Pac-10 picks
On to the rest of the Pac-10 and my predictions for them:
Cal 35, OSU 24: See here for details.
UCLA 29, Stanford 10: A week ago, nobody would have questioned whether UCLA was going to win this game. Now that UCLA lost to Washington, have things changed?… Absolutely not. WaZoo took Stanford to the woodshack at the red-bird-color-but-not-the-bird-itself-and-definitely-not-a-reference-to-the-leaders-of-the-Catholic-Church-despite-the-fact-that-we-were-founded-as-a-Catholic-University–Cardinal was at home at their brand new and empty stadium, albeit without their “incomparable” band. No way are they going to win against UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Speaking of which, I’m starting a new tradition: I’m taking my predicted score for the Stanford opponent and increasing it by 2. So in this case: 3 touchdowns, 2 field goals… and the automatic inclusion of a safety. It only seems fair.
ASU 24, Oregon 42: ASU has begun their annual tailspin. Yes, it’s a little earlier than usual but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. By the time USC is done with them next week they’ll be so demoralized that Stanford may just have what it takes to completely destroy what’s left the ASU football program. If they think losing three in a row is demoralizing, THAT may result in a death Jim Jones style. In any case, Oregon is too strong and too determined to lose this one. Expect more mistakes from Carpenter and a Oregon spread offense that runs up the score.
WSU 21, USC 24: Watch out USC, WaZoo plays well on it’s home field, the frozen potato patch (not to be confused with the frozen Tundra). USC should be thankful they’re playing an afternoon game not a night game because even in late September it gets awful cold up there at night. USC is definitel a strong team, but they’re still a wildcard in my book. Nobody strong has challenged them and their pass defense is completely untested. That said, I don’t think WSU is the team that will test them. Athough I think they’ll exceed the 14 points USC’s best opponent put on the board, I don’t think they’ll have what it takes to beat a determined USC team, even if the game is on the frozen potato patch.
UA 17, UW 24: Neither of these teams have offenses that have taken it to their opponents and I don’t expect that to happen this weekend either. In fact, maybe I’m giving them both too much credit and I should adjust the scores down. In any case, this game is going to be close and Arizona will be aching for a win after last weeks loss. Expect to see them aching for another week. Willinghan has UW back on the right track.
OK, that’s it for this week. Expect a Bears game wrap-up and updated Pac-10 metrics by Monday.