Tag: college football

By: Andrew Haubner

Each week during the NFL season, UnafraidShow.com will take you through the four Pac-12 teams/players that are trending up, as well as the ones that are headed for a crash. Let’s get to it:

Make sure to check out this week’s Pac-12 Apostles Podcast, or just click play on the Spotify link below while you read the article below.

Four Up: Pac-12 Teams and Players Trending Up

Ducks beat UCLA

Beavers beat Utah

Combined record: 11-3

Power in the Pac-12 is in the state of Oregon.

Enjoy it.

— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) October 24, 2021

1) Duck Tales

For two quarters, we saw the Oregon we’d been waiting to see. The Ducks completely buried UCLA after falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter and wound up winning 34-31. Those with high expectations for them would point to allowing the Bruins back into this game. But at this point with Oregon, you take the good with the bad. They’re 6-1, the No. 7 team in the country and still in the drivers seat to win a Pac-12 title and maybe even make a push for the College Football Playoff. Travis Dye has solidified himself as a lead back while Kayvon Thibodeaux had his national coming out party as the best edge rusher in college football. I only hope he sent Dorian Thompson-Robinson a ‘get well soon’ card. I wouldn’t want him to pay the medical bills though. That one is on Chip Kelly.

2) Those Dam Beavers

I should’ve known that putting the Beavers down as a cooling off team last week would lead to me eating some crow. But here it is. My crow was grilled, seasoned with salt, pepper and a little oregano. Kidding aside, Oregon State is just flat out good. The Washington State loss is still a bit inexplicable but Utah is a solid program that was on the upswing. To beat yet another team that has given Jonathan Smith and co. fits since they arrived in Corvallis is another notch in the rebuild belt. BJ Baylor and this OSU rushing attack is the best in the conference and there really isn’t anyone that has shown any kind of proficiency in stopping them yet. So if that’s the case, you gotta ride the hot hand. They have a tough back end to the schedule and this California game screams “BAD VIBES!” but if they can manage to get to the Oregon game with an 8-3 record then they have a shot to really cause some chaos. Don’t count them out. As good as crow can be to eat, too much of it can give you mud butt. 

3) Sun Devil Surge 

Arizona State, like a couple other teams in the conference, is such a “what if?” Get by BYU early in the year and you’re talking about a team that would be a one-loss squad with an insanely easy end of schedule. Aside from Oregon State, I fully expect the Sun Devils to win out. You just hope that when those teams meet on November 20th, they’re two-loss teams that are hopefully ranked in the Top 25. ASU has the weapons offensively, they’ve got the best quarterback in the conference (best is generous I know but Jayden Daniels is probably the most consistent), and a defense that has shown some good flashes. You never like going into a bye week on a loss but that could have the same galvanizing effect as it did for Oregon State. If there’s anything to worry about, it’s the coaching attrition. This is the time of year where the grind starts to wear on folks. And I’m sure in Tempe there has been a lot of effort put towards filling the coaching gaps in the wide receiver, tight end and defensive back room. Eventually that can come back around on you. For the sake of the Pac-12’s competitive national profile, I’m hoping it won’t matter.

4) A Cal Progression to the Mean

Yeah, I know last week we openly pondered if Justin Wilcox was in a bit of a hot seat from a perception standpoint. Had they lost to Colorado, he would’ve been. Instead, Cal turned in one of their better games this season. I won’t buy into the idea that the Golden Bears are going to turn this into a run that starts with a home tilt against Oregon State. But it could mean the Golden Bears may put a scare into the Beavers, Stanford and UCLA. Four of their five losses were in one possession games. Three of those losses came on one of (or the*) final plays of the game. It’s just been really bad execution, bad redzone playcalling and a little bit of bad luck. You have to assume that a progression to the mean is coming for them. Now that doesn’t mean running the table but it could means wins against Arizona and USC with a pick off of one of the aforementioned three teams. Finishing 5-7 would be frustrating given what we thought they would be this year. But college football’s margins are razor thin and it seems Justin Wilcox and his staff have learned that the hard way this year. 

