SI Pac-12 Bowl Season Power Rankings: Utah Holds Strong, UCLA Still Top 3

The Fan Nation and Sports Illustrated publishers of the Pac-12 have come together to for the latest update of the conference's hierarchy following Conference Championship Week. 

UCLA football (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) stayed put at No. 3 in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings while watching the conference title game from home. Utah thrashed Oregon for the second time in three weeks to earn the Pac-12 crown, and the Bruins gained a slight boost in the points count as a result of the Ducks' poor showing.

Five of the six outlets – All Sun Devils, Ducks Digest, All Bruins, All Trojans and Husky Maven – all placed UCLA at No. 3, with Utah at No. 1 and Oregon at No. 2. Cal Sports Report, on the other hand, went as far as putting the Bruins up at No. 2 and the Ducks at No. 3. After all, UCLA only lost to Utah by 20 points last month, while Oregon lost by 31 in the regular season and 28 with a spot in the Rose Bowl on the line.

There were some other changeups in the bottom half as well, with Cal beating a shorthanded USC squad, but the rest of the rankings remained the same.

The teams in the top half of the rankings all qualified for bowl games, while the bottom six are done for the rest of the year.

Here are the full power rankings, as well as some brief thoughts from each of the publishers:

SI PAC-12 FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS

1. Utah (10-3, 8-1), 72 points (6 first-place votes)
2. Oregon (10-3, 7-2), 65
3. UCLA (8-4, 6-3), 61
4. Washington State (7-5, 6-3), 51
5. Arizona State (8-4, 6-3), 49
6. Oregon State (7-5, 5-4), 44
7. Cal (5-7, 4-5), 35
8. Colorado (4-8, 3-6), 30
9. USC (4-8, 3-6), 23
10. Washington (4-8, 3-6), 18
11. Stanford (3-9, 2-7), 12
12. Arizona (1-11, 1-8), 8

DONNIE DRUIN, ALL SUN DEVILS

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. UCLA; 4. Washington State; 5. Oregon State; 6. Arizona State; 7. Cal; 8. Colorado; 9. USC; 10. Washington; 11. Stanford; 12. Arizona

Comment: The Utah Utes are Pac-12 champs, and perhaps deservingly so after a strong season where no team truly wanted to prove they were the team to beat in the conference. Lots of change has happened, and plenty more is on the horizon moving forward. Here's to hoping the conference only gets stronger for next season. 

JAKE CURTIS, CAL SPORTS REPORT

1. Utah; 2. UCLA; 3. Oregon; 4. Arizona State; 5. Washington State; 6. Oregon State; 7. Cal, 8; Colorado; 9. Washington; 10. USC; 11. Arizona; 12. Stanford

Comment: I should have put Oregon lower considering its pitiful performance in the Pac-12 championship game but the Ducks are still ranked in the CFP rankings. I think Arizona could beat Stanford now, so that’s why I have Stanford last.

MAX TORRES, DUCKS DIGEST

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. UCLA; 4. Washington State; 5. Oregon State; 6. Arizona State; 7. Cal; 8. Colorado; 9. USC; 10. Washington; 11. Stanford; 12. Arizona

Comment: Oregon is in limbo now with Cristobal leaving for Miami and it's going to be hard to find another coach that can recruit at that level. Very few in the entire sport can. Utah is far and away the best team in the conference, erasing any shred of a doubt after demolishing an Oregon team that looked like it had lost its fight and had very little hope of offensive success with Anthony Brown staying in at quarterback the entire game.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. UCLA; 4. Arizona State; 5. Washington State; 6. Oregon State; 7. Colorado; 8. Cal; 9. Washington; 10. USC; 11. Stanford; 12. Arizona

Comment: The Utes further separated themselves from the pack by stomping the Ducks yet again, and they've been justly rewarded with a Rose Bowl berth to show for it. UCLA still sits above Arizona State, despite the Sun Devils getting the technically superior bowl placement, which can mostly be chalked up to politics and a head-to-head matchup two full months ago.

CLAUDETTE MONTANA PATTISON, ALL TROJANS

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. UCLA; 4. Arizona State; 5. Washington State; 6. Oregon State; 7. Cal; 8. USC; 9. Colorado; 10. Washington; 11. Stanford; 12. Arizona  

Comment: The USC Trojans had a tough ending to the 2021 season, losing to Cal on Saturday. But good news for Trojans fans is that the future looks bright and promising as we embark on the new Lincoln Riley era.

DAN RALEY, HUSKY MAVEN

1. Utah; 2. Oregon; 3. UCLA; 4. Washington State; 5. Arizona State; 6. Oregon State; 7. Cal; 8. Colorado; 9. USC; 10. Stanford; 11. Arizona; 12. Washington

Comment: Washington has a new coach. Time to start over from scratch. Re-evaluate everything. Rebuild a physical program. USC is saying the same thing. So is WSU. Oregon could be asking some of those questions, too. Time to take the Pac-12 up a notch.