Colorado State @ Colorado:
This used to be a pretty good rivalry, but now both teams kind of suck. The bad news for both squads is the best team in the state resides in Colorado Springs and is a service academy.
Colorado 31, CSU 14

(24) Texas @ UCLA:
Last year UCLA stunned Texas in Austin, so you know the Longhorns want revenge. Texas is still not a top-10 team, but they will beat the Bruins.
Texas 24, UCLA 10

Washington @ (10) Nebraska:
To paraphrase Rick Pitino: Jake Locker is not walking in through that door. Let’s re-cap. Nebraska went to Seattle and dismantled the Huskies. A few months later the Huskies blew out the Huskers in the Holiday Bowl rematch. Take the home Huskers in this one.
Nebraska 44, Washington 20

(more…)

I hate Colorado. Not the team, but how they play. I have incorrectly picked 13 games this season and four have involved the Buffs when I expanded this column to include the two new teams in the Pac-12. I can’t prove it, but I have reason to believe this fact was one of the reasons that Dan Hawkins was fired.

Washington State at Oregon State

Did you know that Washington State has much better academics than Oregon State? In fact, Oregon State is the only team in the Pac-12 not to be a Tier 1 school according to U.S. News and World Report. That is the only advantage the Cougars have over the Beavers. Oregon State 38, Washington State 13

Stanford at Arizona State

Thanks to two games against Big Sky opponents, the Sun Devils have to win seven games to be bowl eligible. That means they have to win out to make the postseason. Stanford is still playing for the BCS. The Cardinal’s dream is still alive after this one, the Devils, not so much. Stanford 45, ASU 20

Oregon at Cal

Cal is a much, much better team at home. They are 4-0 in Berkeley and have scored 50 points in three of the four games. That won’t help today. Oh, the Bears will play the Ducks tough for a few quarters. Maybe even lead at the half, but in the end it will be too much Gang Green. Oregon 48, Cal 38

Utah at Notre Dame

If this was 1990, the thought of a Mountain West team heading to South Bend and being a favorite would have seem unfathomable. Of course in 1990 there was no Mountain West, but you know what I mean. Utah’s loss to TCU last week ended the hopes of a Oregon vs. Utah Pac-12 National Championship game, but they are still a very good team. Utah 31, Notre Dame 21

Note: I began writing this after Colorado kicked off against Iowa State and did not include it with the picks. For the record, I would have taken the Cyclones, which pains me because both teams are bad.

USC at Arizona

Both teams have good QBs and suspect secondaries. Both teams have talented running backs but can’t always establish the run. I think this one is very even, but if I was a betting man I’d take the over. Arizona 44, USC 41

Last Week: 4-3

Season 43-13

There were not a ton of shockers in week five of the Pac-10. Washington’s upset of USC was the real head turner, as was the comeback by Oregon. All we really learned was that Washington still has some life and the Ducks are very, very good.

Oh, yeah, and apparently Jim Harbaugh is “friends” with the officials, at least that is what Chip Kelly thinks.

UCLA 42, Washington State 28

Should we congratulate Wazzu for hanging tough for three quarters or condemn the Bruins for not putting the lowly Cougs away? How about a little of both. Let’s face it, UCLA is not as good as the team that beat Texas the week before, but they are good enough to best WSU in the Rose Bowl. The “Pistol” was working in Pasadena and if UCLA can hang onto the football, then they have  a chance in every game. The defense is improving and the run game is really going. The key to beating UCLA is to score early and make them play from behind. Right now, they just can’t pass the ball. As for WSU, they are bad, but maybe feisty enough to play with teams and possibly earn at least one upset.

Oregon State 31, ASU 28

A good, old fashioned slugfest. The Beavers were in control for awhile, but ASU never quit. Ryan Katz gets a little bit better every week and once James Rodgers gets healthy OSU may have a very potent offense. ASU’s offense may not be great, but they are decent. The bigger issue may be the defense, which has given up 42 (well actually 28 because Oregon scored twice on defense) and 31 in back-to-back weeks. The defense is good, but may not be good enough to win them games if the offense falters. Mentally, the Beavers are getting more confident, it is October afterall, while I wonder what the psyche of the Sun Devils is after losing three competitive games in a row. If Denis Erickson can keep this team together mentally, ASU will be a tough out week after week.

Washington 32, USC 31

A week after hyping the Trojans, they lose to Washington. Not a huge shock, as the Trojans have all kinds of talent, but very little development. Jake Locker showed why scouts love him as the threw for over 300 yards and ran for more than 100. That may be key for the Huskies. Locker has tried to be more of a pocket passer, but he is more dangerous as a duel threat quarterback. I still think USC is the fourth best team in the Pac-10 and UW is destined for 7^th or worse, but this one again shows the depth of the league.

