[BostonCard]

1. Stanford... because great teams manage to find a way to beat good ones even when not everything is clicking.
2. Oregon... would put SC here but for the game last week.
3. Southern Cal... hard to believe that the same team that got destroyed by Oregon last week and struggled against Colorado two weeks ago just crushed UCLA.  They are a very dangerous team, and at their best, I think they can beat us.  Just hoping that (again) they don't bring their best.
4. WSU... Hard to gauge how much to drop them since WSU with Falk is a different team than WSU without Falk. (Ditto Oregon and Adams).  I assume though that Falk will be full strength for their bowl game.
5. UCLA... Thud.  Another year, another blown chance to win the division.
6. Utah... Ending the season with more a wimper than a bang; still I think Wittingham got as much out of his team as he could.
7. UW... I think they might be an early dark horse for next year; both their running back and quarterback were freshmen this year
8. Cal... I reluctantly give them credit for a come-from-behind win over ASU, and getting to 7-5 (which beat my expectations going in); otherwise they limp towards the finish line.
9. ASU... Went back and forth between them and Arizona on who had the most disappointing season; at their best, they were a top half team.  At their worst, Cal beat them.
10. Arizona... They needed to win one of their last five games to become bowl eligible after starting 5-2, and they won one game.
11. Colorado... So close, yet so far
12. OSU... So far, yet so far

[BostonCard]

1. Stanford... because great teams manage to find a way to beat good ones even when not everything is clicking.
2. Oregon... would put SC here but for the game last week.
3. Southern Cal... hard to believe that the same team that got destroyed by Oregon last week and struggled against Colorado two weeks ago just crushed UCLA.  They are a very dangerous team, and at their best, I think they can beat us.  Just hoping that (again) they don't bring their best.
4. WSU... Hard to gauge how much to drop them since WSU with Falk is a different team than WSU without Falk. (Ditto Oregon and Adams).  I assume though that Falk will be full strength for their bowl game.
5. UCLA... Thud.  Another year, another blown chance to win the division.
6. Utah... Ending the season with more a wimper than a bang; still I think Wittingham got as much out of his team as he could.
7. UW... I think they might be an early dark horse for next year; both their running back and quarterback were freshmen this year
8. Cal... I reluctantly give them credit for a come-from-behind win over ASU, and getting to 7-5 (which beat my expectations going in); otherwise they limp towards the finish line.
9. ASU... Went back and forth between them and Arizona on who had the most disappointing season; at their best, they were a top half team.  At their worst, Cal beat them.
10. Arizona... They needed to win one of their last five games to become bowl eligible after starting 5-2, and they won one game.
11. Colorado... So close, yet so far
12. OSU... So far, yet so far

[fullmetal]

Tier 1
1a. Oregon - The most dangerous opponent in the Pac-12 right now.  Also because of reason #1 listed above.
1b. Stanford - When we remember to use offensive strengths against exposed defensive weaknesses, this team is unstoppable.
3. U$C - Respect their athleticism on both sides of the ball.

Tier 2
4. UW - Full strength domination over WSU (albeit wounded) was solid.
5. UCLA - They get the nod right now over everyone else because their two-deep hasn't been exposed as much.

Tier 3
6a. Utah - Walking wounded.
6b. WSU - See above.  That defense though.
6c. kal - If they decided to be consistently good, they'd be a tier 2 team.

Tier 4
9a. ASU - Such disappointment after beating UCLA and losing to kal...who is this team? They win the head-to-head over their in-state brethren.
9b. Arizona - Injuries hurt them...so did Stanford's woodshedding on their defense.
11. Colorado - Recent good losses save them from the bottom rung.
12. Oregon St. - Sorry.

[fullmetal]

Tier 1
1a. Oregon - The most dangerous opponent in the Pac-12 right now.  Also because of reason #1 listed above.
1b. Stanford - When we remember to use offensive strengths against exposed defensive weaknesses, this team is unstoppable.
3. U$C - Respect their athleticism on both sides of the ball.

Tier 2
4. UW - Full strength domination over WSU (albeit wounded) was solid.
5. UCLA - They get the nod right now over everyone else because their two-deep hasn't been exposed as much.

Tier 3
6a. Utah - Walking wounded.
6b. WSU - See above.  That defense though.
6c. kal - If they decided to be consistently good, they'd be a tier 2 team.

Tier 4
9a. ASU - Such disappointment after beating UCLA and losing to kal...who is this team? They win the head-to-head over their in-state brethren.
9b. Arizona - Injuries hurt them...so did Stanford's woodshedding on their defense.
11. Colorado - Recent good losses save them from the bottom rung.
12. Oregon St. - Sorry.

