No USC Football? No Problem.

USC has a bye this week, but there are still a few Pac-12 match ups on Saturday that could be interesting:

No. 22 Arizona State at Utah: Jordan Flynn and the Utes (2-2) are 0-2 in conference play, and have been mediocre in their first Pac-12 Season. Brock Osweiler and the Sun Devils (4-1) on the other hand, are trying to show why they are the team to beat in the Pac-12 South. Utah just doesn’t have the firepower to move the ball against Vontaze Burfict and the ASU defense, and Osweiler is going to tear their secondary apart. Only thing that MIGHT trip up ASU is how they handle playing in temperatures under eight thousand degrees (give or take a few). For completely selfish reasons, I want Utah to win this game, but I don’t know if I want to call this upset. I’m realistic: ASU beats Utah 28-9.

Arizona at Oregon State: This game will decide who will be slightly less irrelevant in their respective half of the Pac-12. Without Juron Criner, U of A (1-4) has Nick Foles and that’s basically it, and Oregon State (0-4) has I don’t even know who. Neither team’s defense could stop a nosebleed, so expect a shootout. I’m gonna take Nick Foles to outplay Ryan Katz any day of the week, assuming Katz even decides to show up (mentally) at all. Oregon State is trying to figure out how to replace the Rodgers brothers and D-lineman Stephen Paea, and they still haven’t got it. Wildcats win, 35-21.

Washington State at UCLA: Washington State (3-1) decided to hand the torch to Oregon State as the most irrelevant time in the Pac-12 and is on the up and up somehow, while UCLA (2-3) is its same old mediocre (on a good day) self. This game really could go either way, with neither team having any threats at any position. So uh…yeah. I might have to make my pick for this once the game actually starts, but I think who ever wins will do so by a field goal.

Outside of the Pac-12, here are a few games I am excited about:

The Red River Rivalry: No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Texas. Always a good quality match up. The Longhorns (4-0) is looking a lot better with Case McCoy under center instead of Garret Gilbert, but can they hold a candle to Landry Jones and The Sooners (4-0)? Oklahoma really hasn’t played anyone other than Florida State, but Texas has played even bigger nobodies, so this could end up actually being a close game. I’m pulling for Oklahoma, because as a Trojan I just cannot bring myself to EVER support the Longhorns. Oklahoma wins, 38-27.

No. 17 Florida vs. No. 1 LSU: Florida has one of the best offensives in the country, and they are coming off of a loss where they got absolutely SHUT DOWN by Alabama’s defense. Now they have to enter the treacherous Tiger Stadium and face LSU’s equally ridiculous defense. Florida could come into this hyped though, wanting to upset the No. 1 team. Can they do it? I don’t think so. LSU wins, 35-10.

Be sure to check out any or all of these games this weekend!