Week 2 Pac-12 Football Picks: Oregon, Utah Hope to Regroup, Cal Goes for 2-0 vs. UNLV
Can Cal improve to 2-0?
Will Oregon and Utah be in grumpy moods after losing last week?
Can Stanford do it again vs. USC?
Does the Pac-12 have any chance in road games vs. the Big Ten and Big 12?
Is Chip Kelly planning to begin scheduling junior high school teams next year?
We’ll answer those questions and more while making our fearless picks for this week’s Pac-12 games.
Week 1 records: Jeff 9-3, Jake 7-5
Season records: Jeff 9-3, Jake 7-5
All picks against the spread
Betting line from sisportsbook.com
Saturday
-- SOUTHERN UTAH (No line) at UTAH, Pac-12 Networks, 10:30 a.m.
JAKE: Despite a long stay in Gainesville, Utah will have enough energy to beat Southern Utah, which warmed by beating St. Thomas – the one in Minnesota, not the one in Florida or Texas. Pick: Utah
JEFF: I expect this game to unfold along the lines of their only previous meeting in 2016, when the Utes prevailed 24-0. Pick: Utah
-- WASHINGTON STATE (plus-17.5) at WISCONSIN, FOX, 12:30 p.m.
JAKE: WSU QB Cameron Ward shows the nation what he can do against a Big Ten power. He’ll keep the Cougars close enough. Pick: Washington State
JEFF: Ward averaged 5.4 yards per attempt. Graham Mertz went for 13.7 per attempt in the Badgers’ 38-0 conquest of Illinois State. Pick: Wisconsin.
-- COLORADO (plus-18.5) at AIR FORCE, CBS, 12:30 p.m.
JAKE: Why CBS is televising this game is anyone’s guess. Colorado is still struggling to find a quarterback – J.T. Shrout or Brendon Lewis. Pick: Air Force
JEFF: Air Force ran the ball 62 times for 582 yards — by far the most in the nation last week — against Northern Iowa. Buffaloes won’t be able to stop them, either. Pick: Air Force.
-- UNLV (plus-11) at CAL, Pac-12 Bay Area, 1 p.m.
JAKE: Both teams beat an FCS team in their openers, so we really don’t know much about either. We know one of them will start 2-0. Pick: Cal
JEFF: The Rebels haven’t started 2-0 since 1999, when John Robinson was their coach. Pick: Cal
-- PORTLAND STATE (No line) at WASHINGTON, Pac-12 Washington, 1 p.m.
JAKE: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. was impressive in the opener, and Portland State is not even a very good Big Sky team. Pick Washington
JEFF: The Huskies have played Portland State twice, winning by 38 and 39 points. No one really thinks this will be any different. Pick: Washington
-- ALABAMA STATE (No line) at UCLA, Pac-12 Network, 2 p.m.
JAKE: Alabama State struggled to get past Miles College (it’s a Division II HBCU school in Fairfield, Ala., if you’re wondering), so the Bruins will roll even if no one shows up to watch. Pick: UCLA
JEFF: Bowling Green last week. South Alabama a week from now. Chip Kelly sure knows how to assemble a murderer’s row of a schedule. Pick: UCLA
-- ARIZONA STATE (plus-11.5) at OKLAHOMA STATE, ESPN2, 4:30 p.m.
JAKE: Central Michigan scored 44 points on Oklahoma State, which will tighten up on defense against the Sun Devils. Pick: Oklahoma State
JEFF: Coach Mike Gundy, who finally ditched the mullet last year, has averaged nearly 9.5 victories the past 14 seasons. Pick: Oklahoma State
-- USC (minus-9.5) at STANFORD, ABC, 4:30 p.m.
JAKE: The Pac-12’s two best pro-prospect quarterbacks face off (Caleb Williams, Tanner McKee), and USC has to be annoyed it got clobbered by Stanford last year: Pick: USC
JEFF: No one cared that USC throttled Rice. Lincoln Riley can win points with USC fans in this one. Pick: USC
-- EASTERN WASHINGTON (No line) at OREGON, Pac-12 Network, 5:30 p.m.
JAKE: How will the wounded Ducks respond? We’re making the “O” sign with our hands. Pick: Oregon
JEFF: When these teams met seven years ago, the Ducks won a 61-42 shootout. This one won’t be that close. Pick: Oregon.
-- OREGON STATE (plus-1) at FRESNO STATE, CBSSN, 7:30 p.m.
JAKE: Most interesting Pac-12 game of the week. Beavers coming off a win over Boise State, but the Bulldogs are tough in Fresno at night with Jake Haener throwing darts. Pick: Fresno State
JEFF: Beavers already beat the MWC Mountain Division favorite, can they follow up with a win vs. the league’s West Division favorite? Pick: Oregon State
-- MISSISSIPPI STATE (minus-8) at ARIZONA, FS1, 8 p.m.
JAKE: Was Arizona’s win over San Diego State a fluke? Will Bulldogs coach Mike Leach’s postgame comments make us chuckle? Pick: Arizona.
JEFF: Mike Leach was the coach at Washington State in the fall of 2019 when quarterback Jayden de Laura committed to the Cougars. Leach never coached him, but de Laura also left WSU so the two will square off in Tucson. Pick: Mississippi State
Cover photo of Cal receiver Jeremiah Hunter by Darren Yamashita, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