Heating Up

No team in the country has turned it on quite like Utah. Okay, maybe Washington State. But it’s Oregon, through good and bad, that continues to be the best team in the conference when they want to be. That second and third quarter against UCLA was playoff caliber and I think it’s a fair argument that if Kris Hutson doesn’t have that crucial fumble that they probably go on to blow the Bruins out the rest of the way. Are there some things that are easy to dislike or be worried about? Absolutely. But Anthony Brown turning in his most efficient performance as a Duck should terrify folks because it feels like he is starting to put it together. In fact, up until the Hutson fumble, Brown was 25/32 for over 250 yards and set up the short yardage scores from Travis Dye. It got a little squirrely late but he puts them in positions to win and doesn’t really make mistakes. The last two games on their schedule are the scariest (@ Utah, vs. Oregon State) but they should be 9-1 heading into those games. Trust the Ducks, even if you hate them. It’s better to have someone in Playoff contention heading into November than not have one at all. 

Four Down: Pac-12 Teams and Players Trending Down

It really is mind-boggling how bad Colorado's offense is. Averaging 13 ppg vs FBS opponents and only 3 so far today vs a wobbly Cal defense

— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) October 23, 2021

1) Breaking the Buffaloes

Buffs**t (noun): A word commonly used by Colorado football fans as a catch-all term for the myriad ways in which the program has messed up, be it on or off the field, in the last two decades. 
Used in a sentence: 13 yards of total offense in the second half against a one win Cal team with the reigning conference player of the year as your running back is classic Buffs**t. 
In fact, most of this season has been peak Buffs**t. Colorado is nearing the lows of the Jon Embree years, a feat previously thought impossible. Based on the comments of wide receiver Brendon Rice, the issues go deeper than scheme. To hear him tell it, there’s an accountability issue in the program which is essentially saying there’s rot that requires cutting out the abscess completely. Maybe getting rid of offensive line coach Mitch Rodrigue will help. Or if you’re of a more cynical mindset, it is the first of what may be many scapegoats to distract from where the root of the problem actually lies. You can see where I’m going with this. 

2) When the Chips are Down…

The contingent of folks in UCLA land that are done with the Chip Kelly experiment got a nice feather in their cap this weekend. The Bruins gave away a 14-0 first quarter lead and saw themselves outscored 34-3 in the next two quarters before ultimately losing 34-31 at home to Oregon. I don’t think I’m there yet but one can understand the frustration after hearing for the last three years that everything was building to this season. One could be forgiven for wondering just how much of this years’ results will go back to that Fresno State loss at home. 6-2 does look a lot better than 5-3, after all. But that game is done and dusted and UCLA must look ahead. The last three games of the schedule (Colorado, USC, Cal) appear to be a cakewalk but this weekend’s matchup against Utah is a big one for Chip to prove a proof of concept. After all, 9-3 will play a whole lot better than 8-4. 

3) Trojans in Trouble

With each passing game, we’re starting to see that USC is basically that one scene from HBO’s Chernobyl. While the nuclear reactor is burning, the head of the power plant declared the radiation measurement at 3.6 roentgen. “Not great, not terrible.” The reality of course was that the doximeters maxed out at 3.6 so the real values were way off the charts. By the time everyone realized it was a nuclear meltdown, so much radiation had entered the atmosphere that the town of Pripyat was evacuated and abandoned. Every week the oddsmakers are thinking in terms of 3.6 roentgen and we all get hoodwinked into not realizing USC is a bunch of Soviet generals in a boardroom wondering how they can spin a positive narrative while their plant workers skin is falling off the bone like Texas brisket. 
We can say whatever we want about how attractive the USC job is. But whichever coach comes to Los Angeles next will have a much bigger task than originally anticipated. There’s a massive cultural overhaul needed, a bunch of different holes on the lines to plug and generally a belief that is clearly not there with the program anymore. Drake London seems to be the only good who can cash the checks his mouth is writing.  He’s got the fight, the swagger and skill to back that up. And man, it’s impossible to not feel for him. The wide receiver is having a Biletnikoff winning/Heisman contending season and no one sees it because USC stinks. And that stinks even more. At least they have Arizona next. Talk about a get-right game.

