The Arizona Wildcats are off this weekend, but that isn’t stopping the Star’s Michael Lev, Justin Spears and Alec White from making their weekly Pac-12 picks.
The staff’s selections can be found below. You can also hear Lev and Spears break down this week’s top matchups on the latest episode of the Wildcast Podcast on Apple, Spotify or The Wildcaster App.
Pac-12 matchups (Saturday, Oct. 2)
USC @ Colorado (+7.5), 11 a.m., Pac-12 Networks
Southern California quarterback Kedon Slovis (9) throws a pass during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game for the Pac-12 Conference championship Friday, Dec 18, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lev: USC wins and covers
Spears: USC wins and covers
White: USC wins and covers
Spears says: "USC did not look great last week against Oregon State, the first loss against the Beavers in the Coliseum in, what, 63 years? ... But Colorado has struggled big-time this year and just hasn't been good. ... I think this is a game where Kedon Slovis and USC's offense is flowing."
Lev says: "Colorado is worse than Arizona on offense. They average 254 yards per game, 85 passing yards per game — less than 100 yards passing — and they're averaging 13.8 points. So, when you compare that to USC averaging 32.5 points, it's kind of hard not to pick USC. ... I don't trust Colorado at this point to score enough."
No. 3 Oregon @ Stanford (+8), 12:30 p.m., ABC
Oregon tight end Spencer Webb celebrates his touchdown with teammates Jaylon Redd and Mycah Pittman during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win over Arizona.
Lev: Oregon wins, but Stanford covers
Spears: Oregon wins and covers
White: Oregon wins and covers
Spears says: "I think they tripped up last weekend (against Arizona) and they won't allow something like that to happen again. The Ducks will be all-in on this game. Now, Stanford is much better than we initially thought. ... Stanford will keep it competitive, but Oregon will outlast them and eventually win the game by 10 points."
Lev says: "I think Oregon is going to win, but it'll come down to maybe a field goal. You can say that maybe they were overlooking Arizona, they weren't totally mentally in it, maybe they were looking ahead to Stanford. ... This is a little bit of a Pac-12 North rivalry, so I think Stanford keeps it close against Oregon. It's going to take everything the Ducks have to survive.
Washington State @ Cal (-7.5), 2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Lev: Cal wins, but WSU covers
Spears: Cal wins and covers
White: Cal wins, but WSU covers
Washington @ Oregon State (-2.5), 6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Lev: Washington wins outright and covers
Spears: Oregon State wins
White: Washington wins outright and covers
Arizona State at No. 20 UCLA (-3), 7:30 p.m., FS1
Lev: UCLA wins and covers
Spears: UCLA wins and covers
White: UCLA wins and covers
Spears says: "If I'm a betting man, I'm avoiding this game as much as possible, because this is such a tough game to pick. UCLA has a very dynamic offense with Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback. Chip Kelly has this program exactly where he wants it. I know they tripped up against Fresno State earlier this season, but they were great against LSU earlier. UCLA has been very consistent outside of that one loss, so I think UCLA will win."
Lev says: "This is a sneaky good game and it caps the really good Saturday of college football. It's a really important game in the Pac-12 South that could decide the Pac-12 South race or at least give one of these two teams a big leg up. They're both very similar teams. They both can run the ball, have quarterbacks who can make plays and have veteran defenses with tons of seniors and experienced players on that side of the ball. ... I think UCLA's one loss was kind of fluky."
Season standings:
Lev: 7-6 straight up, 8-5 against the spread, 1-3 picking the over/under
Spears: 7-6 SU, 9-4 ATS, 2-2 O/U
White: 8-5 SU, 5-8 ATS, 2-2 O/U
