USC, Utah, Washington all get first-place votes in FanNation Pac-12 Football Power Rankings

The Trojans enter Week 5 poised to pull away from the pack

Author:
All Trojans Staff
Updated:
Sep 28, 2022 2:10 PM EDT
Original:
Sep 28, 2022

In this story:

It's separation week in the Pac-12.

Starting with Washington (4-0) at UCLA (4-0) Friday night at the Rose Bowl, there are several pivotal Pac-12 football matchups on the Week 5 schedule.

USC (4-0, 2-0) has arguably the easiest matchup of the week against Arizona State (1-3, 0-1), and the Trojans have a chance to put some distance between themselves and Washington and Utah in the standings (and rankings).

The Trojans are still firmly No. 1 in this week's Fan Nation/Sports Illustrated Pac-12 Football Power Rankings. Utah and Washington, who each received a first-place vote, are tied for No. 2 - and both have tough games this week. It's very possible the top 5 will look much different next week.

Here are the latest power rankings, followed by a look at how each publisher voted:

Week 5 - SI Pac-12 Football Power Rankings

Sept. 27, 2022

1. USC 4-0 . . . (5) 82 points

2 tie. Utah 3-1 . . . (1) 74

2 tie. Washington 4-0 . . . (1) 74

4. Oregon 3-1 . . . 59

5. Oregon State 3-1. . . 53

6. UCLA 4-0 . . . 51

7. Washington State 3-1 . . . 46

8. Cal 3-1 . . . 37

9. Arizona 2-2 . . . 26

10. Stanford 1-2 . . . 23

11. Arizona State 1-3 . . . 14

12. Colorado 0-4 . . . 7

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

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

Comment: UCLA’s soft schedule comes to a screeching halt the next two weeks when it faces Washington and Utah. Then will see whether the Bruins belong in the upper echelon of the conference. ASU and Colorado are battling to join the nation's Bottom 10.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

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

Comment: Oregon won a game that was almost too close for comfort in the Palouse. Nix's pick-six was erased by an amazing comeback that previous Oregon teams haven't been capable of. A late matchup against Stanford shouldn't be overlooked, but the Ducks keep stepping up when it matters most and should feel confident heading into that game.

KEVIN BORBA, ALL CARDINAL

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

Comment: Despite having an extra week to prepare, Stanford came out flat against Washington. It's hard to win when you get sacked 8 times and give the ball away three times. Traveling to Oregon will be no easy task, especially since it looks like they are figuring things out in Eugene.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

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

Comment: All the favorites won this weekend, leaving my ballot largely unchanged. USC's road win over Oregon State was ugly but impressive, as was Oregon's at Washington State. Those two outside challengers losing keeps UCLA in the top half of the conference for the time being, but that will be tested as they take on Washington, Utah and Oregon these next few weeks.

WYATT ALLSUP, USC

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

Comment: USC escapes with a narrow win over Oregon State, which gave a statement performance. Oregon doesn’t travel to Corvallis until the final week of the season, but if the two played right now, I think the Beavers look better. Not much movement in the bottom half of my rankings, but UCLA deserves some credit for starting 4-0. The Bruins haven’t really played anyone, but they can only beat who they play. Tough stretch coming up for them the next three weeks.

COLE BAGLEY, ALL UTES

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

Comment: While Utah is gaining momentum, USC and Oregon barely escaped this past week with wins. The next two weeks will be very telling and could cement the top 3-4 teams for the rest of the season.

DAN RALEY, INSIDE THE HUSKIES

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

Comment: The Huskies aren't unbeatable, but they're unstoppable on offense. They're averaging 44 points and 530 yards per game. They've scored on their first drive of every game so far. If UCLA is going to beat these guys on Friday night, they'll need to attack the secondary, which has replaced three of the five starters because of injury. This is a team that hasn't faced any adversity yet.