Jacob Thorpe’s Pac-12 picks

PULLMAN – Jim Mora has a losing streak against Stanford, but it’s not the only one.

Mora has only been UCLA’s coach for four of the seven games the Bruins have lost to the Cardinal since the last time they won, a streak that includes the 2012 conference championship game.

With a win, the Bruins will have a good shot at returning to the Pac-12 title game –providing they can win in Utah in November – where they would very likely meet … Stanford.

Well, no time like the present to learn how to defeat the Cardinal. The two teams square off on Thursday, all other Pac-12 games this week are on Saturday. Gambling with these picks will take years off your life and dollars out of your accounts.

UCLA (18) at Stanford (15), Stanford by 6.5: Can the Pac-12’s ninth-best rush defense stop the league’s deepest backfield? No, probably not. Stanford 31-24

Oregon State at Washington State, WSU by 8: The Beavers have derailed WSU resurgences in the past, but the Cougars appear finally ready to make use of positive momentum. WSU 38-17

USC at Notre Dame, ND by 7: Clay Helton won’t get any tune-up games in his first game as Steve Sarkisian’s replacement. ND 38-24

Arizona at Colorado, UA by 8: The Wildcats appear to have found their footing after a horrific start to conference play. UA 42-27

Arizona State at Utah (4), Utah by 7: Utah has the Top-Five ranking, but if ASU can pull the upset the Sun Devils will suddenly be alone atop the Pac-12 South standings. Utah 28-20

Oregon at Washington, UW by 2.5: Here’s a cool marketing idea for Oregon if it wins this week: Sell 12-packs of soda with each can commemorating a different win over UW in the streak. UO 28-24

Last week: 3-2, 2-3 against the spread

Overall: 38-12, 23-19 against the spread.