Pac-12 rankings: Where teams stand heading into week 10 of the college football season

Oregon has been playing with a purpose since it lost to Washington on Oct. 14.

The Ducks have dominated Washington State (38-24) and Utah (35-6) the past two weeks and have looked the like best team in the Pac-12, though they won't be making a jump in The Register-Guard's weekly Pac-12 power rankings.

That's because the top-ranked Huskies have been winning as well, despite struggling to victories against the bottom two teams in the rankings in Arizona State (15-7) and Stanford (42-33).

No. 5 Washington will need to be at its best this week when it travels to Los Angeles for a 4:30 p.m. game Saturday (ABC) against No. 24 Southern California, which is just a half-game behind the Huskies and a half-game ahead of the Ducks in the conference standings.

No. 6 Oregon will be at home for a 2:30 p.m. game Saturday (Pac-12 Networks) against California.

There will be some movement among the log jam of teams at 3-2 in the Pac-12 standings as No. 20 UCLA is at Arizona at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (FS1).

No. 16 Oregon State, fresh off its disappointing loss to the Wildcats, is the next guest star in Colorado's weekly reality show as the Beavers head to Boulder for a 7 p.m. game Saturday (ESPN) against the Buffaloes.

Here's how we rank the Pac-12 teams heading into week 10 of the college football season.

(Last week's ranking in parenthesis).

1. Washington (1)

Record: 8-0, 5-0 Pac-12

This week: at Southern California

Last week: Beat Stanford, 42-33

What to know: Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels threw for 367 yards last week — the most by a Huskies’ opponent this season — and next up for Washington comes USC's Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. The pass defense will need to tighten up.

2. Oregon (2)

Record: 7-1, 4-1

This week: vs. California

Last week: Beat Utah, 35-6

What to know: The Ducks are the most complete team in the Pac-12 and it’s not really close, but that loss to the Huskies three weeks ago is what it is. Oregon will spend the last month of the regular season needing to minimize the damage from that afternoon in Seattle.

3. Southern California (5)

Record: 7-2, 5-1

This week: vs. Washington

Last week: Beat California, 50-49

What to know: What to make of the Trojans? They're only a half-game out of first place in the conference standings but that defense of theirs is terrible (32.6 points and 420.9 yards allowed per game) and the offense-defense imbalance is unlike any other top team in the Pac-12.

4. Oregon State (3)

Record: 6-2, 3-2

This week: at Colorado

Last week: Lost to Arizona, 27-24

What to know: Sound familiar, Duck fans? Coach Jonathan Smith’s decision to attempt a fake field-goal at the end of the first half — it failed — has come under fire after the Beavers lost to the Wildcats by three points.

5. Utah (4)

Record: 6-2, 3-2

This week: vs. Arizona State

Last week: Lost to Oregon, 35-6

What to know: The Ducks kept the Utes out of the end zone on Saturday, as Utah failed to score a touchdown for the first time since a 10-3 loss to Washington in the 2018 Pac-12 championship game.

6. UCLA (6)

Record: 6-2, 3-2

This week: at Arizona

Last week: Beat Colorado, 28-16

What to know: Coach Chip Kelly, who initially made his name as an offensive innovator at Oregon a decade ago, is now winning with the best defense in the conference. The Bruins lead the Pac-12 in points allowed (15.0) and yards allowed (277.5) per game.

7. Arizona (7)

Record: 5-3, 3-2

This week: vs. UCLA

Last week: Beat Oregon State, 27-24

What to know: The Wildcats are an emerging team with a confident and talented freshman QB. They’ve won back-to-back games against top-25 teams for the first time since 2014 and last week against OSU, Noah Fifita completed 25 of 32 passes for 275 yards and three TDs.

8. Colorado (8)

Record: 4-4, 1-4

This week: vs. Oregon State

Last week: Lost to UCLA, 28-16

What to know: The Buffaloes are in a tailspin after their 3-0 start. Adding to their misery, during Saturday’s loss at the Rose Bowl, multiple Colorado players had jewelry worth thousands of dollars stolen from the visitor's locker room.

9. California (10)

Record: 3-5, 1-4

This week: at Oregon

Last week: Lost to USC, 50-49

What to know: The Golden Bears aren’t good, but they’re not an easy out, either. They’ve lost four of their last five but in three of those losses they scored 49, 40 and 32 points. The problem was, they also allowed an average of 53.7 points in those games.

10. Washington State (9)

Record: 4-4, 1-4

This week: vs. Stanford

Last week: Lost to Arizona State, 38-27

What to know: The Cougars have lost four straight and now coach Jake Dickert, after their loss to the lowly Sun Devils last week, publicly accused Arizona State of faking injuries.

11. Arizona State (12)

Record: 2-6, 1-4

This week: at Utah

Last week: Beat Washington State, 38-27

What to know: The Sun Devils got their first Pac-12 win of the season last week, but will it also be their last? Arizona State finishes out the season against Utah, UCLA, Oregon and Arizona.

12. Stanford (11)

Record: 2-6, 1-5

This week: at Washington State

Last week: Lost to Washington, 42-33

What to know: The Cardinal drop into last place despite a competitive game against Washington last week, partly due to the fact that they have the largest point differential in the conference at minus-14.75.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Pac-12 football power rankings: Where teams stand in week 10