USC rolled, Oregon and Utah had offensive explosions against overmatched opponents, Washington State stunned Wisconsin on the road, Oregon State walked off Fresno State on the road, and Colorado looks like it has taken Kansas’ place at the very bottom of the Power Five.

Lots happened in Week 2, and it led to some shuffling in the middle of the Pac-12 Power Rankings.

Let’s get to it.

A note: this is not a prediction of where each team finishes the season, it is a snapshot of where each team is at right now. It’s meant to be reactive.

12. Colorado Buffaloes

Prev. rank: 12
Week 2: 41-10 loss to Air Force
Week 3: at Minnesota

It’s not hyperbole to question whether this Colorado team, as presently constructed, can win a single game this season. In the preseason, going through the schedule, I initially came in at 0-12 for the Buffs and was talked out of it. “Well, they’ll catch someone.” “Two or three wins are there, they have talent to get a couple.” But after two weeks, CU is averaging 4.1 yards per play and giving up 6.7. The schedule won’t get any easier. Minnesota isn’t an easy place to play, and the prospect of an 0-3 record heading into conference play is very real. Arizona and Washington look better than expected. The only real spot left on the calendar you could look at, knowing what we know now, and say, “Well, maybe,” is the Cal game, but even that’s generous.

11. Cal Golden Bears 

Prev. rank: 11
Week 2: 20-14 win over UNLV
Week 3: at Notre Dame 

The trip to South Bend to face the Irish doesn’t look as daunting now that Notre Dame got rolled over by the Thundering Herd. But considering Cal hasn’t exactly found a rhythm yet on offense, it’s still a tall task. After playing around with UC Davis in the opener, Cal mustered only 370 yards (5.2 a play) against one of the worst defenses in college football. Quarterback Jack Plummer was sacked four times. The ground game is still very much a work in progress.

10. Arizona State Sun Devils

Prev. rank: 10
Week 2: 34-17 loss to Oklahoma State
Week 3: Eastern Michigan

Same old problems. The sentiment from Arizona State fans after Saturday night’s loss to Oklahoma State was pretty familiar. Devils Digest’s Cole Topham asked for one-word reactions to the game afterward; the responses he got were all from the same family — typical, expected, predictable. Self-inflicted mistakes limited ASU’s potential on the road to pick up a massive win for the program. The offense, led by Emory Jones at quarterback and Xazavian Valladay at running back, looks like it’s coming together. There’s something there for new O.C. Glenn Thomas. ASU had a mini-breakout from receiver Elijhah Badger. But the Sun Devils also 10 penalties and a bad showing on third down.

9. Stanford Cardinal

Prev. rank: 8
Week 2: 41-28 loss to USC
Week 3: bye

USC took its foot off the gas. If it wanted to, it might have been able to put 60 on the Cardinal. Stanford’s first two games have been extremes on both ends. Colgate wasn’t much of a stress test. USC is as stressful a team as Stanford will face all year. The Trojan offense is going to make any defense look silly, but coming off a season in which the defense looked very un-Stanford-like, giving up 366 yards and 11.1 (!!!!!!) yards per play to any offense in a single half is a major red flag.

8. Arizona Wildcats

Prev. rank: 7
Week 2: 39-17 loss to Mississippi State
Week 3: North Dakota State

The gunslinger quarterbacks sure do put you on the edge of your seat and keep you there. A handful of times against the Bulldogs, Wildcat quarterback Jayden de Laura looked like he was creating something with his legs — maybe a chance to run and pick up some extra yardage, maybe a chance to evade pressure and simply just throw the ball away. Instead, the improvisation led to forced throws. Three times against the Bulldogs de Laura was picked off. The first one was followed immediately by a three-play touchdown drive from Mississippi State to take a 12-7 lead. The second one came to start the second half, on the UA’s first possession after Mississippi State took a 25-10 lead. The third came on the heels of a defensive stop late in the third, put the defense right back on the field, and then MSU immediately scored to go up by 15 early in the fourth. Live to fight another down, man.

7. Washington State Cougars

Prev. rank: 9
Week 2: 17-14 win over Wisconsin
Week 3: Colorado State

They put the Cougars’ win total at 5.5. I kindly asked you to hammer the over. Now, with the program sitting at 2-0 heading into a home matchup with Colorado State, Washington State looks like a very real player for none of the reasons anyone expected. The Cougars were not expected to walk into Madison, Wisconsin and leave with a win. They were expected to put a rip-roaring offense on the field and instead it has been a gritty defense leading the way. Quarterback Cameron Ward has looked rough, at times, through two weeks as he adjusts to life at the Power Five level. This Wazzu team, though, they clearly believe in their coach and what he’s preaching. They clearly play their tails off for him and for one another. This version of the Wisconsin Badgers under Paul Chryst has been a little overrated for the last few seasons, but that was still a tremendous win for coach Jake Dickert and a budding Wazzu team.