4) Filet-O-Fisch Pt. 2

Last week on Finding Nemo, the young clownfish had just been flushed down the toilet and had waded through the sewage treatment plant on his way to the sea. Well, we now find our protagonist Fisch being stuck in the net of a fishing trawler headed up to the surface gasping for air. Jedd Fisch has plenty of excuses for this year. The talent isn’t there, he’s down to taking a wide receiver who played quarterback in high school to be taking legitimate power 5 practice reps. But those all disappear when you see the personnel mistakes, the coaching issues, clock management and playcalling. Jedd Fisch can control those things. 12 men on the field on a pivotal 3rd and 10 that you managed to stop? That’s on the coaching staff. The story of our young clownfish suggests some brighter things are on the way for Arizona. But saying “just keep swimming” isn’t enough. Jedd Fisch has got to be the guy to show them how to paddle in the right direction. 

Cooling Off

The only reason Washington would be cooling off instead “completely in the freezer with the package of frozen veggies you said you’d totally stir fry this week” is because I thought their offense was showing signs of genuine improvement even if the wins weren’t there. They put up lines of 24, 24 and 17 before the Arizona game and I know that’s not much of a consolation but they at least looked competitive again. Well, throw that out the window. If it wasn’t for the Wildcats being, well, the Wildcats this year Jimmy Lake may have gotten tarmac’d on the airport of Tucson International. Like Colorado, I think everyone knows what needs to happen. If Jimmy Lake is gonna be given time then he has to make a change at offensive coordinator at the end of the season. But until we see that, we’re resigned to looking at maybe one of the ugliest offenses in the conference, let alone the country. 

By: Andrew Haubner

Each week during the NFL season, UnafraidShow.com will take you through the four Pac-12 teams/players that are trending up, as well as the ones that are headed for a crash. Let’s get to it:

Make sure to check out this week’s Pac-12 Apostles Podcast, or just click play on the Spotify link below while you read the article below.

Four Up: Pac-12 Teams and Players Trending Up

1) The Anthony Brown Revenge Tour

Few things are better in sports than watching an athlete rise to the moment. As “We Want Ty” chants started to gain steam in Autzen Stadium, Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown threw up the double birds. After a third quarter filled with boos from the fans (which, corny behavior guys, c’mon), Brown was sensational. Stats don’t lie here either:

-Game tying drive: 2/2, 26 yds, 1 TD, 2 att, 16 yds. 

-Game winning drive: 2/2, 49 yds, 1 att, 11 yds, 1 TD

Take that for data. You can argue over why the boos were needed to motivate this offense. You can take issue with the inconsistency of the unit’s focus. You can even quibble over the conservative nature of Mario Cristobal’s offensive ethos. But Anthony Brown showed he’s the guy on a 5-1 team. That’s who you roll with the rest of the way. And he earned it on Friday, at least for another week. 

2) Utah’s Bad Moon Rising

Let the legend of #ThiccBoi7 begin. And as PNW Chapter President of the #Thiccos, I feel obligated to put our young adult son on the trending up list. How could you not? His second half against Arizona State was nearly perfect. Rising went 13/15 for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air as Utah upset the Sun Devils on a balmy Saturday night at Rice-Eccles. This is more the Utes team we thought we were getting at the beginning of the year. Rising’s dual threat ability (6 att, 59 yds, 1 TD on the ground) has changed the complexion of what was a one note offense with Charlie Brewer under center. It’s easy to see why Kyle Whittingham went with the Baylor transfer at the start of the year but one can’t help but wonder what the first three games look like if it’s a Thicc Boi Summer. 

