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Game of the Week - Washington at Stanford - Saturday, 7:30 PM PT ESPN
AK - Stanford and Washington have looked like two of the most complete teams in college football the first month of the season. And the Cardinal will have revenge on their minds for a possible national title berth stolen from them by the Huskies last year. Can Steve Sarkisian land his first signature win as Husky head coach?
JF - Last season's version of this game was a grind-it-out affair, but one of the best games of the season. The Cardinal look tough again, but the Huskies have looked like they have taken it to the next level thus far this season and this will be their chance to officially prove it. Washington seems to do well against the traditional, smashmouth teams recently, so I wouldn't be surprised if they are able to keep this one close again and hope that they can make a big play in the end to pull it out.
2. Arizona State vs. Notre Dame - Saturday, 4:30 PM PT NBC
AK - Notre Dame is struggling offensively and now has to hold down Taylor Kelly and the ASU offense on a fast track. The Irish defense will have their work cut out for them, but if they slow them down it could be a close affair.
JF - The Irish are struggling, but outside of when they play USC the past 15 years, they generally seem to find some magic when they play Pac-12 teams and Arizona State's defense is very questionable, so I'm expecting this to be a close one. Outside of Oregon, the Sun Devils might have the most fun offense to watch in the conference, and the Irish and their front of Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt could give the Sun Devils front loads of problems.
3. UCLA at Utah - Thursday, 7 PM PT Fox Sports 1
AK - UCLA has stumbled before in road trap games and Utah can be a dangerous place to play. But the Bruins have had time to prepare.
JF - Utah has looked better than expected this year and this could be a trap game for UCLA as it's on a weird night, on the road and against a team that they shouldn't overlook, but easily could. I also like the matchup for the Utes as UCLA can't defend the pass that well and that's really the only thing that the Utes can do that well.
4. Washington State at Cal - Saturday, 1 PM PT Fox Sports 1
AK - If Cal is to avoid the cellar, this is pretty much a must-win game. Washington State is much improved though and the Cougars will be itching to move another step toward bowl eligibility. Should be a close matchup of teams on the fringe.
JF - Both teams run an air raid offense and this might be the most aerial Pac-12 game of the entire season. Obviously, these aren't the conference's marquee teams right now, but this is an incredibly important game for each program early in the season, as the Bears desperately need a win here, or you'll start to wonder where else they might be able to get one the rest of the season, and the Cougars desperately need to win here if they want to have a chance at getting to a bowl game for the first time in 10 years.
5. Oregon at Colorado - Saturday, 3 PM PT Pac-12 Network
AK - The Ducks wrap up their warm-up slate in Boulder. It'll be good to see Oregon play their entire roster, just so the rest of the conference can feel helpless at how much catching up they'll have to do.
JF - Uh... this should be fun for Oregon fans to watch, I think. Or have they gotten tired of watching 50 point wins over bad teams?