Stanford at Colorado

Friday, October 13
7:00 pm PT, ESPN

Shedeur Sanders and Coach Prime take on Stanford at Folsom Field.

The Cardinal have an underrated front seven that could surprise the Buffs. The CU offensive line has struggled all season and more of the same could be on display against Stanford.

David Bailey, in particular, already has four sacks this season while Tristan Sinclair is second on the team in tackles with 28 to his name. The production of the two linebackers is key to Stanford’s success on defense.

As for the Cardinal offense, the system is unique and innovative.

Troy Taylor’s scheme is like a running version of Kalen DeBoer’s offense at Washington. There is plenty of pre-snap movement designed to open the field up by creating hesitancy in the defense.

The eye candy keeps opponents guessing where the ball will end up and the overarching principle is to get players into open space.

That could be an issue for Colorado’s porous defense.

If the Buffs get caught up in the pre-snap action, Stanford could create explosive plays that keep them reasonably within reach.

Still, Sanders and Sean Lewis’s offense should roll. The Cardinal are No. 128 in passing yards allowed per game and No. 115 in pass efficiency defense.

Those are poor analytics matched up against Lewis’s offense. The Buffs should win by double-digits.

California at No. 16 Utah

Saturday, October 14
Noon PT, Pac-12 Network

If Cam Rising is returning this season, the matchup with California feels like the moment.

Utah’s offense has been embarrassingly bad to start the year, entering the weekend tied for 117th nationally in points per game (tied for 11th in the Pac-12). The passing offense, specifically, has been atrocious.

The Utes are 121st in passing yards per game (last in the Pac-12) and 115th in passing efficiency (also last in the Pac-12).

In other words, Andy Ludwig’s offense is just plain bad.

The return of Rising is desperately needed but it remains to be seen if that flips the switch for the offense’s effectiveness.

California has a respectable defense, although it broke down last weekend against Oregon State. The Bears defend the run well, coming into the game 37th in rushing yards allowed per contest.

On the other side of the ball, the former third-string quarterback Fernando Mendoza has taken over the starting role and is making the first road start of his career. That should have the Utah defensive staff gearing up for a blitz-heavy game plan.

Through all of the offensive struggles Utah has been dealing with, its defense has held steady. And matched up against an inexperienced Cal quarterback, the Utes front seven could feast.

Look for Morgan Scalley to bring heavy pressure all game and for the Utah secondary to generate interceptions. Unless the Bears consistently and effectively move the ball on the ground, there’s little chance of an upset.

And facing a Utah defense that is No. 3 in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game, the deck is stacked against California.

No. 8 Oregon at No. 7 Washington

Saturday, October 14
12:30 pm PT, ABC

In the biggest matchup of the rivalry’s history, No. 8 Oregon and No. 7 Washington face off in a game with clear Playoff implications.

While a lone loss to a fellow Top 10 team won’t eliminate the loser, it will provide the winner with an inside track to what figures to be a tight and competitive Pac-12 title race.

The Ducks have a substantially improved defense from last season, yet face their toughest challenge of the season. A large part of UO’s improvement on that side of the ball has been the defensive line.

But the Huskies have one of the top offensive lines in the nation. UW is tied for No. 6 in the FBS in sacks allowed per game and tied for No. 12 in tackles for loss allowed per contest.

If the Oregon front seven struggles to get pressure on Michael Penix Jr., the Dawgs figure to wheel and deal all game, provided the talented QB doesn’t add to his two interceptions on the season.

Duck DC Tosh Lupoi can’t sell out to defend the pass, but he’s blessed with the Pac-12’s best pass defense, ranked No. 5 nationally in yards allowed per game.

Despite operating an offense heavily skewed to throwing the ball, Washington has some capable running backs that can get the job done. It won’t be easy going, though, against a UO defense that has allowed just one TD on the ground.

Kalen DeBoer’s offense also regularly uses receivers in the run game with jet sweeps and lateral passes behind the line of scrimmage that are technically run plays.

Ryan Grubb’s playcalling is elite, too, and will likely see UW break tendencies early in the game to keep the Ducks off balance.

On the other side of the ball, the key for Oregon will be leveraging its conference-leading rushing attack while limiting turnovers. Bo Nix, who has tossed just one interception this season, must continue throwing with judgment and accuracy.

Washington’s secondary is not particularly good, but they do create interceptions. The Dawgs are tied for No. 5 in the nation in total interceptions and promise to take advantage of any extra possessions Nix gives them.

Still, the Huskies are No. 91 in passing yards allowed per game and tied for No. 122 in sacks per game. The struggles defending the pass are contrasted with their respectable run defense that enters the game as No. 44 in rushing yards allowed per night.

Washington faces its biggest test in that regard, however, against a deep and talented Duck running back corps that ranks No. 8 nationally in yards per game.

To leave Seattle with a win, Oregon will likely have to exploit the weaknesses in UW’s secondary, manage possessions with the run, and take care of the ball.

