Week 2: Pac 12 Predictions

USC WR Robert Woods

The Pac 12 looked, in a word, terrible last week. They were one of two major conferences to lose a game to an FCS school (and almost lost a second), while also losing most major contests against other BCS level schools.
This week it gets even tougher for the Pac. Ranked teams Oklahoma State, Missouri and Wisconsin are on the table for some of the Pac 12 teams this week. Without some good performances against these teams the Pac 12 may face scrutiny throughout the rest of the season.

Arizona @ #8 Oklahoma State
Prediction: Arizona 14, Oklahoma State 42
Arizona had some serious struggles against a North Arizona team last week at home. This week they will travel to Oklahoma State, and it won’t be a pretty. The Cowboys have one of the best offensive games in the country and Arizona had a hard time scoring against North Arizona last week. I would be very surprised if the Wildcats can keep up with Oklahoma State, particularly on the road.

#23 Arizona State vs. #19 Missouri
Prediction: Arizona State 28, Missouri 10
Missouri looked about as unimpressive as anyone last week against Miami (OH). Their offense looked anemic and they let Miami stay in the game throughout the fourth quarter. Arizona State, on the other hand, was one of the more impressive Pac 12 teams last week. UC Davis is not Missouri, but the way Arizona State handled UC Davis looks promising for their season. Missouri will put up a challenge but ultimately home field advantage and a more impressive Arizona State team will win the day.

Preseason Conference Predictions

Here are my preseason predictions for how each team in a major conference will finish. These things aren't very exciting now, but in the future it is fun to see how you did compared to the real thing.



USC Quarterback Matt Barkley



Pacific 12 Conference:

North:

1. Oregon
2. Stanford
3. Washington
4. California
5. Oregon State
6. Washington State

South:

1. Utah
2. Arizona State
3. USC
4. Arizona
5. UCLA
6. Colorado

Championship Game: Oregon over Utah

The two best teams in the Pac this year are Stanford and Oregon, it's that easy. Sadly these two are in the same division and cannot meet up in the Pac 12 Championship game. Stanford-Oregon will decide the Pac 12 North. Washington comes on at a strong third behind the two favorite, while Oregon State suffers from major injuries and drops farther back in the Pac.

The South will be decided between three teams: USC, Arizona State and Utah. Since USC will be unable to participate in a championship game, that opens the door for Arizona State or Utah (in their first year) to take a trip to Oregon.

Click to read the Big XII, SEC, ACC and Big Ten predictions!

Week 1: Pac 12 Predictions

Week 1 of college football usually doesn't offer the most exciting crop of games. Instead, the majority of the games are usually powerhouses vs. cupcakes as tune up games for the schedules to come. Still, every year a few teams go out of their way to schedule big times games for week 1 (look at Boise State and Va. Tech last year).

This year, the marquee game for the first week is clearly Oregon vs. LSU, so that's where we will start our predictions off this week.

Oregon RB LaMichael James

Oregon vs. LSU @ Cowboy Stadium
Prediction: Oregon 24, LSU 17
I expect a close game early with LSU taking the halftime lead and Lee playing better than anticipated. However, I feel like Lee is going to falter at least once in the second half. That mistake will lead to an easy Oregon score, and with the game close going down the stretch I just don't think Lee is going to be able to cut it against a talented Oregon defense.

Utah vs. Montana State
Prediction: Utah 42, MS 7
Utah will get its first victory under their new Pac 12 banner. Remember when I said teams schedule cupcake games early on?