With five Pac-12 schools playing opponents from a BCS conference and four of them coming away with victories, week three of the college football season belonged to the Conference of Champions.
Arizona, however, was not one of those schools. The Wildcats’ impressive but arid win over UTSA on Saturday night couldn’t compete with the road victory of then-No. 16 UCLA at No. 23 Nebraska or No. 2 Oregon’s home bulldozing of Tennessee.
Arizona’s entire non-conference schedule, which is now complete, was arguably the weakest in the conference. Its 35-point average wins over NAU, UNLV and the Roadrunners established an identity but didn’t show us where the team stands with respect to the rest of the conference.
The Ducks, who also finished their non-conference schedule in week three, played two BCS schools — Virginia and Tennessee — and won by an average of 47 points over those schools.
Oregon came into the season as a conference favorite and is starting to separate itself from the rest of the pack.
The Wildcats have an extra week to prepare for No. 17 Washington before traveling to Seattle on Sept. 28. They need to take advantage of their bye week, as the Huskies will be their first true test.
Don’t expect Arizona to gain any ground in the next week of power rankings. For the most part, the schools ahead of the Wildcats are all expected to win in week four, with No. 23 ASU at No. 5 Stanford being the only exception.
But Arizona has grand opportunities in the following weeks to make the jump as the team travels to Washington and then USC. Consecutive road wins at these respective schools will finally show us if the Wildcats are real contenders.
1.No. 2 Oregon (3-0) LW 1
Week three: (W 59-14 vs. Tennesee)
This week: Bye
2. No. 5 Stanford (2-0) LW2
Week two (W 34-20 at Army)
This week: vs. No. 23 ASU
3. No. 13 UCLA (2-0) LW 4
Week three: (W 41-21 at Nebraska)
This week: vs. New Mexico State
4. No. 17 Washington (2-0) LW 3
Week three: (W 34-24 at Illinois)
This week: vs. Idaho State
5. No. 23 ASU (2-0) LW 5
Week three: (W 32-30 vs No. 20 Wisconsin)
This week: at No. 5 Stanford
6. Arizona (3-0) LW 6
Week three: (W 38-13 vs UTSA)
This week: Bye
7. Washington State (2-1, 1-0) LW 8
Week three: (W 48-10 vs Southern Utah)
This week: vs. Idaho
8. USC (2-1, 0-1) LW 7
Week three: (W 35-7 vs Boston College)
This week: vs. Utah State
9. Oregon State (2-1,1-0) LW 11
Week three: (W 51-48 at Utah)
This week: at San Diego State
10: Colorado (2-0) LW 12
Week two: vs. Fresno State (Postponed)
This week: Bye
11. California (1-2) LW 9
Week two: (L 52-34 vs No. 4 Ohio State)
This week: Bye
12. Utah (2-1, 0-1) LW 10
Week two: (L 51-48 vs Oregon State)
This week: At BYU
— Follow Luke Della @LukeDella