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Pac-12 Game of the Week - Oregon at UCLA - 12:30 p.m. - FOX
AK: This game remains compelling because we get to see two wounded, desperate teams fight for survival. Neither is as good as where we thought they'd be. But Mariota and Hundley should have enough in the tank to bring the fireworks. Between two terrible offensive lines and slightly confused defenses, there's a lot happening this weekend.
JF: This one quickly went from a showdown of two Top 10 teams fighting for a Playoff shot to two teams hoping to cling to their shaky Playoff chances and avoid starting 1-2 in Pac-12 play. These two teams are flawed and lost tough games last week, but they are both overflowing with talent and expectations and this one should be a hard, hard fought battle with so much on the line.
2. USC at Arizona - 7:30 p.m. - ESPN2
AK: What an intriguing football game. The Wildcats are all set to hangover if they want after taking the lead in the Pac-12. The Trojans will be coming into Tucson hot-steaming mad after blowing a win at home and should have plenty of edge. However, say it with me, "Steve Sarkisian road game against spread team". I'd be terrified too, Trojan fans.
JF: The Wildcats are now the Pac-12's top team, but that is going to be a hard belt to hold with how competitive the conference is, case in point this game. USC is coming off a tough loss but they have the ability to bounce back and bring Arizona right back down to the Pac.
3. Washington at Cal - 3 p.m. - Pac-12 Network
AK: I don't know. Outside of beating a likely to be last B1G team, Washington has yet to put together a complete game this season. On the flip side, we're talking about a Cal team that doesn't seem capable of putting things together for more than two quarters and has played three straight coin flips.
JF: A very interesting match-up. Cal has basically been part of the national game of the week, three weeks running now, but Washington is a much different team from who they have played in the Pac-12 thus far. I am looking to see how this one plays out... can Cal turn it into another shootout, or can Washington somehow handcuff Goff and company and keep it low-scoring? I honestly have no idea.
4. Washington State at Stanford - Friday 6 p.m. - ESPN
AK: This is the classic "Everyone thinks Stanford is dead so let's win 38-10 and send everyone else in the conference into a terror because who's going to beat this team with that defense and a semi-functional offense" game.
JF: This one could turn into a really close one, but I still feel like it will end up in the Stanford fashion where it is close, but the Cardinal still control the game and win by like seven or 10 points.