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SEC vs. Pac-12, Week 9 version: LSU takes over top spot after Utah loss

Published: Oct 27, 2015 · 11:55 AM EDT

We had the first shakeup of our weekly SEC/Pac-12 Hybrid Power Rankings, as No. 1 Utah fell to Southern California in Week 8. With LSU cruising to a win over Western Kentucky, the Tigers ascend to the poll’s apex.

Both conferences are thriving, as 13 of their 26 combined teams — six in the Pac-12, including Washington State (the Cougars!) – garnered a vote in the most-recent AP poll.

Here’s a look at how the SEC and Pac-12 stack up to one another after Week 8 action.

THEIRS TO LOSE

LSU is the lone undefeated team in either conference after the Tigers (7-0, 4-0 SEC) knocked off the Hilltoppers in Week 8. Utah slides to No. 5 with its loss and sees its Pac-12 South lead shrink to a game over Arizona State (beat), USC (lost to) and UCLA (hasn’t played yet). That said, the Utes have a weak schedule the rest of the way and control their own destiny by winning out and getting to the conference title game. Save for LSU, all the teams in our top-five have one loss, but are considered the elite in their respective divisions.

LSU Tigers
Alabama Crimson Tide
Stanford Cardinal
Florida Gators
Utah Utes

ONE WIN AWAY

Ole Miss, UCLA and Georgia are each one game behind their division leaders and have some strategic advantage over the teams they’re chasing. Ole Miss holds the tiebreaker over Alabama, while UCLA still has to take on Utah and Georgia has to travel to Jacksonville to face Florida. Each can do themselves a big favor with a win.

Ole Miss Rebels
UCLA Bruins
Georgia Bulldogs

MAKING SOME NOISE

There are a handful of two- and three-loss teams that can beat anyone on any given Saturday. A division title is likely just out of reach for these squads, but as Southern California taught us last week with a win over the nation’s No. 3 team Utah, even a program thought to be on life-support is capable of rebounding in a big way.

Washington State is officially the surprise team of either conference. Mike Leach’s squad, pegged to finished near the Pac-12 basement, has gone on the road this year and earned wins over Arizona, Oregon and Rutgers. The Cougars (5-2, 3-1) sit in second place behind Stanford and are a win away from being eligible for just their second bowl game in the past 12 years.

Texas A&M Aggies
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Southern California Trojans
California Golden Bears
Washington State Cougars

THE HANDCUFFS

Arkansas and Tennessee have been handcuffed together since the preseason, when they were both considered dark horse favorites to win their respective divisions. Both faltered early on, but have seemingly begun to rehab their seasons — Arkansas with a four-overtime thriller over Auburn and Tennessee with a win over Georgia and a tightly-contested tilt against Alabama.

It more or less came down to a coin flip between Arizona State and Oregon. The Sun Devils were beat down by Texas A&M in the season opener and lost to Southern California. The Ducks dropped close contests to Michigan State and an upstart Washington State. Both ASU and Oregon lost to Utah. It’s the Ducks who get the slight edge, for hanging with the Spartans. Luckily, we find out who is better this Saturday when the Ducks travel to Tempe.

Arkansas Razorbacks
Tennessee Volunteers
Oregon Ducks
Arizona State Sun Devils

WIN SHORTAGE, NOT TALENT SHORTAGE

This group of cats is not short on talent, just the necessary wins to compete. Arizona is coming off a home loss to Washington State, while Auburn wound up on the south end of a four-overtime thriller to Arkansas. These three teams have beaten their share of decent opponents and each should have no problem procuring the win or two they need to become bowl eligible.

Arizona Wildcats
Auburn Tigers
Kentucky Wildcats

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST

Vanderbilt gets the top spot in the bottom bracket, courtesy of the Commodores’ Week 8 win over the reeling Missouri Tigers. The unfortunate nature of Vandy’s and Mizzou’s 2015 fate is that both teams boast top-25 defenses in the nation. Problems arise on offense, however, especially in Columbia where Missouri’s miserable offense ranks penultimate in the entire NCAA, in front of only Central Florida.

Colorado is coming off a win over Oregon State. The Buffs better enjoy it, seeing as they close out their season against No. 24 UCLA, No. 8 Stanford, USC, Washington State and Utah at Rice-Eccles. The Pac-12 schedulers have a cruel sense of humor.

Fans of these teams should hold off on contacting their travel agents when it comes to making postseason plans.