With the Oregon State football team off this weekend for its first bye week of the season, BeaversEdge.com takes a look at the other games going on in the Pac-12 this weekend and how it could impact the Beavers moving forward.
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Friday, September 20th
USC 30, No. 10 Utah 23
Spin-> USC's stunning upset over No. 10 Utah certainly set off alarm bells across the college football world on Friday night as the Pac-12's top-ranked team fell in Los Angeles. While the Pac-12's hopes for the College Football Playoff didn't solely ride on the Utes, it was a game that Utah needed to win to further build trust in the polling landscape that the Utes were for real. Granted, we've seen a one-loss team reach the CFP, but unless some of the top teams start to drop games, the Pac-12 will be on the outside looking in for a playoff berth. Kudos to Clay Helton's Trojans as they've proven they're going to be a tough team to deal with this season, despite having a rotating door at QB.
Saturday, September 21st
No. 23 Cal @ Ole Miss
TV: ESPNU / WATCH LIVE
Spin-> With most of the Pac-12 entering conference play this weekend, the Golden Bears play one of the more intriguing non-conference matchups of the season against Ole Miss. The Bears have started the season 3-0 and look to be one of the conferences best defensive teams as Justin Wilcox's squad has been impressive to open the year. This is a prime opportunity for a Pac-12 team to knock off an SEC team on national television and Cal can't squander such an opportunity.
No. 22 Washington @ BYU - 12:30 p.m.
TV: ABC/ESPN2
Spin-> While BYU was able to knock off USC a week ago, it's hard to imagine that they'll be able to take down Chris Petersen's Washington Huskies. UW bounced back with a win over Hawaii last week after falling to Cal in week two and I don't anticipate the Huskies having much trouble with the Cougars. BYU is always a very tough opponent, but UW won't drop this one.
No. 16 Oregon @ Stanford - 4 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Spin-> If there's a game that every single Oregon State player, coach, and fan will likely be tuned in to on Saturday, it's Oregon and Stanford. With the Beavers hosting the Cardinal to open Pac-12 play next Saturday, this contest is one that will be under a close microscope. Stanford has been well, un-Stanford like, in the first few weeks of the season. Outside of a ho-hum win over Northwestern to open the season, the Cardinal have dropped contests to USC and UCF in blowout fashion in the past two weeks and it's hard to get a gauge on where David Shaw's group is this season. Oregon certainly remembers what happened in Eugene a season ago and I expect the Ducks to roll in this contest. I don't believe that the Cardinal is as complete of a team that they've been in recent years and I expect them to be sporting a three-game losing streak heading into Reser Stadium next week.
Colorado @ No. 22 Arizona State - 7 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Network
Spin-> Another Pac-12 team that entered the top-25 ranks this week was Herm Edwards' Arizona State Sun Devils. After an impressive win over Michigan State on the road last week, it's possible that this could be trap-game for ASU. Colorado may have dropped a contest to Air Force in overtime last week, but I've liked what I've seen from new Buffs HC Mel Tucker. While I do favor the Sun Devils slightly, I could see the Buffs pulling this one out on the road.
UCLA @ No. 19 Washington State - 7:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Spin-> It's probably for the best for Chip Kelly that the fine folks at ESPN and Pac-12 Network put this game against WSU in the late-evening as it's not going to be a pretty contest for the Bruins. UCLA (0-3) has been the most disappointing team in the Pac-12 thus far, getting blown out by Oklahoma and not exactly looking competitive against San Diego State and Cincinnati. I'm not foolish enough to say Kelly can't pull off the upset, but Mike Leach's Cougars are once again the real deal this season and it's tough to see them dropping this contest at home.
