Ranking the Pac-10 – Week 3

The Pac-10 conference seems incredibly strong this year. Is there any team that can point at a single game other than WSU and count on a victory? I don’t think so.

I got lazy this week and didn’t chase down any fake quotes, so you’ll have to do with my astute analysis.

1. Cal (3-0)
Why: This team looks good. There was a hiccup at Minnesota that doused any thoughts that they were unbeatable, but no team has looked better than Cal through three games.

2. UCLA (3-0)
Why: With wins over Tennessee and Kansas State, you could argue their performance so far is more impressive than Cal’s. They seem a bit anemic on offense, though, and they should fade a bit during conference play.

3. Washington (2-1)
Why: What credible reason do I have for putting them any lower than third? Based on results to date, I have to do it. Ugh, this has to be remedied.

4. Oregon (2-1)
Why: The win over Utah was stunning because of the defensive dominance. But like every game, an aspect (the passing game) was so inept, you can’t help but feel completely nervous. They get the fourth spot over the next three 2-1 teams simply on strength of schedule.

5. Arizona (2-1)
Why: For now, I have the Wildcats ahead of OSU because I think the win over Central Michigan was slightly more impressive than the Beavers beating UNLV. It doesn’t really matter. They play this weekend, so we’ll see soon enough.

6. Oregon State (2-1)
Why: Tough loss to Cincinnati. As we all know, September says very little about the Beavers season. We’ll be hearing more from them soon.

7. Stanford (2-1)
Why: Seventh place feels too low for the Cardinal, but everything’s a muddled mess right now and their wins are pretty weak.

8. Arizona State (2-0)
Why: They continue to have a permanent hold on the eighth spot until their season starts. It’s on the road to Georgia Saturday, so we’ll see soon enough what the Sun Devils are about.

9. Washington State (1-2)
Why: Because even the Cougars actually beat Washington within the last four games played. And they picked up a non-conference win. Enough said.

10. USC (2-1)
Why: You do not lose to Washington. You just don’t. For God sake’s USC, what the hell was that!?!