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By Ted Miller
If you don't like where you are in the power rankings, play better.
See last week's power rankings here.
1. Stanford: Thought about reversing the order here -- just for kicks -- but the Cardinal and Ducks will settle who is at the top spot on the field Saturday, which is as it should be.
2. Oregon: Asked LaMichael James how the Ducks were different from last season's team. He said he thought they were faster. Not a good thing for Stanford to hear.
3. USC: Trojans should have a simple goal -- win in out and see if that's good enough to be the true South Division champions, particularly if that includes ripping away a chance for UCLA to play in the inaugural Pac-12 title game.
4. UCLA: The Bruins have crawled out of the sewer. But do they have the will -- and ability -- to continue their uptick?*That might be answered*at Utah on*Saturday.
5. Arizona State: The loss at UCLA surely hurts. But know what would hurt worse? Pouting all the way through a loss at Washington State. If the Sun Devils don't show up focused, they won't win.
6. Washington: The Huskies have won two in a row against USC, Steve Sarkisian's old team. Make it three in a row and a nine-win season -- three years removed from a winless one -- seems possible.
7. California: Here's some advice Cal -- win at home against Oregon State and get bowl eligibility out of the way. Then you can play loose during*road trips to rival Stanford and Arizona State as underdogs.
8. Utah: It's one thing to beat Oregon State and Arizona. Those two teams are struggling. But a third consecutive conference victory over a suddenly hot UCLA team after a 0-4 start in the Pac-12 would silence more than a few critics. In fact, it would strongly suggests an 8-win season is at hand.
9. Arizona: It's been a mostly miserable season for the Wildcats. But losing at Colorado, and giving the Buffaloes their first conference win, would make it even more miserable.
10. Oregon State: It's going to be second-consecutive losing season in Corvallis, and Beavers fans are restless while watching the Ducks*flying high. And things could get even uglier. The Beavers will be underdogs in their final three games, which could mean a 10-loss season. That would be so 1980s.
11. Washington State: Maybe the Cougars can rally at home next week and catch a distracted Sun Devils team off-guard. Maybe they will recover their early-season mojo. Look at UCLA, a season's momentum can change quickly. But the realistic expectation is the Paul Wulff Era in Pullman might be on its last legs.
12. Colorado: The Buffs play host to Arizona on Saturday. They might want to tighten their chin straps. It looks like their best opportunity to make sure they don't finish 0-9 in their first year of Pac-12 play.
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Pac-10 Blog
Click here to view the article.
If you don't like where you are in the power rankings, play better.See last week's power rankings here.
1. Stanford: Thought about reversing the order here -- just for kicks -- but the Cardinal and Ducks will settle who is at the top spot on the field Saturday, which is as it should be.
2. Oregon: Asked LaMichael James how the Ducks were different from last season's team. He said he thought they were faster. Not a good thing for Stanford to hear.
3. USC: Trojans should have a simple goal -- win in out and see if that's good enough to be the true South Division champions, particularly if that includes ripping away a chance for UCLA to play in the inaugural Pac-12 title game.
4. UCLA: The Bruins have crawled out of the sewer. But do they have the will -- and ability -- to continue their uptick?*That might be answered*at Utah on*Saturday.
5. Arizona State: The loss at UCLA surely hurts. But know what would hurt worse? Pouting all the way through a loss at Washington State. If the Sun Devils don't show up focused, they won't win.
6. Washington: The Huskies have won two in a row against USC, Steve Sarkisian's old team. Make it three in a row and a nine-win season -- three years removed from a winless one -- seems possible.
7. California: Here's some advice Cal -- win at home against Oregon State and get bowl eligibility out of the way. Then you can play loose during*road trips to rival Stanford and Arizona State as underdogs.
8. Utah: It's one thing to beat Oregon State and Arizona. Those two teams are struggling. But a third consecutive conference victory over a suddenly hot UCLA team after a 0-4 start in the Pac-12 would silence more than a few critics. In fact, it would strongly suggests an 8-win season is at hand.
9. Arizona: It's been a mostly miserable season for the Wildcats. But losing at Colorado, and giving the Buffaloes their first conference win, would make it even more miserable.
10. Oregon State: It's going to be second-consecutive losing season in Corvallis, and Beavers fans are restless while watching the Ducks*flying high. And things could get even uglier. The Beavers will be underdogs in their final three games, which could mean a 10-loss season. That would be so 1980s.
11. Washington State: Maybe the Cougars can rally at home next week and catch a distracted Sun Devils team off-guard. Maybe they will recover their early-season mojo. Look at UCLA, a season's momentum can change quickly. But the realistic expectation is the Paul Wulff Era in Pullman might be on its last legs.
12. Colorado: The Buffs play host to Arizona on Saturday. They might want to tighten their chin straps. It looks like their best opportunity to make sure they don't finish 0-9 in their first year of Pac-12 play.
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Pac-10 Blog
Click here to view the article.
