This Weeks Picks in the Pac-12

Last week, I went 4-2 to bring my overall record for the season to 43-10. The Stanford and Oregon wins were pretty easy to get, as was Washington’s convincing victory over Colorado.  I missed the Utah win at Pittsburgh, which I admitted was a complete guess due to my unfamiliarity with the Big East schools. The only Pac-12 game I missed Cal’s utter lack of coherance at home against USC.

This week definitely has some games on the dockett that could shape the entire season for some schools. Let’s take a look:

UCLA at Arizona: This is the first game for Arizona without Mike Stoops and could be the last game for Rick Neuheisel at UCLA if they can not beat the lowly Wildcats in Tucson. A win puts UCLA in position to make a bowl game and even make a run at the Pac-12 South title. A loss? Well, a loss is what I think will happen as I think Arizona will rally around their interim coach, and coming off a bye week will be extremely motivated to salvage their season. Arizona 35 UCLA 24

Oregon at Colorado: Something tells me the Ducks will purposely go for more than 52 in this game solely to send a message to Husky fans that they still have a ways to go to be as good as Oregon. Oregon 55 Colorado 17

Utah at California: Wow, this is a pick ’em if there ever was one. Two teams at 3-3 who’ve shown glimpses of promise and horrible let downs as well. This game is at home for Cal, so I’ll give them the 3-point win. California 27 Utah 24

Oregon State at Washington State: This is THE biggest game of the year for the Cougs outside the Apple Cup. Why such hypobolized language? Because, if they have any possible hope of making a bowl game, they have to beat the Beavers at home. This is as good of an opportunity for a Pac-12 win as it gets for Wazzu. While I would not be shocked in the least by an OSU upset, I think WSU has more overall talent, especially on offense. Washington State 34 Oregon State 27

USC at Notre Dame: This is an annual rivalry of two programs who once thought they were the two best in college football. Both teams have been hard to figure out this year with less than impressive wins followed by surprisingly good performances. I think they are somewhat evenly matched, so I’ll go with the home squad for this one. Notre Dame 38 USC 34

Washington at Stanford: When I look at this game, I waffle back and forth about what I think will happen. One side of my brain remains shellshocked from the last decade and expects a Husky team to disappoint and get blown out on the road by a highly ranked opponent. Apparently the Vegas bookies feel the same installing Stanford as a 20-point favorite. On the other hand, this Washington team has been even more explosive on offense than I expected and the defense definitely seems to be improving. In addition, Stanford has yet to play a winning team, so do we truly know how good they are? I honestly think this game could be anywhere from a Stanford blowout win to a relatively easy Husky win. I just don’t know which team will show up, which key turnovers will occur, or how badly the referees will screw up the game with bad calls. But, I have to go out there with something, so…

Stanford 45 Washington 35

I hope I am as wrong as I was in the Utah game!