Welcome to a new feature on the Hotline — an assessment of the eight teams in the rebuilt Pac-12 as if they were competing in the conference this season. We’ll even recognize one lucky team as the regular-season champion. The power rankings will be published each Sunday throughout the regular season. (Here are last week’s rankings.)

It’s rivalry week in the Pacific Northwest with the Apple Cup in Pullman and the Civil War in Eugene.

To commemorate the occasion, the Hotline hit the record books. Our goal: Identify the worst beatings in the history of each series.

Because it will get ugly on Saturday, folks — it’s only a matter of degrees.

Will Washington State and Oregon State lose by three or four touchdowns?

Or will they lose in epic fashion, in record-breaking fashion?

So that our readers can be fully prepared to assess the pending devastation, here are the existing marks:

The worst beating in Civil War history came in 2017, with Oregon’s 59-point victory (69-10) over the Beavers in Eugene. That was the lost season for OSU, when Gary Andersen quit in October and the Beavers staggered through the final weeks with an interim coach and zero direction.

Prior to that year, the largest Civil War margin was Oregon’s 44-0 victory in 1987.

The oddsmakers do not expect a rewriting of the record book. The Ducks opened as 27.5-point favorites this week, although we expect that line to climb into the 30s by kickoff. Oregon State just lost at Texas Tech by 31 points, after all.

The point spread for the Apple Cup is nowhere close. The Huskies are merely 12.5-point favorites, based on the opening lines.

That feels low given Washington’s extra week of preparation, the revenge factor — WSU won last year in Seattle — and the discombobulated state of the Cougars’ offense.

Any team that loses to North Texas by 49 points is fully capable of losing to Washington by 50. And 50 would, in fact, break the series record.

To date, the largest victory margin in Apple Cup history is 48 points, in the Huskies’ 51-3 victory in 2000.

(That was the end of a three-year downturn for the Cougars under Mike Price. They recovered the following season and then reached the Rose Bowl in 2002.)

To be clear, the Hotline doesn’t expect a record breaker Saturday evening in Pullman.

The Civil War is more likely to produce utter devastation considering the location, Oregon’s high-octane offense and Oregon State’s across-the-board flaws.

At least the Cougars are at home and possess the faint outline of a decent defense. Yes, North Texas scored 59 points, but the output was largely the result of five WSU turnovers.

That said, there’s a good chance both games turn lopsided in the first half or midway through the third quarter. The disparity between the Ducks and Beavers and the Huskies and Cougars — between the haves and have-nots in the unforgiving world of college football — has never seemed greater.

It wasn’t long ago that Oregon State rallied from 17 down in the fourth quarter to stun the 10th-ranked Ducks, or that Washington State planted a flag at midfield of Husky Stadium following a blowout victory.

Today, those results feel like relics from an ancient world.

To the power rankings …

All times Pacific

1. Fresno State (3-1)

Result: beat Southern 56-7
Up next: at Hawaii (8:59 p.m.)
Comment: We can already envision Matt Entz being a rumored candidate for multiple second-tier power conference jobs once the coaching carousel starts to spin in late November. (Previous: 2)

2. Colorado State (1-1)

Result: did not play
Up next: vs. UTSA (6:30 p.m. on FS1)
Comment: The Rams don’t have a stout resume, but the competition for No. 2 is not exactly stiff based on the results to date and the number of teams that were idle in Week 3. (Previous: 3)

3. Texas State (2-1)

Result: lost at Arizona State 34-15
Up next: vs. Nicholls State (5 p.m. on ESPN+)
Comment: The second-quarter fumble was a killer. Once ASU converted, that was it. But generally, the Bobcats comported themselves well against their Big 12 opponent — in contrast to, for example, Oregon State. (Previous: 1)

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4. Utah State (2-1)

Result: beat Air Force 49-30
Up next: vs. McNeese State (5 p.m. on Mountain West Network)
Comment: The overall resume looks brighter today than it did prior to the weekend after Texas A&M won at Notre Dame and UTEP gave Texas a fight for three quarters. We won’t know what to make of the win over Air Force for several weeks. (Previous: 4)

5. Boise State (1-1)

Result: did not play
Up next: at Air Force (4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network)
Comment: The Broncos need South Florida to lose several more, but it’s clear the American has several contenders for the Group of Five’s slot in the College Football Playoff. Also apparent: Boise State has a tough road to the top of the Mountain West. (Previous: 5)

6. Washington State (2-1)

Result: lost at North Texas 59-10
Up next: vs. Washington (4:30 p.m. on CBS)
Comment: No way to justify putting the Cougars lower than sixth, but we tried. Of course we tried — that was an atrocious performance that should sound the alarm over the state of the quarterback play specifically and the offense generally. (Previous: 6)

7. San Diego State (1-1)

Result: did not play
Up next: vs. Cal (7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network)
Comment: Huge opportunity for Sean Lewis to snag a signature win and corral some momentum for his program. But unless the offense was transformed during the bye week, it’s difficult to imagine an upset. (Previous: 7)

8. Oregon State (0-3)

Result: lost at Texas Tech 45-14
Up next: at Oregon (12 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: An easy pick for the last spot, but we don’t expect the Beavers to remain here each week through November. They will have stiff competition at some point. (Previous: 8)

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