Best of the West: Oregon on top as Boise State rises

Each week, the Hotline ranks the best major college football teams across the western third of the country — not only the Pac-12 but the Mountain West and Independents — using a formula that's partly results-oriented and partly subjective.

We will publish a similar ranking once the basketball season begins, incorporating the top teams from the West Coast Conference, Big West, Big Sky and Western Athletic, as well.

Here's our assessment through the results of Week Nine …

1. Oregon (7-1/5-0 Pac-12)

Last week: 1
Result: won at Cal 42-24
Next up: at Colorado (12:30 p.m. on ESPN)
Line: Oregon -31.5
Comment: As if Oregon doesn't have a giant stain on its resume already, BYU's collapse (four consecutive losses) doesn't help matters. The Ducks need their Week Three victim to turn things around, quickly.

2. UCLA (7-1/4-1 Pac-12)

Last week: 2
Result: beat Stanford 38-13
Next up: at Arizona State (7:30 p.m. on FS1)
Line: UCLA -10.5
Comment: Is it UCLA's fault that the nonconference schedule is pillowy soft? Nope. Michigan backed out of a series and left the Bruins with few options. Will the selection committee take those circumstances into account? Probably not.

3. Utah (6-2/4-1 Pac-12)

Last week: 3
Result: won at Washington State 21-17
Next up: vs. Arizona (4:30 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks)
Line: Utah -17.5
Comment: The gap between the best and second-best team in the Beehive State is much larger than the gap between the second- and third-best. (And if you're taking that as a friendly poke at BYU, well, yeah.)

4. USC (7-1/5-1 Pac-12)

Last week: 4
Result: won at Arizona 45-37
Next up: vs. Cal (7:30 p.m. on ESPN)
Line: USC -21
Comment: Linebacker Eric Gentry's value in the middle of the USC defense was on clear display last weekend when he wasn't on display.

5. Oregon State (6-2/3-2 Pac-12)

Last week: 5
Result: DNP
Next up: at Washington (Friday, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2)
Line: OSU +4.5
Comment: It's official: Quarterback Ben Gulbranson, who's 3-0 as a starter since replacing Chance Nolan (concussion), will take the field with the first team.

6. Washington (6-2/3-2 Pac-12)

Last week: 8
Result: DNP
Next up: vs. Oregon State (Friday, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2)
Line: Washington -4.5
Comment: Final scores of the past two meetings with Oregon State were 27-21 (winner: UW) and 27-24 (winner: OSU). We expect something similar Friday night.

7. Boise State (6-2/5-0 Mountain West)

Last week: 9
Result: beat Colorado State 49-10
Next up: vs. BYU (4 p.m. on FS2)
Line: Boise State -7.5
Comment: We get the loss at Oregon State, but that UTEP faceplant (27-10) gets more confounding by the week, regardless of the coordinator switch.

8. Washington State (4-4/1-4 Pac-12)

Last week: 7
Result: lost to Utah 21-17
Next up: at Stanford (12:30 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks)
Line: WSU -5
Comment: Modest drop in our rankings is due less to WSU's recent losses — the competition has been stout — and more to Boise State's impressive string of performances.

9. Air Force (5-3/2-3 Mountain West)

Last week: 10
Result: DNP
Next up: at Army (8:30 a.m. on CBS)
Line: Air Force -7
Comment: Of note for some readers: The underdog has covered the spread in the Falcons' past six matchups with Army.

10. Fresno State (4-4/3-1 Mountain West)

Last week: N/R
Result: beat San Diego State 32-28
Next up: vs. Hawaii (7:30 p.m. on FS2)
Line: Fresno State -27.5
Comment: Jake Haener is back after a prolonged absence. So long as he's healthy enough to carve up defenses, the Bulldogs are one of the 10 best in the west.

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