#CamForOPOY

cc: @Pac12Network @pac12 pic.twitter.com/rucceIxVMU

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 21, 2021

3) Chips on the Table 

Boy did Chip Kelly need this one. Had UCLA lost this matchup, the questions of what the last few years had been for. If everything under Chip had been built for this to be the breakout year, what would the conclusion have been if they didn’t, you know, break out? Luckily, Bruins fans can hold off on that question for another week. UCLA is 5-2, hosting College Gameday and have a chance to re-enter the Top 25 this weekend when No. 10 Oregon comes to Pasadena. The two-headed monster of Zach Charbonnet and Brittan Brown is still unbelievably potent. Kelly and his staff did a good job of simplifying things for Dorian Thompson-Robinson as well, utilizing his legs and giving him shovel pass looks to counter some downfield accuracy issues from this year. 3/12 on 3rd down against the Huskies is a concern, but the bigger worry is if a Jerry Azzinarro defense won’t get gashed again when they face a superior offensive line. 

4) Brendon & The Buffs

Colorado scored points? 34 of them?! Might as well paint the Front Range black and gold. Turns out, allowing your quarterback to throw downfield and let your talented receivers make a play actually works. Who knew!? Jokes aside, this was a really good game and a total pick-me-up for Brendon Lewis. Sure, it’s against Arizona. But at this point, the Buffs having a plus day offensively against anyone is vitally important. What’s more, it was required that Lewis do this as Colorado’s run game put up a somewhat alarming 130 rushing yards total. If nothing else, it was an encouraging sign for a young quarterback that’s been grinding to get better. Games like this can assure that he isn’t lost forever, far too soon. 

Heating Up

No team in the country has turned it on quite like Utah. Okay, maybe Washington State. But as you’re about to read that freight train might have just run into an 18 wheeler that was placed in the center of the train tracks by a driver who kept mumbling something about train crossings and safety mandates. Anyway, the Utes look like who we thought they’d be coming into the year. Cam Rising has this offense humming. The defense looks every bit like themselves again and the usually reliably good Whittingham special teams have stabilized. It’s a shame they had to drop those early games otherwise we could be talking about Utah as a team with an opening to run for the conference title. Luckily, the rest of the Pac-12 is just as committed to nonsensical chaos. So the Utes still have a chance. And the way they’ve been playing as of late, it’s hard to bet against them even against a good Oregon State team. 

Four Down: Pac-12 Teams and Players Trending Down

1) Nick Rolovich: Down Catastrophic

Forget trending down, Nick Rolovich is trending off the map. Our boy is down catastrophic. A veritable Icarus made flesh. Head coaches are kings in college football. A winning college football coach is a God. Look no further than Ed Orgeron to see what you can get away with when you’re winning versus what all comes out when you’re not. In a lot of ways, Rolo flew too close to the sun. He thought his influence was something greater than what it was and that, when the rubber met the road, that power would allow him to not have to answer to anyone. Only he forgot one thing: he wasn’t winning enough, hadn’t been there long enough and didn’t take any stand that would allow him to mount a proper defense to wield his influence properly. Simply put, you don’t make your bosses lives hell and then go shocked Pikachu face when they don’t stand with you. And it sucks, because Washington State was starting to look really fun. Rolo is a good coach and the players seem to like him. But he didn’t sacrifice for them like they would’ve been willing to do for him. If you can’t lead, then you’re not fit to coach. 

2) Wilcox’s Woes

Justin Wilcox is, by all accounts, vaccinated. There’s no firing him for cause. The buyout is $16 million. So, Golden Bear fans, I’m sorry to say he’s your guy for the duration. It’s pretty insane to think about what his trajectory was just after Cal had gone down to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and beaten Ole Miss in 2019. That team was 4-0 and ranked 15th in the country before dropping four straight games in which they didn’t score more than 17 points a game. They just have not been able to figure out the offense under Wilcox. From Beau Baldwin to Bill Musgrave, something is just not working. And now, with the defense struggling for the second straight year, there are some bigger questions worth asking. A 4 Star QB and 4 Star RB have decommitted this season. Cal had 8 plays inside Oregon’s 10 yard line and couldn’t muster a game tying touchdown on Friday. The Bears are 1-5, looking like one of the worst teams in the conference and, sadly, some uncomfortable discussions may need to happen if this keeps up. 

