Jacob Thorpe’s Pac-12 picks

The annual game between Oregon and Stanford used to mean something. As the Pac-12’s two best programs over the last half-decade or so, the winner in the yearly matchup between the Cardinal and Ducks has been likely to not only decide the Pac-12 North, but the conference champion.

One of the two schools has been the Pac-12’s champion in each of the last six seasons, and the series is split 3-3 during that stretch. Because UO (6-3, 4-2 Pac-12) has stumbled this season while Stanford (8-1, 7-0) has not, the stakes aren’t as high this year.

But the Ducks appear to be hitting their stride, and a healthy Vernon Adams, paired with stars like Royce Freeman and Darren Carrington, can still spoil Stanford’s dreams.

USC at Colorado, USC by 16.5: Ronald Jones II and Juju Schuster-Smith are legitimate superstars, and Colorado won’t be able to keep up with the Trojans offense. USC 41- 21

Washington at Arizona State, ASU by 2.5: Jake Browning is getting better every game and Myles Gaskin is a real weapon. As long as Dwayne Washington doesn’t fumble twice (no guarantee) the Huskies can win this one. UW 31-28

Oregon at Stanford (7), Stanford by 10: We’ll all remember this as the game where Stanford’s playoff hopes died. Oregon 44-37

Utah (10) at Arizona, Utah by 6: Arizona redeemed itself somewhat against USC last week and the Utes haven’t been especially impressive for more than a month. Still, have to think the Utes will win by at least a touchdown. Utah 38-30

Oregon State at California, Cal by 21: Oregon State is averaging less than 10 points over its last three games. That’s not gonna do it. Cal 38-14

Washington State at UCLA (19), UCLA by 10: The Bruins have one of the Pac-12 best passing defenses. The Bruins haven’t faced Luke Falk. WSU 38-34

Last week: 5-1, 2-4 against the spread

Overall: 57-16, 37-25-1 against the spread.