Pac-12 Power Rankings updated after Week 5 of college football

Welcome back, folks, to another edition of On3’s Pac-12 power rankings. This time, we’re looking back at an action-packed Week 5 slate and glaring ahead at Week 6.

This past weekend, 10 of the Pac-12 teams faced each other while two squads took the week off. The three top ranked teams in the conference all took picked up road wins vs. unranked teams and each was given a bit more of a test than they’d previously faced. Meanwhile, we have some Friday night fun and, of course, some Pac-12 After Dark from Saturday to recap. After all the madness, check out right here how the On3 Pac-12 Power Rankings shake out after Week 5. 

Format: Team (Record) | Movement in rankings vs. last week

1. USC (5-0)

Won at Colorado 48-41 — USC and Caleb Williams came out and gave the Buffaloes a similar start to what they saw vs. Oregon last week. The Trojans scored the first three touchdowns of the game and ran up a 21-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter before Colorado finally found some momentum. However, USC would score two more first-half TDs to make it 34-7 at one point.

Credit Deion Sanders and the Buffs, though, because they didn’t back down. USC gained a lead as large as 27 points before taking their foot off the gas pedal. Colorado made a late fourth quarter rally and even had an onside kick that would have given them the ball down seven with just over a minute to play, but ultimately, the Trojans got the job done.

2. Oregon (5-0) | +1

Won at Stanford 42-6 — Oregon dragged their feet a little bit to open up Saturday’s game vs,. Stanford. After the first play of the second quarter, the Cardinal had scored twice while Oregon had failed to muster any points offensively — a shocker against one of the two weakest opponents in the Pac-12. And they’re lucky Stanford settled for field goals, because a 14-nothing score would have looked a lot more concerning than just 6-0.

At 6-0, Oregon still needed just one possession to erase all the early good vibes in Palo Alto, as Jordan James sprinted for 30 yards to take the lead for good on the Ducks’ first touchdown run. After that, the flood gates opened for an Oregon slaughter. They won 42-6 and out-gained Stanford by 274 yards on the day.

3. Washington (5-0) | -1

Won 31-24 at Arizona — Washington absolutely obliterated their first four opponents, scoring 40+ in each game while winning by margins of 37, 33, 34 and 27. Against Arizona, though, the Wildcats showed the Huskies are not purple terminators and may be mortal after all.

Michael Penix was once again fantastic, throwing for 363 yards while completing 75% of his passes. And this time, he really spread the wealth. Germie Bernard became the fourth different Husky to lead the team in receiving yards through just five games, grabbing eight balls for 98 yards. The other leaders: Rome Odunze (twice), Ja’Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan.

4. Washington State (4-0) | +1

Bye Week — Washington State sat idle during Week 5 after triumphing over Oregon State in Pullman in a 38-35 thriller. For the Cougars, the Pac-12 is their oyster, especially considering that they have a much friendlier conference schedule than many of their rivals.

Next up is a road trip to UCLA and then home for Arizona. The Bruins are no gimme but there’s a very real chance they advance to 6-0. Then they have one of their two toughest matchups at Oregon but get teams ranked No. 12, No. 11, and No. 9 in these rankings after that in Arizona State, Stanford and California. They have the easiest Pac-12 slate in the league and can thrust themselves into the Playoff conversation by simply taking care of business.

5. Oregon State (4-1) | +2

Won vs. Utah 21-7 — The Beavers put on a necessary bounce-back performance Friday night in Corvalis against a Utah team that was bound to stumble without their starting quarterback. Jonathan Smith’s team grinded this one out, scoring one touchdown in each of the first, second and fourth quarters to build an insurmountable 21-0 lead that they sat on.

The player of the game for OSU was certainly Silas Bolden. He led the way with 100 receiving yards, the first pass catcher to hit that mark so far this season for the Beavers, while also grabbing a touchdown and scoring another one on a 45-yard rush.

6. Colorado (3-2)

Lost 48-41 vs. USC — Well, it looked early on like the USC game was headed down the same direction as the Oregon loss last week, as USC opened a massive four-possession first half lead and, like the Ducks, cashed in on five touchdowns before the midway point of the ballgame.

