Three weeks down, and for most Pac-10 teams, three non-conference games played, and the beginning of the Pac-10 schedule. Oregon has done nothing but obliterate its first three opponents, including an SEC road game at Tennessee. Arizona and Stanford have both looked very good so far, and USC has won, albeit in unimpressive fashion. It is likely that parity still reigns in the Pac-10, as supposed bottom-dwellers ASU, UCLA, and Cal have all showed some fight at one time or another this young season.
The Power Rankings this week are brought to you by consensus vote from myself (Smooty), and fellow ADS contributors joenewby4040, and uofafanatic.
The season is young, and the rankings are likely to shift dramatically as the weeks go on. Click on the jump for some Pac-10 Power.
*First-place votes in parenthesis
1) Oregon (2) - uofafanatic: They look great so far, but we'll see how they fare against Stanford.
2) Arizona (1) - joenewby4040: Home win over top ten Iowa puts them on the map. This team is legit.
3) Stanford - Smooty: Definitely 2B to Arizona's 2A, and that is only because the Wildcats have faced tougher competition thus far. Harbaugh has the Cardinal program trending in the right direction. Seems about time for him to get back to "football country" and the Big Ten.
4) USC [tie] - Smooty: USC has not looked overly impressive in the first few weeks of the season, but 3-0 is 3-0. All teams improve over the course of the season, and drawing a talented USC team later in the season that starts to fire on all cylinders is something the rest of the Pac likely wants to avoid.
4) Oregon State [tie] - joenewby4040: I can't help but think these guys are going to bust out soon. After watching their performance against TCU, they are solid across the board.
6) Cal [tie] - uofafanatic: I am still calling Cal a dangerous team in the Pac-10 race. But the loss to Nevada was brutal.
6) Arizona State [tie] - uofafanatic: The Sun Devils lost the only real game they have played this season. This ranking is generous.
8) UCLA - Smooty: The Bruins showed some life last weekend, and upset a high-powered Houston team. Can they consistently put forth that kind of effort? This ranking suggests...no.
9) Washington - Smooty: Welcome back, puppy dawgs. Your cross-state rivals missed you. Measuring Stick Saturday sure was a slap in the face to UW's rebuilding program. However, in the grand scheme of things it was only a non-conference loss that could be easily forgotten with a big run in conference play. Do not expect UW to spend too much time keeping the Cougs company down here.
10) Washington State - uofafanatic: What can I say? Maybe they will be good in two years. Tough it out, Coug fans. Wildcat fans have felt your pain before. Never stop hoping.