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North
1. Oregon 8-1 5-1 (1)
The Ducks basically wrapped up the North by throttling Stanford. Now the only question is can they avoid an upset the rest of the way and win the Pac-12 for the first time since 2011.
2. Washington 6-3 2-3 (3)
The Huskies jumped past the Cardinal even though they have the same amount of conference losses and lost to Stanford at home. That probably isn’t fair, but the Huskies did get a solid win this week beating an improving Colorado team on the road by two scores.
3. Stanford 5-4 3-3 (2)
As I mentioned above, votes punished Stanford too much for being boring and struggling the past few weeks. They still have a chance to turn things around and get the second spot in the North if they can finish strong.
4. Cal 5-3 3-3 (5)
The Bears may have locked in at least this spot by beating Oregon State on the road on Saturday with a win over Washington State already in their back pocket. They can creep up further depending on how they and Washington and Stanford finish.
5. Oregon State 4-4 1-4 (4)
I love the Beavers, but they simply might be the conference’s least-interesting team right now and they now have a lot of work to do to get to a bowl. Getting a win over Washington State in Corvallis this Saturday is a must.
6. Washington State 2-7 1-5 (6)
It has not been a fun season for the Cougars. They can still win a couple more games down the stretch, but it is not going to be easy.
North
1. Arizona State 7-1 5-1 (2)
And just like that, we have a clear frontrunner in the South. The Sun Devils control their own destiny to win the South, win the Pac-12 and probably to get to the College Football Playoff if they can win out.
2. Utah 6-2 3-2 (4)
The Utes were so close to grabbing outright control of the South, but regardless, taking Arizona State to overtime on the road got them more respect in our poll. Now, keeping it close with Oregon on Saturday is another challenge.
3. UCLA 7-2 4-2 (5)
The Bruins got a huge win by controlling Arizona in the Rose Bowl and are now right back in the thick of the South race and the upper half of the South in our rankings.
4. Arizona 6-2 3-2 (3)
A tough loss for the Wildcats at UCLA, but they are still far from out of it with Arizona State and Utah still left on their schedule.
5. USC 6-3 5-2 (1)
Weird to get a blowout win on the road and plummet in the rankings, but I think the Trojans simply got punished by the rest of the teams in the South taking center stage on Saturday night, leaving them a bit forgotten.
6. Colorado 2-7 0-6 (6)
Another week, another tough loss for the Buffs. They are much improved, but it is probably not going to show up in their record.