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1. Oregon (7-1, 4-1) ▲1

The Ducks are the best team in the Pac-12.

Any AP voters or Selection Committee members who put Washington over Oregon either haven’t been paying attention or should have their votes taken away.

Dan Lanning’s team went into Salt Lake City and embarrassed an elite defense. The Utes couldn’t stop Bo Nix and the final score wasn’t indicative of how dominant Oregon played.

If the Pac-12 Championship Game were held this weekend, the Ducks would beat the Huskies by double digits.

After years of underperformance on the defensive side of the ball, Oregon finally has the “D” to reach the Playoff.

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2. Washington (8-0, 5-0) ▼1

The excuses are wearing thin. One week, it’s that Michael Penix Jr. was playing injured. The next week, it’s that he’s playing sick.

If College Football had a 12-team playoff system, those justifications would be fine and well.

But in an environment where a Committee is tasked with arbitrarily selecting four teams to compete for a national championship, wins are not always wins.

And even though the last two weekends have resulted in Ws in the Dawgs’ column, they are not victories in the eyes of the Committee.

Playing so poorly, Washington is at risk of getting left out of the Playoff if it loses in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

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3. Utah (6-2, 3-2) ◄►

All dynasties come to an end. It’s an inevitable, cyclical process that befalls all great organizations.

Multiple factors play into the causes of the downfall, be it injuries, bad luck, or conference realignment.

However you want to attribute it, the winds have shifted in Salt Lake City after the Utes were demolished by an Oregon program heading for the riches of the Big Ten.

For a program that has arguably dominated the Pac-12 for almost the last half-decade, the realities of the future are setting in.

Oregon is taking a step forward in realignment while Utah is relegated to the new Big 12.

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4. Arizona (5-3, 3-2) ▲3

Can you hear that? That’s the sound of Arizona Football emerging from its decade-long slumber.

After winning the Pac-12 South in 2014 and making the Fiesta Bowl, the program has been cast to the irrelevant corner of College Football.

Jedd Fisch has changed all that. There isn’t a coach in Arizona’s history who is a stronger recruiter, and the age of the transfer portal makes anything possible.

Prior to the Kevin Sumlin era, the Wildcats consistently knocked off Top 25 teams at Arizona Stadium.

And after UA beat then-No. 11 Oregon State for its first win at home over a ranked team since 2018, the upsets over Top 25 opponents could continue coming thick and fast.

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5. Oregon State (6-2, 3-2) ▼1

Jonathan Smith made a coaching decision that cost his team the game. There’s no other way to describe the decision to run a fake field goal at the end of the second quarter.

Had the Beavers taken the points and momentum into halftime, the second half would have been played entirely differently.

The Arizona fans are notorious for leaving games early and the momentum handed to the home team at halftime kept the fans around.

And when the fourth quarter rolled around, the hostile home crowd helped make the difference for UA’s defense.

It’s only one game, but the hopes of making the Pac-12 Championship Game have been all but destroyed.

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6. UCLA (6-2, 3-2) ◄►

There’s something left to be desired from UCLA’s win over Colorado.

D’Anton Lynn’s defense shut down the Buffaloes as was expected, but Chip Kelly’s offense did everything it could to throw the game away.

Turnovers were the problem, but there are zero reasons that game should have been close at halftime.

For almost the entire Kelly era, the program has had a strong offense and a terrible defense. This year, the script has been flipped.

With a quarterback situation that’s been poorly managed and a struggling offensive line, UCLA is lucky to be in the position they are in.

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7. USC (7-2, 5-1) ▼2

The discussion around USC is a waste of time. The Trojans have a bounty of talent on both sides of the ball but don’t have the coaching staff to get the job done.

It took a failed two-point conversion attempt (with an obvious defensive hold that wasn’t called) to beat a California team on its third-string quarterback.

Caleb Williams has to carry the entire roster just to escape with victories over unranked, sub-.500 teams.

Until Lincoln Riley walks into Alex Grinch’s office and shows him the door, the Trojans will continue to be a laughingstock of College Football.

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8. Colorado (4-4, 1-4) ▲1

The writing has been on the wall for Colorado’s struggles in conference play. The Pac-12 has become an elite conference by modeling its roster formation off of Utah and Oregon.

Translation: offensive line and defensive line composition is the most important aspect of roster building. Deion Sanders is new to the league and O-Line development always takes two years at a minimum.

Coach Prime himself said the key is to bring in better players up front. It’s the truth, but developing freshmen is arguably the more sustainable way to do it.

To become a developmental program upfront, CU would be wise to hire the best offensive lineman coach they can find from the NFL.

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9. California (3-5, 1-4) ▲1

Fernando Mendoza is The Guy. His mobility, leadership, and execution in the passing game sets California up for its transition to the ACC.

The Bears may have lost to USC over the weekend, but the program arguably gained a ton of momentum.

The upcoming game against Oregon is a likely defeat, but Cal will probably be favored against Washington State and Stanford.

If the Bears can win those games, then the finale against UCLA would present the opportunity to get bowl-eligible.

And even if they fall short of six wins, the security in moving to the ACC and a quarterback to build around makes the future optimistic.

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10. Washington State (4-4, 1-4) ▼2

The Cougars are one more Jake Dickert to Michigan State rumor away from a total collapse. Without a Big 12 or ACC offer, the future of the program has been as dark as it’s ever been.

And after losing to Arizona State (a team that had lost 10 straight games to FBS opponents), the reality of the situation has set in.

The defense is nowhere near the levels of acceptability that’s expected from a Dickert team and the offensive line is in shambles.

There’s little noise coming from Wazzu’s NIL situation, either, and the transfer portal opens soon. The result could be a mass exodus out of Pullman this offseason.

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11. Arizona State (2-6, 1-4) ◄►

The Sun Devils got over the hump.

The return of DeCarlos Brooks from injury can’t be understated. Kenny Dillingham’s team was mostly a one-man show throughout the season with Cameron Skattebo asked to do it all.

But since Brooks returned in the Washington game, ASU’s offense has arguably been transformed. His three touchdowns against Washington State made the difference, and not solely because of his scoring.

By creating a second punch in the run game, the burden is lightened on Skattebo, and the playbook is opened. Arizona State is still mostly one-dimensional on offense and the Wazzu defense is not good.

But a win is a win and the 10-game losing streak against FBS opponents is snapped.

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12. Stanford (2-6, 1-5) ◄►

Troy Taylor and his staff need one solid offseason to get the program where it needs to be.

The Cardinal have played respectably in several games this year and are a play or two away from having four wins. That might be of little consolation, but it does show how close the team is to breaking through.

Regardless of what happens the rest of this year, the primary efforts of the staff should be on developing the roster and getting players from the transfer portal.

The academic standards are high, but there should be some impact additions Stanford could snag from the likes of Notre Dame or Duke to improve the roster for the first season in the ACC.