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Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week 5

If you don't like where you are in the Power Rankings, play better.

See last week's Power Rankings here.

1. Oregon: Another week, another blowout win. The only worry is RB De'Anthony Thomas' ankle. A visit to Colorado on Saturday doesn't promise much of a test for the Ducks.

2. Stanford: A dominating win in the rain against Washington State. The maturation of a downfield passing game should worry the rest of the Pac-12. The Cardinal look like a team without any obvious holes.

3. Washington: After winning impressively over unbeaten Arizona, the Huskies move up with the Bruins idle. They are 4-0 for the first time since 2001 and have yet to trail this season.

4. UCLA: UCLA had a bye this week, so it got to watch things go splat for its friends at USC. Sure that greatly pained them. At this point, the Bruins top challenger in the South Division appears to be Arizona State. See below. Up next is a potentially tricky trip to Utah on Thursday.

5. Arizona State: While we can speculate on what USC brought to Tempe, the Sun Devils' offense positively dominated a defense that had been the Trojans' lone bright spot. The ASU run defense, however, continues to be a major concern.

6. Oregon State: The Beavers have steadily climbed since their opening loss to Eastern Washington. Sean Mannion to Brandin Cooks is the best pass-catch combination in the conference, and the defense seems to be finding itself. A week off to get healthy is a good thing.

7. Utah: The Utes were off over the weekend. UCLA visits Salt Lake City on Thursday. Utah, meet opportunity. Opportunity, meet Utah.

8. Arizona: There was some grit shown on both sides of the ball at Washington, but the Wildcats got worn down. The defense is better, yes, but it's not ready to dominate. And the offense shows few signs of having a Pac-12-quality passing game.

9. Washington State: Stanford showed the Cougars how far they are from the top third of the conference. A visit to California on Saturday could, however, show how far the Cougs are from the bottom now. Seems like a critical game for bowl hopes.

10. Colorado: The Buffaloes looked rusty at Oregon State, but they also looked overmatched. While the 2-0 start was encouraging, the start of conference play reminded folks that this is still a major rebuilding job.

11. California: A mix of torrential rain and a pass-happy offense is not a good thing. It's even worse when the opponent is No. 2 Oregon. The Bears could use a more manageable foe. Washington State could provide that. But is there a QB controversy?

12. USC: When your coach gets fired midseason, you end up right here. Of course, some USC fans feel better today than they did a week ago.