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What are your picks for each Pac-12 game this week and why?
Colorado over Charleston Southern, Stanford over UCLA, Notre Dame over USC, Utah over Arizona, Oregon State over Cal.
Stanford over UCLA - The Cardinal know that their backs are against the wall and they have to be a little bit embarrassed, which should give them just enough of an edge to win a close one.
Washington over Arizona State - Another very close matchup that is a must-win for the team that is coming off a loss. The fact that the Huskies have a better defense will give them the slightest of edges.
Notre Dame over USC - Notre Dame controlled Arizona State, Arizona State blew out USC.
Arizona over Utah - Underrated matchup here and I liked how Arizona came back against USC and flashed some passing game which turns them into a scary team on offense that should open things up against a questionable Utah pass defense.
Oregon State over Cal - Cal just looks bad and the Beavers get better every game. Mannion could put up 700 yards.
Oregon over Washington State - The Ducks look unstoppable and could pick off Connor Halliday half a dozen times.
Colorado over Charleston Southern - CSU is a good FCS team but the Buffs are much improved under Mike McIntyre and will be desperate to get a win in their only remaining game where they will be favored.
OSU over Cal. Cal hasn't looked great, and after watching The Drive, it doesn't seem like they get any better either.
Oregon over Washington State because it's Oregon. High scoring game though.
UCLA over Stanford. Think UCLA will be able to do what Utah did to the Cardinal last week.
ASU over Washington because it's in Tempe.
Arizona over Utah. Only game in Tucson in a 50+ day span, and I think the Wildcats ride the confidence they gained in the second half of the USC game.
Notre Dame over USC. Mostly because it's in South Bend, but also because the Irish are the better team.
Josh Schlichter, Pacific Takes
-Colorado over Charleston Southern: Don't see the Buffs missing the opportunity to rack up a needed win.
-Washington over ASU: The Huskies are reeling right now, but they're just too good to continue losing. Huskies win by two possessions.
-ND over USC: This one is basically a toss up, so I decided to give the nod to the home team. Should be interesting to see if Ed-O's team can keep up the energy, but I think the Irish should be able to manage whatever SC's offense can throw out there.
-Utah over Arizona: Utes are hot right now, but Arizona's offense might have started figuring things out against USC last week. It will be close, but Utah should win.
-Oregon over Washington State: Ducks get another spread tune up game before facing Brett Hundley and UCLA in what could be the biggest Pac-12 game of the year.
-Oregon State over Cal: Sean Mannion puts up more insane numbers before the Beavs head into the real meat of their schedule.
-UCLA over Stanford: UCLA has looked good, not great over the past few weeks. The Bruins may have put up good numbers and racked up some W's, but they haven't really played a complete game on both sides of the ball all year. Stanford may have been exposed a bit in the past two weeks, as the Cardinal needed a last minute stop to beat Washington (a good team, but not a great team) and got tripped up by Utah (another good, not great team). Something tells me it all clicks this weekend for the Bruins, and UCLA puts up a convincing win over Stanford.