3) Hurting Huskies

I can understand a 5-1 Oregon team not wanting to change their quarterback mid-season. Why mess up what keeps winning you games, right? I do not, however, understand trying something different when you’re 2-4. Dylan Morris, as of this week, continues to be the guy. Jimmy Lake seems to be continuing the Pac-12’s recent trend of bad coaches being stubborn with their bad choices. But maybe Lake knows a truth that is far more uncomfortable for Washington fans: it wouldn’t matter who you throw back there. They’ll suffer behind an offensive line that is somehow one of the worst units in the country. Morris, Sam Huard, Patrick O’Brien, maybe those guys are just interchangeable faces who would get killed facing any power five pass rush. What’s tough is that Washington is too good to be doing this. They recruit too well (though that could be better too), are in a state flush with power five talent and more elite talent every year and have too much history and money behind them for this to be the result. Jon Donovan is clearly an issue at offensive coordinator but Jimmy Lake is the guy that co-signed on him. Better days may lie ahead in Seattle but it’s looking pretty bleak this year. 

4) Filet-O-Fisch

There’s a scene in Finding Nemo where they flush Nemo down the toilet to get him to the ocean. The young clownfish has to go through plumbing, sewage treatment plants, navigate schools of larger fish, get out of the net of a factory trawler and then almost gets crushed to death before finally reuniting with his father. Jedd Fisch is currently in the sewage treatment plant because as gross and disgusting as this, it will probably get more painful before the Wildcats find salvation. Quarterback Jordan McCloud is out for the year. His backup, Gunner Cruz, is done for the year as well but not after playing a game so bad that I worry about his long term confidence (did we really need the shot of him crying under a towel, Pac-12 Network?). The talent is just not there in Arizona right now. Jedd Fisch has made some coaching missteps, sure. Overall, he’s recruited well. He’s sold his message. He’s trying with the fanbase. But this is a long term build. If Finding Nemo isn’t a good analogy, think Shawshank Redemption. Wildcat fins still have to wade through a river of poop before they feel cool rain and the air of freedom again. 

Jedd Fisch says Arizona has “to expand the role (of receiver Jamarye Joiner), because of where we are as a team and the quarterback room.”

“We’re building up his time as a quarterback.” pic.twitter.com/jsasJS93ud

— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) October 21, 2021

Cooling Off

I hesitate to put the Beavers here but historically they’ve had a lot of trouble with Utah under Jonathan Smith. And if quarterback Chance Nolan hasn’t made noticeable improvements during the bye week, this may be a bad night at Reser Stadium. The Beavers remain the top rushing attack in the conference and have plenty of weapons on that side of the ball. But defensively, Oregon State has been exposed a couple of times now. It doesn’t help that their premier edge rushers are unavailable for one reason or another. If Cam Rising continues to play the way he’s played the last two weeks, it’s going to be a long night in Corvallis. Chance Nolan will have to keep pace and with Utah being one of the few teams that can effectively stack the box and have the athletes on the back end to compete with the Beavers receivers and tight ends, it’s going to be a challenge. A couple weeks ago, Oregon State had running the table potential. Now the pendulum has swung to them maybe being the 7-5 team we figured they’d be at the start of the year. Not that that’s a bad thing. But they’ll just look back on that Washington State and Purdue game and really want those back. 

Oregon State losing to Washington State means the Pac-12 has already, halfway through the seasons, whittled themselves down to only one possible path to the College Football Playoff. Oregon and Arizona State need to win out, meet in the Pac-12 Championship, and hope for a lot of chaos in front of them in the rankings.

While some teams are left only playing for pride, two of the conference’s teams are just hoping to avoid shame. Best of luck to both Colorado and Arizona. Someone has to win, right?

Make sure to check out this week’s Pac-12 Apostles Podcast, or just click play on the Spotify link below while you read the article below.

