The Pac-12 turned in a quietly dominant performance last weekend. The conference needed the boost after failing on the national stage in week 1.
As we know, though, football is a week-by-week game, and the Pac-12 looked all the part of the preseason hype last week.
Into week 3 of the college football season, there aren’t any marquee matchups outside of the conference, and the one major inter-conference matchup has lost a bit of its luster.
However, this should be another week for teams like California and Utah to show it belongs with the other big boys of the conference.
Here are two games to keep an eye for this week.
Pac-12 season: 14-10 ATS
Last week: 10-2 ATS
Stanford at USC (-10)
Bettors are jumping on the Trojans. The line opened at -8 in favor of USC. Now it’s up to double digits.
The public isn’t satisfied with Stanford’s offense. And it hasn’t hurt that USC has destroyed its opponents so far this season.
It’s tough to gauge how good either teams’ schedules have been. Stanford has gone on the road already, and looked terrible against Northwestern. It came back last week and manhandled Central Florida. But this Knights team isn’t the same team that went to a BCS bowl just two years ago.
The Trojans have been impressive straight up and against the spread, as one of three Pac-12 teams undefeated against the spread. Those wins have come against Idaho and Arkansas State, though.
The Cardinal should be better up front than USC and can control the line of scrimmage. Getting 10 points makes this a solid value pick. — Go against the chalk with Stanford
BYU at UCLA (-17)
At some point the luck of the Cougars has to end.
This is the week it ends.
BYU is playing with fire, with winning on long touchdown passes during the season’s first two games. We don’t like how the Cougars have had to grind their way through the first two weeks, while UCLA has breezed through its schedule, which included Virginia.
The Cougars aren’t doing enough on a consistent basis to hang with a top-tier team. Nebraska and Boise State aren’t as good as what the public perceives. UCLA is.
The Bruins will control this game from the beginning, and the Cougars won’t be able to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter. This game stays at a two-touchdown advantage for the most part, until the Bruins tack on late scores for the cover. — Go chalk with UCLA
Other Pac-12 games with a spread
Odds provided by Oddsshark
New Mexico at Arizona State (-27.5)
Georgia State at Oregon (-45)
Utah State at Washington (-6)
Colorado (-3) at Colorado State
California (-6.5) at Texas
San Jose State at Oregon State (-7)
Wyoming at Washington State (-24)
Utah (-14) at Fresno State
