Best of the West Rankings USC on top as Oregon and BYU rise, Cougs drop and Air Force returns

The Hotline ranks the best major college football teams across the western third of the country. USC is on top as Oregon and BYU rise, Cougs drop and Air Force returns.

USC is the current No. 1 in the Best of the West rankings. The Trojans have a 34 percent chance of winning the Pac-12 and 21 percent of making the College Football Playoff.

Utah won at Arizona State 34-13. The Utes haven't lost to a conference opponent in 340 days. They play Oregon State at 11 a.m. on Pac-12 Networks.

Oregon is 3-1 and 1-0 in Pac-12. They won at Washington State 44-41. Next up, they play Stanford (8 p.m. on FS1).

BYU beat Wyoming 38-24. Next up, BYU plays Utah State on Thursday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

Washington beat Stanford 40-22 last week. The Huskies are 4-0 and play at UCLA on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Washington State dropped from No. 2 to No 6 in the BOTW rankings after losing to Oregon 44-41. They play Cal at 2:30 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks.

Oregon State lost to USC 17-14 last week. The Beavers are 3-1 in the Pac-12 and halfway to bowl eligibility. They play Utah at 11 a.m. on Pac -12 Networks.

Fresno State is 1-2 and plays at Connecticut (12:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network). The Bulldogs are favored by 23.5 points.

UCLA is ranked No. 9 in the latest Best of the West rankings. UCLA's next game is against Washington on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Air Force beat Nevada 48-20 last week. Next up, Air Force plays Navy (9 a.m. on CBS). Wyoming was considered for the No. 10 spot, but Air force won the head-to-head against the Falcons.

Best of the West rankings show USC on top. Oregon and BYU rise, Cougs drop and Air Force returns.