Five things to watch this week in college football

Myles Jack out for season

The news on Wednesday morning that star UCLA linebacker (and part-time running back) Myles Jack will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury isn’t just bad for the Bruins, it’s bad for anyone who enjoys watching college football in general. Like Shaq Thompson, Jack is a once-in-a-decade type of talent who simply made plays wherever the Bruins lined him up. The former Bellevue High star has a year of eligibility remaining, so perhaps he’ll heal up and return for his senior season before departing for the NFL. But he’s also draft-eligible this year if he chooses to declare early. If he does, this is a disappointing way for his college career to end.

Best action is in Pac-12

There are only two games scheduled this weekend between teams ranked in the AP Top 25 … and both are in the Pac-12. No. 9 UCLA visits No. 16 Arizona (5 p.m., Ch. 4), and No. 13 Oregon hosts No. 18 Utah (5:30 p.m., Ch. 13). Both games mark the conference opener for the teams involved.

Fantasy talk

You can’t turn on a television anymore without seeing an advertisement for daily fantasy football leagues such as FanDuel or DraftKings, so it makes sense that the NCAA and college athletic directors are discussing whether collegiate athletes should be allowed to participate. And you will surely be shocked to know that, according to ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell, the NCAA believes fantasy leagues fall under its anti-gambling rules. Something about “integrity of the game.” Right.

Diet Coke-head

As the Oregonian and ESPN.com have both highlighted in recent weeks, Oregon State offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin says he drinks about 16 to 18 Diet Cokes per day. Per day! That’s incredible. Baldwin told ESPN.com that a recent physical showed that he is in “fantastic health,” which is perhaps even more incredible. The Beavers host Stanford this week. Baldwin might need to ingest a few extra cans to keep up with the suddenly high-scoring Cardinal.

What happened to the USC Trojans?

Or, perhaps more accurately, what happened to the Stanford Cardinal? After struggling to score six points in its season opener against the not-so-vaunted Northwestern Wildcats defense, Stanford strolled into the Los Angeles Coliseum and put up 41 points on a USC team that was picked by media members to win the league this season. Former UW defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox is now in charge of the Trojans’ defense under ex-UW coach Steve Sarkisian. This can’t be a fun week for either of them.

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Five things to watch this week in college football."