No. 7 Stanford leads a list of three Pac-12 football teams ranked in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. Alongside the seventh-ranked Cardinal are No. 10 Washington and No. 20 Oregon. USC and Arizona State, which were ranked 22^nd and 23^rd last week, respectively, fell out of the top 25 with road losses to Texas and San Diego State.

It took the Card a little while to get going in what was the earliest start time in program history on The Farm (11 a.m.), but David Shaw’s boys did what they needed to do by soundly beating UC Davis 30-10. And, if it wasn’t for the Aggies calling a timeout with one second left trailing 30-3 to set up a mini-Hail Mary touchdown pass against Stanford’s deep reserves, the Cardinal would have held an opponent out of the end zone for the second straight week. Stanford’s win, combined with Wisconsin’s loss to BYU (that helps Cal), allowed the Card to jump two spots up to No. 7 heading into a top-20 showdown in Eugene against the Ducks. ‘Twill be the Card’s first road game of the season, and the national spotlight will be shining brightly down on Autzen Stadium with College GameDay in attendance. Can the Card surpass its first big test away from Stanford Stadium before heading to South Bend for what is the toughest two-game stretch of the season for the Cardinal? We’ll find out a lot about the Farm Boys before the calendar turns to October.

“I hope people remember that we came down to Utah and beat them by 14,” Washington quarterback Jake Browning said following the Huskies’ 21-7 win at Utah Saturday night. Don’t worry, Jake, we got you – the Huskies went into a very unfriendly environment and completely shut down the Utes, holding Troy Taylor’s offense scoreless over the final three quarters (they even stymied Utah when it took over possession inside the red zone late in the game). Yes, Utah’s offense has been struggling all season and the Huskies had their iffy moments (Jake Browning’s interception that was nearly returned for a touchdown certainly wasn’t the brightest spot of the game), but a two-touchdown win on the road against a team that figures to play a prominent role in the Pac-12 South race is nothing to scoff at. The Dawgs remained at No. 10, a ranking it now shares with Penn State, and will next get ready for Arizona State Saturday night back on Montlake for their Pac-12 home opener.

It wasn’t a thing of beauty Saturday afternoon in Autzen (head coach Mario Cristobal and quarterback Justin Herbert copped to as much following the game), but the Ducks did what it needed to by beating a winless San Jose State team 35-22 and finishing up non-conference play 3-0. The fun and games against what a former president of a Big Ten school would deem the “Little Sisters of the Poor” are over now and we’re really about to see how good the 2018 Ducks are. Standing pat in the AP Top 25, Oregon will take a No. 20 ranking into its aforementioned Saturday night primetime showdown against No. 7 Stanford to set off a string of four consecutive games against Pac-12 North foes who have a combined record of 11-1 at the moment (Stanford, at Cal, Washington, at Washington State). Buckle up, Oregon fans.

Here’s the AP Top 25 in full:

1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Clemson
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
6. LSU
7. Stanford
8. Notre Dame
9. Auburn
10. Washington

10. Penn State

12. West Virginia
13. Virginia Tech
14. Mississippi State
15. Oklahoma State
16. UCF
17. TCU
18. Wisconsin
19. Michigan
20. Oregon
21. Miami (FL)
22. Texas A&M
23. Boston College
24. Michigan State
25. BYU