But that second half was crucial for Colorado. After getting down by 27 points in the third quarter, Shedeur Sanders and co. led an inspiring late rally, scoring the final 20 points of the game while trimming the final margin down to just seven points. There’s no moral victories, but there is taking pride in your performance in a loss vs. laying down and giving up. The Buffaloes did the former against one of America’s best teams, which is a good sign.

7. Utah (4-1) | -3

Lost at Oregon State 21-7 — The clock finally struck midnight on the Utes’ undefeated run to start the season despite not having starting quarterback Cameron Rising. Utah fans, you know you were skating by the skin of your teeth past some of these wins, so it was time, especially on the road against a good Oregon State team.

To recap, the Utes opened the year with a two-possession win over Florida despite being out-gained by the Gators. Then, they needed an absolute miracle in Waco, scoring their only two touchdowns in the final two minutes as Baylor gifted that win away. They were also out-gained in the UCLA win but had a pick-six on the very first play from scrimmage to turn the tides their way from start to finish. It was time for a loss.

8. UCLA (3-1)

Bye Week — After losing their first game of the year in a low-scoring affair vs. Utah, UCLA sat the bench this week, further posing the question: just how good is this Bruins team? After four weeks, it’s uncertain.

They looked impressive enough in their three cupcake wins to begin the year but faltered vs. the Utes, scoring just seven points against Kyle Whittingham’s incredible defense. As mentioned just above, the Bruins out-gained the Utes and were better than the score indicated offensively. But more tests are on the way as Washington State visits this week followed by a trip to Corvalis.

9. California (3-2) | +1

Won vs. Arizona State 24-21 — In a battle of two teams in the caboose of these rankings, California defended their home turf and scored a big win over Arizona State… some how. If you’re just looking at the raw numbers, it’s a bit of a mystery how this victory unfolded for the Golden Bears.

ASU threw for 362 yards, which is 232 more than California did, while also out-gaining them by more than 100 total yards. They even averaged 6.0 yards per play vs. Cal’s 4.2. So how in the world did the Sun Devils not win? Well, we’ll take a look at it in the Arizona State section a bit further down.

10. Arizona (3-2) | -1

Lost vs. Washington 31-24 — With no Jayden de Laura, Arizona made one heck of an effort to make this just a one-touchdown game and a 31-24 final score. While the offense deserves praise for their work without QB1, it’s actually the defense that put together an impressive performance by holding UW to just 31 points, their lowest total of the season by 10 points.

Life certainly doesn’t get any easier going forward for the Wildcats, who have road trips against USC and Washington State the next couple weeks. Then, they get a homecoming gift in the form of a matchup with top-15 Oregon State.

11. Stanford (1-4)

Lost 42-6 vs. Oregon — Stanford will be kicking themselves over the start of the Oregon game for the rest of the season. But wait, didn’t they hold the Ducks scoreless and get on the scoreboard twice themselves before Oregon finally reached the end zone? Yes, but…

The Cardinal kicked a pair of field goals on their two scoring possessions and sat at just a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter, when they really needed to be up 10-0 or 14-0. Even at 10-0, at least that’s a two-possession lead and the Ducks likely get a bit tighter. But only down six, they probably never felt too worried, especially after the first TD.

12. Arizona State (1-4)

Lost 24-21 at California — So, if you’re an ASU fan that skipped down to the bottom of the Pac-12 rankings, a fair bit of recap on the game vs. Cal happened in their section, where we addressed how the Sun Devils out-gained, out-passed and had more yards per play than the Golden Bears but still lost.

For ASU, it was once again turnovers that bit them in the heel. Saturday wasn’t quite as wonky in that department as the infamous nine-turnover Fresno State loss, but ASU did give up a fumble and an interception while also failing to convert on three of their five fourth down tries. That’ll typically sink you.

There you have it folks. We’ll see you back here after another terrific week of Pac-12 football coming up with the Week 6 slate.