Pacific Takes Pac-12 Power Rankings 11/24: UCLA holds onto top spot in South

North

1. Oregon 10-1 7-1 (1)

The Ducks cruised to a comfortable win over Colorado doing what they needed to do to hold their spot as a Playoff contender. All that is standing between them and the Playoff now is Oregon State and the South champion.

2. Stanford 6-5 4-4 (2)

Big win for the Cardinal over Cal to assert their North and Bay Area dominance. Don’t be shocked if they put a scare into UCLA Friday and maybe even pull off an upset.

3. Washington 7-5 3-5 (3)

Downing Oregon State didn’t move the needle much for the Huskies, but goes a long ways in cementing them as still being the North’s third-best team. They can officially win the honor if they can win the Apple Cup on the road Saturday.

4. Cal 5-6 3-6 (4)

The Bears not competing that well with Stanford has to be a little disappointing for the Bears but having a shot to get to a bowl game in the final week of the season is a huge step forward for the Bears.

5. Oregon State 5-6 2-6 (5)

The Beavers got bashed by Washington just a week after upsetting Arizona State, but I feel like a lot of people saw that coming. Their only hope for salvaging a quietly disappointing season is somehow upsetting Oregon. 6. Washington State 3-8 2-6 (6)

So it has come to this… the Apple Cup is once again Washington State’s bowl game.

South

1. UCLA 9-2 6-2 (1)

Didn’t see this coming. UCLA is dominating good things and one win away from playing in the Pac-12 Championship Game while also being a longshot Playoff contender.

2. Arizona 9-2 6-2 (3)

A blowout of Utah on the road and an early struggle against Washington State for Arizona State was enough to give Arizona the advantage in fans’ eyes. Now they finally get the chance to sort it out on the field in Tucson.

3. Arizona State 9-2 6-2 (2)

The Sun Devils had some rough quarters against Oregon State and Washington State, but they might be out of the woods and ready to continue their streak in The Territorial Cup.

4. Utah 7-4 4-4 (5)

The Utes got handled by Arizona but somehow moved up? I am guessing voters wanted to punish USC for struggling against UCLA.

5. USC 7-4 6-3 (4)

Another year, another disappointment for USC against UCLA. The Trojans desperately need to get a win against a struggling Notre Dame team to avoid a depressing spiral.

6. Colorado 2-9 0-8 (6)

One more shot for the improved Buffs to finally get a Pac-12 win when they host Utah. They could easily pull of the upset.