| Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks are surging. (AP) |
Here's CBSSports.com Rapid Reports Pac-12 power ranking:
Exactly when did Oregon become the hotbed of college football? The Beaver State is the only state in the union with two teams ranked in the Top 10, as the Beavers of Oregon Statecontinued their winning ways.
1. No. 2 Oregon (6-0): The Ducks are absolutely on fire, and that's kind of a funny visual, a bunch of flying ducks on fire. There's nothing humorous about the Oregon approach, though. With Chip Kelly, it's all business. The offense is hitting on all cylinders, the defense is chipping in touchdowns left and right, and the Ducks have a week off to prepare for what could be a tough Thursday night test at Arizona State. Giving Chip Kelly an extra week to prepare for a test is like, well, giving Chip Kelly an extra week to prepare for a test. Last week's ranking: 1. Next up: at Arizona State, Oct. 18, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN).
2. No. 10 Oregon State (4-0): First, we found out that Oregon State coach Mike Riley takes his players to In-N-Out after big wins. Now we find out he leads his players in a rousing chorus of "Hip! Hip! Hooray!" in the locker room. Old-school and folksy is so much better when the team is winning, and in this case, the Beavers are on a roll, all the way to No. 10 in the polls after another standout defensive effort in a 19-6 win over Washington State. Oregon State is not winning with flash, but the post-game celebrations sure are fun. Last week's ranking: 2. Next up: at BYU, , 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC).
3. No. 11 USC (4-1): Less than three minutes into the Trojans' Thursday night matchup in Salt Lake City, we thought we'd be dropping USC all the way off the list come this week. Utah took a 14-0 lead faster than the Trojans could blink, but QB Matt Barkley stood poised and confident in the pocket, completing 23 of 30 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. USC wasn't dominant, but it was efficient, and that's enough with this level of talent. Last week's ranking: 4. Next up: at Washington, 7 p.m. ET (Fox).
4. No. 17 Stanford (4-1): Josh Nunes has taken heat in recent weeks for not being Andrew Luck. On Saturday, well, he kinda looked like Andrew Luck. He matched Arizona's record-setting Matt Scott (almost) play for play, throwing for a career-high 360 yards and two touchdowns. But Luck was so much more than just an arm, and Nunes was a similar threat in play-action against the Wildcats. Nunes ran for three more scores and involved tight ends Levine Toilolo (five catches, 141 yards, TD) and Zach Ertz (6/64/1) with frequency. Last week's ranking: 3. Next up: at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC).
5. Arizona State (4-1): The Sun Devils were off last week, but their defense was so dominant against Cal in a Week 5 win -- and the UCLA, Washington and Arizona defenses were so bad on Saturday -- that they move up a spot in the rankings. Arizona State should move to 5-1 on Thursday at Colorado, and that would be the kind of start Todd Graham wants (or needs) before a four-game gauntlet of Oregon, UCLA, Oregon State and USC. Last week's ranking: 6. Next up: at Colorado, Thursday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN).
6. UCLA (4-2): The last time the Bruins won at Cal, redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley was 5 years old. He did not look his age in a 43-17 loss in Berkeley on Saturday. Hundley threw four interceptions, was sacked five times and played a role in a fumbled lateral in his first real wake-up call. After five mostly fantastic games, Hundley and the UCLA offense crashed back down to earth with just 382 total yards. Veteran defensive backs Aaron Hester and Sheldon Price, meanwhile, looked nothing like their ages, only lost and frustrated as the Bears piled it on. Last week's ranking: 5. Next up: vs. Utah, 3 p.m. ET (Fox).
7. Washington (3-2): It's not that the Huskies were so bad against Oregon and the Ducks were so good. Well, yeah, it was that. For all the positive steps Keith Price has made, a 31-point loss, complete with two interceptions and just 145 passing yards, is one big step back. Like a moonwalk, but only one step. So far, the Huskies are 1-1 in their three-week mid-season nightmare against ranked opponents, having defeated Stanford and losing to the Ducks. Last week's ranking: 7. Next up: vs. USC, 7 p.m. ET (Fox).
8. Arizona (3-3): Too bad we don't just rank offense here. Scott's brilliant performance against the Cardinal -- Pac-12 records for completions (45) and attempts (69) and a career-high 491 yards -- would be tops, for sure. But defense is included, too, and 54 points allowed against Stanford is ... not so good. After three straight losses to ranked teams, the Wildcats get a week off before another tough test, albeit against unranked Washington. Last week's ranking: 8. Next up: vs. Washington, Oct. 20, TBA.
9. Cal (2-4): All it took for Jeff Tedford's seat to cool off was a visit by familiar, friendly foe, UCLA. The Bears' walloping of the Bruins, and Zach Maynard's resulting redemption puts another perspective on Cal's season, and it's not quite so bad. A bowl bid might be difficult with a tough road schedule remaining, but a big win over an in-state rival helps things a bit. But only a bit. Last week's ranking: 10. Next up: at Washington State, 10:30 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network).
10. Utah (2-4): The Utes would've have been super excited if the lights went out at Rice-Eccles Stadium last Thursday and the game was called after three minutes. But there were 57 minutes left after Utah got off to a 14-0 lead on USC, and those weren't quite so enlightening. The Utes are still stuck in neutral offensively, and another quarterback change -- from Jon Hays to Travis Wilson -- could be coming sooner than later. Last week's ranking: 9. Next up: at UCLA, 3 p.m. ET (Fox).
11. Colorado (1-4): The Buffaloes had their second-best week of the season, with a bye week to prepare for their marquee Thursday night contest with visiting Arizona State. Even after a Week 5 loss to UCLA, the residual positive energy after a one-point win over Washington State -- plus the Cougars' offensive inefficiencies against Oregon State -- keeps them from being on the bottom of the pile. Last week's ranking: 11. Next up: vs. Arizona State, Thursday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
12. Washington State (2-4): Is Jeff Tuel wrestling the starting quarterback spot back from <player idref=iday? Does it matter? Is anyone noticing? Mike Leach's offense slid back to season-opening lows, with the six points scored against Oregon State matching the team's ineptitude in Week 1 against BYU. Even stud wide receiver Marquess Wilson was bottled up by the Beavers, finishing with 54 yards after 182 against Oregon. Last week's ranking: 12. Next up: vs. Cal, 10:30 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network).
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