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The Pac-12 is one of the few conferences that take umbrage when people refer to the SEC as having the greatest or toughest consortium of teams.
The conference ranks just as many squads in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll (6) as the SEC. All told, 18 teams between the two power-five conferences (10 SEC) garnered AP votes. Texas A&M holds the sole bragging rights this year in the only contest between the SEC and Pac-12 with a smack-down of Arizona State.
Here’s a look at our hybrid SEC and Pac-12 power rankings through Week 3:
PLAYOFF CONVERSATION
Ole Miss emerged as the team to beat in the SEC courtesy of an upset win over No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. But they weren’t alone in asserting themselves in their respective conferences as Georgia, LSU and UCLA each picked up statement wins in Week 3 with victories over South Carolina, No. 18 Auburn and No. 19 Brigham Young. For now, they remain the class of the two conferences; expect at least one of them to still be standing come College Football Playoff time.
- Ole Miss
- Georgia
- LSU
- UCLA
SERIOUS CONTENDERS
Alabama and Oregon aren’t exactly in the same form they were in the last time we saw the Crimson Tide and Ducks in 2014’s inaugural College Football Playoffs. But that’s not to say Alabama or Oregon is a push-over. Quite the contrary. The two squads, along with Texas A&M are an Ole Miss, LSU or UCLA slip up away from re-staking their dominance in their divisions. Oregon has somewhat of an easier route to its second-straight Pac-12 North title, especially considering that the Ducks play all but two Pac-12 teams this year: UCLA and Arizona, the No. 9- and 16-ranked teams in the AP Poll, respectively. Expect to see the Tide fight its way back into the top pairing before long as well, especially if it wins a heavyweight bout against Georgia in two weeks.
- Alabama
- Oregon
- Texas A&M
CHALLENGERS
Arizona, not Arizona State, Southern California or UCLA, is the defending Pac-12 South champion. It doesn’t appear Rich Rodriguez’ squad is short of offense once again — the team drubbed Northern Arizona with a program-high 77 points in Week 3. The division is one of the staunchest in college football with just as many ranked teams as the SEC West. Utah and USC won’t concede the division lightly, either. The Wildcats get their first real test in Week 4 with one of the nation’s marquee matchups when they square off against UCLA.
- Arizona
- Utah
- Tennessee
- Southern California
NO ONE WANTS TO PLAY THEM
There’s something to be said about having a veteran quarterback to always keep your team in contention. Stanford, Mississippi State and California all possesses starting quarterbacks who have rewritten or begun to rewrite their respective programs’ record books. With the likes of Dak Prescott of Mississippi State and Stanford’s Kevin Hogan, as well as the powerful arm of Jared Goff in Berkeley, the Bulldogs, Cardinal and Golden Bears are three teams no one wants to see coming to town late in the year with their season hanging in the balance.
- Stanford
- Mississippi State
- California
WHAT HAPPENED?
Arizona State, Auburn and Missouri all envisioned getting out to better starts than they have. And while the three squads are a combined 7-2 with losses to No. 8 LSU and No. 14 Texas A&M, neither of the three have impressed. ASU and Auburn, two teams with tremendous preseason hype surrounding them have each tumbled from the AP Poll — thanks to scares from Cal Poly and Jacksonville State, respectively.
- Auburn
- Arizona State
- Missouri
ON THE UPSWING
New coaches are making a difference in Gainesville, Seattle and Lexington as Jim McElwain, Chris Petersen and Mark Stoops are each in the beginning stages of re-building their own programs. And while 2015 is mostly all about making a bowl game for these squads, don’t expect them to go down without a fight.
- Florida
- Washington
- Kentucky
AND THE REST
Colorado beat Colorado State and Vanderbilt drubbed Austin Peay in Week 3, but there isn’t much hope for the bottom-six teams in either conference. South Carolina, Arkansas and Washington State were all supposed to be on up-ticks, but, so far in 2015, wins — and even solid and consistent performances — have been in short supply.
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- South Carolina
- Vanderbilt
- Oregon State
- Washington State
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
