SI Pac-12 Power Rankings Week 7: UCLA Football Secures Top Spot

The Bruins leapfrogged crosstown rival USC after taking down Utah on Saturday for its second-straight ranked win.

The Fan Nation and Sports Illustrated publishers of the Pac-12 have come together to unveil their takes on the conference's hierarchy heading into Week 7 of the 2022 season.

UCLA football (6-0) went from No. 3 to No. 1 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings following its 42-32 win over Utah on Saturday. Although there was not a complete consensus on the Bruins' current standing relative to their conference foes, every voter had them in the top two following their second-straight ranked win.

Cal Sports Report, Ducks Digest, All Bruins, All Utes and Inside the Huskies slotted UCLA in at No. 1, while All Cardinal and All Trojans had the Bruins pegged as the No. 2 team in the conference.

USC slipped down to No. 2 despite also holding onto its undefeated record, but its spotty first halves against Oregon State, Arizona State and Washington State have slowed their momentum a bit. Oregon – UCLA's next opponent – was ranked No. 3 by six of the seven voters.

Here are the full power rankings, along with the ballots and some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:

2022 WEEK 7 SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS

1. UCLA, 82 points (5 first-place votes)
2. USC, 79 points (2 first-place votes)
3. Oregon, 69 points
4. Utah, 64 points
5. Washington State, 53 points
6. Washington, 48 points
7. Oregon State, 46 points
8. Cal, 33 points
9. Arizona, 30 points
10. Arizona State, 21 points
11. Stanford, 14 points
12. Colorado, 7 points

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

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

Comment: We've come to the point where we can put teams in categories: four teams in the Rose Bowl race, five teams looking for bowl bids, and three teams hoping the season ends soon. UCLA is atop the pack but has yet to play a road game (playing at Colorado doesn't count).

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

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

Comment: Oregon earned a crucial win in Tucson, its first since 2011, to enter their bye week on the perfect note. UCLA looks like the real deal and a serious conference title favorite after beating Utah. Oregon's next game against the Bruins should tell us an awful lot about their ability to win big-time games and I'm feeling confident they'll be up to the task.

KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL

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

Comment: Stanford has been nothing short of chaotic this season, and that Oregon State loss was just a major gut punch to the program. Their schedule is only getting harder, and I don't know if they have a win in them the rest of the way. 

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

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

Comment: An Arizona State upset over Washington threw a wrench into things a bit, but the Pac-12 is still a conference that is being defined by its solid group of contenders locked in a tight race at the top. UCLA picked up a bigger win than anyone else in the conference this weekend by taking down Utah, bumping them up to the top spot thanks to USC’s second straight slow start, but the upcoming showdown between the Trojans and Utes in SLC should still have massive implications.

WYATT ALLSUP, ALL TROJANS

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

Comment: Utah and UCLA both look tough, but USC hasn’t done anything to deserve a drop in the power rankings. This week will tell us a lot about the top of the conference as the Trojans visit Utah. Bye weeks for UCLA and Oregon, but they face off against each other in Week 8.

COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES

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

Comment: It was a rough week for the Utes whose inexperienced defensive line showed its true colors and were absolutely dominated by an undefeated Bruins squad. Now. halfway through the season, UCLA appears to have the strongest team while USC isn't far behind. Heading into week seven, USC has an opportunity to create some separation with a victory as the Utes hope to avoid their second conference loss that would most likely ruin any hopes of repeating as Pac-12 champions.

DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES

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

Comment: As the L.A. schools run through the Pac-12 unheeded, maybe this justifies their pending move to the Big Ten. They need more competition, simple as that. They dispatched likely their toughest competition this past weekend. In Seattle, Kalen DeBoer still has a lot of work to do at the UW after his guys couldn’t do away with a wounded Arizona State program.

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