Pac-12 Power Ranking: State of Oregon takes over the conference

Washington quarterback Keith Price and the Huskies moved up in this week's rankings after upsetting Stanford. (US Presswire)

Here's CBSSports.com Rapid Reports Pac-12 power ranking:

Our power rankings are decidedly pro-Oregon this week as the Ducks and Beavers take the top spots. If you're confused by the way everything else looks, it's because we had to make a lot of changes.

1. No. 2 Oregon (5-0): The Ducks only led Washington State by four points at halftime on Saturday, which is practically the same thing as a loss to Chip Kelly. Expect Oregon to come out firing on all cylinders against Washington to prove the first half against WSU was a fluke. Chip Kelly hates flukes. We think. Last week's ranking: 1. Next up: vs. No. 23 Washington, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

2. No. 14 Oregon State (3-0): When his team wins big games, coach Mike Riley rewards players by taking them to In-N-Out Burger. We reward them by moving them up in our power rankings. Speaking of In-N-Out, QB Sean Mannion has been going Animal Style on opponents this season, throwing for 1,088 yards and six touchdowns in three games. His 362.7 passing yards per game ranks fourth in the country. Last week's ranking: 4. Next up: vs. Washington State, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)

3. No. 18 Stanford (3-1): The Cardinal are at No. 3 this week, but it's a tenuous No. 3 following last Thursday's loss to Washington. We don't use the word tenuous often, but we figured we could use it with Stanford because its fans have big vocabularies. We also used tenuous because it could describe Josh Nunes' hold on the starting quarterback position if he has another bad game. Nunes was 18 of 37 (48.6 percent) for 170 yards and an interception in Stanford's upset loss. Last week's ranking: 2. Next up: vs. Arizona, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET (Fox).

4. No. 13 USC (3-1): The Trojans spent the bye week trying to figure out how to get junior WR Robert Woods the ball more. Woods only has 25 catches through four games after having 41 through four games last season. "Throw him the ball more early would help," coach Lane Kiffin said. USC probably also worked on other things during the bye week, but we thought that was the most interesting. Last week's ranking: 3. Next up: at Utah, Thursday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN).

5. No. 25 UCLA (4-1): We thought about moving the Bruins down to No. 6 this week and Arizona State up to No. 5, but we didn't want to Jim Mora to berate us in front of a large group of people. Yelling at his SID aside, Mora has actually done a stellar job in Westwood so far, as his 4-1 record is tied for the third-best record among all FBS coaches in their first year at a school. Last week's ranking: 5. Next up: at Cal, 10 p.m. ET, Saturday (Pac-12 Network).

6. Arizona State (4-1): If the rankings were based on how many times a team sacks the opposing QB, then Arizona State would be in first by a mile. The defense has 22 sacks this season, which ranks fourth in the country. Unfortunately for Arizona State though, our ranking isn't based on sacks, it's based on quality wins and how safe tailgating conditions are for babies. And in cased you missed it, Arizona State is not scoring well in the second category. Last week's ranking: 6. Next up: at Colorado, Thursday, Oct. 11, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN).

7. No. 23 Washington (3-1): The Huskies are our "Where do we rank them" team of the week. After an impressive win over Stanford on Thursday, the immediate reaction was to move them ahead of the Cardinal. But that would have involved a six-spot jump from last week's rankings and no one's allowed to jump six spots unless they beat the No. 1 team. Ironically enough, the Huskies will have their shot at the Pac-12's No. 1 team this week when they travel to Oregon. Last week's ranking: 9. Next up: at No. 2 Oregon, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

8. Arizona (3-2): The Duracell coppertop helmets didn't give the Wildcats the charge they needed to beat Oregon State on Saturday. However, if it's any consolation, Arizona had the most impressive loss in the Pac-12 this week. Unfortunately, we don't reward impressive losses, well, we don't usually reward them, and we're not rewarding them this week. In an AP poll rankings quirk, the Wildcats will be facing the 18th-ranked team in the country for the second straight week. Last week's ranking: 7. Next up: at No. 18 Stanford, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET (Fox).

9. Utah (2-2): For the last three months, Utah's Oct. 4 home game against USC has been billed as the biggest home game in school history. Talk about putting pressure on yourself. Of course now, the game's not just a big home game, it's a big game period. The Utes could salvage the early part of the season and put themselves right back in the Pac-12 South race with a win over the Trojans. On the other hand with a loss, well, let's just say they wouldn't be in the Pac-12 South driver's seat. Last week's ranking: 8. Next up: vs. USC, Thursday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN).

10.Cal (1-4): Things are heating up in Berkeley and we're not talking about the weather -- well, the weather is too because that's how seasonal weather change works in the Bay Area -- but in this case, we're talking about coach Jeff Tedford's seat. The Bears' 1-4 start is the worst in Tedford's 11 seasons at the school and there's already a report suggesting Cal may need to go at least 6-6 to save Tedford's job. Last week's ranking: 10. Next up: vs. UCLA, Saturday, 10 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)

11. Colorado (1-4): The Buffaloes' one-game winning streak was snapped by UCLA on Saturday, but it was fun while it lasted. Colorado has a bye this week and the Buffaloes probably are going to need it to plan for the difficult four-game stretch they have coming up: after hosting Arizona State on Oct. 11, the Buffaloes play at No. 13 USC, at No. 2 Oregon before hosting No. 18 Stanford. Last week's ranking: 11. Next up: vs. Arizona State, Thursday, Oct. 11, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN).

12. Washington State (2-3): The Cougars almost turned the power rankings upside down with an upset of Oregon on Saturday, but the Ducks ran away with the game in the second half. Washington State will get a second shot at beating a school from Oregon on Saturday when they play the Beavers. Last week's ranking: 12. Next up: at Oregon State, 6 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network).

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