Pac-12 Picks and Update: Cal writers confuse Northwestern

Pac-12 play kicks off this week with USC and Stanford, while Oregon hosts Michigan State.  All of the other games will be boring (unless money is involved!).

Game Picks

Season: 6-5-0
Last week: 6-5-0
Home team in CAPS.

Thursday, 4 September, 5:00 PM PDT
Arizona (-7) over UTSA
Why is U of A playing a short week?

Friday, 5 September, 7:30 PM PDT
Washington State (-3.5) over NEVADA

Saturday, 6 September, 12:00 PM PDT
UTAH (-10.5) over Fresno State

UMASS (+17) over Colorado
Right now it seems like 17 points is too much for Colorado to cover against any football team. Just win.

CALIFORNIA (-??) over Sacramento State
I couldn't find a line anywhere for this game, but I'm going to say Cal covers.

12:05 PM PDT
WASHINGTON (-??) over Eastern Washington
Same as above.

12:30 PM PDT
STANFORD (-3) over Southern California
The line opened at -4, so always good to bet against the public.

3:30 PM PDT
Michigan State (+12) over OREGON
Why is Michigan State's logo a letter "S"? It's not like they're the only school in the country with the word "State" in its name.  Anyways, I think it will be a close game.

4:00 PM PDT
Arizona State (-25) over NEW MEXICO
New Mexico's nickname is the Lobos, which makes me think of Los Lobos, which makes me wonder how Los Lobos ever became popular.

7:00 PM PDT
UCLA (-24) over Memphis
Hopefully the Bruins have figured out how to score touchdowns on offense or else it will take a lot of pick sixes to cover the spread.

7:30 PM PDT
HAWAII (+10.5) over Oregon State
Hawaii, the Alabama of Hawaii, will probably lose by one point again.

Team Updates

Arizona:

• Why?

#16 Arizona State:

• Sun Devil Stadium has already banned tortillas and kegs, and on Thursday night, the traditional touchdown fireworks weren't even launched due to heavy air traffic. It was also 100000 degrees at kickoff.

California:

• Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald credited Cal bloggers and beat writers for not leaking information about Cal's two-quarterback rotation, which led to a 31-7 early lead by the Golden Bears. Northwestern also may have outfitted their defense with the wrong playcards. Perhaps it's all Karma for the Wildcats?

Colorado:

• After Colorado State beat their rival Colorado, Denver mayor Michael Hancock couldn't pronounce the name of the Rams' head coach Jim McElwain during the trophy ceremony, which led to some awkward moments. Also, I wish Colorado was better.

#4 Oregon:

• Who can keep track of these conferences anyway?

  Oregon DC Don Pellum on FS1, about MSU: "We know this is the best team out of the Big 12, which is a very good conference."

  — Joe Rexrode (@joerexrode) September 3, 2014

Oregon State:

• The Beavers love playing Hawaii.

#10 Stanford:

• The Cardinal fell two spots in the AP poll after defeating UC Davis 45-0. What were they supposed to do? Polls are stupid.

#11 UCLA:

• O-line coach Adrian Klemm on his group's performance v. UVA: "It was one of the shittiest performances I've seen." pic.twitter.com/Ol4N9l9N1V

  — Chris Kalra (@chriskalra) September 2, 2014

  Pretty ambiguous analysis, if you ask me.

#14 USC:

• USC sent out "personalized" recruiting letters to two different players, WHO GO TO THE SAME HIGH SCHOOL.  Good job, good effort.

Utah:

• The National Review has weighed in on Utah's new fight song (surprise, they don't like it).

Washington:

• Previously ranked #25 in both the AP and Amway Coaches polls, the Huskies fell out of the rankings this week after edging out Hawaii 17-16. BUT, the Huskies are #1 football team in the nation when it comes to the environment!

Washington State:

• Most Mike Leach stat graphic you'll ever see. pic.twitter.com/6rjNsk3PXY

  — Pacific Takes (@PacificTakes) August 29, 2014

• Also, Mike Leach is bad at plumbing.

Video of the Week

I didn't know every Big 12 school's logo was the same.

Completely Arbitrary Bowl Projections

Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual (playoff): Stanford (13-0) vs. Oklahoma (12-0)

Allstate Sugar Bowl (playoff): California (11-1) vs. Auburn (13-0)

Valero Alamo Bowl: Arizona State (10-3) vs. TCU (8-4)

National University Holiday Bowl: UCLA (9-3) vs. Michigan (8-4)

San Francisco Bowl: USC (8-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3)

Hyundai Sun Bowl: Arizona (26-4) vs. Duke (27-3)

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl: Oregon State (7-5) vs. New Mexico (9-3)

Cactus Bowl: Washington (6-6) vs. Minnesota (7-5)