 18 Colorado Buffaloes
Analysis: The Ducks looked nearly flawless in a victory over Hawaii. Now they get a chance to be the nation’s least favorite team at home next week. That is when they look to ruin the party for Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes. That should be fun.
Washington Huskies | 41-7 Win vs. Michigan State
Previous Ranking: 2nd
Current Record: 3-0
AP Ranking: 8th
Next Game: vs. California Golden Bears
Analysis: Washington is at No. 2 on this list, but you could make a case it deserves to bump the Trojans out of the No. 1 spot. Michael Penix looks incredible, and the Huskies are rolling. Look out.
USC Trojans | Bye Week
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 1st
Current Record: 3-0
AP Ranking: 5th
Next Game: vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
Analysis: USC has the reigning Heisman winner and arguably the best offense in the nation. I guess that will allow you to keep the No. 1 spot in the rankings, even during a bye week.
