Pac-12 Power Rankings: Are the #9 Ducks the best in the West?

4. Washington State Cougars (4-0, 1-0): The Cougars might be the best team no one is talking about. Quarterback Cameron Ward has found another level with new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who took over for Eric Morris. Wazzu has two top-25 wins after defeating Oregon State. The only ranked team they don’t play is USC.

It remains to be seen if they are good enough to win the Pac-12. They are undoubtedly good enough to spoil it for someone else.

3. #9 USC Trojans (5-0, 3-0): In what universe is an undefeated team as heavily criticized as the Trojans? In a universe where defenses are expected to tackle. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is a product of the philosophy of Lincoln Riley. Did they play a lot of subs against the Buffaloes in the second half? Yes.

That doesn’t mean they can allow 27 second-half points and 193 rushing yards to a team with one of the worst offensive lines in the Power Five. USC can’t score 50 points every game; they tried that last year, and it didn’t work. It’s not going to work this year either.

2. #7 Washington Huskies (5-0, 2-0): Are the Huskies pedestrian against teams with sound passing games? That might have been what happened against Arizona. It could have also been U-Dubb’s one clunker game as well. We’ll know everything we need to know about the Huskies after the Oregon game.

1. #8 Oregon Ducks (5-0, 2-0): Speaking of those Ducks, this is an early matchup that puts one of these teams in the driver’s seat for a Pac-12 Championship Game berth. Oregon travels to Seattle and Husky Stadium. It is going to be insane in the Pacific Northwest. Can the Ducks slow Kalen DeBoer’s high-powered offense?

Can Washington pressure Bo Nix? One thing is for sure: Oct 14 could be a game-of-the-year candidate.