Pac-12 picks, Week 5

Just four games in the Pac-12 this week as Washington, USC, Utah and Oregon State are all off. Let’s get to it:

Last week: 3-3 straight-up, 3-2 against the spread.

Season: 30-11 straight-up, 19-13-1 against the spread.

SATURDAY

Washington State at California, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Networks (Cal by 17.5) -- When these teams met last season, WSU quarterback Connor Halliday set the single-game national passing record, Cal receiver Trevor Davis returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, the Cougars missed a 19-yard field goal in the final seconds and Mike Leach fired his special-teams coordinator the next day. Vegas doesn’t seem to think most folks expect this year’s game to be nearly as close. I don’t, either. But I also don’t see the Bears winning by three scores. The pick: California 42, Washington State 35.

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Arizona State at UCLA, 4:30 p.m., FOX (UCLA by 13.5) -- The Sun Devils are not who you thought they were ... assuming you thought they were a team that could cover a two-touchdown spread at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins did show some pretty weak run defense last week at Arizona, but I’m riding with the home team here. The pick: UCLA 34, Arizona State 20.

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Oregon at Colorado, 7 p.m., ESPN (Oregon by 7.5) -- A month ago, “Oregon will be favored by single digits against Colorado” would not have been a statement that a rational person could make. And, well. Here we are. But I have to think there’s at least a little fight left in these wounded Ducks. The pick: Oregon 35, Colorado 24.

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Arizona at Stanford, 7:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks (Stanford by 13.5) -- The Wildcats are banged up (and maybe not all that great, either), Stanford is rolling and there’s no reason to think the Cardinal shouldn’t win this game. The pick: Stanford 38, Arizona 24.

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Pac-12 picks, Week 5."