A crazy week in the in the Pac-12 last week resulted in five underdogs winning. After nine weeks of play, the conference has just two ranked teams in the CFB Playoff rankings. Washington State has the highest ranking in the conference at No. 8. Utah debuts at No. 15 in the rankings.
Here are my week 10 picks….
Friday
Colorado (5-3) at Arizona (4-5) 7:30 p.m. (FS1) Line: Arizona -3
The Buffaloes were up 31-3 on Oregon State last week before falling apart at home and losing to the Beavers 41-34 in overtime. A loss like that is even more devastating considering that Buffs’ started the season 5-0.
Arizona had their best performance of the season last week, defeating the Ducks, 44-15. The Wildcats racked up 465 yards while holding Oregon to just 270 yards. Is Arizona finally starting to trend in the right direction?
Can Colorado recover from a loss like that on a short week? I don’t think so.
Arizona 40 Colorado 35
Saturday
#15 Utah (6-2) at Arizona State (4-4) 1 p.m. (Pac-12) Line: Utah -7
The Utah Utes are officially rolling after defeating UCLA, 41-10 on the road last week. Utah has won four straight while scoring 40 plus points during the winning streak. One could argue Utah is the best team in the Pac-12.
Arizona State outlasted an injured USC team, 38-35 on the road last week. The Sun Devils are 4-4 but all four losses have been by seven points each.
Utah is playing great ball but they will get a test this week.
Utah 28 Arizona State 20
UCLA (2-6) at Oregon (5-3) 4:30 p.m. (FOX) Line: Oregon -10
The Ducks were on top of the world after defeating Washington at home just a few weeks ago. But things have changed after road losses to Washington State and Arizona. Quarterback Justin Herbert is probable after being in the concussion protocol earlier this week.
The Bruins suffered a 41-10 loss against the Utes last week. UCLA had been trending in the right direction before the loss. But it’s pretty clear this is a rebuilding year for Chip Kelly.
Oregon has to cover don’t they? Or will Chip Kelly come back to his old stomping grounds and give the Ducks their third straight loss?
Oregon 38 UCLA 24
USC (4-4) at Oregon State (2-6) 7 p.m. (FS1) Line: USC -16.5
The Trojans were without quarterback J.T. Daniels and linebacker Cam Smith last week and loss to ASU, 38-35. Daniels and Smith are probable this week.
Oregon State’s huge comeback win last week at Colorado was just what this team needed. Quarterback Jake Luton is back and OSU is clearly a different offense with him.
USC wins but closer than you might expect.
USC 42 Oregon State 28
California (5-3) at #8 Washington State (7-1) 7:45 p.m. (ESPN) Line: WSU -10
Washington State picked up a huge 41-38 win at Stanford a week ago. The Cougars are ranked No. 8 in the CFB Playoff rankings. Things just got real.
The Golden Bears shocked the Huskies at home last week. Cal’s been inconsistent on offense this year but their defense at times has looked really good.
Not sure the Golden Bears have the offense to keep up in this game.
Washington State 34 California 20
* Check back later for my prediction of the Stanford at Washington game in Ruth Robbins’ preview article.