Cal at #9 Oregon (Friday Night)

Kickoff: 7:30PM Pacific

Broadcast: ESPN

Opening Odds: Oregon -13.5

What’s at stake: Oregon has no room for error, and at the mid-point of the season, has yet to establish an offensive identity. With Offensive Coordinator Joe Moorhead battling medical issues, and feature back C.J. Verdell out for the season, someone needs to step up and become the dominant force on this offense to keep the Ducks from another disastrous result like they had against Stanford. Will it be Anthony Brown start finding a receivers downfield (No Ducks WR has more than 11 catches), or Travis Dye finding a way to be an every-down player instead of a change-of-pace guy? Without figuring out who they are offensively, you can probably forget a shot at the College Football Playoff.

For Cal, they’re getting dangerously close to a lost season without a bowl appearance, and a waste of Chase Garbers’ talent as an upperclassman. One thing you know that Justin Wilcox wouldn’t mind is following up a 6-point performance against Washington State by having an offensive explosion against his old Defensive Coordinator Tim DeRuyter, who is now the DC at Oregon.

Our Picks: Ralph likes Cal to Cover +13.5, George Wrighster is going with his Ducks and the spread.

Arizona at Colorado

Kickoff: 12:30PM Pacific

Broadcast: Pac-12 Network

Opening Odds: Colorado -6.5

What’s at stake: Seriously? A win. A single win.

Colorado nearly beating Texas A&M, who just beat #1 Alabama, the Buffaloes offense is so putrid that they’re favored by less than a TD against a team that hasn’t won in over two years. Arizona will go back to Gunner Cruz after Jordan McCloud suffered a season-ending injury against UCLA. First team to 20 wins? Or maybe even 10?

Our Picks: Ralph and George both have Colorado covering the -6.5.

Stanford at Washington State

Kickoff: 4:30PM Pacific

Broadcast: ESPNU

Opening Odds: Stanford -1.5

When Jayden de Laura is at QB for Washington State, they can compete with anyone in the conference. Many people were surprised by the Cougars win over Oregon State last week, but de Laura’s 400 yards passing are a big reason why it happened. Stanford showed they can drive the ball against Arizona State last week, but they had no ability to finish.

Stanford’s inconsistency and yo-yoing as a team is discouraging to Cardinal fans, but if the pattern continues, this will be the week that they bounce back and show their resilience.

Our Picks: Ralph talked George into joining him by taking Stanford -1.5.

UCLA at Washington

Kickoff: 5:30PM Pacific

Broadcast: FOX

Opening Odds: Washington -1.5

What’s at stake: UCLA can run, but last week against Arizona they failed to both pass, and stop the pass. They might have won the game, but there are legitimate concerns that the Bruins have started to fall apart after experiencing early success. The idea that Washington will have to depend on the arm of Dylan Morris in order to defend homefield on Saturday makes picking this game extremely tricky. Dylan Morris rarely completes over 60% of his passes and plays turnover-free football. Unless he does so against one of college football’s worst secondaries on Saturday, you’re going to start to see even more heat on Huskies Head Coach Jimmy Lake than there already is.

For Chip Kelly, the mission is simple- test Washington’s run defense to see if it’s got soft spots, and if it does, exploit it until the final whistle. The less your defense is on the field, the better.

Our Picks: George went with UCLA +1.5, Ralph took the home favorite, Washington -1.5.

#18 Arizona State at Utah

Kickoff: 7:00PM Pacific

Broadcast: ESPN

Opening Odds: Arizona State -1

What’s at stake: Arizona State and Utah are 3-3 in their last 6 games. The fans, or at least the vocal online community of fans, are on each other’s nerves year-round. Utah just ended a 100-year drought by getting a win in the Coliseum, and spent the week grieving the loss of DB Aaron Lowe. They’re either going to be emotionally spent, or raring to get a piece of the ranked Sun Devils on Saturday night. The bottom line here is that if Utah can’t win this game, the Pac-12 South is basically wrapped up by ASU, who is on a quest to become the Pac-12’s first-ever undefeated team in conference play.

Arizona State is the better team at almost every position, but if the offense can’t handle the crowd noise in Provo without getting 19 flags thrown, how are they going to handle the rowdy crowd in Salt Lake?

Our Picks: George and Ralph both have the Sun Devils -1 on the road.

Who are the Pac-12 Apostles?