6. UCLA Bruins

Prev. rank: 4
Week 2: 45-7 win over Alabama State
Week 3: South Alabama

I might be a prisoner of the moment with UCLA. It’s possible dropping the Bruins below the Washington Huskies has more to do with expectations than anything else. I expected UCLA to be a team that challenged for a spot in the Pac-12 title game. I didn’t expect that of Washington. Yet, through two weeks, the Huskies have looked better against the same caliber of competition. The Bruins have done fine, but doesn’t it kind of feel like they could have done more through their first two games? Tailback Zach Charbonnet missed the entire game against Alabama State. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson missed the last three quarters. If either of those situations linger, keep an eye on Westwood.

5. Washington Huskies

Prev. rank: 6
Week 2: 52-6 win over Portland State
Week 3: No. 14 Michigan State

Kalen DeBoer’s offense in Seattle has exceeded my expectations. Through the first two weeks, UW has scored 97 points, ripped off 1,142 yards, and produced 34 explosive plays. They’re getting an average of 7.6 yards per play and a chunk play every fifth snap of the football. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. looks like a man reborn. Jalen McMillan and Giles Jackson and Rome Odunze look like one of the top receiver groups in the Pac-12. A ton of eyes from around the conference will be on next Saturday’s game against Michigan State. A Husky win and we have to start talking about this team as a conference title threat. But, that’s IF Washington wins. The Spartans provide test No. 1 of the DeBoer era.

4. Oregon Ducks

Prev. rank: 5
Week 2: 70-14 win over Eastern Washington
Week 3: No. 21 BYU

BYU just dropped No. 9 Baylor in double-overtime. The Cougars could be a top-15 team when they come to Eugene next weekend. Dan Lanning gets an early shot at redemption. Oregon wasn’t ready to play against Georgia. The Ducks were too young, too new, too raw for the Bulldog buzzsaw. They got back in the lab over the last week and worked on the pain points. Eastern Washington is a good football team, certainly not talented enough to hang with Oregon, but competent enough to where we should feel like we can take some real things away from the game. A broken team doesn’t score 70 points, regardless of who it’s playing. Quarterback Bo Nix was much better, completing 28 of his 33 pass attempts for 277 yards and five scores. He will need to be better still for Oregon to hand BYU its first loss. The Ducks took a good and necessary step, but I believe Lanning when he says they’re far from playing up to their ability.

3. Oregon State Beavers

Prev. rank: 3
Week 2: 35-32 win over Fresno State
Week 3: Montana State

Oregon State is legit. A Week 1 win over Boise State was as impressive a game as we saw throughout the Pac-12. A Week 2 win on the road against Fresno State, and the way the Beavers won it… wow. The lead changed hands three times in the final two minutes of Saturday night’s game. A missed field goal from Fresno State with just over four minutes to play kept the score at 26-21, Bulldogs. Oregon State’s Chance Nolan took the ball and marched the Beavers 66 yards in five plays for the go-ahead score. A two-point conversion later and Oregon State was up three now, 29-26. Fresno responded with its own march — a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in just 45 seconds. Oregon State took possession with 58 seconds on the clock and Nolan looked like he was going against a JV defense in the first quarter of a game. No panic, no stress, only execution. Jack Colletto finished the game off with a 2-yard score as time expired to give Oregon State its first-ever win at Fresno State. Buy the Beavs. This team is fun and strong and dangerous if Nolan can sustain his current level of play.

2. Utah Utes

Prev. rank: 2
Week 2: 73-7 win over Southern Utah
Week 3: San Diego State

We should have known the kind of chaotic weekend we were in for when the day began with Utah scoring 73 friggin’ points. The Utes’ offense was a little worrisome in the first quarter and then found a different gear in the second quarter. Quarterback Cameron Rising started letting it fly a bit more and the Utes produced a 38-0 frame. Most encouraging from the game: offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig let the offense just keep rolling into the halftime break. Utah had three touchdown drives in the final seven minutes of the second. Don’t overreact to the Florida loss — Utah’s loss to Florida in Week 1, or Florida’s loss to Kentucky in Week 2. The Utes have a strong team.

1. USC Trojans

Prev. rank: 1
Week 2: 41-28 win over Stanford
Week 3: Fresno State

Just disgusting. Just gross offense. Just a ridiculous level of skill talent to throw at teams. Just an insane bind this offense puts opposing defenses in. Wideout Jordan Addison topped 100 receiving yards before halftime. The connection between he and Caleb Williams looks like it could produce a truly magical season in a place where the bar to clear to label a season as such is pretty darn high. When Williams connected with Addison for a 75-yard bomb at the end of the first quarter, you could literally see the rest of the country come to terms with the fact this imported USC offense is actually going to be as terrifying as everyone thought it would. No more, “Well, but it’s a lot of transfers and how will they play as a team,” nonsense. Just fear. I don’t know about you, but reading tweets and seeing takes and hearing people talk about USC Saturday night, I saw a healthy amount of fear. (I, too, have some fear, but it’s for that defense. USC has a long way to go on that side of the football.)