Arizona at No. 19 Washington State

Saturday, October 14
4:00 pm PT, Pac-12 Network

Johnny Nansen and the Arizona defense look to continue their surprising performances against strong quarterbacks.

The UA defensive coordinator has thrown caution to the wind, putting his players into a unique 3-1-7 formation to counteract the pass-heavy offenses in the Pac-12.

The DB-focused formation has been successful, in part due to the strong play of the defensive line. The Cats have substantial depth up front and rotate heavily to stay fresh. Linebacker Jacob Manu has operated the formation to perfection, too.

As the lone linebacker, the sophomore simultaneously acts as the quarterback spy, a stalwart run stopper, and an eighth pass defender for underneath routes across the middle.

And with multiple linebackers to rotate along with an operating procedure to substitute every time the opposing offense does, the system has worked with surprising effectiveness.

Whether or not that’s repeated against Ben Arbuckle’s offense remains to be seen. If Arizona can get pressure on Cam Ward using the 3-1-7 while adequately defending the pass when operating the base 4-2-5, the Cats have a chance to keep Wazzu within reach.

Still, that’s a tall order against a highly motivated Cougar QB, who plays particularly well on the Palouse.

On the other side of the ball, Arizona has a quarterback controversy.

Jayden de Laura has thrown too many interceptions to start the year and has been hurt the last two matchups. During that period, redshirt freshman Noah Fifita has played lights-out and arguably done enough to win the starting role.

But Jedd Fisch is hellbent on starting de Laura if he is healthy and the offense could suffer as a result. Fisch’s playcalling still remains questionable at times, too.

Yet, UA has all the weapons it needs at the skill positions to secure the upset on the road.

Unless WSU commits to running the ball when Arizona lines up in the 3-1-7, or de Laura throws multiple picks, the game figures to come down to the wire.

No. 10 USC at No. 21 Notre Dame

Saturday, October 14
4:30 pm PT, NBC

Lincoln Riley and the Trojans have an opportunity to silence the doubters.

There probably isn’t another team in America that gets more negative attention than USC. The narrative is obvious: Alex Grinch’s defense isn’t strong enough to make SC a Playoff team.

Well, the time is now to make them eat their words.

In many ways, the matchup in South Bend feels like USC’s first game of the season. The front half of the schedule was always viewed as light and too many of the games were tucked away on the Pac-12 Network.

The country will be watching now, and most viewers will likely only remember USC’s poor second-half performance in the Colorado game.

Nobody doubts that Caleb Williams and the offense will score points. Riley’s system creates explosive plays and the defending Heisman winner is elite at extending drives with his legs.

The game figures to come down to SC’s ability to slow down Notre Dame’s offense.

The Irish run a somewhat balanced system that slightly skews towards the run. The scheme is not all that special or innovative, either.

Notre Dame enters the game No. 35 in points per contest and No. 50 in third down conversion percentage. Against opponents ranked in the Top 25, the Irish are only averaging 18.3 points and are 1-2 in those matchups.

In other words, it’s not as if Notre Dame trots out an elite offense that Grinch isn’t expected to slow down.

The Trojans have enough talent on defense to contain the scheme and keep the Irish under 30 points. As long as the USC offense is rolling as expected, the Trojans should leave with a win.

No. 18 UCLA at No. 15 Oregon State

Saturday, October 14
5:00 pm PT, Fox

D’Anton Lynn and the UCLA defense take the show on the road to Corvallis.

The Bruins have an elite defensive line and linebacker corps but face an Oregon State team that is tied for 17th nationally in sacks allowed per game. Slowing down the Beavs’ run game, though, figures to be Lynn’s primary plan.

OSU is 15th in rushing yards per game and uses a dual running back system to get the job done. Damien Martinez gets the bulk of the carries, yet Deshaun Fenwick is not all that far off. Each averages more than 5.0 yards per run.

DJ Uiagalelei gets in on the run game, too. The quarterback has five rushing touchdowns to his name and averages 4.0 yards per rush.

If the Oregon State ground game is effective, chunk plays over the top are able to be created off of playaction.

Lynn has been impressive through the early part of the season and figures to have something up his sleeve. The general principle of the defensive game plan could be to make OSU one-dimensional through the air.

A substantial dose of pressure might be in the cards, as well.

Uiagalelei doesn’t play as efficiently when under pressure and Lynn likely poured over the Utah and San Diego State game film.

He probably has identified certain weaknesses to exploit and will incorporate aspects of the Ute and Aztec defensive plan.

The result could be a low-scoring game that turns into a stalemate. UCLA quarterback Dante Moore played poorly on the road in Salt Lake City and might struggle again in Corvallis.

The Bruin offense has been less than impressive this year and enters the game ranked No. 60 in points per night.

With a defensive battle expected, the team that commits fewer turnovers might be the one that walks away with the win.

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