After another great week of Pac-12 competition, the Pac-12 is showing itself to be a relatively week conference. As expected the preseason favorites continue to stay atop the list (Stanford and Oregon), while it is no surprise the Colorado and Oregon State fall to the bottom of the list. Meanwhile all of the middle teams have been shaky at times, losing to relatively weak out of conference teams or almost blowing it (cough cough USC against Minnesota). So without further adue, here are the Pac-12 power rankings for week 4.
#1 Stanford - Coming off a bye week the Cardinal are looking mighty fine atop this weeks power rankings. Expect Stanford to manhandle the Bruins this weekend in a sunny game in Palo Alto.
#2 Oregon - The Ducks thoroughly dismantled Arizona last weekend in a 56-31 win in Tucson. The Ducks are looking faster than ever and will be hard to beat this week at they take on the Cal Bear in Eugene.
#3 Arizona State - After a strong win over the Trojans last weekend, the Sun Devils are looking like a real contendor in the Pac-12. Expect ASU to obliterate the Beavers this weekend.
#4 USC - Although the Trojans lost to the Sun Devils last weekend, Matt Barley continues to show signs of brilliance. Expect the running game and Matt Barkley's arm strength to come through this weekend as they Trojans take on the Wildcats in the Coliseum.
#5 Washington - Any team coached by Steve Sarkisian should expect to be a contendor in the Pac-12. After a nice win over the Golden Bears, the Huskies could be considered the dark horse of the Pac-12.
#6 Cal - Even though the Golden Bears are 3-1, they have yet to face a real opponent. The Bear lost to the Huskies last week in a close battle (31-23). When the Bears do play some of the powerhouse teams likes Stanford and Oregon later in the season, expect them to drop quickly down the power rankings.
#7 Washington State - Coming off a weeks rest, expect the Cougars to look much better against Colorado this weekend in Boulder. But be weary, the Cougars have yet to face a tough opponent so expect them to fall mightily when they face the likes of Oregon and Stanford.
#8 Utah - Two weeks ago Utes beat a relatively strong BYU team last weekend in Provo 54-10. Yet the loss the week before to the Trojans suggests that the Utes might not be as strong as some may think. This weeks matchup against the Huskies should be a close battle.
#9 Arizona - Do not let their 1-3 record fool you, this is a quality football team. It is just quite hard to stay afloat when three of your first four games are against Top-10 teams (Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Oregon). Expect Nick Foles to carry the Wildcats through the rest of the season, and help raise the Wildcats stock.
#10 UCLA - The Bruins barely took down the lowly Oregon State beavers in last weeks show down at Oregon State. The Bruins have been far from an offensive powerhouse, and the defense has not looked much better. Expect the Bruins to struggle for the remainder of the season.
#11 Colorado - As expected the Buffs do not look like a powerhouse football squad. Even though Colorado seems like a perfect fit for Pac-12 athletics, do not expect the Buffaloes to make a splash in the Pac-12 for quite some time.
#12 Oregon State - Oregon State has flat out stunk this season. The Beavers have struggled thus far, and show little chance of improvement this season. Do not expect the Beavers to climb much higher in next weeks power rankings.
