Oregon Ducks Football: No. 2 past LSU

The Oregon Ducks have been ranked second in this week’s AP Poll, as they have moved past the LSU Tigers following their dominant 49-0 blowout over the previously No. 22 ranked (now unranked) Arizona Wildcats. LSU, meanwhile, barely beat the Auburn Tigers 12-10 (Auburn was and is unranked).

Scott Olmos-US PRESSWIRE

What makes Oregon’s victory even more impressive is that Arizona has one of the best offenses in the country with a great receiving duo to supplement a strong running game and one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12 in Matt Scott. Oregon was somehow able to hold one of the fastest offenses in college football without a point.

The Ducks completely deserve to be ranked second in the polls, and they have solidified themselves as the team to beat in the Pac-12; even without safety John Boyett. LSU is a great team, but that Auburn game was a “terrible” win for them and came nowhere near the level of dominance that the Ducks exhibited over a ranked opponent to open up conference play.

The Stanford Cardinal moved up one spot to be ranked eighth in the poll, and I honestly don’t think they end up hanging around in the top ten. However, they are definitely a top 15 team.

The USC Trojans took care of business against the California Golden Bears, with Silas Redd and Curtis McNeal dominating Cal on the ground USC stayed steady at 13th.

The biggest flip in the polls in the Pac-12 landscape includes, essentially, a swap between the Oregon State Beavers and UCLA Bruins after UCLA’s disappointing upset loss to OSU. The Beavers won behind a great QB performance, and they are now ranked 18th in the nation. UCLA is now unranked, but they’ll find themselves back in the top 25 at some point. The Beavs look like a legitimate top 25 team, but I have a feeling- probably just bias- that 18th is the highest they’ll be.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.