Storyline: The weekend will kick off with the big game of the week–Stanford-UW in Seattle. Also keep your eye on Utah at Cal and ASU at USC.
Friday, September 30th
(ESPN) Stanford vs. Washington – 9:00 – Washington -3
Saturday, October 1st
(PAC-12 Network) Oregon St. vs. Colorado – 2:30 – NO LINE AVAILABLE
(PAC-12 Network) Utah vs. California – 6:00 Cal -1.5
(FOX) Arizona St. vs. USC- 8:30 – USC -9.5
(PAC-12 Network) Oregon vs. Washington St.- 9:30 – Wash St. +1
(ESPN) Arizona vs. UCLA – 10:30 – UCLA -13.5
It’s amazing how quickly a college football season goes by. This season is now a quarter complete. A few PAC-12 teams are off to fantastic starts. Others are close to thinking about “what could’ve and should’ve been.”
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
This past weekend marked the first major weekend of conference match-ups. The GOW went the way of the North again. Stanford grinded out another impressive victory over a Bruin team that really needed this game. In back- to-back weeks the Cardinal have dispatched the Trojans and Bruins, respectively.
Washington won the other game for the North last week, defeating a game Arizona team in overtime. The Huskies had to mount a late comeback to force overtime before picking up the victory. Those two wins set this week’s big game between the Cardinal and Huskies.
The surprise of the week came out of Eugene. An Oregon team that’s normally solid at home slipped up in a big way against Colorado. The Buffalo are taking major steps forward. While many analysts and fans thought this game would be closer than predicted, no one saw a 41-38 CU win. Let’s not forget that Colorado only won one conference game last season.
In other action, Arizona St. won an Arena Bowl-type game against Cal, setting up an interesting game for the Sun Devils against USC this week. And Oregon St. played the only non-league game this week, losing to Boise St.
This week features all 12 teams in action, all in-conference tilts.
Courtesy: collegefootballnews.com
Could it be Happening Again? Another year…and it’s the same story for the Cardinal. The rest of the conference was supposed to catch up to the Cardinal this year, but it’s not. A supposedly brutal early schedule is winding down for the Cardinal and SU is coming out of it unscathed. The best chance to topple Stanford in 2016 comes this Friday when the Cardinal travel to Spokane to take on the undefeated Huskies. The atmosphere is going to be electric. Can the Cardinal really beat USC, UCLA, and Washington three weeks in a row? My brain tells me yes, but my heart is saying, no.
What’s Going on in L.A? Expectations were high coming into this season for both the Bruins and Trojans. The LA teams would compete for a conference title and some experts felt that UCLA could be a CFP sleeper team. But after a month of the season the Bruins are 2-2 and the Trojans are an embarrassing 1-3. Where do these two prideful programs go from here? The Bruins are in a little better shape because, sadly, they still control their own destiny–win the PAC-12 South and be a spoiler in the title game. That road starts this week at home against Arizona. But the Trojans’ path is more difficult. USC already has two conference losses–one of them in-division against Utah. Last week I said that if the Trojans lost to Utah, then the wheels could fall of the bus. Well, they lost and the bus is about to tip over. USC would have to go on an incredible run to salvage the season, and I’m not even sure this team can beat the Sun Devils at home this week.
Courtesy: campusinsiders.com
Oops! Sorry Utah: In my PAC-12 preview I said that Utah would take a step back this year. Wrong! The Utes are off to a fast 4-0 start, including a key win at home last week against USC. Next up: winnable road games v. Cal and Oregon St. sandwiched between a home matchup with Arizona. There’s no guarantee that Utah will win all three of these games but, if it does, then the Utes will be 7-0 with a likely Top 15 ranking. Not even the most die-hard Utah fan would have expected those outcomes going into the season. But, first thing is first: beat a Cal team on the road, a team that will test the defense.
Game Of The Week, Stanford vs. Washington: There’s no doubt that Huskie Stadium is going to be the place to be in the PAC-12 this week. This is the third week in a row that the Cardinal will be playing in a marquee game. The challenge is slightly different this week because the game is in-division and Washington is playing with confidence. Both teams come into the game with undefeated records and understand what a win would mean. Almost unfairly to the Cardinal, this game is being played Friday night on the road after Stanford had just played another tough road game the previous Saturday. I see a young Cardinal offense getting a little flustered against a veteran Huskie defense. I’ve gone against Stanford all year, so I might as well stay consistent. I say Washington, 34-30.
Underrated Game Of The Week, Arizona St. vs. USC: This is an underrated game because of the Sun Devils, not the Trojans. Arizona St. is off to a surprisingly fast 4-0 start and ASU comes into the game with a ton of confidence after beating Cal last week. A month ago I wouldn’t have given the Sun Devils a shot at winning this game. Well, there’s a real possibility that Arizona St. could do the unthinkable–start the season 5-0. Everything in my being is telling me to stop thinking USC is going to turn the season around plus I just can’t pick the Sun Devils … at least not yet. I say USC, 38-28.
Courtesy: sfgate.com
Upset Of The Week, Utah vs. California: Yes, despite what I said earlier about Utah, I’m putting the Utes on upset alert. Why? Utah has yet to go up against an offense like they’re going to see this week in Berkeley. Utah’s stout defense should be able to slow Cal down a bit, but it’s not going to stop the Bears completely. Cal’s defense is awful, but I’m not sure if that weakness plays into Utah’s strength. Cal has problems with teams that are explosive, like ASU and Texas. Utah has to be careful. I say Cal, 35-28.
Lock Of The Week, Oregon St. vs. Colorado: I love what Colorado is doing–a 3-1 start with the lone loss coming at Michigan in a game CU controlled for most of the first half. Then the Buffs gained more confidence by defeating the Ducks in Eugene–in an environment where few visiting teams come out with a win. I understand that having the Beavers come to town isn’t as exciting, but a 2-0 conference start is in the offing. When the season started I never thought I’d be picking CU with my LOW, but the unexpected is part of college football. So, sorry Oregon St., I don’t think you’re ready for a road win in this league–even if it is against a fellow last-place finisher from last year. I say Colorado, 42-20.
