BN Pac-10 Power Poll: Week 1

We've got a new feature here on BN...the Pac-10 Power Poll. Each and every Monday, the BN frontpagers will vote on the Pac-10 teams from 1-10, although we may not have every frontpager every week. First place votes will be worth 10 points, second place votes 9, third place votes, 8, etc. Please use this weekly post as your chance to sound off on the Pac-10. Tell us why our rankings are idiotic and how you'd rank the 10 teams. Share your thoughts on the weekend's Pac-10 action. Give us some insight into the various Pac-10 teams. Basically, if it's Pac-10 football related, this is your place to go at it. Please keep in mind that while we will make attempts to be impartial, we are still Bruin fans so UCLA may get the benefit of the doubt and USC never will.

So here are our week 1 rankings. I did say that these rankings will be every Monday and they will, but I didn't think of this until last night so you're getting the first rankings on a Wednesday. First place votes will be in parentheses and each person's individual ballot will not be posted, but if they choose to do so, they can post it in the comments below so here we go. Pac-10 Power Poll week 1.

1) USC Trojans, 1-0 (2 first place vote)- That first quarter was less than impressive for SC, but they turned it on and ran past San Jose St. Big deal. This week is what matters as they head to Columbus with a true freshman quarterback to face Ohio St. Lucky for them, Ohio St. did not look good last week, especially on defense where they seem to lack the necessary speed.

2) California Golden Bears, 1-0 (1 first place vote)- Playing at home against Maryland, the Bears came out firing and destroyed the Terps, 52-13. Jahvid Best looked like the player everyone expects him to be this year, but the real shocker was the play of QB Kevin Riley. If his mechanical adjustments make him play like he did on Saturday for the rest of the year, Cal will be the real deal.

3) Oregon St. Beavers, 1-0- The biggest concern for the Beavers in the offseason was the Rogers twins. We knew they could play, but both were recovering from injuries so how would they bounce back? Well, both looked healthy as can be on Saturday in their win over Portland St., but the next two weeks will be the real teller for them as they hit the road for a good UNLV squad and then host a dangerous Cincinnati team.

4) Arizona St. Sun Devils, 1-0- Danny Sullivan had a pretty good opener for ASU as their fans must have felt more comfortable with their quarterback play after the night than they did before. Their 50-3 win over Idaho St. says more about their opponent than it does them, but the Sun Devils will get their test in just two weeks when they head to Georgia.

5) Oregon Ducks, 0-1- An ugly game for the Ducks, followed by an even uglier post-game, but this team is still loaded with talent. While games against Purdue, Utah, Cal and Washington St. isn't an easy run of games, all four are at home so they can get on a little run over the next month if their defensive line improves.

6) Stanford Cardinal, 1-0- Boys and girls, your Pac-10 leader. Stanford's 39-13 win over Washington St. has them atop the Pac-10 and say what you will about the Cougars, I don't think the Cardinal are complaining about a Pac-10 road win. A trip across the country to Wake Forest awaits this weekend though.

7) UCLA Bruins, 1-0- Caution from the Bruin faithful? A nice looking win over San Diego St. and all three phases of the game were good, albeit at different times of the game, but 1-0 is 1-0. How improved this team and program are will be tested at hostile Neyland Stadium on Saturday. A win could jump them well up these all important standings.

8) Washington Huskies, 0-1- This team is improved and not just in the way any team that went 0-12 is improved because they can't get any worse. The defense looks like it could be decent and a healthy Jake Locker makes a world of difference for that offense. The Huskies, especially at home, are no pushover this year, as LSU found out last week in that close game.

9) Arizona Wildcats, 1-0- A less than impressive win over a poor Central Michigan side could have the Wildcat fans worrying. Matt Scott actually played pretty well at quarterback, taking over for Willie Tuitama and Nic Grigsby can run the ball. We'll see if those two can help them out in two weeks when they play at Iowa.

10) Washington St. Cougars, 0-1- New coach, new hope, same ol' Cougs. A 26 point loss to open Pac-10 play, at home no less, will crush any hope the Wazzu fans had entering the year. but with Hawaii and then SMU coming to the Palouse over the next two weeks, they have a chance at picking up a W.

So what do you think of the rankings? Is UCLA too low? Is Arizona St. too high? Are we just bumbling fools? Share those thoughts and anything else you have on the Pac-10 below.