Pac-12 Football Game Picks: Get Ready For More Non-Conference Victories

Teams are 20-3 outside the Pac-12 and an 11-0 week is entirely possible.

The Pac-12 Farewell Tour continues with a Week 3 schedule designed to let the league add to its 20-3 out-of-conference start to the season.

Five of the 11 Pac-12 teams playing Saturday (USC gets the day off) are matched against FCS opponents and five more are more than two-touchdown favorites.

How does 20-3 compare to, say, the SEC? Their 14 teams are 23-6 outside the conference so far. 

The Big Ten is 18-4. 

The Big 12 is 20-8.

The ACC is 18-6

None of them can match what the Pac-12 is doing in what will be the final season in the league for at least 10 of them. 

The only Pac-12 underdog this week is Arizona State, which is host to 3 1/2-point favorite Fresno State.

Conference play in earnest gets under way next week.

Last week: Jeff 9-2, Jake 7-4

Season: Jake 16-8, Jeff 16-8

All picks against the spread

Betting line from sisportsbook.com

SATURDAY

— Weber State (no line) at No. 12 Utah, 11 a.m., Pac-12 Network

Jake: Freshman QB Nate Johnson is expected to get his first star, but it won’t matter who’s throwing the ball. Pick: Utah 

Jeff: Utah is 21-0 in non-conference home games since joining the Pac-12 and the Utes have never lost to their neighbors from Ogden. Pick: Utah

— San Diego State (plus-24.5) at No. 16 Oregon State, 12:30 p.m., FS1

Jake: A big spread, but the Beavers’ offensive line should make life easy for QB DJ Uiagalelei and RB Damien Martinez. Pick: Oregon State 

Jeff: The Aztecs are tied for the FBS lead with eight defensive takeaways. The Beavers have zero turnovers through two games. But a 24.5-point spread? DSU just lost to UCLA by 25. Pick: Oregon State

— Idaho (no line) at Cal, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Bay Area

Jake: There doesn’t need to be a line for this game, which looks like a tossup. Pick: Cal

Jeff: Idaho’s dynamic offense may do some damage but the Bears’ offense should get energized by having Sam Jackson V and Jaydn Ott healthy and together again. Pick: Cal

— No. 8 Washington (minus-16.5) at Michigan State, 2 p.m., Peacock

Jake: A late Michael Penix Jr. touchdown pass will allow the Huskies to cover. Pick: Washington

Jeff: The Huskies were going to win this game in any case. But with Spartans coach Mel Tucker suspended, UW gets over on its future Big Ten rival. Pick: Washington

— Northern Colorado (no line) at No. 23 Washington State, 2 p.m., Pac-12 WA

Jake: Washington State QB Cameron Ward may set some records in this one. Pick: Washington State

Jeff: Northern Colorado lost by 20 to Abilene Christian, for crying out loud. Pick: Washington State

— North Carolina Central (no line) at No. 24 UCLA, 2 p.m., Pac-12 Los Angeles

Jake: Bruins freshman QB Dante Moore will gain confidence in this game. Pick: UCLA

Jeff: The Eagles are 2-0 without leaving their home state. They’ll enjoy visiting Pasadena . . . until the game begins. Pick: UCLA

— Hawaii (plus-37.5) at No. 13 Oregon, 5 p.m., Pac-12 Network

Jake: Stanford beat Hawaii easily and the Ducks are very willing to run up the score. Pick: Oregon

Jeff: The Ducks beat Portland State by 74 points, edged Texas Tech by 8. So the spread is is right in the middle. Seems a bit too big. Pick: Hawaii

— Sacramento State (no line) at Stanford, 5 p.m., Pac-12 Bay Area

Jake: Cardinal coach Troy Taylor takes on the team he turned into an FCS powerhouse. He has a quarterback issue, but should survive this one. Pick: Stanford.

Jeff: An uncomfortable game for Troy Taylor, the former Sac State coach now in his first season at Stanford. The outcome will be a mixed blessing. Pick: Stanford

— Colorado State (plus-22.5) at No. 18 Colorado, 7 p.m., ESPN

Jake: Coach Prime, his son and Travis Hunter will continue to be the talk of college football. Pick: Colorado

Jeff: Colorado State has had two weeks to prepare for this in-state rivalry game since losing to WSU by 26 points. But ESPN’s Game Day is coming to Boulder to celebrate Coach Prime. He loves the big stage. Pick: Colorado

— Fresno State (minus-3.5) at Arizona State, 7:30 p.m., FS1

Jake: Fresno State has already won on the road (beating Purdue), and freshman ASU QB Jaden Rashada has played like a freshman. Pick: Fresno State

Jeff: Jeff Tedford is 9-2 as a head coach against Arizona State and only one of those nine victories was close. Pick: Fresno State

— UTEP (plus-17.5) at Arizona, 8 p.m., Pac-12 Network

Jake: Wildcats QB Jayden de Laura has thrown five interceptions. He’ll cut down on that, and Arizona will cover. Pick: Arizona

Jeff: Yes, freshman Jayden de Laura had a problem with interceptions — four of them last week vs. Mississippi State. But UTEP, with just one pick so far, won’t be able to exploit that. Pick: Arizona 

Cover photo of first-year Stanford coach Troy Taylor, right, with USC coach Lincoln Riley by Kirby Lee, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo