Picks: Big week for No. 12 Oregon, Pac-12
UCLA won’t be around to bail out the Pac-12 this weekend.
The Bruins’ victory against LSU was the highlight of an otherwise unimpressive Week 1 for the West Coast’s Power Five conference. The Pac12 North was especially bad, going 1-5 with losses to two teams from the Mountain West teams and one from the Big Sky.
That’s an FCS conference. A good one, but still.
No. 16 UCLA gets a well-deserved week off, but the rest of the conference is in action, including nine nonconference games.
At the top of the menu is No. 12 Oregon at No. 3 Ohio State. The Ducks are the Pac12 defending champion and favorite. Ohio State is the same in the Big Ten.
That would seem to be a fair fight, but not according to the odds makers. FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Buckeyes as more than a two-touchdown favorite.
That says a lot about where the Pac-12 is right now, trying to break a four-season College Football Playoff drought. The Pac12 has not beaten a top-five team in a nonconference game since 2015, when Stanford knocked off No. 4 Notre Dame.
The other marquee Midwest-Northwest game of the weekend was supposed to be taking place at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Washington visits the Wolverines from a primetime national TV game coming off 13-7 loss to Montana from the Big Sky. Way to kill the mood, Huskies.
No. 5 Texas A&M faces Colorado in Denver at the home of the Denver Broncos. No. 21 Utah is at rival BYU and California, coming off a loss to Nevada, is at TCU.
Among that group, Utah is the only one favored. This is not setting up well for a bounce-back weekend for the Pac-12, but as was the case last week with UCLA, one big victory can overshadow a several ugly losses.
If the Ducks can upset the Buckeyes in Columbus, it hardly matters what the rest of the conference does Saturday.
The picks with point spreads from FanDuel Sportsbook.
FRIDAY
Kansas (plus 25½) at No. 17 Coastal Carolina
Chanticleers try to make it three straight seasons with a victory against Kansas ... COASTAL CAROLINA 42-14.
SATURDAY UAB (plus 24½) at No. 2 Georgia
Bulldogs get at least one offensive touchdown this week. Probably several ... GEORGIA 38-10.
No. 12 Oregon (plus 14½) at No. 3 Ohio State
Last victory for the Ducks against a top-five nonconference opponent was 2003 against Michigan ... OHIO STATE 35-24.
No. 5 Texas A&M (minus 16½) vs. Colorado in Denver
Buffs went 6-3 against the Aggies when they were Big 12 rivals, but they haven’t played since parting ways ... TEXAS A&M 34-13, BET BET.
Toledo (plus 16½) at No. 8 Notre Dame
Lots of Fighting Irish fans will be asking: What’s Peacock? Answer: The streaming service you need to watch this game ... NOTRE DAME 28-13.
No. 10 Iowa (plus 4½) at No. 9 Iowa State
Hawkeyes have not committed a turnover in their five-game winning streak against the Cyclones ... IOWA STATE 24-23.
Ball State (plus 22½) at No. 11 Penn State
Nittany Lions WR Jahan Dotson has three straight 100-yard receiving games ... PENN STATE 35-10.
No. 13 Florida (minus 28½) at South Florida
High of 90 degrees in the forecast for the 1 p.m. ET kickoff; Mostly cloudy, though ... FLORIDA 45-14.
Stanford (plus 17½) at No. 14 USC
Starting quarterback switch for the Cardinal with Tanner McKee taking the job from Jack West ... USC 34-14.
No. 15 Texas (minus 6½) at Arkansas
First regular-season matchup between the once and future conference rivals since 2008 ... TEXAS 30-20.
Eastern Michigan (plus 26½) at No. 18 Wisconsin
Good time for Wisconsin to rebuild QB Graham Mertz’s confidence after a rough outing vs. Penn State ... WISCONSIN 42-13.
Middle Tennessee (plus 19½) at No. 19 Virginia Tech
First meeting between the Hokies and Blue Raiders ... VIRGINIA TECH 31-14.
No. 21 Utah (minus 7½) at BYU
Utes have won nine straight in the Holy War rivalry, matching the longest winning streak for either side; only two were more than one-possession games ... UTAH 27-21.
Appalachian State (plus 8½) at No. 22 Miami
App State knocked off two Power Five teams in 2019, but last meeting with the ‘Canes was a 45-10 loss at home in 2016 ... MIAMI 28-21.
UNLV (plus 33½) at No. 23 Arizona State
Sun Devils won only meeting in 2008 ... ARIZONA STATE 38-10. Georgia State (plus 25½) at No. 24 North Carolina
Tar Heels look to get QB Sam Howell back on track and give him some protection ... NORTH CAROLINA 45-17.
TWITTER REQUESTS
North Carolina State (minus 2½) at Mississippi State — @brianhadad
Wolfpack try to give the ACC a win against the SEC after it went 0-3 in Week 1 ... MISSISSIPPI STATE 2724.
San Diego State (plus½) at Arizona — @CohensCornerAZ
Wildcats looked competent in their opener under coach Jedd Fisch ... ARIZONA 20-17.
Pittsburgh (minus 3½) at Tennessee — @sethc33
Johnny Majors Classic matches the late Hall of Famer’s alma mater (Tennessee) against the school he coached to a national championship (Pitt) ... TENNESSEE 23-21, UPSET SPECIAL.
Washington (plus 6½) at Michigan — @eriggs
Huskies and Wolverines have played 12 times, including four Rose Bowls, but not since 2002 ... MICHIGAN 28-23.
Memphis (minus 4½) at Arkansas State — @Kam2024
Tigers and Red Wolves have split six meetings since 2006 ... MEMPHIS 31-23.
RECORD Last week:
14-8 straight; 12-10 against the spread.