Pac-12 Football Preview for October 4th

Good job, O-line. Watch your star QB go down.

I thought Arizona was better than they were given credit for, but not outplay-Oregon-at-Autzen-Stadium better. The Ducks aren’t out of the Playoff Picture yet- considering that if they run the table they’ll have beaten Michigan State, UCLA, Stanford, the rest of the Northern Division and whoever wins the Pac-12 South (so UCLA again, maybe USC and possibly a second meeting with Arizona). But they’re not beating anybody if the O-line and the defense continue to play like that.  

#14 Stanford (3-1, 1-1 Pac-12) at #9 Notre Dame (4-0), Saturday, 12:30 pm PT, NBC

Who’s the only team that could be ranked in the top ten after going 4-0 playing teams that are a combined 7-11 with no wins against “Big 5” conference opponents? Notre Dame, that’s who, because that’s exactly what’s happened. I’d give a big edge to the Cardinal, but they don’t appear to know how to score touchdowns inside the 20.

Oregon State (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) at Colorado (0-2, 2-3 Pac-12), Saturday, 1pm PT, Pac-12 Network

On the surface, not much of a game…. Until you remember that Colorado scored 56 points last week and lost, and Sean Mannion is 3^rd all-time in passing yards in conference history. So this game should be much more fun to watch than Cardinal-Irish. Also, although Colorado is the worst team in the conference, they are apparently a much-improved worst team in the conference. A Buffs win is certainly not out of the realm of possibility here.

#26 Arizona State (3-1, 1-1 Pac-12) at #16 USC (3-1, 2-0 Pac-12), Saturday, 4:30pm PT, FOX

The Sun Devils got exposed last week, getting gashed for 62 points, 582 total yards, 355 passing yards and 4 TD’s against UCLA. USC and Cody Kessler will likely just make it worse.

Utah (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) at #9 UCLA (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12), Saturday, 7:30pm PT, ESPN

There are lots of defensive numbers for both teams, none of them are any good. UCLA gave up 100 more passing yards and 75 more total yards than they had last week and still won by 25. The Utes led Wazzu 21-0 after a quarter and only scored six more points the whole game, losing 28-27 after a Cougar comeback. And a double-digit fourth quarter comeback at that, the Bizarro Cougin' It. UCLA on paper is an easy winner, but Utah can be sneaky like that.  

Cal (3-1, 1-1 Pac-12) at Washington State (2-3, 1-1 Pac-12), 7:30pm PT, Pac-12 Network

Last week Cal and Colorado became the first NCAA teams to have at least 7 passing touchdowns per team, as the wild finish saw the Bears on top, 59-56 in overtime. With that pass-happy Wazzu offense, both teams might have eight passing touchdowns each. 64-64 at the end of regulation? Quite possible.

Dizzy 'cause he's busy

photos courtesy:  oregonlive.com, clipartpanda.com