Pac-12 Football Predictions: Week 13
As far as most of the conference is concerned, this will be the final weekend of regular season football.
UCLA football (7-4, 5-3 Pac-12) and its upcoming opponent Cal (4-5, 3-4 Pac-12) are both mathematically out of the race for their division titles, but the Golden Bears are still fighting for bowl eligibility.
No. 11 Oregon, Washington State and Oregon State all have a shot at winning the Pac-12 North depending on how things play out Saturday. The last remaining of those three teams will play again next weekend in the conference title game against Utah, while USC and Cal need wins Saturday in order to play to see who goes to a bowl in a postponed game last week.
Here are All Bruins' picks for each of the contests including a Pac-12 team in Week 13:
No. 19 Utah (8-3, 7-1) vs. Colorado (4-7, 3-5)
Friday, 1 p.m. PT
Salt Lake City, Utah
Line: Utah, -23.5*
During the Utes' four-game winning streak, they won games by 20, 45, 9 and 31 points. Interestingly enough, that nine-point victory came against the conference's worst team, Arizona. Colorado may not be quite as bad as Arizona, but they're certainly down there. The Buffaloes don't really have much of a shot against the red-hot Utes, so now it's just a matter of who can cover. Utah has already clinched the South, so they don't have much to play for in terms of standings, but just look back at the Stanford game a few weeks ago, when they stomped the Cardinal 52-7. Coach Kyle Whittingham is happy to run up the score, and doing so could potentially get his team into Rose Bowl contention.
Straight Up: Utah
Against the Spread: Utah
Washington (4-7, 3-5) vs. Washington State (6-5, 5-3)
Friday, 5 p.m. PT
Seattle, Washington
Line: Washington State, -1*
The interim coach major ran out in the Pac-12 last week, as the Huskies got shut down by a below-average Colorado team. Washington's offense looked more stagnant than ever, and even though its defense stood strong by only allowing 20 points, they're allowing 28.6 points per game to bowl-eligible teams. Washington State recovered from its loss to Oregon with a dominant win over Arizona, so the Cougars have now won five of their last six Pac-12 games. Even in Seattle, Washington State should be favored to come out of this one with its seventh win of the year.
Straight Up: Washington State
Against the Spread: Washington State
No. 11 Oregon (9-2, 6-2) vs. Oregon State (7-4, 5-3)
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. PT
Eugene, Oregon
Line: Oregon, -7*
The Beavers are probably the streakiest team in the Pac-12. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they come into Saturday on a hot streak. Coming off a 1-3 stretch in the middle of the season – with the lone win coming against South champs Utah, somehow – Oregon State has tacked on comfortable wins over Stanford and Arizona State. Oregon got outclassed against Utah last week, and the last time they lost a game, things didn't go too well the week after. The Ducks lost to Stanford in overtime, then came out and barely beat Cal the following Saturday. Oregon is the better team and, playing at home, should be favored, but don't rule Oregon State out and expect a really close contest.
Straight Up: Oregon
Against the Spread: Oregon State
Arizona State (7-4, 5-3) vs. Arizona (1-10, 1-7)
Saturday, 1 p.m. PT
Tempe, Arizona
Line: Arizona State, -20.5*
Arizona State is a sub-.500 team since the middle of October, but it mostly has to do with them not competing with other good teams. The Sun Devils are 6-0 against teams with losing records and 1-4 against teams with winning records, so playing a team like Arizona should guarantee them a win. The Wildcats had been playing teams a lot closer and covering with ease the past few weeks – losing games by five, seven and nine points while adding their first win of the year – but a 44-18 loss to Washington State reversed that trend last Saturday. A three-touchdown favorite is still hard to side with, though, even with a one-win team on the other sideline.
Straight Up: Arizona State
Against the Spread: Arizona
Stanford (3-8, 2-7) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (10-1)
Saturday, 5 p.m. PT
Stanford, California
Line: Notre Dame, -20*
Any team that loses to Cal by 30 points at home is obviously at risk of doing the same against a top-10 Notre Dame squad. The Cardinal have lost six games in a row with an average margin of loss of 20.7 points in that span, and that's without playing a team as well-rounded or well-coached as Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is just the far superior team, and this is worst season David Shaw has had, probably ever.
Straight Up: Notre Dame
Against the Spread: Notre Dame
USC (4-6, 3-5) vs. BYU (9-2)
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. PT
Los Angeles, California
Line: BYU, -7*
The Trojans clearly don't have enough of a home-field advantage to justify any sort of swing in their favor with the betting line. After all, USC just got handled by UCLA 62-33 last week, and both sides of the ball looked as bad as they have all year. BYU would be a conference title contender if they were in a conference, and the Cougars are already 4-0 against the Pac-12 alone. The Trojans barely had any wind left behind their sails heading into last week's crosstown rivalry matchup, but getting blown out by the Bruins probably derailed their season even further. BYU won the first leg of the home-and-home in 2019, and they're even heavier favorites this time around for good reason.
Straight Up: BYU
Against the Spread: BYU
UCLA (7-4, 5-3) vs. Cal (4-6, 3-4)
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. PT
Pasadena, California
Line: UCLA, -6.5*
The nightcap of the final full weekend of regular season action should go the Bruins' way, but not as clearly as it would seem on paper. UCLA had a dominant win over USC, and that may have saved Chip Kelly's job for the time being. However, the Bruins are 1-6 in Pac-12 games after the game against the Trojans since the rivalry matchup moved to the second-to-last week of the regular season, so the hangover is a trend at this point. The hangover may not cost UCLA a win, but it could lead to Cal playing them close a week after stomping Stanford.
Straight Up: UCLA
Against the Spread: Cal
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