The Pac-12 was once again the most entertaining conference in football in Week 7.

It began with Colorado imploding on Friday night. Then Washington and Oregon provided the game of the season in the early window on Saturday. Arizona blasted Washington State in a game no one outside of Arizona’s locker room saw coming, Utah rediscovered its identity, and USC… well USC did whatever that was in South Bend.

Washington and Oregon appear to be in a class all by themselves at the top of the league. Figuring out who belongs in the next two tiers has become a weekly dart throw.

It’s once again time to update the Power Rankings, so let’s dive in.

12. Arizona State Sun Devils (1-5, 0-3 Pac-12)

Last week: 11

The Sun Devils were on a bye last week, so this section is taking the week off as well.

11. Cal Golden Bears (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12)

Last week: 10

The Bears got bashed by a resurgent Utah run game and Justin Wilcox has found himself in a weird situation. Cal has a worse defense than offense. And Cal doesn’t have a good offense. The Bears have slipped to 95th nationally in defensive efficiency, giving up 6 yards a play. They’ve given up 166 points in four conference games, the worst four-game start to a conference slate since Sonny Dykes’ last season in Berkeley. Not to suggest anything there, but Cal also just lost its leading linebacker for the rest of the season. Cal has to go 3-2 against USC, Oregon, Washington State, Stanford, and UCLA or it’ll be four consecutive years without a bowl game.

10. Stanford Cardinal (2-4, 1-3 Pac-12)

Last week: 12

Stanford ditched the quarterback carousel and Ashton Daniels finally found some rhythm. Daniels had a career day, throwing for 396 yards and four touchdowns as Stanford stormed back from a 29-0 halftime hole to beat Colorado in overtime. It was a huge win for Troy Taylor, and a great moment for Stanford because it sort of reframed the start. The Sacramento State loss gave people sticker shock because of where the Hornets play their ball, but that was a good team that came to Stanford Stadium. Stanford has issues that will take Taylor time to work through. We’ll see if Daniels can build off a huge game.

9. Colorado Buffaloes (4-3, 1-3 Pac-12)

Last week: 9

Colorado is exactly who people thought they were in the preseason. It feels like ages ago since Deion Sanders sat at the postgame dais in Fort Worth and questioned reporters on why they didn’t believe; they were fair not to. Notice I didn’t say right. Fair. Colorado could still make a bowl game this season. Even if it finishes one win shy of that mark, this year will still be a major improvement on a 1-11 team that was quite possibly the worst football team in America a year ago. Colorado probably should not have won the Colorado State game, but it did because Shedeur Sanders is awesome. In the best conference in the country, awesomeness at quarterback with below-average play everywhere else doesn’t get it done. Shedeur Sanders and Caleb Williams should set up a support group.

8. Washington State Cougars (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12)

Last week: 5

Cougs… What the heck happened? Few teams were soaring as high as Wazzu following back-to-back top-25 wins earlier in the year. Cameron Ward was playing out of his mind, the offense was ripping through people. Things came crashing down spectacularly Saturday at home in a 44-6 loss to Arizona. Washington State was dominated in every facet, and its inability to run the football has become a major liability.

7. UCLA Bruins (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12)

Last week: 3

I vouched for UCLA and then it went out and did that?? Dante Moore has thrown pick-sixes in three consecutive games. He was picked off three times and sacked five times in a 36-24 loss to Oregon State. The Bruins simply cannot withstand that kind of harmful quarterback play. Growing pains are one thing, but Moore is costing his team points each week with his decision-making. Bruin fans are frustrated, and rightfully so.

6. Utah Utes (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12)

Last week: 8

Say this about Kyle Whittingham: He sure does have a knack for finding diamonds in the rough. Coming out of its bye week and still playing without its starting quarterback, Utah rediscovered its punishing ground game in a 34-14 drubbing of Cal. It’s not that Utah ran for 317 yards and four touchdowns on 6 yards a carry, it’s that Utah did it with two converted players leading the way. Ja’Quinden Jackson was a quarterback a year ago and he had 94 yards and a score. He finally looked healthy, and we saw how devastating a healthy Jackson can be for a defense. And Sione Vaki ran for 158 yards and two scores on 15 carries. Vaki, a safety who entered the day leading the defense in tackles. Up next for the Utes? A soft Trojan run defense. A similar performance and we might get to say, “Here comes Utah.”

