Pac-12 Football Predictions: Week Two-Zona Zealots

We got off to an ok start last week with our Pac-12 football predictions, going 9-3, and will look to improve on that this week, but there are some tough games to pick. Last week, Washington State and Colorado losing messed up two of our picks, and Cal winning at Northwestern is the third game we predicted wrong. Oh well, the great thing about college football season is that we get to live another week and pick again. Here are our week two predictions for the Pac-12 conference.

Thursday 9/4

(1-0) Arizona @ UTSA (1-0) (5:00 p.m FOX Sports 1)

This game is a little more intriguing, than originally thought, after seeing each teams opening games. The UTSA defense forced six turnovers in their opening game win at Houston. On the other hand the Arizona offense set a school record for total yards in a game, with 787, and had two RBs and two WRs each go over 100 yards. I think the UTSA defense will give the Roadrunners a slight chance, but in the end I do not think their offense can compete with the Arizona offense.

Prediction: Arizona 31-17

Friday 9/5

(0-1) Washington State @ Nevada (1-0) (7:30 p.m. ESPN)

The Wolfpack only won four games last season, but they were all at home and three of the four were blowouts. They have a solid defense and an above average offense and QB Cody Fajaro is very capable of leading Nevada to a victory here. However, the Cougars are just the better team here, despite the week one loss, and I think their offense will be too much in this one. Close, but the Cougs get their first win of the season.

Prediction: Washington State 41-38

Saturday 9/6

Aug 30, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; California Golden Bears wide receiver Trevor Davis (9) catches a 76 yards touchdown pass from quarterback Jared Goff (not pictured) during the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

(1-0) Sacramento State @ California (1-0) (12:00 pm Pac-12 Networks)

Cal is coming off the most impressive victory of the week for the Pac-12 and have already matched last season’s win total. Going on the road and beating Northwestern is always a nice win to start the season and they should get their second win of the season this week. Sac St should be able to keep up on the offensive side of the ball, but I give the slight edge on defense to Cal, plus they have the confidence from the week one win.

Prediction: Cal 31-21

(2-0) Eastern Washington @ Washington (1-0) (12:00 pm Pac-12 Networks)

This is a very interesting game. Eastern Washington has proven that they can beat Pac-12 opponents, by beating Oregon State, last season, and they can score in bunches. Washington did not look great last week against Hawaii, but do get the services of their starting QB Cyler Miles for this one. It is the home opener for the Huskies, and Chris Petersen, but I am not sure if they play like they did last week, Washington will get blown out in this one. This is a toss up, but I think the Eagles escape with an upset, although, I am not very confident with this one.

Prediction: Eastern Washington 41-38

(0-1) Fresno State @ Utah (1-0) (12:00 pm Pac-12 Networks)

Fresno struggled last week with their Pac-12 opponent and a similar fate awaits them in Salk Lake City. The Bulldogs just do not have enough talent to stick with many Pac-12 teams and Utah is a tough opponent at home. Utah comes away with a blowout win in this one. The depth and talent disparity of the Pac-12 team will be the big factor here.

Prediction: Utah 45-17

(0-1) Colorado @ Massachusetts (0-1) (12:00 pm ESPN3)

Well neither team did anything good in week one and are looking for their first win on the season. UMASS has a very hard time scoring and a very hard time stopping anyway, so the Buffs should win this one easily. Being on the road is never easy, but it should not matter much here.

Prediction: Colorado 31-7

(1-0) #14 USC @ #13 Stanford (1-0) (12:30 pm ABC)

Both teams looked really impressive in week one and this should be a great early season matchup. The USC offense was rolling on all cylinders in week one and will need it to be just as good if not better this week. Stanford had all three phases of the game on point this past weekend, as they pitched a shutout, had a special teams touchdown, and put up 45 total points. However, that was against UC-Davis, not USC, and it will be more of a challenge this week. USC coach Steve Sarkisian really struggled against Stanford with Washington, so that should be taken into consideration as well. I think Stanford wins this one, at home, seeking revenge from last seasons loss to USC, but its close.

Prediction: Stanford 24-21

Aug 30, 2014; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks to make a throw against South Dakota Coyotes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

(1-0) #7 Michigan State @ #3 Oregon (1-0) (3:30 pm FOX)

This game is going to be fun. The Oregon offense is one of, if not the, best in the nation and the Michigan State defense is as tough as they come. This is probably the biggest non-conference game in the history of Autzen Stadium and that place will be electric Saturday afternoon. However, MSU is used to playing in stadiums with really good fans and should not be affected too much. They key to this game will be the young receivers from Oregon and if they can get away from the MSU secondary. I personally cannot wait for this game and it really is anyone’s games.

Prediction: Oregon 35-32

(1-0) #17 Arizona State @ New Mexico (0-1) (4:00 pm CBS Sports Network)

ASU is huge favorites in this one and for good reason. New Mexico threw for all of 67 yards in their opener against UTEP, so they should be in for a long day against this Sun Devil defense. They did rush the ball for an unbelievable 410 yards, but you have to think that they will not repeat that performance again against ASU.

Prediction: ASU 45-17

(1-0) Memphis @ #11 UCLA (1-0) (7:00 pm Pac-12 Networks)

I expect this UCLA team to be fired up and come out guns blazing in their home opener. The offense will have a chip on their shoulder after their performance at Virginia in week one. I expect the Bruins to win pretty handily, although we all thought the same about Virginia.

Prediction: UCLA 38-14

(1-0) Oregon State @ Hawaii (0-1) (7:30 pm CBS Sports Network)

Is Hawaii as improved as they looked last week against Washington? Or was Washington just struggling without their starter and the trip to islands? I think it is more the latter, but that being said, Oregon State struggled with Portland State for most of their first game, so they are not exactly off to a great start either. In this one, we will see the more high-powered Beaver offense and more of the 1-11 Hawaii team from last season. The Beavs move to 2-0.

Prediction: Oregon State 34-20

We have some big games on our hands this week, but I still believe the Pac-12 has a chance of going undefeated, not counting the USC-Stanford game, and I have Washington losing to Eastern Washington, but I would not be surprised if Washington does win and the conference goes undefeated this week.

What do you think about the predictions? Do you think a game we predicted will have a different outcome? Are there going to be more upsets or will the games go as many expected? Let us know in the comments below!

Home/Pac-12