SI Pac-12 Week 3 Power Rankings: Idle UCLA Gets Leapfrogged

The Bruins surrendered the top spot after the Ducks strung together the conference' best win in years.

The Fan Nation and Sports Illustrated publishers of the Pac-12 have come together to for the latest update of the conference's hierarchy following Week 2.

UCLA football (2-0) dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings after spending the week on bye. The Bruins were the unanimous No. 2 team in the conference with Oregon taking all six first-place votes after defeating Ohio State 35-28 on Saturday.

UCLA ironically jumped up a few spots in the latest AP and USA Today Coaches Polls despite remaining on the sidelines Saturday, moving from No. 16 to No. 13 in both.

Five of the six publishers had the Bruins at No. 2 a week ago, but their one first-place vote from Cal Sports Report lifted them to the top spot. USC and Oregon split the rest of the first-place votes last time, but in this edition, the Trojans stumbled big time after their blowout loss to Stanford that cost coach Clay Helton his job.

There are now three undefeated Pac-12 teams still standing – UCLA, Oregon and Arizona State.

Here are the full Week 3 power rankings, as well as some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:

SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL WEEK 3 POWER RANKINGS

1. Oregon (2-0), 72 points (6 first-place votes)
2. UCLA (2-0) 66
3. Arizona State (2-0) 59
4. Stanford (1-1) 50
5. Utah (1-1) 44
6 (tie). Colorado (1-1) 40
6 (tie). USC (1-1) 40
8. Oregon State (1-1), 33
9. Cal (0-2), 20
10. Washington State (1-1), 19
11. Washington (0-2), 18
12. Arizona (0-2), 7

DONNIE DRUIN, ALL SUN DEVILS

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

Comment: Man, what a way for Oregon to bounce back. A huge victory over what many assumed to be a certain CFP team in Ohio State on the road deserves the top spot, while USC takes a hit after falling apart to Stanford in horrid fashion. I was also a fan of how Colorado battled with a top-five team in the country despite their loss. 

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

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

Comment: Oregon’s road win over Ohio State trumps UCLA’s home win over LSU, and I don’t know what to make of Washington, which has people sleepless in Seattle. Stanford might be higher, but I can’t pretend that ugly loss to Kansas State didn’t happen.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

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

Comment: Oregon solidified themselves as the top dog in the Pac-12 after a potentially program-altering win over Ohio State. Will Clay Helton underachieve again this season after losing to an unranked Stanford team at home? I'm impressed that Colorado was able to hang with a major SEC team in Texas A&M, and it looks like Karl Dorrell might be ahead of schedule turning his program around in Boulder. 

SAM CONNONS, ALL BRUINS

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

Comment: The Ducks gifted the Pac-12 its best nonconference win in years, and for that, they become far and away the hottest team out west. That isn’t to discount what UCLA has done so far this year, but how they perform against common opponent Fresno State this Saturday should tell us a bit more about both them and Oregon. 

CLAUDETTE MONTANA-PATTISON, ALL TROJANS

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

Comment: USC drops down the ranks after a brutal loss to the Stanford Cardinal. Arguably, one of the worst losses in program history & in Clay Helton's career. The Oregon Ducks rise to the top of the rankings after pulling off a major upset in Columbus, Ohio against Ryan Day's Ohio State Buckeyes. 

DAN RALEY, HUSKY MAVEN

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

Comment: Oregon did the conference proud, this coming after UCLA showed some moxie the week before. I greatly underestimated the Ducks. No longer. Stanford apparently only needed a quarterback change. As for Washington and USC, they look poorly coached and keep the Pac-12 from feeling totally happy about itself.

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