PAC-12 week by week predictions: Week 8.

I started this on UF.N and wanted to keep going. I don’t want to stand by my original predictions because I didn’t have a lot of information pre-fall camp, but what the hell. I’m too lazy to do them over again. So, I’ll continue what I started:

Coming into this week, here is where I have the standings:

#08 Stanford 5-1 (4-0) [8,6,6,4,4,4,4]
#23 Oregon 4-2 (2-1) [20,18,NR,NR,NR,NR,25,25]
#24 WSU 4-2 (1-2) [NR,NR,25,23,23,13,18]
Cal 3-2 (1-2) [NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR]
OSU 1-5 (0-3) [NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR]
Washington 3-3 (0-3) [17,17,16,16,NR,NR]

#7 Utah 7-0 (4-0) [NR,NR,NR,24,15,15,13]
#19 UCLA 5-2 (3-1) [22,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR]
USC 4-3 (3-2) [12,15,13,NR,NR,NR,NR]
ASU 5-2 (2-2) [NR,NR,NR,NR,25,NR,NR]
Arizona 4-3 (1-3) [NR,NR,NR,NR,18,NR,NR]
Colorado 3-4 (1-3) [NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR]

The schedule:

Oregon at Cal: Easy. Oregon is rolling by now, Cal has realized why Webb left his previous school. Oregon rolls, 45-28.

WSU @ ASU: See above. The wheels are falling off the ASU bus and Falk is killing it at WSU. Heisman talk and all. WSU wins, 41-17.

Utah @ UCLA: Ok, so I have Utah as 7-0 right now. The problem is, no one goes undefeated in the PAC-12. It just doesn’t happen. BUT, going forward, where do I have Utah lose? They probably split the UCLA/Washington series. That leaves the other losses as Oregon and possibly Arizona, cause Arizona reasons.

Here is where I think Utah can lose games: USC, UCLA, Washington, Arizona, Oregon. That’s five potential losses. If they can go 3-2, they win the south. If they can go 4-1, they make the playoffs (if they beat Stanford and if they go 4-1, they can beat Stanford).

USC is a scheduled win for Utah. If Utah is ever going to be USC, this year is the year.

The UCLA game is a tough one. Utah does have OSU the week before. UCLA does have WSU the week before. Advantage Utah. UCLA has Rosen. Advantage UCLA. BUT, UCLA’s WR’s are unproven and Utah’s DB’s are elite. Advantage Utah. But, it is on the road. Advantage UCLA. BUT, UCLA is coming off a brutal run in their schedule. 7 out of their 8 weeks are against P5-level teams with no bye week. They have a bye after the Utah game. They will be worn down. Advantage Utah. See the conundrum? This is the definition of a 50/50 game.

So, what happens? I have to have Utah lose to either UCLA or Washington. If they win both, then that means their only potential loss moving forward is ASU or Oregon.

This game is a dogfight. Defense rules the day. Both teams struggle to move the ball. But, the difference is that instead of us turning the ball over in the redzone, UCLA does. Utah wins 21-20.

Colorado @ Stanford: Colorado starts to come into their own. They have always played the PAC-12 teams tough, but they always lose by less than a score. Stanford’s inexperience at QB come back to bite them in this game and it stays much closer than it should be, but McCaffery gets a late punt returned for a TD to win it, 35-38.

OSU @ Washington: Washington rolls. Too much defense. 34-17.

So, after 8 weeks, the standings:

#07 Stanford 5-1 (5-0) [8,6,6,4,4,4,4,8]
#20 Oregon 5-2 (3-1) [20,18,NR,NR,NR,NR,25,25,23]
#21 WSU 5-2 (2-2) [NR,NR,25,23,23,13,18,24]
Cal 3-3 (1-3) [NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR]
OSU 1-6 (0-4) [NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR]
Washington 4-3 (1-3) [17,17,16,16,NR,NR,NR]

#6 Utah 8-0 (5-0) [NR,NR,NR,24,15,15,13,7]
#25 UCLA 5-3 (3-2) [22,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,19]
USC 4-3 (3-2) [12,15,13,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR]
ASU 5-3 (2-3) [NR,NR,NR,NR,25,NR,NR,NR]
Arizona 4-3 (1-3) [NR,NR,NR,NR,18,NR,NR,NR]
Colorado 3-5 (1-4) [NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR,NR]