5. Arizona Wildcats (4-3, 2-2 Pac-12)

Last week: 7

Arizona was close to getting over the hump in each of the previous two weeks, and it wasn’t like the Wildcats were punching so far above their weight class. They upset a top-10 UCLA team on the road last year, too. It felt like a big one was coming. But a 38-point road win over a ranked team? No one saw that coming. Noah Fifita started his third game and operated things brilliantly. He took what was available, ate what he needed to, and let Arizona’s collection of playmakers make plays. Arizona is going to get someone else because Arizona isn’t that far away anymore. This is a bowl team, folks. Seven wins is very much on the table.

4. USC Trojans (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12)

Last week: 4

I get the urge to want to drop USC after a 48-20 loss to Notre Dame. But there’s a clear gap between No. 3 and No. 4 in this league and the next three or four teams. USC is deeply, deeply flawed. The defense wasn’t mistake-riddled against Notre Dame, but the offense turned around and had its worst day under Lincoln Riley. In fact, at 4.1 yards per play, that was the worst offensive showing by a Riley-led offense since September 2015. Two things. One, Notre Dame could have been a Playoff team this year if it hadn’t decided to fly to Ireland in Week 0 and then play seven straight weeks without a break after returning. And two, USC lost by 28, but it sort of let go of the rope at the end. Not absolving anyone, but the two fumbles late looked, to my untrained eye, an awful lot like a team losing focus in a game that was already over. It looked bad, but not 28 points bad. Purge that game and move forward. The offensive line is awful and USC needs to fix it before things get messy in L.A.

3. Oregon State Beavers (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12)

Last week: 6

Welcome back, Beavs. They had a brief little soiree in the middle of the table earlier, but now they’re back to looking like the third-best team in the Pac-12. I liked UCLA’s defense, I trusted Chip Kelly, and I questioned DJ Uiagalelei. I was wrong on all three counts. And that wasn’t the first time I’ve gone against DJ U this season. I’ve been burned every time. My bad, DJ. You’re legit, and I’m done doubting. Uiagalelei threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns against an aggressive UCLA defense. The Beavs protected him and the offense put up another 30-spot. Uiagalelei has 20 total touchdowns and only four picks this season. Oregon State is absolutely in play for one of the two tickets to Vegas.

2. Oregon Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12)

Last week: 1

Oregon lost a football game to an elite team on the road. It lost by three points after pushing an overtime-forcing field goal wide at the very end, turning down points inside the opponent’s 10-yard-line twice, and stumbling on a third-and-2 run at midfield that could have iced the game. You can question Dan Lanning’s decision-making all day (I’m not, for the record), but at least he’s consistent. This is who he is. He’s going to roll the dice. It’ll work, and it won’t work. Against Washington, it hasn’t worked. But the Ducks have no reason to hang their heads after a 36-33 loss. Lanning plays to win. I like that. And it seems like his team likes that.

1. Washington Huskies (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12)

Last week: 2

Washington is one step closer to the College Football Playoff. Washington has one foot through the door to the Pac-12 title game. Michael Penix Jr. has one hand on the Heisman Trophy. And none of that feels like an overreaction. The Game of the Week in the Pac-12 lived up to the billing. The partnership of Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb, and Penix is just awesome, man. Not to be overshadowed by the four-touchdown performance from Penix was the 100-yard day from Dillon Johnson on the ground. Washington went into the game thinking it could catch Oregon with some designed early stuff for Johnson and it was exactly right. The Huskies’ offensive braintrust is really, really good at identifying, planning, and going out and executing. It might sound simple, but that’s what this is. These guys are executing at a high, high, high level.