Oregon Ducks Ranked Second in Preseason Sports Illustrated Pac-12 Power Rankings

Oregon isn't viewed as the team to beat in the Pac-12 under new head coach Dan Lanning.

The opening weekend of college football is less than 48 hours away, which means Oregon will head to Atlanta to play Georgia and Utah will head to the Swamp to play Florida in some of the top Pac-12 games of week 1.

Before the big weekend of games kicks off, I got together with the other Fan Nation Pac-12 publishers to help assemble our first edition of the 2022 Pac-12 power rankings.

2022 Preseason SI Pac-12 Football Power Rankings

1. Utah (7)...84 votes

2. Oregon...75

3. USC...70

4. UCLA...63

5. Oregon State...54

6. Washington...49

7. Washington State...37

8. Stanford...34

9. Cal...30

10. Arizona State...24

11. Arizona...18

12. Colorado...8

Max Torres, Ducks Digest

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. UCLA; 4. USC; 5. Oregon State; 6. Stanford; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona State; 9. Washington; 10. Arizona; 11. Cal; 12. Colorado

Comment: Utah Should be the top dog in the Pac-12 until someone proves otherwise. I think Oregon can surprise some people this week and keep their game against Georgia competitive.

READ MORE: Oregon vs. Georgia score predictions

Jake Curtis, Cal Sports Report

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. UCLA; 4. USC; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: I'm not buying into the USC hype until I see how all the pieces fit together. Utah is by far the best team in the conference, but that says more about the Pac-12 than the Utes. Arizona will be bad again, but in this conference a marginal improvement can move a team up the ladder in a hurry. ASU? You can see the program falling apart from hundreds of miles away. Stanford has the best pro-prospect quarterback in the Pac-12-and it won't mean much.

Kevin Borba, All Cardinal

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. USC; 4. UCLA; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Stanford; 8. Washington State; 9. Arizona State; 10. Arizona; 11. Cal; 12. Colorado

Comment: I expect these rankings to change a lot, especially when you consider the top two teams can lose Week 1. When it comes to Stanford, if they can improve in the trenches and stay healthy they have a chance to shock people.

READ MORE: Oregon defensive players to watch vs. Georgia

Sam Connon, All Bruins

1. Utah; 2. USC; 3. Oregon; 4. UCLA; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Cal; 8. Washington State; 9. Stanford; 10. Arizona; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado

Comment: Until proven otherwise, Utah is far and away the team to beat out West this season. USC, Oregon and UCLA are in line to contend for the other spot in the conference title game, but each will have to overcome serious question marks to do so – for the Bruins, it will be about replacing elite offensive linemen and pass-catchers while improving the defense, while the Trojans and Ducks have to hit big on their new head coaches right away. Washington, Oregon State, Cal and Washington State could prove to be a decent middle of the pack, but the bottom tier is very, very weak in 2022.

Ben Sherman, All Trojans

1. Utah; 2. USC; 3. Oregon; 4. Oregon State; 5. UCLA; 6. Stanford; 7. Washington; 8. Cal; 9. Washington State; 10. Arizona State; 11. Arizona; 12. Colorado

Comment: If Alex Grinch can get USC's defense turned around the Trojans could find themselves atop the Pac-12 once the dust settles. Mark your calendars now for USC at Utah on Oct. 15.

Cole Bagley, All Utes

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. USC; 4. UCLA; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona State; 9. Cal; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona; 12. Colorado

Comment: The reigning Pac-12 Champs have set the standard and are easily the team to beat in 2022. After returning the vast majority of their starters from a year ago, the Utes could be in for a very special season.

Dan Raley, Inside the Huskies

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. USC; 4. Washington; 5. UCLA; 6. Oregon State; 7. Cal; 8. Washington State; 9. Stanford; 10. Arizona State; 11. Colorado; 12. Arizona

Comment: Washington was vastly overrated last season. This time, with a better coaching staff, the Huskies appear underrated.

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