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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jacob Thorpe’s Week 10 Pac-12 picks

PULLMAN – To illustrate just how shook up the Pac-12 is this year, take a look at the line on the Colorado vs. UCLA game. The Bruins were projected to win the South Division in the Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll, and the Buffaloes were almost universally projected to finish last.

Now the teams are about to meet in Boulder, and CU is nearly a two-touchdown favorite. Furthermore, if Washington and Washington State each win this weekend – and both are significant favorites in their respective games – one of the two teams is guaranteed to represent the North Division in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Yep, it’s a brave new world out west. Here’s what I think happens this weekend.

UCLA at Colorado, CU by 13: A backup quarterback on the road, at altitude, against a defense that gives up just 5.4 yards per pass attempt.

The pick: CU, 31-17

OSU at Stanford, Stanford by 14.5: Stanford cleared out the cobwebs against Arizona and remembered how to beat up on a bad team. The OSU rush defense is just what Christian McCaffrey needs to get his stats back up.

The pick: Stanford, 38-17

Arizona at No. 25 Washington State, WSU by 17: A team that is winless in Pac-12 play tries to beat a team that is undefeated in Pac-12 play on the road.

The pick: Will be in Friday’s newspaper.

Oregon at USC, USC by 17: With Justin Herbert proving to be a capable quarterback, I think the Ducks have enough offense to prevent this from being a blowout.

The pick: USC, 42-31

No. 5 Washington at California, UW by 16.5: With UW’s best pass rusher sidelined, Davis Webb will have just enough time in the pocket to make this interesting.

The pick: UW, 38-28

Last week: 4-1 straight up, 3-2 against the spread

Overall: 50-16 straight up, 29-26-3 against the spread