We are entering week No. 3 in college football. After a two week long vacation to Europe I’m back to predict this week’s Pac-12 games. Let the games begin!
Record: Overall-9-3 ATS-3-4
Saturday
South Alabama (2-0) at UCLA (2-0) 11 AM TV: Pac-12 Line: UCLA -15.5
It’s crazy to think but this will be UCLA’s biggest test of the season thus far. UCLA out-scored Bowling Green and Alabama State 90-24 in their first two games. The Bruins need to be careful in this game. The Jaguars are an experienced team and should be improved this year with 16 returning starters. UCLA wins but it won’t be as easy as many think.
UCLA 28 South Alabama 17
California (2-0) at Notre Dame (0-2) 11:30 AM TV: NBC Line: ND -11
The Golden Bears are 2-0 after beating UC Davis and UNLV at home. California still has major concerns on offense and they will be going against the best defense they might see all year. Expect Notre Dame to come out angry after getting upset at home vs. Marshall. It’s going to be a long day for Justin Wilcox’s team.
Notre Dame 28 California 10
#12 BYU (2-0) at #25 Oregon (1-1) 12:30 PM TV: FOX Line: Oregon -3.5
Oregon rebounded from their embarrassing 49-3 loss to Georgia with a 70-14 win against Eastern Washington. Meanwhile, Baylor took down No. 9 Baylor in overtime last Saturday. Something tells me Oregon wins this game in a slugfest. It’s going to be low scoring but I’m not sure BYU can handle two emotional games in-a-row.
Oregon 27 BYU 21
Colorado (0-2) at Minnesota (2-0) 12:30 PM TV: ESPN2 Line: Minnesota -27.5
There’s no debating this, Colorado is by far the worst team in the conference. After a 41-10 blowout loss to Air Force last weekend, I’m starting to wonder if the Buffaloes can win a game this season. Minnesota rolls in this one.
Minnesota 49 Colorado 14
Colorado State (0-2) at Washington State (2-0) 2 PM TV: Pac-12 Line: WSU -17
The Cougars shocked No. 19 Wisconsin, 17-14 in Madison last week. Washington State’s defense has been very impressive through two weeks. Colorado State is very bad but this is going to be tough for WSU to get up for this one after such an emotional win. Cougars win but the offensive struggles continue.
Washington State 27 Colorado State 13
Montana State (2-0) at Oregon State (2-0) 5 PM TV: Pac-12 Line: N/A
Oregon State’s walk-off win at Fresno State has Beaver fans dreaming big. Jonathan Smith has done an outstanding job rebuilding this program and are now a serious threat in the conference. Don’t sleep on Montana State this week however. This is a good spot for them and I think they will stay in this one a little longer than expected.
Oregon State 38 Montana State 27
San Diego State (1-1) at #14 Utah (1-1) 7 PM TV: ESPN2 Line: Utah -21
Utah took their anger out last week on Southern Utah – beating them 73-7. The Utes still have everything on the table after their close loss at Florida. San Diego State will be in for a long day in Salt Lake City.
Utah 45 San Diego State 10
Fresno State (1-1) at #7 USC (2-0) 7:30 PM TV: FOX Line: USC-11.5
This has the making of a great game. USC rolled over Stanford, 41-28, last week. Quarterback Caleb Williams passed for 341 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Fresno State suffered a heartbreaking walk-off loss to Oregon State. Former Washington quarterback Jake Haener talked earlier this week about wanting to be a Trojan. This week he gets a chance to beat him. This will be a high scoring game. Fresno State will give the Trojans all they can handle. But USC holds on in the end.
USC 38 Fresno State 35
North Dakota State (2-0) at Arizona (1-1) 8 PM TV: FS1 Line: N/A
Don’t schedule North Dakota State if you’re an FBS program! There’s a reason this is NDSU’s first matchup against an FBS school since 2016. The reality is no one wants to play them. The Bison upset No 13 Iowa last time they played an FBS school. Arizona will figure this out quickly Saturday night in Tucson.
North Dakota State 31 Arizona 24
Eastern Michigan (1-1) at Arizona State (1-1) 8 PM TV: Pac-12 Line: ASU -20.5
The Sun Devils were out-classed in their 34-17 loss at No. 11 Oklahoma State last Saturday. This week will be a much easier test for the Sun Devils who still have a ton of question marks heading towards conference play.
Arizona State 38 Eastern Michigan 20
#11 Michigan State (2-0) at Washington (2-0) 4:30 PM TV: ABC Line: UW -3.5
And finally, we come to maybe the game of the week in college football. It should be an electric atmosphere at Husky Stadium Saturday evening. Head Coach Kalen DeBoer has UW fans excited after a depressing 2021 season. The Spartans are coming off a surprising 11-2 season. This game is one of the hardest games to handicap this week. Both teams have yet to be tested. It might come to a surprise to a lot of people that UW is favored in this game. One factor is the health of star MSU WR Jayden Reed who left last week’s game with an injury. If Reed can’t play it would be a huge loss for MSU. This game really could go either way but this is a tough road trip for the Spartans and I’m just not sure they will overcome UW’s home field advantage in this game.
Washington 35 Michigan State 28
