Jacob Thorpe’s Week 9 Pac-12 picks
PULLMAN – There is a football game on Thursday, and under some circumstances it could be pretty intriguing. California has proved to be a team that can beat or lose to anybody it faces, while the surging Trojans are probably the best team in the Pac-12 South but need to play flawlessly the rest of the way to have a shot at winning the division.
Instead, the Thursday night game is likely to be a bit of a dud. The Pac-12 scheduled Cal to play this game on a short week (albeit, not that short because the Golden Bears last played on Friday). USC, however, got a bye week to prepare for this matchup.
Throw in the fact that the Golden Bears played a double-overtime game against Oregon last week, and they’re going to be hard pressed to keep up with the Trojans. But hey, at least they will get two extra days to recover before next Saturday’s game against No. 4 Washington.
California at USC, USC by 16.5: California is the Pac-12’s most erratic team. But don’t overthink this. Cal has a short week following a double-overtime game. USC is coming off a bye. The pick: USC, 45-24
No. 4 Washington at No. 17 Utah, UW by 10: Feels like the UW defense is about to remind Joe Williams why folks prefer not to come out of retirement. The pick: UW, 35-13
Arizona State at Oregon, UO by 8: Not sure Justin Herbert is ready to handle ASU’s complex defensive schemes. The pick: ASU, 31-28
Washington State at Oregon State, WSU by 13.5: The Beavers have not lost big at home once this season. But the offense just is not there to keep up with the Cougars. The pick: Click here for the pick.
Stanford at Arizona, Stanford by 5.5: Stanford has not scored more than 17 points in a month. Might as well start sometime. The pick: Stanford, 28-21
Last week: 4-1 straight up, 3-1-1 against the spread Overall: 46-15 straight up, 26-24-3 against the spread