The Bruins still trail the Ducks, but their latest win kept them above USC and Utah heading into the final month of the regular season.
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 10 of the 2022 season.
UCLA football (7-1, 4-1) held strong at No. 2 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings following the team’s 38-13 victory over Stanford. There was not a consensus on where the Bruins belonged compared to their conference foes, with some punishing them for the loss more drastically than others.
All Cardinal, All Bruins, All Trojans and All Utes were the highest on UCLA by putting them at No. 2. Cal Sports Report and Ducks Digest were the lowest on the Bruins, slotting them in at No. 3.
USC stayed put at No. 3 on its bye week, but lost hold of the single first-place vote it had last time, while Utah stayed at No. 4. Oregon is the consensus No. 1 team, while the Bruins, Trojans and Utes make up the rest of every voter’s top four.
Colorado was once again the consensus No. 12 team, while UCLA’s next opponent – Arizona State – came in at No. 11.
Here are the full power rankings, along with the ballots and some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:
2022 WEEK 10 SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS
1. Oregon, 84 points (7 first-place votes)
2. UCLA, 75 points
3. USC, 70 points
4. Utah, 65 points
5. Oregon State, 54 points
6. Washington, 51 points
7. Washington State, 42 points
8. Arizona, 32 points
9. Stanford, 24 points
10. Cal, 22 points
11. Arizona State, 20 points
12. Colorado, 7 points
JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT
1. Oregon, 2. USC, 3. UCLA, 4. Utah, 5. Washington, 6. Oregon State, 7. Washington State, 8. Arizona State, 9. Stanford, 10. Cal, 11. Arizona, 12. Colorado.
Comment: I’m hoping Oregon, USC and Utah all finish with one conference loss and we have to go down to the conference’s third or fourth tie-breaking rule to determine which two teams play in the Pac-12 championship game. Controversy will reign. But controversy brings publicity, just like bad officiating brings publicity. We’re just waiting around for Nov. 19 when a lot of things will be settled. Sort of.
MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST
1. Oregon; 2. USC; 3. UCLA; 4. Utah; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Arizona State; 10. Cal; 11. Stanford; 12. Colorado
Comment: Oregon earned what may be an underwhelming win over Cal, but a win is a win. Now they’ll look to dominate Colorado before hosting a key game against Washington. USC got a scare from Arizona that maybe makes them look more vulnerable than people thought after also narrowingly escaping Oregon State earlier this year. Utah’s outlook looks a little murky with Cam Rising banged up but the top teams largely remain the same.
KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. USC; 4. Utah; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Stanford; 10. Cal; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: Stanford looked terrible against UCLA, as injuries and lack of depth is really beginning to show on offense. The offense is one of the worst units in the country, and the play calling does them no favors. Washington State is one of their last winnable games. Oregon is clearly the best team, and Oregon State or Washington will be eliminated in what should be a great game.
SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. Utah; 4. USC; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Stanford; 10. Cal; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comments: The tiers in the Pac-12 are more defined and stratified than ever. The top four teams haven’t lost to anyone outside of that group, and it doesn’t seem like any will soon, either. The matchup between Washington and Oregon State could decide which dark horse is ready to make a late push this year, but Oregon, USC, Utah and UCLA are still the clear favorites moving forward.
WYATT ALLSUP, ALL TROJANS
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. USC; 4. Utah; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Stanford; 10. Arizona State; 11. Cal; 12. Colorado
Comment: Nothing happened in the Pac-12 this week to move the needle for any team. USC’s Caleb Williams threw for over 400 yards and five touchdowns without his top two receivers, again proving the depth and capability of the offense. Arizona played extremely well against the Trojans behind a great effort from its receiving group. I wanted to move the Wildcats up, but they just aren’t better across the board than any of the teams above them.
COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. Utah; 4. USC; 5. Oregon State; 6. Washington; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Arizona State; 10. Cal; 11. Stanford; 12. Colorado
Comment: While the top four teams are still the only squads with a shot at competing for a Pac-12 Championship, the Utes and Trojans have been somewhat plagued by injuries and barely escaped this past weekend with victories. November 19 remains the most decisive weekend of the season as Utah will head to Eugene and the battle of LA will commence. Until then, the top four will do their best to keep winning and remain as healthy as possible.
DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES
1. Oregon; 2. UCLA; 3. USC; 4. Utah; 5. Washington; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Arizona; 9. Stanford; 10. Cal; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
Comment: I’ll try something different this week. I’ll put the Ducks No. 1. I still think you should pay for a 46-point loss into perpetuity. I give. This might be the least interesting week for the Pac-12 schedule this season, with nearly every game heavily leaning in one direction. Leave it to the Beavers and Huskies to leave us in suspense.
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