[CornFed]

Oregon was less than impressive (to put it mildly) on defense against Oregon State.  But there really isn't anyone I'd put in front of them other than Stanford.  I am not confident about how the PAC-12 is going to do in the bowls.  There is not another team in the conference that could beat Neuter Dim.

[CornFed]

Oregon was less than impressive (to put it mildly) on defense against Oregon State.  But there really isn't anyone I'd put in front of them other than Stanford.  I am not confident about how the PAC-12 is going to do in the bowls.  There is not another team in the conference that could beat Neuter Dim.

[BostonCard]

I'd be interested to see Oregon play UDFG.

But I agree that body of work, including the last game (Stanford beating a top-10 team, Oregon State hanging in there with Oregon), probably would push Stanford above Oregon, especially given the tight margin in the head-to-head matchup.

BC

[BostonCard]

I'd be interested to see Oregon play UDFG.

But I agree that body of work, including the last game (Stanford beating a top-10 team, Oregon State hanging in there with Oregon), probably would push Stanford above Oregon, especially given the tight margin in the head-to-head matchup.

BC

[OutsiderFan]

1. Stanford
2. Oregon
3. USC
4. WSU (with Falk)
5. UCLA
6. Utah
7. Washington
8. Ca.l
9. ASU
10. Arizona
11. Colorado
12. Oregon State

Pretty clear that the North > South.  And this isn't a one year phenomena either.  The North (Oregon or Stanford) has won every Pac-12 championship game there has been to date.  Here's to hoping the North makes it 5-0 this Saturday!

[OutsiderFan]

1. Stanford
2. Oregon
3. USC
4. WSU (with Falk)
5. UCLA
6. Utah
7. Washington
8. Ca.l
9. ASU
10. Arizona
11. Colorado
12. Oregon State

Pretty clear that the North > South.  And this isn't a one year phenomena either.  The North (Oregon or Stanford) has won every Pac-12 championship game there has been to date.  Here's to hoping the North makes it 5-0 this Saturday!

[fullmetal]

I'd be interested to see Oregon play UDFG.

But I agree that body of work, including the last game (Stanford beating a top-10 team, Oregon State hanging in there with Oregon), probably would push Stanford above Oregon, especially given the tight margin in the head-to-head matchup.

BC

In defense of my rankings, these are power rankings (i.e. who's hot right now), and that excludes body-of-work evaluations.  Oregon won the head-to-head, unfortunately.

[fullmetal]

I'd be interested to see Oregon play UDFG.

But I agree that body of work, including the last game (Stanford beating a top-10 team, Oregon State hanging in there with Oregon), probably would push Stanford above Oregon, especially given the tight margin in the head-to-head matchup.

BC

In defense of my rankings, these are power rankings (i.e. who's hot right now), and that excludes body-of-work evaluations.  Oregon won the head-to-head, unfortunately.

[BostonCard]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=13823.msg144737#msg144737 date=1448861055]
I'd be interested to see Oregon play UDFG.

But I agree that body of work, including the last game (Stanford beating a top-10 team, Oregon State hanging in there with Oregon), probably would push Stanford above Oregon, especially given the tight margin in the head-to-head matchup.

BC

In defense of my rankings, these are power rankings (i.e. who's hot right now), and that excludes body-of-work evaluations.  Oregon won the head-to-head, unfortunately.
[/quote]

Your rankings are perfectly defensible.  Oregon with Adams is clearly a different team than without, and they are playing much better than they were.  But despite a very good game against Stanford and a great game against USC, they did put up a mediocre effort against OSU while we were beating a top-10 team.  They were just lucky to be playing the worst team in the conference.  They won head to head, and that counts.  But while the better team won that day, it was a close and hard fought game that reasonably could have gone either way.  Which is to say I can make a defensible case for Stanford being ahead of them.

BC

[BostonCard]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=13823.msg144737#msg144737 date=1448861055]
I'd be interested to see Oregon play UDFG.

But I agree that body of work, including the last game (Stanford beating a top-10 team, Oregon State hanging in there with Oregon), probably would push Stanford above Oregon, especially given the tight margin in the head-to-head matchup.

BC

In defense of my rankings, these are power rankings (i.e. who's hot right now), and that excludes body-of-work evaluations.  Oregon won the head-to-head, unfortunately.
[/quote]

Your rankings are perfectly defensible.  Oregon with Adams is clearly a different team than without, and they are playing much better than they were.  But despite a very good game against Stanford and a great game against USC, they did put up a mediocre effort against OSU while we were beating a top-10 team.  They were just lucky to be playing the worst team in the conference.  They won head to head, and that counts.  But while the better team won that day, it was a close and hard fought game that reasonably could have gone either way.  Which is to say I can make a defensible case for Stanford being ahead of them.

