Oregon vs. Stanford the Pac-12 highlight, but UCLA & Washington climbing

Sean Reynolds, Block U: I'm excited about the Utah-UCLA game next Thursday. It should give us an idea if the Utes really have a legit shot of making noise in the conference.

Beyond that? Stanford at Oregon will once again have national title ramifications.

Jack Follman, Pacific Takes: Obviously, the big one is still the Thursday night matchup between Oregon and Stanford, but outside of that I think it is all about who has any chance of beating Oregon. The only games I could see that possibly happening right now are their trip to Washington on October 12 and UCLA's trip to Autzen on October 26. For sheer excitement, I'm looking forward to the previously mentioned game of all games in Palo Alto, along with UCLA's November 23 game against Arizona State which I think determines the South and UCLA at USC. I think a lot will be on the line in that game.

Phil Fraser, Ralphie Report: Obviously the 4 game round robin of Ucla/ Oregon/ Stanford/ Washington. As mentioned, they're the obvious class of the conference, and they all get to beat up on each other.

Patrick Flower, Pacific Takes: You have to instantly point to Oregon vs Stanford on November 7th as the game that will ultimately decide the Pac-12 Championship but there are several games leading up to Ducks trip to the Farm that could derail this plan. Review for your pleasure the following matchups: Oct 5th - Washington @ Stanford, October 12th - Oregon @ Washington, October 19th - UCLA @ Stanford, October 26th - UCLA @ Oregon. What makes this stretch particularly grueling is both Washington and UCLA play Oregon and Stanford in back-to-back weeks. October is a good month to be a Pac-12 fan. Strap on your seatbelts, folks.

Connor Pelton, Building the Dam: Oregon-Washington, UCLA-Stanford, and Oregon-Stanford will be the most exciting with the most on the line. I don't see the Bruins derailing Oregon's national title run at Autzen, so those two tough road games for the Ducks will be the best chances to see a UO loss. I'm also really looking forward to the rematch of last year's Pac-12 Championship game, one that could decide who gets the league's second BCS bowl bid.

Trevor Wong, Conquest Chronicles: Nov. 7: Oregon at Stanford. This game will determine the Pac-12 championship. These two squads are clearly at the top of the conference, and I don't see either of these teams stumbling before their matchup.

Josh Schlichter, Pacific Takes: With UCLA ready to take over the Pac-12 South, I think most battles for the championship will come from the North this year. Obviously, those games will center around who, outside of Stanford, can knock Oregon off. Stanford has a relatively favorable schedule until they face UCLA and Oregon within three weeks while Oregon travels to Washington in a few weeks. The Huskies will actually have a real shot at knocking off the Ducks in that new stadium. Then the Ducks have to take on UCLA and Stanford in back to back games. So basically, pay attention to the match ups between the conference's top four teams in the middle of the season.