Pacific Takes Pac-12 Power Rankings Week Four: Utah jumps up in the South

North

1. Oregon 4-0 1-0 (1)

It is going to take more than a scare in Pullman to get the Ducks out of this spot, but they certainly looked vulnerable this week. The Ducks get a much-needed bye week now and desperately need to get a tackle or two healthy before they get back on the field.

2. Stanford 2-1 0-1 (2)

The Cardinal had to be praying that the Ducks would join them by starting the conference season at 0-1 in-conference during their bye week, but it was for not. The Cardinal have their own challenges on the field this week as they head up to Washington to play a team that has given them a lot of trouble the past couple of years and they need to win to avoid slipping into a 0-2 Pac-12 hole.

3. Washington 4-0 (3)

The Huskies were extremely hard to read during their non-conference run, but they emerged undefeated so got their third spot back in the rankings. We will find out if the Huskies are for real this week though when they host Stanford.

4. Oregon State 3-0 (4)

The Beavers quietly ran the table with their non-conference slate, but weren’t particularly flashy in doing it so they couldn’t push themselves past the Huskies. Like the Huskies, we will find out a lot about the Beavers this week when they play at USC.

5. Cal 2-1 0-1 (5)

Oh, poor Cal. The Bears could have jumped up to the third spot had they hung on at Arizona. Regardless the Bears look infinitely improved and are a serious player in the North.

6. Washington State 1-3 0-1 (6)

The Cougars nearly beating Oregon did wonders for their cred and confidence, but unfortunately it still goes down as a loss and they are still at the bottom of the North. They are going to have to keep their play up to the level of last week if they have any hopes of crawling out of this hole.

South

1. UCLA 3-0 (1)

You could make a case for every team in the South being here other than Colorado, but UCLA’s pre-season hype gets them the spot for now. It looks like they are going to get a major break this week as well if they get Brett Hundley back and Arizona State is without Taylor Kelly.

2. Arizona State 3-0 1-0 (2)

Like Oregon State, Arizona State has just quietly done what they needed to do so far this season and slipped a little bit under the radar. Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, the most notable thing about their first three games was Taylor Kelly getting hurt and it is going to make it very tough for them to beat UCLA this week.

3. Utah 3-0 (5)

The Utes nearly vaulted into the second spot after getting one of their biggest wins in years on the road against Michigan. The Utes may be the conference’s most-consistent team thus far this season.

4. USC 2-1 1-0 (3)

The Trojans got a much needed bye week to recover from getting trucked by Boston College. They lost a lot of momentum, but don’t forget that they have more talent than anyone left on their schedule.

5. Arizona 4-0 1-0 (4)

The Wildcats are very lucky to be 4-0. Their offense looked great in the fourth quarter, but they narrowly avoided dropping a game at home that looked to be one of their most winnable in conference play.

6. Colorado 2-2 0-1 (6)

The Buffs took care of business against Hawaii, but they just don’t look up to the level of the other teams in the Pac-12 right now.