BC

[CTcard]

A couple of other rankings:

ESPN's version of power rankings this week goes:
1. Stanford
2. Oregon
3. U$C
4. Utah
5. WSU
6. UCLA
7. c.a.l.
8. UW
9. ASU
10. UA
11. Colo.
12. OSU

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/...-usc-rises

The actual standings, combined:

1. Stanford  8-1
2. Oregon 7-2
3. U$C 6-3
3. Utah 6-3
3. WSU 6-3
6. UCLA 5-4
7. ASU 4-5
7. c.a.l. 4-5
7. UW  4-5
10. UA 3-6
11. Colo 1-8
12. OSU 0-11

And, my own (defining Power Ranking as how good I think teams are inherently right now, based upon results but not wholly dependent upon record).

1. Stanford
2. Oregon - offense is great, defense not. I'd feel reasonably okay about a rematch. 
3. U$C - hasn't played great lately despite easy win vs UCLA, but remains dangerous.
4. WSU - for this ranking I am assuming Falk back, haven't heard anything about his status.
5. UW - at their best they've been very good. Is Browning really that far behind Rosen?
6. Utah - despite limping to finish, Whittingham should get consideration for COY. Getting 9 wins out of this team seems amazing to me.
7. UCLA - can't quite figure out if where they finished vs general talent and injuries is commendable or damnable.
8. c.a.l. - nice comeback vs ASU, but lots of holes in that team. Whither Goff?
9. ASU - talk about FGs leading to a loss. ouch.
10. UA - well, they're better than the other two.
11. Colo - seems destined to be perennially "almost there".
12. OSU - still celebrating the coaching swap?

[CTcard]

A couple of other rankings:

ESPN's version of power rankings this week goes:
1. Stanford
2. Oregon
3. U$C
4. Utah
5. WSU
6. UCLA
7. c.a.l.
8. UW
9. ASU
10. UA
11. Colo.
12. OSU

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/...-usc-rises

The actual standings, combined:

1. Stanford  8-1
2. Oregon 7-2
3. U$C 6-3
3. Utah 6-3
3. WSU 6-3
6. UCLA 5-4
7. ASU 4-5
7. c.a.l. 4-5
7. UW  4-5
10. UA 3-6
11. Colo 1-8
12. OSU 0-11

And, my own (defining Power Ranking as how good I think teams are inherently right now, based upon results but not wholly dependent upon record).

1. Stanford
2. Oregon - offense is great, defense not. I'd feel reasonably okay about a rematch. 
3. U$C - hasn't played great lately despite easy win vs UCLA, but remains dangerous.
4. WSU - for this ranking I am assuming Falk back, haven't heard anything about his status.
5. UW - at their best they've been very good. Is Browning really that far behind Rosen?
6. Utah - despite limping to finish, Whittingham should get consideration for COY. Getting 9 wins out of this team seems amazing to me.
7. UCLA - can't quite figure out if where they finished vs general talent and injuries is commendable or damnable.
8. c.a.l. - nice comeback vs ASU, but lots of holes in that team. Whither Goff?
9. ASU - talk about FGs leading to a loss. ouch.
10. UA - well, they're better than the other two.
11. Colo - seems destined to be perennially "almost there".
12. OSU - still celebrating the coaching swap?

[BostonCard]

5. UW - at their best they've been very good. Is Browning really that far behind Rosen?

Rosen: 266/447 (59.5%), 3350 yards, 7.5 ypa, 20 TD, 9 INT 133.19 rating
Browning: 210/335 (62.7%), 2671, 8.0 ypa, 16 TD, 10 INT, 139.45 rating

They look pretty comparable, with Browning getting a bit more yards per attempt, but Rosen benefiting from more passes thrown (and throwing a lower interception rate).

Of course, Rosen has Payton and Duarte to throw to, while Browning has ?  I also get the sense that the UCLA line is better than Washington's OL.

BC

[BostonCard]

5. UW - at their best they've been very good. Is Browning really that far behind Rosen?

Rosen: 266/447 (59.5%), 3350 yards, 7.5 ypa, 20 TD, 9 INT 133.19 rating
Browning: 210/335 (62.7%), 2671, 8.0 ypa, 16 TD, 10 INT, 139.45 rating

They look pretty comparable, with Browning getting a bit more yards per attempt, but Rosen benefiting from more passes thrown (and throwing a lower interception rate).

Of course, Rosen has Payton and Duarte to throw to, while Browning has ?  I also get the sense that the UCLA line is better than Washington's OL.

BC