Pac-12 Football Picks: Can Cal Topple UCLA, Keep Alive its Hopes of a Bowl Game?

Golden Bears have won three of four heading into Saturday's game at UCLA.

This weekend will be the final regular-season game for 10 teams in the Pac-12 Conference.

Not for Cal.

The Bears (4-6, 3-4) take on UCLA (7-4, 5-3) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night in their 11th game of the season, and they hope to make sure No. 12 is meaningful.

A win over the high-scoring Bruins could get the Bears one big step closer to bowl eligibility. Cal plays USC a week from Saturday in a game rescheduled from Nov. 13 when the Bears did not have enough healthy players to field a team.

Senior running back Marcel Dancy, who rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns last weekend in the Bears' 41-11 Big Game win at Stanford, talks about the Bears' eagerness to qualify for the postseason.

Meanwhile, Oregon is home against rival Oregon State — it’s not called the Civil War anymore — hoping to play at a higher level than a week ago in its 38-7 loss at Utah.

The Ducks can book a rematch with the Utes in the Dec. 3 Pac-12 Championship game simply by beating the Beavers.

OSU can claim the title with a win over Oregon and a Washington win over Washington State. If the Beavers top the Ducks and WSU beats Washington, the Cougars would emerge from a three-way tiebreaker with the North crown.

Happy Thanksgiving!

All picks against the spread

Consensus betting line from vegasinsider.com

Friday

COLORADO (plus-23.5) at UTAH, 1 p.m., FOX

Jake: Colorado has lost every road game by a big margin, but the Utes have to have a letdown after their big win. Utah will win, but not by more than 23. Pick: Colorado

Jeff: Utes are terrific, but isn’t there likely to be a little post-Oregon (and post-Thanksgiving dinner) hangover? The spread is just a bit too big for me. Pick: Colorado

WASHINGTON STATE (minus-1) at WASHINGTON, 5 p.m., FS1

Jake: The Cougars have shown they can win on the road, and they have more to play for since they still have a shot at the Pac-12 North title. Pick: Washington State

Jeff: The Cougars have had a far better year than UW. Almost heroic in light of their self-absorbed former coach trying to sink the season. But WSU hasn’t won at Husky Stadium, and this is all Washington has left to play for. Pick: Washington

Saturday

OREGON STATE (plus-7) at OREGON, 12:30 p.m., ESPN

Jake: The Beavers are great at home, but lousy on the road, and they depend on their run game. Oregon gives up just 3.5 yards per rushing attempt, best in the Pac-12. Pick: Oregon

Jeff: You wonder if the Ducks will be grounded after their grim performance at Utah. I say they will be on fire. At home and motivated to win the Pac-12 North so they get another shot at the Utes on Dec. 3. Pick: Oregon

ARIZONA (plus-20) at ARIZONA STATE, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Network

Jake: I hate picking Arizona State games because you never know what they might do. The Wildcats seem to be improving, so I’ll have to go with that. Pick: Arizona

Jeff: I have not been able to correctly peg the Sun Devils this year. Arizona has gotten better, but let’s face it, they would still be winless were it not for Cal having two dozen players ineligible. Pick: Arizona State

NOTRE DAME (minus-19) at STANFORD, 5 p.m., FOX

Jake: The Irish still think they have a chance at a College Football Playoff berth, so they’ll try to clobber the defenseless Cardinal. Pick: Notre Dame

Jeff: The worst Stanford team I’ve seen since pre-Harbaugh. Don’t see this season having a happy ending for the Cardinal. Pick: Notre Dame

BYU (minus-6.5) at USC, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Jake: The Trojans still have a shot at a bowl berth, but you wonder whether they care. USC is a bad team at home and BYU is 4-0 against the Pac-12. Pick: BYU

Jeff: The Trojans appeared to have no pulse last week against UCLA. Being at home hasn’t helped them a bit. Pick: BYU

CAL (plus-7) at UCLA, 7:30 p.m., FS1

Jake: Two teams with hot quarterbacks coming off impressive offensive showings in wins against their rivals. Cal has more to play for. Pick: Cal

Jeff: I’m not sure the Bears can beat UCLA, but I am sure their defense won’t give up 62 points. This game will be close. Pick: Cal

Cover photo of UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet by Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo