Pac-12 Football Predictions: Week 1

Today marks the start of the 2014/15 college football season. Here are the first week of predictions for the Pac-12 slate.

1) Idaho State at Utah (Utah -41)

So this one should be a route. It will get ugly early. Utah is getting an easy start to the season here. With Travis Wilson back in charge of the offense Utah will be much improved and will most likely find their way back to a bowl if Wilson stays healthy.

2) Rutgers at Washington State (WSU -8)

This will be a telling game for both squads. Rutgers had a good season last year and have built quite a formidable offense this year with the red shirt senior Gary Nova calling the shots. Washington State however has made an impressive leap from last year and Connor Halliday is going to be very sharp. Washington State wins this by a couple possessions.

3) Weber State at Arizona State (ASU -45)

Well sorry Weber State. Taylor Kelly and the boys are going to have their way with you. If it wasn’t for UCLA on the rise I would say ASU will be the Pac-12 South Champion. Do you need more details about this one?

4) Colorado State at Colorado (Colo -3)

While I think Colorado will be improved as a team, no one can dispute that Paul Richardson’s departure is very significant. I wasn’t very impressed with the QB play in the Colorado spring game and I think CSU actually pulls this one out this year in a close rematch from a year ago.

5) UNLV at Arizona (UA -24)

I think the line in this game is right on point. Arizona has too much talent on the roster to let this one be within 3 td’s. Wildcats break in their new freshman QB Solomon and win big.

6) UCLA at Virginia (UCLA -21)

What more can be said about UCLA than what’s already been said. It’s hard for me to see this team losing more than 1 game this year. Virginia doesn’t have the size or talent to compete with what has become one of the elite teams in the Pac-12. Brett Hundley will absolutely set the tone for the season week 1 when he leads his team to a dominating effort at Virginia.

7)Cal at Northwestern (NW -11)

Cal has talent. It’s unpolished, it’s not very deep, but it is there in Berkeley. Northwestern is more polished and ready to win these types of games. Although Goff is going to show why everyone at Cal is so high on him, I think they lose a close tough battle here… Cal still a year away in my opinion.

8) Portland State at Oregon State

OSU has got to find a way to make up for Brandin Cooks no longer being on the roster. They can’t replace him but they need to account for some of his production to be successful. PSU isn’t a big test or anything but OSU needs to come focused to this game. We all remember what happened week 1 last season when Eastern Washington took the Beavers by surprise. Not this time, Oregon State wins big.

9) UC Davis at Stanford

I’m not going to get into it right now but we all know what Stanford does and is capable of doing. This one is going to get ugly very fast. Stanford might do a little identity searching here but Coach Shaw will have it under control by half.

10) Fresno State at USC (USC -22)

While I think USC wins this one by 2 touchdowns, I don’t know that I’d give them 22 points. They are going to be a great team and compete for a title but early on they have to get used to their new style. Look for some big things to be determined week 1 for USC.

11)Washington at Hawaii (UW -17)

While I don’t think UW is going to be super impressive this year, I do give them 17 points over Hawaii. Washington has lost some serious offensive production and is in year 1 with a new coach so I am not buying into all the hype just yet. That being said, Hawaii is pretty bad and will struggle with Washington’s talent.

12) South Dakota at Oregon

No… Just no.