The Rankings had a BYE last week as I was out of town helping my brother and sister-in-law pack up and move. Check out the rankings below.
NORTH
1. Stanford (5-0, 3-0 Pac-12)
LW 1
No surprises from the Cardinal who steam rolled both UCLA and Colorado. Andrew Luck continues making his case for the Heisman and a visit to Pullman, WA to take on the Cougars this weekend doesn’t look to be any different than the previous five games.
2. Oregon (4-1, 2-0)
LW 2
It was another slow start for the Ducks, but the end wasn’t even close. The downside for the Ducks? An injury to star running back LaMichael “Arms aren’t supposed to bend that way” James who will be out for an indefinite period. Can Backup Kenjon Barner fill the void left by the talented James? Will it matter given the success of the rest of the Duck’s O?
3. Washington (4-1, 2-0)
LW 3
After a strong showing against new comer Utah the Huskies had their bye week before taking on the other freshman of the league Colorado this weekend. The Huskies offerense continued to perform but the surprise was the imrpovement of the Huskies previously porous defense. Could they have taken the next step or is Utah worse than we thought?
4. Cal (3-2, 0-2)
LW 4
Second straight loss for the Bears who fall to 0-2 in conference play. After being walloped by Oregon last Thursday (and how bad were those all white uniforms?!?) can the Bears turn it around against USC this Thursday? I doubt it. Cal may stumble to a 6-6 finish with games against Utah, UCLA, WSU and OSU to play but I don’t expect a win against the Trojans this week.
5. Washington State (3-2, 1-1)
LW 5
The Cougs followed up an impressive last minute come from behind victory over Colorado with a dissapointing 4th quarter collapse against UCLA. Washington State is hampered by the continued absence of QB Jeff Tuel but that may not be enough to stave off the calls for a coaching change if Paul Wulff can’t eke out at least 6 wins this season. Losing a very winnable game against the Bruins doesn’t give much wiggle room with games against Pac-12 top dogs Stanford, Oregon and ASU still to come.
6. Oregon State (1-4, 1-2)
LW 6
No winless season for the Beavers who knocked off a struggling Arizona team at home on Saturday. Still Oregon State doesn’t have much to brag about, they nearly blew it, allowing Arizona to pull with 3 early in the fourth quarter despite an ealier 24 point lead. Perhaps they can copy fellow Pac-12 member Utah’s performance when they take on BYU on Saturday, but even with the Cougars struggles at QB its still a long shot for the home team.
SOUTH
1. ASU (5-1, 3-0)
LW 1
With wins against USC and Utah now behind them ASU is the official front runner for the inaugural Pac-12 South title. A trip to Oregon this weekend looks to be the only strong challenge for the Sun Devils who finish out the season against a slate of bottom tier conference opponents. Can they upset last years conference champ? Without leading rusher LaMichael James, Oregon is as vulnerable as it might get.
2. USC (4-1, 2-1)
LW 3
USC took an early lead before allowing Arizona back in it in the second half in a shootout in the Coliseum. Stil the Trojans came out with a win and Matt Barkley had a record setting day throwing for 468 yards and 4 TDs. Like a number of other Pac-12 teams USC has had no problems on offense, but struggled on defense. Trojan’s were off last week prepping for Thursdays matchup against a struggling Cal Bears team.
3. UCLA (3-3, 2-1)
LW 4
Despite a blowout loss to Stanford and almost losing at home to visiting Washington State the Bruins rise to number 3 in the South largely due to how bad the rest of the division is right now. With QB Richard Brehaut out witha broken leg the Bruins will have to rely again on former starter Kevin Prince to lead them down the stretch. Fortunately for the Bruins they have very winable games against Arizona, Cal, Utah and Colorado still to come. Rick Neuheisal might survive another year yet.
4. Utah (2-3, 0-3)
LW 2
Some, including yours truly, expected the Utes to possibly contend for the Pac-12 south. At this point it seems clear that just getting to a bowl game may be a tough challenge for the Utes. Proof that they can’t cut it in the big leagues? Some might say so but I don’t think its the conference grind that are hurting the Utes, I think this team just isn’t as good as Ute teams of the past. Also keep in mind that USC, ASU and Washington are three of the better Pac-12 teams this year. Remaining games against fellow bottom dwellers like Arizona and Colorado could be much more winable. On the other hand they just lost starting QB Jordan Wynn, so it could be a tough road from here on out regardless of who they play.
5. Colorado (1-5, 0-2)
LW 5
The Buffs let an opportunity slip away as they were unable to hold a 10 point lead in the waning minutes of their October 1st game against WSU. Then Stanford absolutely pounded them in a 48-7 loss. Next up for the Buffs? Washington, Oregon, ASU, and USC. Expect Colorado to be a dismal 1-9 and bowl ineligible by the time their next winnable match against Arizona in a month.
6. Arizona (1-5, 0-4)
LW 6
How bad are the Wildcats? Bad enough they lost to previously winless Oregon State at home on Saturday. Bad enough that they haven’t won a game against an FBS opponent since beating UCLA on October 30th last year, over 10 games ago. Bad enough that head coach Mike Stoops was canned yesterday. If the Wildcats win another game this year I’ll be shocked.