The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the conference. Join us by becoming a Pac-12 Apostle. Subscribe and share the podcast.

Please leave a rating and review of our podcast on iTunes! We record a podcast once a week with emergency episodes when necessary. Our podcasts are always heavy on Pac-12 football. But we make it a point to also try and cover the other notable Men’s and Women’s Pac-12 sports. We cover recruiting and any other major storyline in the Pac-12 universe.

George Wrighster is a former Pac-12 and long-time NFL tight end. As a television/radio host, opinionist, and analyst, who is UNAFRAID to speak the truth. Contrary to industry norms he uses, facts, stats, and common sense to win an argument. He has covered college football, basketball, NFL, NBA, MLB since 2014. Through years of playing college football, covering bowl games, coaching changes, and scandals, he has a great pulse for the conference and national perspective.

Ralph Amsden is a sportswriter and podcaster. He is the publisher of Rivals’ ArizonaVarsity.com, and was previously the managing editor of the Arizona State University Rivals affiliate, DevilsDigest.com. Wyoming born, Arizona raised, and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and four kids, Amsden made his mark in Arizona sports media through investigative reporting, and being one of the first people to leverage social media and the podcast medium to grow his platform. In addition to his podcasts, he is the Content Director for UnafraidShow.com. Ralph might be sub-.500 in spousal disputes and schoolyard fights, but whether the topic is food, movies, music, parenting, politics, sports, television, religion, or zoological factoids, he’s always UNAFRAID to square up.

The Pac-12 is reeling from losing its easiest path to the College Football Playoff last week, with Oregon falling to Stanford in overtime. Worse than that, Pac-12 officiating has again become a talking point. The more things change, the more they stay the same…

This week, one third of the conference has a bye, and only three games are going to be played on Saturday. Oregon State has wins over Washington and USC under its belt, and all of the sudden we’re going to get to see how the Beavers play as favorites for most of the rest of the season, instead of the plucky underdogs they’ve been for Jonathan Smith’s entire tenure.

While I’m not sure we’ll have any world-shattering events take place in week 6 of Pac-12 play, let’s still take a look at the matchups and give you an outline of what to expect…

Make sure to check out this week’s Pac-12 Apostles Podcast, or just click play on the Spotify link below while you read the article below.

Stanford at #22 Arizona State (Friday Night)

Kickoff: 7:30PM Pacific

Broadcast: ESPN

Opening Odds: ASU -11.5

What’s at stake: David Shaw said a lot of things before this season started. Many of them were about his team being better than the national media expected (and they have been), but some of them were about the Arizona State Sun Devils violating the dead period during the Covid-19 pandemic. When ASU’s Herm Edwards was asked to respond to David Shaw’s comments, he pointed out that Shaw didn’t have anything to say when the two were together before Pac-12 Media Day. While there’s plenty at stake on the field for both teams in this game, the budding off-the-field feud between Shaw and the ASU program adds an interesting element.

Some might find the fact that Stanford is a heavy underdog coming off an upset of the #3 team in the country to be a surprise, but the Cardinal are giving up over 5 yards a carry in the run game, and offensively, they’ve lost Brycen Tremayne for the season, which accounts for 21% of their receiving yards and 45% of their receiving TDs this year. Considering the strengths of Arizona State are their run game and the secondary, this is a recipe for a blowout Sun Devils win. Historically, however, David Shaw is 4-1 against ASU, and with this being a Friday night game, you can never be too sure of the outcome.

Our Picks: Ralph likes Arizona State to Cover, George is rolling with Stanford.

Oregon State at Washington State

Kickoff: 1:00PM Pacific

Broadcast: Pac-12 Network

Opening Odds: Oregon State -3.5

What’s at stake: Oregon State is 4-1 with seven games left, and considering they haven’t won more than five games in the last seven seasons, it’s staring to feel like this could be an extremely special season. Nine different Beavers have an interception on defense, and B.J. Baylor is running like he’s this year’s Jarek Broussard. So why are they only a 3.5 point favorite in Pullman? Well, Wazzu seems to be a completely different team when Jayden de Laura is at quarterback. The Cougars have had a lead in the second half of all three of their losses, and maybe last week’s 21-6 win over Cal showed this team that they have the ability to close an opponent out. If Max Borghi and Deon McIntosh can combine to give Washington State equal or greater offense than Baylor gives the Beavers, the Cougars have a legitimate shot to defend homefield and get the upset.

