Unofficial LRT Pac-10 Power Rankings: Week 3

I tossed out my rough rankings of the Pac-10 in comments last week. This week, I thought I’d make it a little more official. I’m basing this on performance so far, not predictions for future performance. I imagine there will be some debate in comments.

1. Stanford
3-0 (1-0 Pac-10)
LW: 1
Comments: The Cardinal haven’t trailed a single quarter all season and have absolutely dominated each game including a shut-out in Pasadena. Notre Dame next week may be a little tougher than previous opponents but the real test comes in two weeks when the the Drunken Tree stumbles his way into Autzen Stadium. With Jake Locker clearly out of the Heisman race, how about Andrew Luck instead?

2. Oregon
3-0
LW: 2
The Ducks have been dominant as well although they trailed early against Tennessee. Like Stanford their next game (@ ASU) isn’t likely to be trouble so if they can take care of business against the Sun Devils could we see Game Day in Autzen for this early Pac-10 battle?

3. Arizona
3-0
LW: 6
I blew it on this one, I picked Cal as my higher of the questionable 2-0 teams and had Arizona lower. Well the Wildcats gutsy performance (including 4 consecutive sacks in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter) against 9th ranked Iowa removes any question that this team is for real after gimmee wins against Toledo and the Citadel. Could this be the year Arizona finally smells Roses?

4. USC
3-0
LW: 7
Another sloppy, unimpressive win, but a wins a win. The Trojans may not look pretty and it might hit them hard going into conference play but for now they stand above the 1 and 2 loss teams.

5. OSU
1-1
LW: 3
Close win against Louisville following a tough loss against #6 TCU. Next weeks game in Boise looms large for the Beavers.

6. ASU
2-1
LW: 8
Tough call here between the Sun Devils and the Beavers, but despite ASU’s near win against Wisconsin its wins against a couple of FCS cupcakes tipped the difference.

7. Cal
2-1
LW: 4
Two easy early wins before getting shot down by the Nevada Wolfpack. Is this the onset of the annual Cal bi-polar session or just a bump in the road against a solid WAC (soon to be MWC) team? The hippies take on an inspired Arizona team in Tucson next week.

8. Washington
1-2
LW: 5
The Nebraska loss was ugly in all aspects, particularly after the Huskies improved performance against Syracuse last week. The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Dawgs who need to pull themselves together heading into conference play against the Trojans in L.A. two weeks from now.

9. UCLA
1-2 (0-1 Pac-10)
LW: 9
Last weeks shut out by Stanford must have been some serious motivation as the Bruins showed signs of life in their upset win over Houston. I am this close to flipping them up to 8th place, but I’m not sold on the Bruins yet and those losses loom pretty large. Next weeks game against the Longhorns is going to be brutal

10. WSU
1-2
LW: 10
For awhile it looked like the Cougars might actually get a second win but SMU got revenge for its loss last season pulling away from a half-time tie with a 21 point run. Up next for the Cougars? Lane Kiffin and the sloppy Trojans. I don’t think Wazzu will be the ones to take advantage of USC’s mistakes.