After a tough 3-3 effort (didn’t see that spectacular defensive effort by the Cardinal coming) last week, it’s time for the Under the Rim prediction machine to get back on track.
This week’s schedule sets up beautifully for the Pac-12 with all of the unranked teams serving as a Thanksgiving weekend hord d’oeuvre today before for a delicious main course of ranked vs. ranked matchups on Saturday.
A quick rewind:
USC at UCLA
My prediction: Men of Troy win, 34-30. Actual outcome: Men of Troy trounced, 38-28.
Washington State at Arizona State
My prediction: Sun Devils win, 38-21. Actual outcome: Sun Devils win big, 46-7.
Stanford at Oregon
My prediction: Ducks pass Kansas State in BCS standings with 45-31 win. Actual outcome: Ducks pass Kansas State in BCS standings with 17-14 (OT) loss.
Arizona at Utah
My prediction: Utes get fifth win, 45-38. Actual outcome: Utes suffer seventh loss, 34-24.
Cal at Oregon State
My prediction: Beavers beat Bears, 34-24. Actual outcome: Beavers beat up Bears, 62-14.
Washington at Colorado
My prediction: Huskies hold off pesky Buffs, 37-24. Actual outcome: Huskies hammer pathetic Buffs, 38-3.
And a this week’s predictions:
Today’s games
Arizona State Sun Devils (6-5, 4-4) at Arizona Wildcats (7-4, 4-4) at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. (8 p.m., ESPN)
Rich-Rod caps off a strong debut season in the desert with a rivalry win. Wildcats prevail, 38-31.
Washington Huskies (7-4, 5-3) at Washington State Cougars (2-9, 0-8) at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. (1:30 p.m., Fox)
Mike Leech could really use a celebratory swig out of the Apple Cup. The Huskies aren’t going to let that happen as the dogs beat another bad team on the road, 31-20.
Utah Utes (4-7, 2-6) at Colorado Buffaloes (1-10, 1-7) at Folsom Field in Boulder (1 p.m., FX)
The Buffs will play inspired football today. The Utes will play uninspired football today. And Utah still wins, 30-17.
Saturday’s games
No. 5 Oregon Ducks (10-1, 7-1) at No. 16 Oregon State Beavers (8-2, 6-2) at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. (1 p.m., Pac-12 Networks)
The Beavers should have been rooting for Stanford last week. The Ducks are angry birds and win the Civil War 48-30 to keep their BCS title hopes alive.
No. 11 Stanford Cardinal (9-2, 7-1) at No. 15 UCLA Bruins (9-2, 6-2) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. (4:30 p.m., Fox)
Two very good teams coming off emotional victories. Defense wins this Pac-12 championship game preview. Cardinal 24, Bruins 20.
No. 1 Notre Dame Irish (11-0) at USC Trojans (7-4, 5-4) at L.A. Coliseum in Los Angeles (6 p.m., ABC)
It all there on a silver platter for Brian Kelly and the boys from South Bend. Alabama, Kansas State and Oregon all lost. USC’s defense is awful. Matt Barkley is out. And strange things happen to teams ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings this time of year. Trojans pull the upset, 33-28.
Idle: Cal
My season record: 61-22 (.735)
