PAC-8 Power Rankings
Now that almost every team in the PAC-8 has seen some conference action, it’s time for my first PAC-8 power rankings. I will be doing this hopefully every week to give not only Utah fans but fans of the rest of the conference an idea of how the teams in the PAC-8 are doing this year. I would also like to let everyone know that this is my opinion that is based on looking at game scores and stats from the week that was. That being said, here are the first power rankings.
1. Utah Utes (4-2, 2-0 PAC-8) T-1st in Conference
Last Week: Win @ Cal 13-2, Loss @ SJSU 3-4, Win @ Cal 9-6
This Week: Home vs Montana State (Fri.), Home vs Arizona State (Sat.)
The PAC-8 runners up last year started conference play with a pair of wins against Cal last weekend. Despite early season losses to Weber State and San Jose State, the talent on this team is very strong, and should be a frontrunner for the conference title this year.
2. Oregon Ducks (2-0, 2-0 PAC-8) T-1st in Conference
Last Week: Bye
This Week: Home vs UCLA (Fri.), Home vs UCLA (Sat.)
The Ducks are a perfect 2-0 this year with convincing 10-1 and 12-1 wins over Washington State two weeks ago. The only thing keeping them from the top spot in this ranking, is well, the wins are against Washington State (no offense Cougar fans). This weekend should be a better measuring stick as last year’s 4th place finisher UCLA comes to town.
3. Cal Golden Bears (2-2, 1-2 PAC-8) 4th in Conference
Last Week: Loss vs Utah 2-13, Loss vs Utah 6-9
This Week: Home vs Stanford (Thurs.), @ Stanford (Fri.)
Despite being 4th in the conference standings, the win against USC puts them at number 3 in the power rankings. The beat downs of Stanford are impressive, but they don’t count towards the conference. Offense has been stellar, putting up 25 goals in four games. Team looked good and showed resilience against Utah on Saturday and are the early dark horse for the PAC-8 crown this year.
4. USC Trojans (2-4, 2-1 PAC-8) T-1st in Conference
Last Week: Win @ WSU 6-4, Win @ WSU 6-1
This Week: Home vs San Jose State (Fri.)
Despite starting the year 0-4, the Trojans are back on the right track after a pair of wins on the road in Washington. The early season loss to Cal hurts USC’s street cred, but there are still a lot of games to be played. Another big test comes to Anaheim this week in San Jose State, who by the way beat the Trojans 10-2 already this year.
5. Washington Huskies (2-2, 0-0 PAC-8) T-5th in Conference
Last Week: Loss @ Boise St 2-4, Win @ Boise St 5-3
This Week: @ Washington St (Fri.), @ Washington St (Sat.)
The back-to-back champion Huskies are the kings of the split weekends so far, as they have split games with both UNLV and Boise State. While the win at UNLV is very impressive, the loss at Boise does not bode well. The only reason UW is this far down the line is that they haven’t played a conference game yet. They can jump up the ranks this week when they open up their PAC-8 schedule this weekend as they go to Spokane to take on Apple Cup rivals Washington State.
6. UCLA Bruins (0-2, 0-0 PAC-8) T-5th in Conference
Last Week: Loss @ Cal State Fullerton 0-5
This Week: @ Oregon (Fri.), @ Oregon (Sat.)
UCLA has the same knock on them as UW does, but that will change when they take on Oregon in Eugene this weekend. The Bruins are still searching for win number one, and can get an early leg up in the PAC-8 if they can upset the Ducks.
7. Washington State Cougars (1-4, 0-4 PAC-8) 7th in Conference
Last Week: Loss vs USC 4-6, Loss vs USC 1-6
This Week: Home vs Washington (Fri.), Home vs Washington (Sat.)
The first two PAC-8 weekends for the Cougars have not been kind, as the Cougs have lost by a combined 34 goals to 7. The 11-3 win over Eastern Washington two weeks ago was very impressive though and shows the program is on the upward trend. WSU can make a case for the best team in state if they can grab some wins against in-state rival Washington this weekend.
8. Stanford Cardinal (0-5, 0-1 PAC-8) 8th in Conference (On Provisional Status)
Last Week: Loss vs Gonzaga 5-7, Loss vs Gonzaga (5-8)
This Week: @ Cal (Thurs.), Home vs Cal (Fri.)
Stanford is still getting its legs underneath themselves as they are back in the PAC-8 mix but on provisional status, so they will not be counted towards the PAC-8 table. Its been a rough year with blowout losses to Cal and Santa Clara so far, but the close losses to Gonzaga this past week has got be a positive as the Cardinal look towards the rest of their schedule. A home and home with rival Cal comes up next as Stanford will look to avenge their 12-5 loss two weeks ago.
