Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Pac-12 Power Rankings: Utah and California trending up, Oregon and Arizona State down

A lot of movement in this week's Pac-12 power rankings

Road teams are 6-0 in Pac-12 play so far this year, and not only are they 6-0, they are crushing the home opponents.

With that, there's a lot of shake up in this week's Pac-12 Power Rankings. Tell us what you disagree with below!

1. UCLA Bruins

Previous ranking: 1

A dominant road performance keeps UCLA at No.1. They simply beat Arizona in all three facets of the game. Josh Rosen looked near flawless behind his offensive line, and Paul Perkins was a beast. Despite not having Myles Jack for the season, I think this team will represent the Pac-12 in the College Football Playoff.

2. USC Trojans

Previous ranking: 2

USC went to Tempe and came out on top in a must-win game. The defense continues to impress and Cody Kessler torched Arizona State's secondary. USC gets a bye week, and then goes to Seattle on Thursday night.

3. Utah Utes

Previous ranking: 5

Utah is the real deal. This team reminds me much of Arizona's team last year. They'll continue to keep winning and everyone will continue to pick against them. Not to go against what I just said, although their dominance over Oregon was impressive, this is definitely a down year for the Oregon Ducks. The Utes don't have consistent quarterback play from Travis Wilson, but with Devontae Booker, that offense is as explosive as any. Utah is also on a bye this week before they host California in what would be a pretty solid showdown.

4. California Golden Bears

Previous ranking: 7

A huge jump this week for the Golden Bears, and deservedly so. They have a brutal schedule coming in a few weeks, with a stretch consisting of a road trip to Utah, at UCLA, USC and at Oregon. We'll see if Jared Goff can lead and maintain the success throughout the season. Cal should have no trouble with Wazzu this weekend, giving us an undefeated matchup with Cal at Utah on October 10th.

5. Stanford Cardinal

Previous ranking: 6

Not an impressive win over Oregon State, but they've definitely gotten over their loss at Northwestern, who isn't looking bad themselves. Stanford can make a big statement with a win against Arizona, reasserting themselves as a true Pac-12 contender. Since their loss at Northwestern, Stanford has scored 31+ points in each game, which could cause Arizona some trouble on defense.

6. Oregon Ducks

Previous ranking: 3

Two losses just four weeks in for the Oregon Ducks. I was never sold on Oregon, just because no matter how good your system is, you can't just replace a Heisman-winning quarterback with an FCS transfer who had about a week of practice before being thrown into the season. The defense is also a huge liability, giving up 28+ in all four games thus far, and more than 42 points in two. Oregon will look to bounce back vs. Colorado this week, which should be fun.

7. Arizona Wildcats

Previous ranking: 4

The Wildcats fell flat on their face on national television. They just couldn't keep pace with UCLA and make plays. Turnovers killed the momentum early and took the crowd out of the game.

I think that UCLA is a top-five team, but Arizona had no clue what was going on when it came to defense and couldn't get anything going. This will be a must-win for Arizona at Stanford to regain some sort of momentum. If they can get past Stanford, they'll be on cruise control until about November 7th for their showdown vs. USC.

8. Washington Huskies

Previous ranking: 9

Washington is a missed field goal attempt and an interception away from being 4-0. Now, that's still asking for a lot, but they're definitely not a complete pushover. They dug themselves in a hole early in their two losses and simply ran out of time to mount a comeback. Come time for a cold, Seattle night, and they're definitely a candidate for an upset special. Just, hopefully not on Halloween night, when Arizona (and myself), make the trip.

9. Arizona State Sun Devils

Previous ranking: 9

Arizona State looks completely miserable. This was supposedly Todd Graham's best team at Arizona State, and they're sitting at 2-2, with two embarrassments vs. quality opponents, and less than stellar performances against Cal Poly and New Mexico. Mike Bercovici looks absolutely terrible, and DJ Foster has just 300 total yards through four games. Hopefully, they keep this up. UCLA is coming off a big win, so maybe ASU catches them off guard.

10. Washington State Cougars

Washington State had a bye week, and I'm still loving the fact that they beat Rutgers in their house. They head to Berkeley to play California, and that could be a shootout.

Previous ranking: 10

11. Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado is actually 3-1. I'm not saying that they're a threat, but Colorado only had two wins all of last season, four wins in 2013, and just one win in 2012 and 2011. I really like Sefo Liufau and Nelson Spruce, which is probably what will keep Colorado out of the No. 12 spot in the power rankings.

Previous ranking: 12

12. Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State just isn't competitive. They'll show flashes of goodness, not greatness, and then it all goes away with one play. They get a bye week, which gives them an extra week to prepare for their road trip to Tucson for Family Weekend. Hopefully, this isn't a repeat of Washington State back in 2013, with a 1PM kick off time.

Previous ranking: 11



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