Pac-12 Pick ‘Em: Predicting the Week 6 Slate
Stanford (3-2) @ No. 22 Arizona State (4-1) (Friday 7:30 p.m. PDT)
Both teams are red-hot right now and coming off of massive wins. Stanford knocked off Oregon and Arizona State rallied to defeat UCLA in Pasadena. Arizona State might have the case for the top team in the Pac-12 right now, and a win against Stanford would certainly help that case.
Arizona State's offense will be too much to handle for the Cardinal defense. Jayden Daniels has put together a phenomenal start to the season, and the trio of Rachaad White, Daniyel Ngata and DeaMonte Trayanum have run wild against every defense they've faced.
Stanford's defense stepped up last week against a rather streaky Oregon offense, but the firepower from the Sun Devils will be difficult for any defense to slow down. I expect Daniels to have his best game of the young season in this Friday night Pac-12 After Dark matinee.
Prediction: Arizona State makes a statement on both sides of the ball and blows out Stanford by multiple scores.
UCLA (3-2) @ Arizona (0-4) (Saturday 7:30 p.m. PDT)
Arizona is coming off of a bye week after shaking up Oregon a bit the week prior. There was life to the Wildcats' offense with Jordan McCloud as the starting quarterback, but the young signal-caller couldn't stop throwing the ball to the other team.
UCLA has had an up-and-down start to the year already, looking dominant in the first few weeks against Hawaii and LSU, then getting dominated at times by Fresno State and Arizona State.
Chip Kelly has a lot to figure out with this team, but Arizona doesn't seem to have figured out that it has a lot to figure out. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has elite weapons to distribute the ball to, and I expect the UCLA offense to put up huge numbers against an Arizona defense that allows the most points per game.
UCLA's defense should also garner some turnovers and big plays. Look for Mitchell Agude to have another stellar outing.
Prediction: UCLA starts out slowly but amps it up in the second half to crush Arizona by three or more scores.
Oregon State (4-1) @ Washington State (2-3) (Saturday 1:00 p.m. PDT)
Are the Beavers the hottest team in the Pac-12 right now? They're certainly in that conversation after reeling off four straight wins. They came in at the No. 3 in SI's latest Pac-12 power rankings, trailing only Oregon (2) and Arizona State (1).
Jonathan Smith and his squad head north to Pullman where they'll meet the Washington State Cougars, who are coming off a convincing 21-6 win over Cal and are looking to drum up some more momentum at home.
Chance Nolan wasn't effective through the air in Oregon State's close win over Washington, totaling just 48 passing yards on seven completions. But B.J. Baylor and DeShaun Fenwick picked up the slack en route to a combined 181 yards on the ground before a 24-yard field goal from the leg of Hayes Everett put the Huskies away as time expired.
Washington State had some flair in their offensive attack against the Golden Bears, with quarterback Jayden de Laura throwing for 213 yards through the air and three touchdowns, but he also threw two picks. The offense mustered together only 108 yards on the ground, which could make them a fairly one-dimensional team to stop.
In the end Oregon State should be able to pound the rock on Washington State's run defense, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12 at 141 yards per game.
Prediction: The Beavers move to 5-1 as Washington State's season outlook continues to look grim.
Utah (2-2) @ USC (3-2) (Saturday 5:00 p.m. PDT)
The Trojans are coming off of a convincing 37-14 win over Colorado on the road in Boulder. Wide receiver Drake London racked up 130 yards on nine catches and continues his monster season as he closes in on 50 catches and 700 yards through just five games. USC's rushing attack performed well in week 5, totaling 218 yards on the legs of Keontay Ingram, Darwin Barlow, and Vavae Malapei.
USC's defense has looked vulnerable all season, with low spots coming in embarrassing home losses to Stanford and Oregon State.
Utah looks for another win after taking care of business on the Palouse last week. Quarterback Cameron Rising is still finding his footing after the sudden departure of Charlie Brewer, and has eclipsed 150 yards passing in just one of his three appearances so far. Fortunately for him, he's got some very talented backs to help shoulder the workload in T.J. Pledger, Ja'Quinden Jackson and Micah Bernard.
Prediction: Kedon Slovis' chemistry with Drake London, coupled with the Trojans' strong ground game will be too much for Cameron Rising and the Utes to overcome on the road in Los Angeles.
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