Pac-12 Power Rankings: Can Arizona dethrone the Ducks?

1. Oregon Ducks -- : Marcus Mariota is perfect. Rich Rodriguez during this week's Pac-12 coaches teleconference said "there are no negatives" about the quarterback. "None." Mark Helfrich joked that the only time they've found a way to rag on Mariota is regarding his Sports Illustrated cover appearance. In Auzten, the Wildcats are sure going to have their hands full.

2. Stanford Cardinal -- : If David Shaw's team ever figures out that red zone offense, it'll be pretty scary. The defense once again was great against a Washington offense that admittedly hasn't been running on full cylinders very much this year.

3. UCLA Bruins -- : The 62-27 blowout against ASU wasn't as dominating as the score suggested -- the Sun Devils shot themselves in the foot quite a few times. Still, that was a breakthrough game for a team that seemingly ironed out the inconsistencies it experienced during the first three outings. Oh, and Brett Hundley looks plenty healthy.

4. USC Trojans -- : The top-4 in the power rankings has cleared itself up. Despite USC's loss to Boston College, it's probably safe to say it has pulled itself out of the muddled middle of the Pac-12.

5. Arizona Wildcats ↑↑: Well looky here. I said Arizona wouldn't leap ASU until the Sun Devils lost, so there you have it. If Arizona at least shows some competitiveness without many mistakes against Oregon, it wouldn't be wrong to keep the Wildcats ahead of ASU.

6. Arizona State ↓↓: It was tempting to push ASU below Utah, but the Utes probably should not have blown a 21-0 lead -- and lost to a Washington State team that, if I had done power rankings during Arizona's bye, would've been below Cal and Colorado.

7. Utah Utes ↑↑: This is where everything gets confusing. I think Utah's sloppy passing game and a loss was more of a fluke and a loss of focus after it looked really good through the first few weeks of the year.

8. Washington Huskies ↓↓: Defense, good. Offensive, bad. That is all. The Huskies lost to Stanford, 20-13. If they had any offense at all, it would've been a win.

9. California Golden Bears ↑↑: I almost placed Cal at No. 7, before realizing we still had a ways to go. Seriously, I watched Cal and Colorado and enjoyed it. So what if there was no defense? Competency is huge.

10. Oregon State Beavers ↓↓: It feels like that feeling where I expect the Beavers to surprise is getting old. They got handled by USC, 35-10, and couldn't get anything in the passing game going. Maybe I'm jumping on the Cal and Utah bandwagon's too much here, but it doesn't feel like the Beavs are even underachieving.

11. Washington State -- : I can't decide which team is the worst Pac-12 deep. Larry Scott nods with approval because "PARITY."

12. Colorado Buffaloes -- : I don't feel bad for the Buffs anymore. They're coming.