Pac-12 Power Rankings: USC, Oregon battle for conference supremacy
The most critical game of the Pac-12 schedule happened on Friday, when Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins tore apart the Washington Huskies to preserve their undefeated season.
Washington’s reign at the top of the conference power rankings and as a dark horse college football playoff candidate ended with the loss. UCLA’s resume received a much needed boost.
Elsewhere around the conference, USC, Oregon and Utah took care of business against weaker opponents. Washington State survived an ugly first quarter to defeat Cal, and Arizona smothered Colorado on the road.
It’s clear this conference is going to go right down to the wire, with USC, Utah, UCLA, Oregon and Washington squarely in contention for a championship.
Washington State and Oregon State aren’t far behind either, although neither looked particularly good this past week.
Here are the updated power rankings across the Pac-12 after five weeks of action:
Colorado Buffaloes (0-4) (Last Week: 12)
Colorado’s offense wasn’t terrible against Arizona on Saturday, but the defense didn’t come to play — giving up 43 points on six touchdowns from Jayden de Laura — and the Buffs remain winless.
Stanford Cardinal (1-3) (Last Week: 9)
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Tanner McKee and the Stanford offense were listless against Oregon on Saturday, and an extremely sloppy second quarter sank the Cardinal in this one.
Arizona State Sun Devils (1-4) (Last Week: 11)
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USC let Arizona State hang around for far too long in the first half, but ultimately Lincoln Riley’s team put away the Sun Devils.
The team without a coach has a lot of work to do to get back to Pac-12 relevancy.
Cal Golden Bears (3-2) (Last Week: 8)
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Cal failed to score a touchdown until the fourth quarter against Washington State. While the defense didn’t look too bad, this team is ultimately still not strong enough on the offensive end to contend in the Pac-12.
Arizona Wildcats (3-2) (Last Week: 10)
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Arizona’s new look offense opened up and dropped 43 points on Saturday evening, thanks to six touchdowns from Jayden de Laura. Of course, it was against Colorado, but this is still an encouraging sign the Wildcats are on the way up.
Oregon State Beavers (3-2) (Last Week: 5)
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Chance Nolan had a bad, bad, very bad first quarter against the Utah Utes, throwing a pair of interceptions, and the Beavers never recovered.
Oregon State is a sleeping giant if the quarterback play irons out, but inconsistency this season has proven their downfall.
Washington State Cougars (4-1) (Last Week: 6)
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Washington State looked very sloppy early, but the defense kept Cal out of the end zone until the fourth quarter and earned Jake Dickert’s squad a nice bounce-back victory.
The Cougars (4-1) are one epic collapse away from a perfect record and a lot more conversation nationally.
Washington Huskies (4-1) (Last Week: 1)
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Perhaps this is too harsh a fall, but Washington looked very flat against an unpredictable UCLA squad on Friday, and they had to put 16 points on the board in the final frame to make this game look much closer than it actually was.
Kalen DeBoer’s squad is still dangerous, and if this game proves an aberration this is a team worth keeping an eye on.
UCLA Bruins (5-0) (Last Week: 7)
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UCLA is 5-0 with a commanding victory over a ranked Washington squad, but it has really struggled with consistency — particularly on defense.
It may be harsh to have them this low after a win like the one they earned on Friday, but I’m not sold just yet.
Utah Utes (4-1) (Last Week: 4)
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Cameron Rising had six incompletions against the Beavers on Saturday, throwing three touchdowns and rushing for another in Utah’s rout over Oregon State.
The Utes are still right in the conversation for a Pac-12 championship, especially after dismantling a good Beavers team.
Oregon Ducks (4-1) (Last Week: 3)
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Bo Nix had more than 300 combined yards and four touchdowns and Dan Lanning’s Oregon squad cruised to an easy, albeit penalty-filled, victory over the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday evening.
The Ducks have rattled off a month’s worth of strong performances after the dud against Georgia, and this team could keep rolling all the way to a Pac-12 title.
USC Trojans (5-0) (Last Week: 2)
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USC did not play its best game of the season against Arizona State, heading into halftime with just a one touchdown lead, but Lincoln Riley and company took care of business.
The Men of Troy will head into Week 6 with an undefeated record and a real chance at making the College Football Playoff this season.
