Pacific Takes Pac-12 Power Rankings Week 3: Bruins take back the South

North

1. Oregon 3-0 (1)

The Ducks cruised as they should against Wyoming, leaving little to suspense about their standing here. The only real event from the game was that they lost another starting offensive lineman (Jake Fisher) for an unknown amount of time.

2. Stanford 2-1 (2)

Stanford started slow on offense against Army, but put it together as they should as the game went on and kept their customary spot in second in the North safe. The Cardinal will immediately get their spot challenged in two weeks when they head to Seattle to face Washington.

3. Washington 3-0 (5)

The Huskies finally showed some signs of fulfilling their potential by destroying Illinois, but they still have a long ways to go before they can crack the top two. They will get that chance though when they face off against Stanford in two weeks.

4. Oregon State 2-0 (4)

The Beavers dropped without playing, back to where they were going into the season. Getting to 3-0 out-of-conference this week against San Diego State could be crucial for them getting into the top half of the North.

5. Cal 2-0 (3)

The Bears tumbled without playing and that isn't really fair, but it is more about Washington and Oregon State coming back up then them going down. Also, their win over Northwestern is starting to lose some luster with how bad the Big Ten looks.

6. Washington State 1-2 (6)

The Cougars finally got a win, but they are going to have to start pulling off some upsets to climb out of the cellar. I think they can do that if they can get their offense rolling at its peak level, but trying to win every game in a shootout is going to be tough.

South

1. UCLA 3-0 (3)

The Bruins climbed back up to the top of the South by sneaking past a bad Texas team without Brett Hundley and by USC losing. The Bruins probably don't really deserve this spot yet, but by default, this is probably who belongs here for now.

2. Arizona State 3-0 (2)

Hopefully Taylor Kelly can get healthy by the time the Sun Devils take on UCLA because the Sun Devils deserve a legit shot at grabbing hold of the South early on. They could risk slipping down towards the bottom half of the division if they lose Kelly for an extended period of time.

3. USC 2-1 (1)

Disaster struck in Boston for the Trojans and now in just one week they have went from sky high to rock bottom (at least in USC terms). It should only be a temporary negative reaction for the Trojans though as the rest of the South looks just as flawed as they do, they already beat Stanford and don't have Oregon and Washington on the schedule.

4. Arizona 3-0 (5)

The Wildcats jumped past Utah by beating a pretty good looking Nevada team in Tucson and wrapping up their soft non-conference schedule undefeated. The Wildcats look like they might not miss much of a beat on offensive with their new young playmakers, but how well their defense holds up will likely dictate if they can get into the top half of the South this season.

5. Utah 2-0 (4)

The Utes may have fallen out of the fourth spot on their BYE week, but they can prove themselves by pulling off a minor upset at Michigan this week. Saturday is a golden opportunity for the Utes to grab a huge win against a very beatable Wolverine team.

6. Colorado 1-2 (6)

The Buffs held up fairly well against Arizona State even thought they are super glued to the bottom of the South for the time being. They will beat someone in Boulder that they aren't supposed to at some point this year.