Pac-12 Football Picks: Cal Gets the Week Off, but Heavyweight Battles On Tap
Cal gets the week off before trekking to Colorado, but the Pac-12 schedule has some intriguing matchups on Saturday.
The road team is the favorite in four of five games, the exception being Washington State traveling as an 11-point underdog to face USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Even so, this game could be entertaining because of the matchup of quarterbacks Caleb Williams of USC and Cameron Ward of WSU.
Across town at the Rose Bowl, earlier in the afternoon, UCLA puts its perfect record on the line as a 3.5-point underdog against Utah, winner of four in a row.
Picking the Pac-12 games last week proved to be challenging for us, but we’ll give another try here:
Week 5 records: Jake 3-3, Jeff 2-4
Season records: Jeff 33-13, Jake 29-17
All picks against the spread
Betting line from sisportsbook.com
SATURDAY
-- UTAH (minus-3.5) at UCLA, 12:30 p.m., FOX
Jake: Utah has been good, not great, and the game is not in Salt Lake City, which would make a big difference. My money’s on Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Pick: UCLA
Jeff: UCLA is beginning to make a believer out of me, but the Bruins will find Utah’s defense much stiffer than Washington’s. Pick: Utah
-- WASHINGTON (minus-13) at ARIZONA STATE, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Jake: Sun Devils will make Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. look like a star again after his struggles against UCLA. Pick: Washington
Jeff: The Huskies didn’t defend well against UCLA but they can score. Pick: Washington
-- WASHINGTON STATE (plus-11) at USC, 4:30 p.m., FOX
Jake: WSU quarterback Cameron Ward could become a national phenomenon this week, with all the unusual things he can do. Of course, he could do things to lose the game too. Pick: Washington State
Jeff: The Cougars are a solid team but those turnovers will hurt them against USC, which leads the nation with a 15-1 turnover margin. The Trojans can score easily enough with a short field or two. Pick: USC
-- OREGON (minus-12) at ARIZONA, 5 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Jake: The point spread bothers me a little on the Wildcats’ home field, but I’m counting on Jayden de Laura delivering a pick-six to the Bruins. Pick: Oregon.
Jeff: Oregon has scored 200 points in its past four games — 50 per game. Yes, Arizona has improved. Not that much, especially on defense. Pick: Oregon
-- OREGON STATE (minus-7) at STANFORD, 8 p.m., ESPN
Jake: If Oregon State throws fewer than four interceptions, it should win, but its lack of a pass rush will keep Stanford close. Tossing a coin, and it comes up . . . Pick: Oregon State
Jeff: Can four road favorites all cover the spread this weekend? That’s probably a lot to ask, but . . . Pick: Oregon State.
Cover photo of USC quarterback Caleb Williams by Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