Our Picks: Ralph and George both have the Beavers covering the -3.5.

Utah at USC

Kickoff: 5:00PM Pacific

Broadcast: FOX

Opening Odds: USC -3

What’s at stake: Utah hears every single year that they can’t win at Southern California, and Utes fans are absolutely sick of it. Under Kyle Wittingham, Utah is 0-5 on the road against USC, and there’s no reason to believe that it’s any kind of regional curse, as the Utes usually smash UCLA at the Rose Bowl when they play. The Trojans are barely favored, and last time they were at home, they were dominated by an Oregon State team that hadn’t won at USC in 60+ years. Perhaps this is the year Utah joins the club?

In order to win, and not fall behind in the race for the Pac-12 south, the Utes are going to need to practice ball security (they had four turnovers in last year’s loss), and keep the time of possession lopsided. USC has the ability to move the ball down the field to Drake London in a hurry, and while you’re not going to shut London down completely, you can keep Slovis uncomfortable enough to not have the time to get the ball out of his hands.

Our Picks: Ralph and George both think USC continues to keep Kyle Wittingham winless at the Coliseum. Trojans -3.

UCLA at Arizona

Kickoff: 7:30PM Pacific

Broadcast: ESPN

Opening Odds: UCLA -16

What’s at stake: Two weeks of preparation for Jedd Fisch after keeping things close against Oregon has many people that cover the Pac-12, and people in the national media, convinced that this game could be an enormous trap for the Bruins. Jordan McCloud’s mobility is a big key to keeping drives alive for Arizona, but if they want to compete against UCLA, they’re going to need to greatly exceed the 3.3 yards per carry they’re averaging as a team on the season. Defensively, the Wildcats are going to need to force some turnovers- something Dorian Thompson Robinson has drastically cut back on in 2021. For UCLA, the narrative went from “could they go undefeated” to “who will the next coach be” in a matter of three weeks. The defensive backfield is struggling mightily, and it would be an enormous embarrassment for the program if they continue to fall apart against an Arizona team that currently is averaging 1.5 less yards per pass attempt than UCLA’s defense has allowed on the season.

Our Picks: Ralph and George both picked the Bruins in a blowout.

Who are the Pac-12 Apostles?

The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the conference. Join us by becoming a Pac-12 Apostle. Subscribe and share the podcast.

Please leave a rating and review of our podcast on iTunes! We record a podcast once a week with emergency episodes when necessary. Our podcasts are always heavy on Pac-12 football. But we make it a point to also try and cover the other notable Men’s and Women’s Pac-12 sports. We cover recruiting and any other major storyline in the Pac-12 universe.

George Wrighster is a former Pac-12 and long-time NFL tight end. As a television/radio host, opinionist, and analyst, who is UNAFRAID to speak the truth. Contrary to industry norms he uses, facts, stats, and common sense to win an argument. He has covered college football, basketball, NFL, NBA, MLB since 2014. Through years of playing college football, covering bowl games, coaching changes, and scandals, he has a great pulse for the conference and national perspective.

Ralph Amsden is a sportswriter and podcaster. He is the publisher of Rivals’ ArizonaVarsity.com, and was previously the managing editor of the Arizona State University Rivals affiliate, DevilsDigest.com. Wyoming born, Arizona raised, and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and four kids, Amsden made his mark in Arizona sports media through investigative reporting, and being one of the first people to leverage social media and the podcast medium to grow his platform. In addition to his podcasts, he is the Content Director for UnafraidShow.com. Ralph might be sub-.500 in spousal disputes and schoolyard fights, but whether the topic is food, movies, music, parenting, politics, sports, television, religion, or zoological factoids, he’s always UNAFRAID to square up.