Huskies Take Good-Sized Leap in SI Pac-12 Power Rankings

A win over Michigan State continues to elevate the UW football team.

With every pinpoint Michael Penix Jr. pass, each touchdown catch by his army of receivers and a victory against all comers so far, the University of Washington continues to make believers out of everyone watching it unfold.

The Associated Press pollsters, so impressed by the Huskies' 39-28 victory over Michigan State, not only welcomed them into their Top 25 they brought them in at No. 18.

Those who vote for Sports Illustrated's Pac-12 power rankings originally pegged the UW for a middle-of-the-pack slot as they cautiously eyed Kalen DeBoer's work in progress.

A decisive win over an accredited Big Ten team is enough to convince anyone the Huskies should be rewarded — so this week they shot up to third from sixth, just a point behind Utah and nine points behind leader USC.

DeBoer's reconfigured UW team had to prove it could play with the big boys again after a forgettable 2021 season under a different coaching staff and it did so in overly impressive fashion.

Now these guys have to show everyone they can hold their own in league play, beginning with Stanford on Saturday night at Husky Stadium.

Last year, the UW won just three of six Pac-12 outings, its lowest total in a dozen seasons since Tyrone Willingham's Huskies pitched an 0-8 shutout in league games in 2008 and he was done with primetime coaching forever.

The Huskies beat Stanford 20-13 in the closing seconds in the Bay Area a year ago, and the Cardinal have been down in recent seasons, but the UW knows better than overlook a David Shaw team.

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SI PAC-12 POWER RANKINGS

1. USC 3-0   (5) . . . 81

2. Utah 2-1   (1) . . . 73

3. Washington 3-0  (1) . . . 72 

4. Oregon 2-1 . . . 58

5. Oregon State  3-0 . . . 57

6. Washington State 3-0  . . . 56 

7. UCLA 3-0 . . . 43

8. Stanford 1-1 . . . 30

9. Arizona 2-1 . . . 28 

10. Cal 2-1 . . . 27

11. Arizona State 1-2  . . . 14

12. Colorado 0-3 . . . 7

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

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

Comment: Herm Edwards is gone, so how much longer will Karl Dorrell keep his job? The only certainty in the conference is that, as of now, Colorado and Arizona State are the two worst teams.  The rest will begin to sort themselves out this week. Is Utah only the sixth-best team? No, they're better than that, but the Utes need to beat someone to move up on my list.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

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

Comment: Oregon showed it should be able to compete with anyone in the conference after passing a big test against BYU. USC takes over the top spot for me and I can't wait to see them square off against Utah this season. Washington continues to impress, and their latest win over Michigan State shows that Kalen DeBoer has the Huskies headed in the right direction after two gimme wins to start the season.

KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL

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

Comment : Washington is trending all the way up after their impressive win over No. 11 Michigan State. Stanford is tasked with taking them on after their huge win, which is typically when some teams will slip after riding a high. 

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

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

Comment: The Pac-12 racked up some real quality wins to close out non-conference play, with Washington and Oregon becoming the latest to tick that box this past Saturday. The top half of the league looks genuinely very strong, and a team that was gifted a 3-0 record due to a lighter schedule like UCLA may show its true colors in the coming weeks against those more tested squads. 

WYATT ALLSUP, USC

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

Comment: USC stays on top after playing its most complete game of the season. Washington jumps up the list and shows it could contend for a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. Oregon can find itself back toward the top if it keeps up the impressive play — it’s looking like that Week 1 blowout loss said more about No. 1 Georgia than it did Oregon. 

COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES

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

COMMENT: Every single week Washington continues to impress me and they just might compete for the conference if they stay on track. Also, Oregon significantly bounced back and Bo Nix looked great against BYU. For now, Utah and USC are still the top contenders, but Washington and Oregon are gaining momentum.

DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES

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

Comment: If he can stay healthy, Michael Penix Jr. could be one of the top four or five players in the conference. He makes the UW a team to fear. The defense, however, brings the Huskies back to earth, capable of being exploited. For the time being, they should be rewarded for beating Michigan State. 

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