Pac-12 Week 3 Predictions

I have to do better than last week's 7-5 right? Let's see, we've got 3 FCS teams, UNLV, Houston, and Colorado on the schedule. Yeah, that's at least six locks right there. Sorry Colorado.

Washington State 31 UNLV 20
UNLV has had the misfortune of losing back to back games by just 3 points (vs. Minnesota and NAU). It won't be as close against WSU however. The Cougars will make sure their second appearance on ESPN will go better than their last debacle of a game against BYU. The WSU offense is still a ways away from where people would like, but the Cougar defense is improving little by little with each game. The Cougars pull away before entering conference play.

Washington 35 Portland State 17
The Huskies are looking for a bounceback game after their disappointing showing against the Tigers. Portland State is about as solid of an FCS squad as you'll find, but they'll be outmatched against a Huskies that will be looking to let out their frustrations against a team not name LSU. Because that's what they do. Rumor has it that Steve Sarkisian has had a live Viking in a cage during practices and has threatened to punish reporters who use the words "purple" and "very" in their tweets.

Oregon 52 Tennessee Tech 24
Sigh, Oregon has yet to be really challenged and that isn't going to change this week. Tenn Tech is 2-0, but the wins have come over Hampton and North Greenville. Yeah...good luck against the Neon Ducks. The Ducks roll as the trio of Mario-TA, Barner, Anthony continue to embarrass competition.

Arizona State 30 Missouri 27
Anyone else want to jump on the Sun Devil bandwagon? This is your last chance. Because if the Sun Devils beat a decent Missouri squad, then you know half the country will be calling ASU the best challenge to USC in the south. If you've been following the blog at all, you know that the Sun Devils are my surprise team so far as they've completely surpassed my very low expectations with some pretty polished play. However, I've gone back and forth as I still don't know how this team will do on the road. QB Taylor Kelly has looked really good so far though, and I'm calling an ASU upset in another shootout.

USC 38 Stanford 24
The days of the Trojans getting pushed around the Cardina are over. I expect the two teams to feel each other out early on before Barkley's connection with Marquise Lee and Robert Woods pays off in the critical second and third quarters. Stanford's secondary has come up with big plays, but hasn't shown an ability to shut down opposing receivers. They've got their work cut out for them with the assignment of facing two of the best receivers in the nation.

Colorado 20 Fresno State 31
Geez Colorado. This may be the Buffalos' best chance at scoring a win this year, but they're going to have to play mistake-free game against a Fresno State team that is feeling confident after their Oregon game. You know it's gotten bad for Colorado when FSU fans aren't asking themselves, "Will we win?" but rather, "How many TDs will we win by?" The only wildcard is if CU quarterback Connor Wood gets the nod over incumbent Jordan Webb. Keep an eye out.

Utah 27 BYU 31
Critical, critical game for the Utes, who look to rebound from their disappointing loss to Utah State. I've got to say that BYU has looked like a far more impressive team so far, but you always give an extra boost to the home team in a rivalry game. I'm also interested to see who gets the lionshare of reps at quarterback with unspectacular but consistent Jon Hayes needing to hold off unproven but dynamic freshman Travis Wilson. With the questions at offensive line, you give the edge to the team with the more balanced offense.

Arizona 45 South Carolina State 13
Here's my bold prediction of the week: the Wildcats score a ton of points. Rich Rod's team get off to a fast start, allowing quarterback Matt Scott to sit out most of the second half. I honestly can't think of more things to write about here. South Carolina State's mascot image is really ugly?

UCLA 45 Houston 20
This is not a good Houston Team. At all. The Bruins are going to continue to stay in Cloud 9 for at least another week. Expect the Cougars to put some yards through the air in the first half, before UCLA's defense buckles up in the second half. QB Brett Hundley will continue to mature, and there's a really good chance Jonathan Franklin tops 200 yards again this week. He'll most certainly be halfway past the 1,000 yard mark after his first three games. Ridic.