Pac-12 Power Rankings: Oregon Still Ahead After Week 7
By Brian Spaen
1. Oregon (6-0, 3-0) – 44 points (four first-place votes)
Idle
Trojans edge ahead of Oregon State by one point.
2. USC (5-1, 3-1) – 38 points
Brian (2nd) – That was an ugly half by both teams, but the Trojans pull out a win that never felt in doubt even on the road. Despite penalties and just going 2-12 on third down, USC got a couple turnovers to cruise.
3. Oregon State (5-0, 3-0) – 37 points
Mike (2nd) – I picked the Beavers to win in Provo but I thought it be a little harder with Cody Vaz taking over, Oregon State is impressing me.
4. Arizona State (5-1, 3-0) – 33 points
Brian (4th) – After finally rolling past Colorado in the second half, the most interesting game finally comes to fruition between the Ducks and Sun Devils. Can Oregon still play their kind of football at a hostile environment with a freshman quarterback? Is Arizona State just feeding off of bad teams? The proverbial “we’ll know a lot more about these teams after Thursday night” can easily be thrown into describing the battle at Tempe, and we can’t wait.
5. Stanford (4-2, 2-1) – 28 points
Mike (5th) – The Pac-12 crew that worked in South Bend won’t be getting an X-Mas card from David Shaw and Stanford. Little time for self-pity as the “Big Game” is this weekend against Cal.
6. UCLA (5-2, 2-2) – 24 points
Brian (6th) – Well, they beat Utah, but I don’t really know what to make of this UCLA offense yet. They had the ability to pull away after taking a 14-7 lead after the first quarter, and was only able to put up another touchdown lat in the third quarter.
7. Washington (3-3, 1-2) – 20 points
Mike (7th) – UDub lost to Southern Cal by ten but Sark, Keith Price and crew must be kicking themselves for not keeping the turnovers down at home.
8. California (3-4, 2-2) – 15 points
Brian (9th) – The offense is coming alive for the Golden Bears, completing over 50 percent of their fourth downs and getting around 500 yards of total offense in the past two games. Zach Maynard combined for 250 all-purpose yards against the Cougars, and the team had 318 rushing yards total.
9. Arizona (3-3, 0-3) – 13 points
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10. Utah (2-4, 0-3) – 7 points
Mike (11th) – The Utes loss by a combined 17 points to USC and UCLA in the last two weeks they are on the road again this week at Oregon State.
11. Washington State (2-4, 0-5) – 4 points
Brian (11th) – They can’t run and they can’t stop the run, meaning time of possession ranks at about 116th in the nation. They’re awful, and won’t be real competitive for the rest of the year unless they get into a passing shootout.
12. Colorado (1-5, 1-2) – 1 point
Mike (12th) – How far does that win at Washington State seem? The Buffs hung around for a half against ASU in Boulder but in the end another one-sided affair.
The Autzen Zoo power rankings are a collection of votes from our staff. Commentary is provided by lead editor Brian Spaen along with staff writer Mike Vamosi.