Picking the Pac Week 3: It’s raining on Dawgs and Cats

UCLA @ Oregon (-14)

Putting the appropriate value on UCLA’s dominant victory over Cal makes Vizzini look like he’s trying to decide which cup to drink in The Princess Bride. UCLA surrendered 48 points to Colorado, so they can’t be very good. But they kept Cal at 10, so maybe they’re good. But Cal was inconsistent offensively last year, so maybe they’re not good. But Cal has brought back most of their attack and they’re healthier, so maybe they’re good. But this was Cal’s first game and they only had a shortened and postponed week to prepare, so maybe they’re not good. I think UCLA’s biggest problem will be with the Oregon defense. Even though UCLA is improving, I don’t think they’re still at the level of the Ducks, who held the serve with another solid performance on WSU. At least I don’t have to face a Sicilian, and death is not at stake.

Oregon 35 – UCLA 20

Cal (-3.5) @ State of Oregon

UW and Cal both opened their schedules last week against teams with a game already under their belt and both looked worse than expected. I don’t expect this lag to persist for a second week. On the other hand, this match looks pretty consistent. Cal surrendered 244 rushing yards to UCLA. Jermar Jefferson could have his third straight 100-yard game to open the season. Oregon State has shown against UW that it will sell against the run if the opponent can’t or won’t air it. Will Cal find more success passing than the 122 yards on 33 attempts last week? I expect this game to play out either way.

Oregon State 27 – Cal 24

USC (-3) in Utah

Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images

In a pandemic oddity, USC will play its third straight game against an opponent making their debut in the season. If you thought UW’s QB battle was prolonged, consider that Utes fans still don’t know who will line up under center. USC has played with fire in each of its first two games. Kedon Slovis did enough to sneak through Arizona despite a few coarse-looking ducks popping out of his hands (get it? Poultry ducks? I’ll show off). The Trojans really struggled with the Arizona state defense in the first week and even a young Utes team should offer that kind of resistance. In my opinion, the game will come down to how the Utah offense freezes in a real game. USC hasn’t done enough to convince me of its quality across two games, so I’m picking them to ultimately suffer the consequences this week.

Utah 30 – USC 28

Washington State at Stanford (-2)

Stanford has done just enough to keep fans an iota of confidence in the team. The first week of scraping at the hands of Oregon can be excused by the absences of Davis Mills and Connor Wedington. The Cardinal came close to coming back from a 19-point deficit to Colorado last week, but time has passed. I think the most realistic reading is that the Stanford defense didn’t play well and the run offense had exactly one big play (73-year-old Nathanlel Peat against Oregon). Washington State did not blow up the gates of Oregon or Oregon, but both performances were a little better than expected. Laura’s Jayden looks better than a true rookie, and the offense quickly adopted Nick Rolovich’s playbook. The Cougars will be able to move the ball to Stanford, and I’m not sure the Cardinal has the firepower to follow a shootout.

Washington State 38 – Stanford 34

Arizona State @ Colorado – Canceled

Arizona at Washington (-11)

Based on last week alone, it’s hard to see why UW is favored in double digits against a Pac-12 team or why Arizona would get double digits against any Pac-12 team. Still, there’s reason to believe that myopic sight doesn’t tell us everything we need to know about teams.

This week’s All We Hear Is Purple podcast recording was eaten by an internet freak, so the world missed Gabey and my diving into the myriad of factors that resulted in the Dawgs’ lackluster offensive approach. Among the contributing variables: bad weather, an OSU defense that seemed vulnerable against power runs, a conservative game plan to protect a QB making his first start, horrible weather at match time and a willingness to kill the clock and to protect a late lead in the coaching staff’s opener. Make no mistake, it was too conservative. For UW to come close to its potential, Dylan Morris needs to be more active and the UW playmakers at WR need to be better and more involved.

Photo by Jeff Halstead / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Is it possible that the background cocktail missed the point and John Donovan really wants to miss the I formation 50 times per game? Yes it’s possible. I think the most likely explanation involves these factors and they will loosen the reigns against an Arizona team that is less vulnerable against indoor races, in weather that should be much better, and in the game that isn’t. the very first for the coaches and the QB.

In actual game terms, the USC game tells us little about what to expect from Arizona. They played a lot of zone against the USC air raid and the Trojans threw a lot of quick passes. I suspect Washington will be using faster passes, but that won’t be the bread and butter of the offense. Still, if Morris finishes with less than 200 passing yards again, it won’t be a good sign this week or the season in general.

Defensively, the challenge will be to stop Gary Brightwell. The Arizona frontman split time with JJ Taylor last season, but showed last week he has the power, durability and elusiveness to take on the responsibilities of the Bell Cow. UW needs to be better up front with their tackles holding blocks, and at second level with linebackers filling in the right holes. Coaches can help by providing safety in the box, and given the immense talent in high school, turns can probably be done with a little less help. Grant Gunnell is a balanced and talented quarterback and Arizona have good weapons on the wide receiver, but they didn’t protect him very well last week and UW can cause similar problems if ZTF repeats their breakout performance. .

Photo by Jeff Halstead / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Overall, I think the build-up of weird factors caused UW to play too conservatively in week one. With this test out of the way, the coaches will have to relax a bit because the Dawgs are the most talented team in this game and need the freedom to show it.

UW 30 – Arizona 20