Pac-10 Predictions Week 3

Week 3 Pac-10 Predictions
(Last week: Truebluebruin 5-4, 1-6 against the spread. Blueandgold 7-2, 2-5 against the spread)
(Overall: Truebluebruin 14-4, 5-8-1 against the spread. Blueandgold 16-2, 5-7-2 against the spread)

Cal (-12) @ Minnesota
(Truebluebruin24) Two weeks down, and Cal has destroyed two easy opponents. Traveling to 2-0 Minnesota should provide stiffer competition for the bears, and at least a stingier defense than they’ve seen the last two weeks. Still, Cal is the much better team and only really have to fight themselves to not have a let down game. Cal may not put up as many points on the board this week, but the result is all the same
Cal 38 Minnesota 20
(Bluegold) Cal comes off another dominating performance (albeit against a mediocre Eastern Washington team) last weekend. Cal must show that it is a force to be reckoned with on the road as well. Minnesota comes in having won its first two games as well, and look pretty good, beating both Air Force and ‘Cuse in the season so far. However I am on the Cal bandwagon so far, so I’m picking them.
Cal: 35 Minnesota: 21

USC (-22) @ Washington
(Truebluebruin) USC escaped last week out of Columbus with a closer than expected victory. I still don’t buy the hype of Barkley as the second coming of Jesus Christ, but the USC defense, as always, seems to be the real deal. Washington is clearly an improved team from last year, but they still don’t have any business being in this game. USC may not be as up for this game coming off of last week’s huge victory (and USC does seem to have a brain fart game every year), so I’ll call USC to win, but not to cover the spread.
USC 31 Washington 13
(Bluegold) This game has the potential to be the perfect trap for SC. They are coming off a huge win against a top 10 team at the time and on national TV. However SC beats the big teams and loses to the small ones, and this week there are some story lines involved with Sarkisian now the coach of the Huskies. Still 9 out of 10 times SC wins this game, probably 8 times out of 10 very convincingly, however there is that off chance that the Huskies can pull off the upset at home.
SC: 35 Washington: 21

Utah @ Oregon (-6.5)
(Truebluebruin) Here is a game that really puzzles me. Oregon has not really done anything to make me believe in them this year, while Utah at 2-0 is deceptively not as good as they seem, struggling to get by SJSU last week. The fact that this game is in Auzten makes me want to go with the ducks, but after barely getting by Purdue thanks to a blown 2 point conversion, they have yet given me a reason to pick them against a team that should be tougher competition. I think Oregon loses it in a close one.
Utah 21 Oregon 17
Utah has the longest winning streak in the country and showed how good they were last year going undefeated. Now they look to take on a dismantled (and very overrated) Oregon team in Eugene. They aren’t the same Utes as last year, but they still have a lot of weapons, and Oregon is still sputtering along.
Utah: 24 Oregon: 17

Arizona @ Iowa (-6)
(Truebluebruin) I don’t honestly know too much about Iowa, but this should be the toughest test Arizona has had yet, especially on the road. Iowa’s defensive backfield is strong, allowing only 1 touchdown against 5 interceptions so far, so Arizona will most likely rely on its running game to move the chains. If Arizona can dominate the running game, they’ll take the game, but if they need to start passing, that could play into Iowa’s hands. I don’t see Arizona winning this on the road
Iowa 28 Arizona 17
(Bluegold) I’m going to have to go with the Pac-10 on this one, don’t know why. Both teams are undefeated, but Arizona holds the receiver advantage and I think they will narrowly escape with a win in the Hawkeye state.
Arizona: 21 Iowa: 17

S. Methodist (-4.5) @ Washington State
(Truebluebruin) What a fool I am. Why did I have faith in Washington State? Sure, they made a comeback when the game was seemingly out of reach, but they just got destroyed by a mediocre Hawaii team at best. SMU, interestingly enough, has Hawaii’s old coach June Jones, known as an offensive guru. Hawaii put up over 600 yards on Washington State, so SMU should be able to move the ball at will
SMU 33 Washington State 20
(Bluegold) Wazzu is just kind of going through the motions and I still think they can’t win a game, even at home this week against a 2-0 Southern Methodist. They continue to look good, and Wazzu continues to look bad.
Wazzu: 14 SMU: 24

Cincinatti @ Oregon State (-3.5)
(Truebluebruin) Well, I was partially right last week. Oregon State did struggle on the road, but pulled out a tough win against UNLV, which should give them confidence that they should be able to win the tough one. Oregon State is still somewhat questionable on the lines, but their play makers are carrying the team, and should be able to secure a victory at home against an overrated Cincinatti team. Cincinatti can also light it up on offense, and this could be a fun shoot out. Oregon State should be fired up for this one as a revenge game from last season, and for the opportunity to enter conference play undefeated.
OSU 41 Cincinatti 35
(Bluegold) I saw Cincinnati destroy Rutgers and so far Oregon State has kind of not lived up to my expectations so I see them losing their first game this week. They are a force in the Pac 10 but as a national force against a high power offense, I’m not so sure.
Cincy: 28 OSU: 17

San Jose State @ Stanford (-19)
(Truebluebruin) San Jose State actually put up a good fight last week against Utah before falling late, while Stanford’s offense completely disappeared in the second half in a disappointing loss at Wake Forrest. Despite the disappointing performance for the Cardinal last week, at home against an average San Jose State team, Stanford should be able to get back on track and take some momentum into conference play
Stanford 28 San Jose State 13
(Bluegold) Stanford is coming off a tough loss on the road but look for them to rebound against a team that SC absolutely destroyed. Gerhart should be able to run all over the Spartan defense and the Stanford Defensive line should hold up against a weak running SJSU team.
Stanford: 35 SJSU: 10

LA-Monroe @ Arizona State (-17)
(Truebluebruin) ASU gets another warm up game at home against a team that isn’t exactly a household name. Arizona State was expected to struggle on offense this year, but blasted away Idaho State 2 weeks ago, and should be able to use this game to tune it’s offensive game plan even more. ULM has a decent running game and should be able to put up a few scores on the board.
ASU 41 ULM 17
(Bluegold) The Sun Devils are coming off a bye week and had ample time to prepare for this out of conference game. They should win this game easily.
ASU: 28 LA-Monroe: 10

Kansas State @ UCLA (-14)
(Truebluebruin) UCLA really impressed me with their victory against the Vols last week, and I couldn’t be happier to be wrong. Kansas State limps into this game after a humiliating loss to Louisiana Lafayette. The UCLA Defense is unlike anything KSU has seen, and Louisiana Lafayette held them to 15 points. UCLA may be UCLA’s greatest enemy: they have to avoid a let down game, figure out the quarterback situation, and deal with 4 role players being suspended for the game. If UCLA can stay focused, they should be able to pull out an easy win.
UCLA 30 KSU 10
(Bluegold) UCLA is coming off a great win at Tennessee, although it was a messy one, especially at the end. Basically this is a potential trap game for the Bruins, and with the loss of their starting quarterback as well as 4 players ranking high in the depth chart at their respective positions, the Bruins need to come out strong against a mediocre Kansas State team that lost last week.
UCLA: 17 Kansas State: 10