Jacob Thorpe’s Week 12 Pac-12 picks

PULLMAN – Half of the Pac-12 is in the top 25 of this week’s college football playoff rankings, and half the Pac-12 is not very good at all. Since only two of the ranked teams are playing each other in Week 12, I’m projecting a lot of blowouts.

Those two teams, No. 10 Colorado and No. 22 Washington State, will play one of the most highly anticipated games in the conference this season. Look for my prediction for that game in Friday’s paper.

Oregon at No. 12 Utah

Utah by 14: The Ducks lost to Utah by 42 points last year, and that UO team was a heck of a lot better than this one.

The pick: Utah, 42-17

No. 24 Stanford at California

Stanford by 11: Stanford emerged its early-season ineptitude without too many scratches, and will likely be the more motivated team.

The pick: Stanford, 44-30

Arizona State at No. 6 Washington

UW by 27: I agree that the Huskies will win this game easily, but 27 points seems a little high for a team that will probably be trying lots of linebackers out on defense.

The pick: UW, 41-24

Arizona at Oregon State

OSU by 6.5: Finally, the conference’s two worst teams play each other. I like the Beavers in this one.

The pick: OSU, 35-27

No. 13 USC at UCLA

USC by 13.5: The Pac-12 South title is in USC’s reach. The Trojans aren’t going to let their pesky rival stand in their way.

The pick: USC, 42-20

Jacob Thorpe’s records

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

Overall: 59-18 straight up, 34-32-3 against the spread