Thanks goodness Arizona has a bye

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

It’s time for my Pac-10 picks.

They should be better this week, if only because Arizona has a bye and I won’t be picking the Wildcats to win (bye is favored by 2 ½ points – but, even if the Cats were to lose, Jim Livengood would support coach Mike Stoops).

So I should do better than last week’s 2-3 (darn Notre Dame) record.

Let’s get to it …

USC struggles but wins a defensive battle over Oregon State: With the return of a healthy wide receivers Dwayne Jarrett (pictured; AP photo) and Steve Smith, the SC offense should perk up a little.

Arizona State wins at Washington: The Sun Devils might just win out (sorry Cougs).

Oregon defeats Portland State, but it is closer than most think: The PSU defense should keep it in the game – for a while at least.

Cougars edge UCLA: The injuries are piling up for WSU. If the two teams were both healthy, I would pick WSU in an easy win. But the Cougs injuries trump the Bruins’ (quarterback Ben Olsen). Still, I’m putting my money on Karl Dorrell making his typical game-day mistake that costs the Bruins the game.