Pac-12 Football Predictions: Week 2
The Bruins may have the week off, but the rest of the conference is up and running at full speed.
No. 16 UCLA football (2-0) will be the only Pac-12 team not suiting up Week 2, enjoying a bye following wins over Hawaii and LSU to start its season. The other 11 teams will be out there on the gridiron Saturday, trying to make up for a so-so showing for the conference a week ago.
No. 12 Oregon was the only team in the Pac-12 North to win, and even the Ducks needed a last-minute touchdown to beat Fresno State. The South fared far better, posting a 5-1 record with the only loss coming from Arizona to a heavily-favored BYU team. With UCLA out of the picture for a week, it's time to see what the rest of the Conference of Champions can do in their absence.
To get some additional thoughts, takes and information on a handful of these games, watch the roundtable between five of the six FanNation and Sports Illustrated Pac-12 publishers (see video above).
Here are All Bruins' picks for each of the contests including a Pac-12 team in Week 2:
No. 12 Oregon vs. No. 3 Ohio State (-14.5)*
Sept. 11, 9 a.m. PT
Columbus, Ohio
A week ago, this may have been a tougher choice. Since then, however, the Ducks struggled against a Group of Five opponent while the Buckeyes put up a convincing win against a promising Big Ten opponent. CJ Stroud is better than Anthony Brown, Ohio State has far superior running backs and receivers and with Kayvon Thibodeaux still day-to-day, Oregon doesn't have a single defensive player who can match the stars the Buckeyes boast on the other side of the ball. It won't be a blowout, but it won't exactly be a great outing for the Pac-12 in one of the conference's biggest noncon games of the past couple years.
Pick: Ohio State
California vs. TCU (-11.5)*
Sept. 11, 12:30 p.m. PT
Fort Worth, Texas
It's hard to take a lot away from the Horned Frogs' 45-3 win last week since it came against Duquesne. Still, TCU put on a much better showing than Cal, which put up just three points across the final three quarters in its 22-17 loss to Nevada. The Wolfpack are pretty good, so there's no real shame in losing that game on the surface, it's just not very promising to see quarterback Chase Garbers open his season with 177 yards on 38 attempts to go along with a 108.3 passer rating. The Bears are 13-3 when Garbers has a passer rating of 110 or better and 2-7 when he doesn't. With the way he's been playing over the last season-plus, it would be a lot to expect Garbers to carry Cal to victory over a TCU team that's just three points outside the AP top 25.
Pick: TCU
Colorado vs. No. 5 Texas A&M (-17)*
Sept. 11, 12:30 p.m. PT
Denver, Colorado
The Buffaloes are the first Pac-12 South team to play this weekend, but they're the red-headed step child of the division anyways. Honestly, in what way is Boulder "south"? Regardless, Colorado is going to get stomped by a true top-10 team with elite skill position players. The Aggies haven't lost a nonconference game to anyone other than Clemson since Jimbo Fisher arrived in 2018, and don't expect that to change Saturday morning.
Pick: Texas A&M
Washington State vs. Portland State
Sept. 11, 3 p.m. PT
Pullman, Washington
The last time a Power Five team from Washington played a Big Sky team, it didn't end so well for the favorite – more on that in a bit. That being said, it's still hard to pick against the Cougars, even given how much turmoil surrounds the program and its coaching staff on a weekly basis. Blowing a fourth quarter lead to Utah State amid COVID-19 issues and lawsuits from former players was a bad look for the team as a whole, but not even Nick Rolovich's enigmatic and abrasive nature will sink Washington State's chances against a Portland State program that hasn't posted a winning season in six years.
Pick: Washington State
Washington vs. Michigan (-7)*
Sept. 11, 5 p.m. PT
Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Wolverines may be outside the AP top 25, but at least they didn't get embarrassed by an FCS team a week ago. Much in the same vein as then-No. 5 Michigan's loss to Appalachian State in the 2007 season opener, Washington dropped its first game of the 2021 season to Montana. This may be a new all-time low point for the Huskies, and it would take a massive turnaround for them to upset the Wolverines on the road Saturday.
Pick: Michigan
Arizona (-2)* vs. San Diego State
Sept. 11, 7 p.m. PT
Tucson, Arizona
For a team with as little expectations as the Wildcats, they actually managed to do pretty decently Week 1 against BYU. It was still a loss, but it was only by eight points and it came against an above average team. San Diego State, on the other hand, trailed 10-0 at the half in its eventual win over New Mexico State. Arizona is playing at home in this one, making it the first home game under new coach Jedd Fisch, and they should come out on top.
Pick: Arizona
No. 21 Utah (-7)* vs. BYU
Sept. 11, 7:15 p.m. PT
Provo, Utah
If BYU had trouble against Arizona, which boasts arguably the least talent and experience in the Pac-12, it probably won't be a pretty game against Utah. The Utes have won each of the last nine head-to-head matchups with the Cougars, as well as 14 of the last 17, and this year's BYU team is still reeling from losing so much talent in the offseason. Utah should take this one handily.
Pick: Utah
No. 14 USC (-17)* vs. Stanford
Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m. PT
Los Angeles, California
The Trojans looked slightly worse than advertised in Week 1, as USC only led San Jose State by one score late in the fourth quarter. The defense held its ground and put in a good performance that carried the team to a 30-7 win, but the Trojans' offense was struggling most of the day against the Spartans. Luckily for them, Stanford looked even worse against Kansas State and failed to finish multiple drives early on. USC stands to shake off a bit more of its rust, while the Cardinal could continue to struggle with Davis Mills and Simi Fehoko out of the picture.
Pick: USC
No. 23 Arizona State (-33.5)* vs. UNLV
Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m. PT
Tempe, Arizona
As the biggest Pac-12 favorite in Week 2, the Sun Devils are in position to earn their second-straight blowout win. UNLV lost to Eastern Washington of the Big Sky Conference last week, and now the Rebels will be facing one of the most talented teams out west. Marcus Arroyo, winless through seven games in Vegas, is just no match for Herm Edwards and his staff on the sideline, especially with the talent gap that will be on display Saturday night.
Pick: Arizona State
Oregon State (-11.5)* vs. Hawaii
Sept. 11, 8 p.m. PT
Corvallis, Oregon
A week after getting stomped by UCLA, Hawaii came back and beat up on an inferior opponent of its own in a 49-35 win over Portland State. The Rainbow Warriors put up 28 points in the first quarter alone. They struggled with turnovers the rest of the day, coughing it up four times overall, but if Hawaii can get that under control, the rest of its offense built up enough confidence and momentum to hang a bunch of points on Oregon State as well. The Beavers made it close against Purdue despite losing by two possessions, so while they aren't a complete bottom feeder, they're going to have to solve their quarterback problem ASAP in order to keep pace with the Rainbow Warriors' potent offense.
Pick: Hawaii
If these picks all hold, the North will be 2-10 on the season and the South will be 10-2. Not the best start for the division that entered the year with two of the top contenders in the Pac-12.
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