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Pac-12 Picks, Week 2: Adidas continues to suck

Plus, ESPN and gambling, and more slightly informative Pac-12 news.

By Brent Armstrong

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Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Game Picks

Last week: 9-4-0
Season: 9-4-0
Home team in CAPS.

Friday, September 12th, 6:00 PM PDT
UTAH (-12) over Utah State

Saturday, September 13th, 9:00 AM PDT
MICHIGAN (-14.5) over Oregon State

11:00 AM PDT
Sacramento State (+31.5) over WASHINGTON

11:00 AM PDT
COLORADO (-13) over Massachusetts

The Doctor Who Conference issued a statement in regards to last week's CU-Hawaii fuck up. Does a referee employing "appropriate mechanics" mean literally dropping the ball as he tries to set it on the line of scrimmage?

12:30 PM PDT
Washington State (+3.5) over RUTGERS

3:00 PM PDT
CALIFORNIA (-14) over San Diego State

4:00 PM PDT
NEVADA (+11.5) over Arizona

5:00 PM PDT
Idaho (+43.5) over SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

43.5?!?!?!

5:00 PM PDT
Oregon (+3.5) over MICHIGAN STATE

I thought I already picked this game. Maybe it's Oregon State and Michigan State? Or Oregon and Michigan? WHO'S PLAYING WHO?

7:30 PM PDT
STANFORD (-19) over Central Florida

7:30 PM PDT
UNIV. OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS (+30) over Univ. of California, Los Angeles

In more terrible UCLA uniform news, this bear looks like someone at Adidas found it on deviantART. Adidas sucks:

8:00 PM PDT
ARIZONA STATE (-36.5) over Cal Poly

ASU running back Kalen Ballage was diagnosed with mononucleosis before game time last Saturday. If I was a coach I would ban my players from kissing anybody.

Hot Take of the Week

This week's hottest take doesn't come from a columnist, but from college administrators quoted in this USA Today article, bemoaning ESPN's drastic (and welcome) venture into covering sports gambling:

Western Michigan's touchdown only pulled the Broncos within three scores of Michigan State, so it wasn't exactly a game-changing play -- unless, that is, someone was playing a different sort of game.

Nice.

" I don't think those are things that ought to be a part of the presentation of college football, but maybe that's the environment in which we find ourselves," said Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby, adding that he was "quite sure that all of (the Big 12's presidents and athletic directors) feel as I do that it's inappropriate."

Yeah, why give any attention to a large and significant portion of college football's viewership? A "presentation" is supposed to be entertaining, and that's what gambling is.

Furthermore, ESPN pays conferences and the NCAA over a BILLION DOLLARS each year to air college football games. They should be able to do what they please with their "presentation."

80s Song of the Week

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