The Ducks are back on top after a big time win over the Bruins in L.A.
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Article by WestCoastCFB
1. Oregon
The Ducks just win. They may keep games closer than they should be but they've consistently pulled them out and make clutch plays when it matters. We move Oregon back up to the top spot after an impressive road win over UCLA. Oregon should win big next week over Colorado and then they travel to Seattle to take on the Huskies in an important rivalry game.
2. Oregon State
Jonathan Smith continues to make his case for Coach of the Year with a 42-34 win over the surging Utah Utes. The Beavers have 3 straight very winnable games against Cal, Colorado and Stanford before they take on Arizona State and Oregon.
3. Arizona State
At their best, ASU is potentially the top team in the Pac-12. They possess the best defense in the conference and a dangerous running game to go with it. ESPN's FPI computer model projects the Sun Devils as the favorite in their next 5 games, which would give Herm Edwards a 10-2 record and a likely Pac-12 South Title.
4. Utah
The Utes are off to a disappointing start to the season at 4-3 and now must take on a dangerous UCLA squad. A loss would gives the Utah 4 losses and give them little breathing room the rest of the way if they want to contend for the South. The positive is, they still have likely wins against Stanford, Colorado and Arizona on the schedule.
5. UCLA
The Bruins missed a big opportunity to get a statement win for Chip Kelly and now find themselves in a likely must win situation this week against Utah in Salt Lake City if they want to have a chance at the South Title. To make things worse, DTR may miss this week's game after an injury against Oregon.
6. WSU
The Cougs played BYU tough but couldn't quite pull out a win in Jake Dickert's debut as head coach. WSU now must win 2 of their next 4 games to reach a bowl and will have to play 3 of the 4 on the road.
7. Stanford
The Cardinal got a bye week after 2 straight losses and that extra rest should play dividends against Washington on Saturday. While Stanford hasn't had much success on the ground this season, UW has a porous run defense and Shaw will look to take advantage rather than try to throw against one of the best secondaries in the country.
8. USC
USC lost their 4th game of the season by double digits and most fans now have their focus turned to the coaching search. On the bright side, the Trojans face Arizona this weekend and should get an easy win to get back to .500 on the year.
9. Washington
UW survived their road trip to Tucson but raised more questions than answers in the process. The Huskies are now in a must win situation against Stanford this week if they want to have a realistic shot at a Bowl Game.
10. California
The Golden Bears finally put it all together in a 26-3 rout over Colorado. Justin Wilcox's team is much better than their record and will give the Beavers a tough game this weekend.
11. Colorado
The Buffs' offensive struggles continued after they managed just 3 points against Cal last weekend. It may be too late to salvage this season after a 2-5 start so the Buffs need to focus on hoping they can simply make strides on offense as the season progresses.
12. Arizona
The Wildcats looked like they were going to break their 18 game losing streak when they went up 13-0 on Washington at half but couldn't get out of their own way in the end. The goal for this season now needs to be just avoiding 0-12.
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