BN Pac-10 Power Poll: Week 2

Last week, USC topped our Pac-10 Power Poll with Cal just behind them. So if you're USC, how do you drop from the top spot the week you beat a top ten team? You get more people voting and those people probably wouldn't have had USC #1 last week either. This week will be a very telling one for the conference. Because the Pac-10 has nine conference games, this will be the last week that the conference plays non-conference games save a few exceptions. This week will be the last time the conference can make a major impression on the rest of the country for the part.

Player of the Week: Rahim Moore, UCLA- You pick off two passes the week after snagging three and have one taken away by a phantom call and you get conference player of the week. Toss in six tackles from the safety spot and it's a pretty safe pick.

Stat of the Week: 11-8- With UCLA's win over Tennessee, the Pac-10 moved to 11-8 against the SEC this decade and will finish the decade with a winning record over the SEC regardless of the outcome of the Georgia/Arizona St. game.

Game to Watch: Cincinnati at Oregon St., 3:45 PDT, FSN- The Beavers rarely get the respect they deserve, but could this week with a win over the Big East's top team. Can OSU slow down the Cincy passing attack? If they can, they'll win.

Pac-10 Power Poll

1) California Golden Bears, 2-0 (3 first place votes)- For the second consecutive week, the Bears welcomed an overmatched team to Strawberry Canyon and for the second consecutive week, the Bears took care of business. A 59-7 win over Eastern Washington did the job as Jahvid Best ran for 144 yards on 17 carries. Things get far more difficult this week as they head to Minnesota for the first major game at Minnesota's new stadium. Last week: 2

2) USC Trojans, 2-0 (2 first place votes)- USC went to Ohio St. and beat a top ten Buckeyes team in front of over 100,000 fans. Matt Barkley showed a little something on their last drive and the offensive line led the way, but that drive was the only offense the Trojans had all game long. The defense looked good, but the offense has two games to get things ironed out because they'll need points to beat Cal. Last week: 1

3) Oregon St. Beavers, 2-0- The Beavers went on the road to a pretty good UNLV team and seemed to be on their way to a tough, but comfortable victory when they had a 20-7 fourth quarter lead, but the Rebels pushed OSU and the Beavers had to gut out a 23-21 game. It was a less than impressive game for the boys from Corvallis, but they can erase any doubts this week when they welcome Cincinnati to Reser Stadium. How will the Beavers' young defensive backfield cope with the Bearcats' explosive passing attack? Last week: 3

4) UCLA Bruins, 2-0- Could it be a program turning win for the Bruins? Only if they don't suffer a letdown versus Kansas St. and can parlay the win in front of 102,000 Tennessee fans into a bowl berth they can build on going forward. Having to do so without starting quarterback Kevin Prince can kill the team if they let them or it can show the strength of the program. Last week: 7

5) Arizona St. Sundevils, 1-0- The Sundevils didn't have a game last week, but they were most definitely not taking the week off. With a trip to Georgia on tap in two weeks, the ASU coaching staff and players were hard at work as they look to use their game this week versus Louisiana-Monroe to prep themselves for Georgia. Last week: 4

6) Oregon Ducks, 1-1- How good is this Oregon team? I'm not sure anybody knows. The lack of big guys was a preseason concern and we can now see it was for good reason, but losing time of possession by 13 minutes to Purdue last week? They were able to pull out a two point win, but will have to play better to pull out any more wins. Last week: 5

7) Stanford Cardinal, 1-1- There were some questionable/outrageous calls that went against the Cardinal at the end of their 24-17 loss to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, but to go scoreless in the second half and allow the third and fourth down conversions they did is inexcusable. This team has talent, but they need to learn how to close games out. They'll have the chance this week versus San Jose St. Last week: 6

8) Arizona Wildcats, 2-0- They did what they were supposed to do in disposing of Northern Arizona and many will claim that this undefeated team is far better than the eighth they're ranked here. Well, they'll have the chance to prove it this week as they head to Iowa. A win here will do wonders for Mike Stoops and the Wildcats. Last week: 9

9) Washington Huskies, 1-1- The Huskies win and drop a spot in the rankings? How can that be? More importantly, do you think Washington really cares? The Huskies won a game! Jake Locker threw for 252 yards, three touchdowns and ran for a score as the Huskies snapped their 15 game losing streak. All is well in Seattle and you can bet Husky Stadium will be rocking this Saturday when USC comes to town. Can Sarkisian knock off Carroll?

10) Washington St. Cougars, 0-2- Oh, poor Wazzu. The Cougars played a poor Hawaii team in Seattle. How bad is Hawaii? Despite Washington St.'s issues, they were only two point underdogs, but that was a clear overestimation of the Cougars. Hawaii was up big early and finished off Wazzu, 38-20 and now the Cougars get SMU in Pullman.

So what do you think of the rankings? What teams impressed you last week or what teams left you underwhelmed? What are you looking forward to this week? Sound off below.