Oregon 52, Stanford 31

The first half of this one was as good as any game I’ve seen in a long time. If we have learned anything from watching the Chip Kelly edition of the Ducks, is that they are never out of games. This is their second straight comeback, and they have made a habit of scoring points in bunches. They look like a legit top-5 team and the only way to beat them will be to outscore them. As for the Cardinal, why are so many people counting them out? They are a legit top-15 team and Andrew Luck did nothing to make me think less of him. If Stanford does not turn the ball over three times, this one is probably a shootout until the end. At worst, these are two of the three best teams in the league.

Okay, I missed Texas/UCLA last week, but show me someone not wearing the Bruins’ baby blue who picked the Bruins. Other than overvaluing the Arizona and Cal offenses and not giving ASU’s offense enough credit, I was pretty close.

Washington State at UCLA

Do I smell a letdown game for the Bruins? Yup. Do I smell a Wazzu win? Nope. The Bruins put 37 on Texas but worked a short field on all but one scoring drive, so the offense is still as questionable than the lunch meat I left on the counter overnight. Kevin Prince passed for 27 yards again in the Texas win, and even Dick Tomey thought the Bruin offense lacked balance. Sadly, WSU is so poor that Prince could pass for less than 27 yards and this one could still be a rout. UCLA 31, Washington State 7

Arizona State at Oregon State

Denis Erickson returns to the scene of last coaching job he did a good job at (sorry 49er fans), while the Beavers are thrilled that it is October and they can start winning again. ASU has played very well, but has just a .500 record to show for it and another loss could really damage the psyche. Oregon State needs to avoid a 1-3 start, but has always bounced back from slow starts under Mike Riley. Both of these teams player physical, hard-hitting defense, but Oregon State has given up 28 or more points in every game this season. ASU’s challenge will be to hold onto the football in one of the more underrated locales in the Pac-10. Oregon State 28, Arizona State 24

Washington a USC

The Huskies are trying to save their season, while the Trojans want to keep winning under the radar. Jake Locker lost the Heisman two weeks ago, but has a chance to save his drooping draft stock. USC is not playing for the postseason, but is 4-0 and not getting talked about. Don’t be shocked if the Trojans don’t have a chip on their shoulder. They want revenge for the loss to UW last year, they want to prove their QB is the league’s best and they are probably just a little irked that UCLA has gotten all the attention. I am still not sold on USC for the long haul, but they have more talent than the Huskies. USC 28, Washington 17

Stanford at Oregon

The best game in the nation this week. The winner has the upper hand for the Rose Bowl, since both teams host the Wildcats. This is a contrast in styles. Stanford is physical and can pass the ball, while Oregon is speedy and will keep it on the ground as much as they can. The Ducks are not as effective against smash mouth teams, but they are playing in Eugene. Oregon 41, Stanford 38

Easiest game to pick: UCLA over WSU

Toughest game to pick: OSU over ASU

Last Week: 5-1

Season: 20-4

Get ready to hear more about Jamee Swan over the next few years. The Marana sophomore is already one of the top girls basketball players in Southern Arizona and is shaping up to be one of the most sought after recruits in the area in a long time.

Although she won’t step onto a college campus until the fall of 2012, Swan already has a host of scholarship offers including most of the Pac-10.

Courtesy Rick Faust photography

Swan is an athletic, mobile post player who has already been ranked on ESPN.com’s top-100 watchlist for the 2012 class.

She was also invited to the Nike Girls Skills Academy in Los Angeles and used that weekend to also make an unofficial visit to USC.

“It was great,” Swan said of the visit. “We got to meet the coaches and players. We also got to meet the Athletic Director and a bunch of the coaches for other sports.”

Right now the Trojans are in good shape for her recruitment. Head Coach Michael Cooper has made it clear that Swan is one of his top targets in the 2012 class and she was impressed with his NBA career.

“They showed me a bunch of pictures of when Coach Cooper was with the Lakers,” said Swan. “That was pretty cool.”

She was even more impressed with one of the new assistant coaches, WNBA legend Lisa Leslie.

“She is my favorite player,” Swan said. “She is one of the main reasons I wanted to start playing basketball.”

Another big influence on Swan is her mother Diane. Diane played basketball at Oklahoma and is currently the Head Volleyball Coach and Co-Head Basketball Coach at Marana and Jamee plays both sports for her mom as well as competing for the Tigers’ track team.

In addition to the Trojans Swan really likes ASU and UCLA, but is still wide open, admitting she is interested to see what other schools get involved after she goes back on the travel team circuit.

The Wildcats have offered her and she likes the Wildcat coaching staff, but as of now Swan is looking to leave Tucson.

“I want the whole college experience and I am not sure I can have that so close to home,” Swan said.

Swan averaged a double-double, scoring 21.5 ppg and grabbing 15.2 rpg. She also averaged 6.3 blocks and 2.4 steals per game. She led the Tigers to the state playoffs, despite losing senior leader Lindsay Honea to an ACL injury early in the season and the team going through a sudden coaching change less than a week before preseason practice was to begin.