North
1. Washington: Don’t look now, but the Huskies are in the top five and could crash the playoff this January. They are currently on the outside at No. 5, but Ohio State and Michigan will drop when they match up in November.
2. Washington State: Just like their rival Washington, Washington State is undefeated in Pac-12 Conference play after beating Stanford last week. It is shaping up to be a matchup for all of the apples when they face Washington in November.
3. Stanford: With their loss last week, they now need three losses by Washington to win the division. Maybe Christian McCaffrey is not enough to compensate for the holes on this team, despite another good year.
4. Oregon State: The Beavers beat Cal 47-44 in a thriller last week to move up the North standings. The Beavers are the top Oregon team for the first time in years. The Civil War could decide which Oregon team goes bowling this postseason.
5. Cal: After upsetting Utah with a tough goal line stand, the Golden Bears lost a heart-breaker to Oregon State on Saturday. Not only does it drop them to 1-2 in conference play, but they now fall to two games behind a Washington team that looks unbeatable at the moment.
6. Oregon: It is a weird time in Eugene, as the football team is dead , but the basketball team is a title contender. Football head coach Mark Helfrich is in over his head, and the defense and quarterback play is extremely erratic. Chip Kelly is the only man for the job, and he is not exactly lighting it up in San Francisco.
Related: Pac-12 power rankings, week 4
South
1. Utah: There is a three-way tie for first, but a top-25 Utah gets the tiebreaker in the power rankings. They look like the favorites in the South now, but there is a lot of football still to be played.
2. ASU: The Sun Devils defeated UCLA last week and almost have enough steam to reach the top-25. Their Nov. 10 matchup with Utah could determine who plays Washington in the Pac-12 Championship.
3. Colorado: Their appearance in the top-25 was brief as they fell to USC last week. They are still in a three-way tie for first, so all is not lost for Colorado.
4. USC: The Trojans upset a ranked Colorado team at the Coliseum because the south does not make sense. They play Arizona this week, so they should remain in the thick of the Pac-12 South hunt, barring an Arizona upset.
5. UCLA: They were unable to defeat ASU and fall to fifth in the division. The Bruins are still only one game behind in the division, so their season is not over. UCLA will need more from Josh Rosen if they want to turn their season around.
6. Arizona: Now that football season is over, it is time to focus your attention on basketball. The Red-Blue game is this Friday at 7 p.m. at McKale Center. The 1997 championship team will be in attendance to commemorate the 20th anniversary as well as 2017 top recruit Deandre Ayton. Yay football!
Related: Pac-12 power rankings, week 5
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