USC maintains its lead in the SI Pac-12 football power rankings, but there is movement among teams determined to move up the ladder.
Our Week 3 poll of sevens covering Pac-12 schools in the SI network Writers move Oregon from 5th to 3rd and Washington from 7th to No. 5, moving California from No. 10 to No. 9.
The Beavers were rewarded with a 35-32 comeback at Fresno State, while Washington State climbed after traveling to Madison and beating the then-ranked. 19 Wisconsin 17-14. Jack Curtis was good enough for the Cougars to take the No. 1 spot.
These two Pac-12 schools have been boosted by the quality of their opponents. Voters reacted to Oregon’s 70-14 win over FCS rival Eastern Washington, dropping the 1-1 Ducks from No. 5 in our rankings to No. 7. defeated visiting UNLV 20-14. Depending on how the Bears play Saturday at Notre Dame, they will experience upward mobility a week from now.
USSC improved to 2-0 with a decisive 41-28 victory at Stanford.
Week 3 – SI Pac-12 Football Power Ranking
1. USC 2-0 (5). . . 82 votes
2. Utah 1-1 (1). . . 74
3. Oregon. . . 62
4. UCLA 2-0. . . 61
5. Washington State 2-0 (1). . . 58
6. Washington 2-0. . . 52
7. Oregon 1-1. . . 51
8. Stanford 1-1. . . 28
9. Karl 2-0. . . 27
10. Arizona 1-1. . . 23
11. Arizona State 1-1. . . 21
12. Colorado 0-2. . . 7
–Jack Curtis, Cal Sports Report
1. Washington State, 2. University of Southern California. 3. Oregon State University, 4. UCLA, 5. Washington, 6. Utah, 7. Oregon, 8. University of California, 9. Arizona, 10. Stanford. 11. Arizona. 12. COLORADO
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COMMENT: If you look at the results rather than preseason expectations, which team had the best results? WSU defeated the top-ranked team (Wisconsin) on the road. No other Pac-12 team has done this. The only certainty in these rankings is that Colorado is last.
— MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3 . Washington State; 4. Oregon State; 5. UCLA; 6. Oregon State; 7. Washington State; 8. Stanford; 9. Arizona State University; 10. Arizona State; 11. Carr; 12. Colorado State
COMMENTS: Oregon bounced back sharply and looked better than I expected against Eastern Washington. Having said that, hanging 70s at the FCS school is nothing to write home about, and their Pac-12 trajectory will become clearer when they face BYU on the 12th this week, a more difficult game Larger and physically more intense. After the Cougs beat Wisconsin on the road, their conference opener against Washington State looked even more interesting.
— KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL
1. USC; 2. Utah; 3 . UCLA; 4. Oregon; 5. Oregon; 6. Washington; 7. Washington; 8. Arizona; 9. Stanford; 10. Carr; 11. Arizona State; 12. Colorado
COMMENT: Not much has changed this time around, but USC does seem to cement itself as the best team in the conference right now. Stanford, on the other hand, has a very early goodbye week that will seek the health of some key players and prepare for next week’s Washington.
— SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS
1. University of Southern California; 2. Utah; 3. UCLA; 4. Washington; 5. Oregon; 6. Oregon; 7. Washington; 8. Carr; 9. Arizona State University; 10. Arizona; 11. Stanford; 12. Colorado
Comments: Aside from the Trojans, the rest of what should have been a top team played a game in the conference And beat a bunch of last weekend’s cupcakes. That gave Oregon State, Washington State and UC a chance to show that they are a team that needs to be taken seriously, and they all did. Victories over Wisconsin, Fresno and UNLV show the Pac-12’s improvement from last year — even if they were offset by Arizona and Arizona losses to Mississippi and Oklahoma — while the teams in the middle Could be more disruptive than initially thought.
— WYATT ALLSUP, All Trojans
1. University of Southern California; 2. Utah; 3. Oregon; 4. Oregon; 5. Washington; 6. UCLA; 7. Stanford; 8. Washington; 9. Arizona; 10. Arizona State University; 11. Carl; Colorado.
COMMENTS: Utah bounced back well with a strong win over weaker opponents. Stanford gave USC a decent game in the second half, but USC is still the team to beat in this conference. Oregon is starting to put it together; don’t be surprised if they find themselves in the AP top 25 soon.
— Cole Bagley, all UTES
1. Utah; 2. University of Southern California; 3. UCLA; 4. Washington; 5. Oregon; 6. Oregon; 7. Washington; 8. Carr; 9. Stanford; 10. Arizona State University; 11 . Arizona; 12. Colorado
Comments: Little changed from the previous week. USC has firepower, but the defense is unproven. Washington may still be a dark horse, and Oregon has bounced back. More conference matchups will tell us what we really need to know.
— DAN RALEY, Inside the Huskies
1. USC; 2. Utah 1- 1; 3. Washington State 2-0; 4. Oregon State 2-0; 5. Washington 2-0; 6. UCLA 2-0; 7. Oregon 1-1; 8. Carr 2-0; 9 . Stanford 1-1; 10. Arizona State 1-1; 11. Arizona 1-1; 12. Colorado State 0-2.
COMMENTS: We’re at the crossroads of Callander Boll, the Huskies host Michigan State and tasked with showing if they can score at will against the Big Ten. Or beat one with a field goal like WSU did. Given the Big Ten’s thefts against USC and UCLA, these are statement games right now.
. Cover photo of OSU running back Jack Colletto celebrating Cary’s winning touchdown against Fresno State USA TODAY Edmondson
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