Predicting the Outcome of Pac-12 Football Games in Week 4
It might be hard to believe, but we're entering week 4 of the college football season. Which means it's the start of conference play across the country, and we've got our first full slate of Pac-12 football here out west.
I wanted to take a look at this week's schedule and predict the winner of each game.
No. 15 Oregon @ Washington State (1 pm PT on Fox)
You might've missed it, but our team of writers at Ducks Digest offered up our predictions on this game earlier this week.
Washington State looks good, particularly on defense, but they've only earned one quality win and then played two cupcakes, so I don't think I'm ready to be too confident in the Cougs just yet. That said, their offense has some intriguing pieces like quarterback Cameron Ward, running back Nakia Watson, and wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling that could hurt the Ducks if they don't play fundamentally sound football.
The Palouse is never an easy environment for visiting teams, but Kenny Dillingham has this offense firing and the defense showed it can step up and get big stops when needed against BYU.
Predicted winner: Oregon
READ MORE: Oregon vs. Washington State sold out
No. 7 USC @ Oregon State (6:30 pm PT on Pac-12 Networks)
Unlike Oregon State, USC has already started off Pac-12 play with their week 2 win over Stanford. The Trojans have an offense that's going to be hard for any opponent to stop, but their defense has taken strides each week, which I think is the more interesting story. They just lost edge rusher Romello Height for the season to shoulder surgery, so it's going to be up to guys like Korey Foreman to rise to the occasion.
Oregon State is also undefeated with wins over Boise State and Fresno State. The offense has been strong so far, led by Chance Nolan, Deshaun Fenwick and Treshaun Harrison. They'll be without tight end Luke Musgrave and wide receiver Trey Lowe, which could make it more difficult to move the ball.
I think Oregon State keeps it close for a while, but give me USC.
Predicted winner: USC
Stanford @ No. 18 Washington (7:30 pm PT on FS1)
Aside from Oregon vs. Washington State, I think this is the game I'm most excited about in conference this week.
Washington is on a roll at 3-0 and the Huskies should be feeling confident after their win over a ranked Michigan State team last week. Michael Penix Jr. has been super efficient as a passer and could be the x-factor in this game. Their defense looks like it should be solid once again after multiple pass breakups against the Spartans.
Stanford is coming off of a bye week. I think that's earlier than most teams would want their bye, but they're going to need everything they have to upset the Huskies. We're still getting a feel for the backfield duo of E.J. Smith and Casey Filkins and Tanner McKee hasn't done a great job taking care of the ball. That said, the skill talent is there so Stanford should be competitive.
The Huskies have a great atmosphere in Seattle which should only help them.
Predicted winner: Washington
No. 13 Utah @ Arizona State (7:30 pm PT on ESPN)
With Herm Edwards getting fired last week, I think the Sun Devils are kind of resetting their expectations on this season. Emory Jones has had promising moments, but the offensive line hasn't been great and that's a big problem against a solid Utah defensive line.
The Sun Devils are giving up 175 rushing yards per game, and Utah has some of the best backs in the conference in Tavion Thomas and Micah Bernard, which could make for a long day. This is about as tough of a matchup as you could ask for after firing your head coach.
Predicted winner: Utah
READ MORE: Could Kenny Dillingham be a candidate in ASU's coaching search?
UCLA @ Colorado (11:00 am PT on Pac-12 Networks)
This one's pretty straightforward for me. Despite its 3-0 record UCLA has looked pretty suspect and narrowly escaped South Alabama last week. They won by a single point.
That said, there are so few positives to be found in Boulder right now that Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Zach Charbonnet and the Bruins offense should be able to put up plenty of points.
This one shouldn't be close, but seeing some fight from the Buffs would be nice.
Predicted winner: UCLA
Arizona @ Cal (2:30 pm PT on Pac-12 Networks)
Cal almost beat Notre Dame last week in South Bend. As great as that was, I think it told us more about Notre Dame than about how good Cal can be.
The Golden Bears don't have many reasons to be excited on offense after losing two of their top playmakers from a year ago to the portal in wide receiver Nikko Remigio (Fresno State) and running back Christopher Brooks (BYU). I will say quarterback Jack Plummer has look better than expected so far, throwing for more than 250 yards in two of three games.
But I think Arizona's offense is going to be too explosive and too dynamic for Cal to come away with this win. Jayden de Laura is one of my favorite quarterbacks to watch in this conference and he'll be throwing to electric wideouts like Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan that should overwhelm Cal's defense.
Predicted winner: Arizona
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