USC, Utah, UCLA atop SI Pac-12 Football Power Rankings

USC holds a narrow lead over Utah in the latest rankings

The Pac-12 football title race will become much clearer after this weekend.

Utah (4-1, 2-0) and UCLA (5-0, 2-0) will play each other at the Rose Bowl in one of the most anticipated Week 6 matchups across the college football landscape.

The winner of that game will have the inside track to the Pac-12 championship game - and if Utah wins it sets up a monumental showdown between USC and the Utes on Oct. 15 in Salt Lake City.

Here are the latest SI Pac-12 football power rankings, followed by a look at how each Fan Nation publisher voted:

Week 6 - SI Pac-12 Football Power Rankings

1. USC 5-0, 3-0 . . . (5) 81 points

2. Utah 4-1, 2-0 . . . (1) 77

3. UCLA 5-0, 2-0 . . . (1) 69

4. Oregon 4-1, 2-0 . . . 66

5. Washington 4-1, 1-1 . . . 55

6. Washington State 4-1 . . . 48

7. Oregon State 3-2, 0-2 . . . 43

8 tie. Cal 3-2, 1-1 . . . 32

8 tie. Arizona 3-2, 1-1 . . . . 32

10. Stanford 1-3, 0-3 . . . 19

11. Arizona State 1-4, 0-2 . . . 16

12. Colorado 0-5, 0-2 . . . 7

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

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

Comment: L.A. is where it's at this week. (I can almost hear Randy Newman singing). I'm still not convinced about USC, but it is 5-0 and ranked in the top 10. And what in the world has happened to Stanford the past few years?

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

1. USC; 2. Utah; 3. Oregon; 4. UCLA; 5. Washington; 6. Washington State;

7. Oregon State; 8. Cal; 9. Arizona; 10. Arizona State; 11. Stanford; 12. Colorado

Comment: UCLA showed that it wasn't a mistake that its undefeated earning its first win over a ranked team this year. USC stays perfect and that Utah game has to be circled on everyone's calendars. Oregon's offense is explosive and exciting but there are still some areas they need to figure out on defense.

KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL

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

Comment: Stanford fell to their third straight ranked opponent, and were simply just outmatched. This week they will look to beat a struggling Oregon State to get back on track.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

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

Comment: The Trojans don't look unbeatable after getting off to a slow start against the lowly, coach-less Sun Devils, which should make the race at the top of the conference all the more interesting. The Bruins already knocked off the Huskies to assert their position among the other top-tier teams, but they're going to have to do it again versus the Utes if they're going to want to stick around at all. UCLA-Utah and USC-Washington State will both be extremely important games, and the rankings could be in for another shakeup next week.

WYATT ALLSUP, ALL TROJANS

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

Comment: USC and Utah are almost interchangeable at this point. USC’s game with Arizona State was too close for too long. UCLA is undefeated, but I don’t think they would beat Oregon right now. The bottom three teams in this conference are significantly worse than the rest.

COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES

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

Comment: Utah has nearly cemented themselves as the team to beat while others still have a lot of questions to answer. Washington's momentum came to a screeching halt, UCLA looks good but Utah will be a real test and USC still needs to show they can comfortably beat a respectable opponent. These next two weeks will prove who is the real deal and who is a fraud.

DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES

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

Comment: Get ready for rapid-fire. Seven of the 12 coaches have changed over in the past 22 months. Welcome to realignment, Pac-12 style. League-wide, only two teams are unbeaten, the ones not long for the league. Yet five Pac-12 members made it into the AP Top 25 this week, so there is outside respect for what's going on. Told you someone would exploit that thin Husky secondary.