College Football Pac-10 Power Rankings: There's a Changing of the Guard, Again
All eyes, at least on the West Coast, were focused on Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, where the Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal were set to do battle for not only the top of the conference, but also for the right to move up in the national rankings.
Stanford led at the half, but Oregon was done playing games and closed with 28 unanswered points to not only knock off the Cardinals, but also move the Ducks one spot ahead of Boise State in the national rankings, moving from the fourth spot up to third.
While there's a change at the top of the Pac-10 conference, there were also some shifts in the middle of the pack as well.
Here are the updated Pac-10 power rankings after college football's fifth week, heading into Week 6.
No. 10: Washington State Cougars
1 of 10
Last week: No. 10
When UCLA dropped its first two games of the season, looking towards their game against Washington State, one might think the Bruins would be in trouble at this point.
Fast-forward three weeks after those two losses, and Washington State ran into one of the hottest teams in the conference and came out none the wiser.
If UCLA put up 42 against the Cougars, imagine how many points their next opponent will run up.
Next game: vs. (3) Oregon
No. 9: Arizona State Sun Devils
2 of 10
Last week: No. 8
After opening the season with back-to-back wins over Portland State and Northern Arizona, the Arizona State Sun Devils have dropped three straight to Wisconsin, Oregon, and Oregon State.
But three straight losses isn't the only thing that Arizona State has to hang its head about. Over their last two losses to Oregon and Oregon State, the Sun Devils have turned the ball over 10 times, including seven against Oregon.
Next game: at Washington
No. 8: Cal Golden Bears
3 of 10
Last week: No. 7
Even a bye week can't keep Cal from slipping to the eighth spot in the power rankings.
They're coming off back-to-back road losses against Nevada and Arizona. You can say what you want about the Golden Bears almost knocking off Arizona—getting embarrassed by Nevada the week prior was a little more telling.
Cal isn't the team that most people expected coming into this season.
Next game: vs. UCLA
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 7: Oregon State Beavers
4 of 10
Last week: No. 5
Oregon State slips two spots from last week thanks to Washington's upset of USC and UCLA's three-game win streak, including its upset of Texas in Austin.
The Beavers are coming off a win over Arizona State, which would have looked better had it been at the beginning of the season.
As it stands right now, Arizona State turning the ball over 10 times in the last two games doesn't make Oregon State's win look all that strong. Sure, it might say something about the defensive effort—or it says something completely different about the Sun Devils' offense.
Next game: at (9) Arizona
No. 6: Washington Huskies
5 of 10
Last week: No. 9
The Washington Huskies take a big jump from the ninth spot up to sixth after an upset win over USC in Los Angeles.
It was a big win for the Huskies, especially coming off a disappointing performance at home just a week earlier against Nebraska.
Could this be a sign of things to come for the Huskies? Are they starting to warm up and work their way up the Pac-10?
Next game: vs. Arizona State
No. 5: USC Trojans
6 of 10
Last week: No. 3
It was just a matter of time before USC got exposed by someone. That someone turned out to be Washington, again.
Last season, USC was ranked in the Top 10 when it headed for Seattle, Washington to take on the heavy underdog Huskies. No one thought USC would lose this game. They did.
Fast-forward one year. USC faces Washington again. They're ranked in the Top 15, and they're playing at home. Surely USC won't lose again. Oops.
Next game: at (16) Stanford
No. 4: UCLA Bruins
7 of 10
Last week: No. 6
The UCLA Bruins are starting to gain momentum, and that could be a dangerous thing to the teams that are yet to face the suddenly hot Bruins.
After dropping their opening two games against Kansas State and Stanford, a 35-0 beatdown, the Bruins have figured things out and have run off wins over Houston, then-seventh-ranked Texas in Austin, and a 42-28 win over Washington State this past weekend.
The Bruins have been running the pistol offense to perfection. After averaging 11 points through its first two games, UCLA has averaged roughly 35.6 points per game through its last three.
Next game: at Cal
No. 3: Arizona Wildcats
8 of 10
Last week: No. 4
Arizona is coming off a bye week but moves up one spot thanks to USC's loss to Washington this past Saturday.
The Wildcats will need to have a better showing than the 10-9 win over Cal two weeks ago if they're going to challenge the likes of Stanford and Oregon for the top of the Pac-10.
Next game: vs. Oregon State
No. 2: Stanford Cardinal
9 of 10
Last week: No. 1
Stanford "dropped the ball," so to speak, up in Eugene, Oregon this past weekend.
They looked strong through the first half but gave up 28 unanswered points to Oregon's high-performance offense and dropped a game a lot of people thought they had a good shot at winning.
Quarterback Andrew Luck didn't have his best performance and looks to bounce back this week to put his team back in the win column.
Next game: vs. USC
No. 1: Oregon Ducks
10 of 10
Last week: No. 2
I think I may have made Oregon mad last week when I bumped them down to No. 2 behind Stanford.
Okay, while I won't take credit, at least full credit, for Oregon's win over Stanford last Saturday, the Ducks proved to a lot of people that they are a legit team and a team to be reckoned with this season, and not only in their own conference.
The win over Stanford pushed them ahead of Boise State in the national polls despite the Broncos putting up a 52-0 complete game shutout over the New Mexico State Aggies. But let's be honest—a 52-31 win over a Top 10 team is going to trump a 52-0 win over a bottom-feeding WAC team.
Next game: at Washington State
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
