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I started writing this Thursday night but I am putting it up Saturday Morning. As you can see I am already 0-1 after picking UCLA over Washington/

UCLA at Washington

Bruins still playing for the postseason, Washington playing the role of spoiler. Don’t really like either of these teams, but will take the Bruins in an ugly one. Note: Now the Huskies are the team with some postseason chances, albeit slim ones. UCLA 17, Washington 14

Stanford at Cal

Cal is better at home and needs the win. Stanford wants to make the BCS. One team fakes injuries, while the other blurs the lines of illegal huddles. Cal keeps it close, but can’t fake enough injuries to win. Stanford 28, Cal 20

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If I had picked the Pac-10 and not the Pac-12 last week, I would have gone 4-0. Instead, I missed on Texas Teach/Colorado, though to my credit, it was a three-point game that saw the Raiders rally from a 14-point second half deficit.

Let’s get to it.

California at Oregon State

Cal is no good away from home. Seriously, get them into their white road jerseys and they are no good. Take away the Arizona game and they get blasted whenever they board an airplane to play football. I actually like Oregon State a lot, but the way Cal looks on the road, they could be playing Portland State and I’d pick against them. Oregon State 31, Cal 20

Washington State at ASU

If the Cougars were hosting, I’d be tempted to pick them. Since they are heading to Tempe, I have to pick the Devils, but this one is going to be close. ASU 24, Washington State 17

Stanford at Washington

The Huskies are better at home, but it won’t matter. Last week Matt Scott sliced up the UW secondary and Andrew Luck is better than Scott. Stanford 41, Washington 16

Oregon at USC

The Trojans are actually flying under the radar, strange for a team that is a media darling, but both of their losses are on last second field goals. Oregon will loose a game this season, but it won’t be this week and it won’t be on a dramatic kick. Oregon 49, USC 35

Utah at Air Force

The Falcons are really good, but injuries are really taking their toll. The Utes have been killing people and while they won’t dismantle Air Force on the road, they will win impressively. Utah 38, Air Force 21

Colorado at Oklahoma

I’m mad at Colorado for costing me my perfect week, but I’d pick against them regardless. Oklahoma 51, Colorado 17

Arizona at UCLA

The Wildcats will not play as well as they did a week ago, but they won’t have to. The UCLA team that beat Houston and Texas no longer exists, injuries and suspensions have taken their toll. Cats win ugly. Arizona 27, UCLA 10

Last Week: 5-1

Season: 32-10

Last week was my worst week picking, as I only went 3-2. I missed on the two Arizona teams. I picked the Cats to win and the Devils to lose.

There are just three games this week, so not a whole lot to pick.

Cal at USC

To me this is the battle to crack the top half of the conference. While ASU is better, these two teams are vying to finish fifth in the league. Cal showed me a lot in rebounding from two losses in a row by dominating UCLA. USC has lost two straight games in the final minutes and there are some rumblings that players are starting to mail it in. Let’s make it three in a row. Cal 34, USC 31

Oregon State at Washington

The Huskies are done if they lose this one, while OSU is playing their fourth road game, second in a row. After facing TCU, Boise and Arizona in the first five games the Beavers are due for a letdown. They will have one, but they still won’t lose. Mike Riley doesn’t lose bad games in October. Oregon State 24, Washington 17

Arizona at Washington State

The Cougars have played better of late, hanging with UCLA and Oregon, but they got both of those teams a week after their huge match-ups (Texas and Stanford). They get an angry Wildcat team who is not happy after losing a tough one against the Beavers. Arizona rights a lot of wrongs. Arizona 48, Washington State 17

Last Week: 3-2

Season: 26-7

3-1 is not a bad record, but my margins of error were not so good. Of the four games I was pretty close on the Oregon State/ASU game, but not so much on the others. I had Oregon winning a close one, UCLA winning by 24 and USC just plain winning. Of course, Oregon won by 21, UCLA by just 14 and Washington beat USC on the road.

UCLA at Cal

Uh-oh Bears! The pistol returns. Nevada used the offense to rack up 500 yards and more than 50 points. UCLA may run the same offense, but is not nearly as potent as the Wolfpack. Part of the reason Nevada was successful was that they can also throw the ball and as of now UCLA has not shown that they can successfully pass.

Cal is in the midst of a two-game slide and Jeff Tedford’s teams have shown the tendency to be mentally fragile in recent years. Really, they have been mentally soft since Kevin Riley took off running with no time outs in a game against Oregon State his freshman year. Riley is still with the Bears, but he is a senior and he’s at home. Cal 21, UCLA 14

Oregon at Washington State

Insert your own joke here. Although Washington State has been feisty of late, they just cannot hang with Oregon. Could the Ducks score 70? Yup, but they won’t. They will call off the dogs, er ducks, early enough. Oregon 56, Washington State 13

USC at Stanford

Both teams are reeling after emotional losses, so we’ll see how they respond. I have more faith in Stanford than I do this edition of the Trojans. USC has more overall talent, but Stanford is the more complete team right now. Last year the Cardinal pissed off USC by going for a two point conversion while up big. The Trojans want revenge on Stanford but won’t get it. Stanford 38, USC 24

ASU at Washington

Another tough road game for the Sun Devils. UW is riding high after beating USC for the second time in two season, while the Devils have lost three straight tough games. Jake Locker seems to have regained his swagger and that should be enough. Washington 27, ASU 20

Oregon State at Arizona

The Beavers are a much better team after September ends, and guess what, it’s October. OSU has owned the Wildcats of late, oddly enough playing better against the Cats in Tucson than they are in Corvallis. However, this is not the same Oregon State team, nor is this the same Arizona team. Arizona 34, Oregon State 24

Toughest game to pick: UCLA at Cal

Easiest game to pick: Oregon at Washington State

 Last Week: 3-1

Season: 23-5

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