This week’s picks are as follows:
OREGON over CAL … these Ducks are on another planet. When their starting offense was forced to finally play all four quarters, the result was 730 yards and 62 points against mighty Troy. The toughest part of the schedule looms, but the Ducks won’t lose to anybody.
STANFORD over OREGON STATE … with Oregon likely to punch its ticket to the national championship game, the Rose Bowl berth could go to the winner of this one in Palo Alto. With a little luck, both teams could have been undefeated at this point.
USC over ARIZONA STATE … the Trojans are nowhere near as good as they think they are, but they should have enough weapons to subdue the Sun Devils, who are in a tailspin of their own.
UCLA over WASHINGTON STATE … the more Mike Leach berates his struggling Cougars, the worse they play. This one will get ugly early, with most of the ugliness on the Wazzu sideline.
UTAH over WASHINGTON … the Utes would like dearly to start the season over now that they’ve found a quarterback and a winning formula.
KANSAS STATE over TCU … the Wildcats keep their national title hopes alive for yet another week.
FRESNO STATE over NEVADA … the Dawgs are back.
UPSET OF THE WEEK: Texas A&M over Alabama … the Tide struggled mightily on offense last week and may need a bunch of points to shut down the high-flying Aggies … (Upset record: 3-7)
ROUT OF THE WEEK: Clemson over Maryland … the injury-riddled Terps have no way to score. Clemson, meanwhile, scores in bunches. (Rout record: 10-0).
DON’T BET ON IT, BUT: Arizona over Colorado … coming off a stunning upset over USC, the Wildcats were thinking bowl bid. Then, they turn around and drop a 66-10 decision to UCLA. Welcome to the Pac-12, Rich Rod. (Don’t bet record: 9-1).
FIVE EASY PICKS: This week’s easy-moneymakers are BYU (over Idaho), Notre Dame (over Boston College), Boise State (over Hawaii), Louisiana Tech (over Texas State) and Florida (over Louisiana-Lafayette). (FEP record: 50-0).
AGGIES over EASTERN WASHINGTON … there are no great teams in the Big Sky, but there are some very good teams, and that includes Eastern Washington. It’s been a tough year for the Aggies in their new conference home, with a couple of near-misses that could have made things interesting. Still, this team wants to send out longtime coach Bob Biggs with a two-game winning streak, beginning Saturday on the cold red turf in Cheney.
OTHER GAMES: Pittsburgh over Connecticut, South Carolina over Arkansas, Texas over Iowa State, Texas Tech over Kansas, Rutgers over Army, Michigan over Northwestern, Wisconsin over Indiana, Cincinnati over Temple, Akron over Massachusetts, North Carolina State over Wake Forest, Oklahoma over Baylor, Nebraska over Penn State, Wyoming over New Mexico, Oklahoma State over West Virginia, Minnesota over Illinois, Georgia over Auburn, LSU over Mississippi State, and San Jose State over New Mexico State.
Last week: 29-5, season: 328-77, percentage: .810.
— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected]