Pac-12 Football Picks: Should ASU Be an Underdog at UCLA?
Questions should begin to get answers in this weekend’s Pac-12 football games.
The game between UCLA and Arizona State will provide a front-runner for the Pac-12 South title now that USC seems to be sliding out of contention. The Bruins are 3-point favorites at home, and that’s a tricky game to pick because we don’t yet know how good the Sun Devils are.
Oregon’s game at Stanford will indicate whether the Ducks' lackluster performance against Arizona last week was the start of a decline or just a blip. The Cardinal is an 8-point underdog, which is quite a bit for a home team that beat USC decisively on the road, was tied with UCLA in the fourth quarter last week and has been productive since Tanner McKee became the starting quarterback.
The most intriguing game may be Washington’s game at Oregon State. The Huskies opened the week as 4-point favorites, but the point spread has been reduced to 2.5 points as of Thursday, so money is coming in on the Beavers. Are the Beavers really as good as they showed by routing USC in Los Angeles last week, or has Washington turned the corner with two straight wins after beginning the season 0-2.
No one knows what to make of USC, but the Trojans have gone from 6-point favorites over Colorado when the week began to 7.5-point favorites as of Thursday. Bettors apparently have lost faith in the Buffaloes, even at home.
Cal and Washington State? Let’s see what happens, then we’ll decide what it means.
Here’s what we think about this week’s five Pac-12 games, with Utah and Arizona having byes. Admittedly, we didn't do so well last week, so law of averages says we should be brilliant this week.
All picks against the spread
Consensus betting line from vegasinsider.com
Last week: Jake 1-4-1, Jeff 1-4-1
This season: Jake 24-15-1, Jeff 19-20-1
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All Games Saturday
USC (minus-7.5) at COLORADO, 11 a.m., Pac-12
Jake: Kedon Slovis is expected to be the Trojans’ quarterback for at least one more week, and if he can avoid throwing interceptions in the thin air, USC should roll. Pick: USC.
Jeff: As bad as they’ve been defensively, USC should be able to score enough points to cover the spread against this offensively anemic CU squad. Pick: USC
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OREGON (minus-8) at STANFORD, 12:30 p.m., ABC
Jake: The Ducks looked vulnerable last week, but if they can handle Ohio Stadium, they should be able to handle docile Stanford Stadium. Pick: Oregon
Jeff: Sure, Oregon staggered around for a bit last week against winless Arizona. The Ducks still won by 22 points. They will take this game far more seriously. Pick: Oregon
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WASHINGTON STATE (plus-7.5) at CAL, 2:30 p.m., Pac-12
Jake: WSU quarterback Jayden da Laura and running back Max Borghi are questionable. If either is out, the Bears have the edge. Pick: Cal
Jeff: Too many questions on offense for WSU. Who's available to play quarterback this week? Will running back Max Borghi be healthy? If the Bears limit turnovers, they should score 30 points in this one. And that ought to be enough. Pick: Cal
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WASHINGTON (minus-2.5) at OREGON STATE, 6 p.m., Pac-12
Jake: The Beavers are starting to think they’re pretty good. I’m starting to think so too. Pick: Oregon State.
Jeff: This is a tough turnaround for an Oregon State team not accustomed to people telling them how great they are. The Beavers likely got a big dose of that around campus after crushing USC in Los Angeles for the first time since two months before JFK was elected president. It also focused UW’s attention for this matchup. Pick: Washington
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ARIZONA STATE (plus-3) at UCLA, 7:30 p.m., FS1
Jake: We still don’t know if Arizona State is as good as expected, but we know UCLA is better than expected. Pick: UCLA
Jeff: ASU is 3-1 with three victories over bad teams. UCLA is 3-1 with wins over LSU and Stanford. And the Bruins are at home. Pick: UCLA
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Cover photo of Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels is by Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY Sports
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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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