Golden Blogs Pickem Week 11: Close to the Inevitable. Furd looks to take the North.

Time for our Week 11 picks! It's a huge week this week as Stanford can officially clinch the Pac-12 North with a win against Oregon. The Ducks are red hot after blowing out our Bears, so is it possible that Oregon can pull off a major upset? Meanwhile, in the Pac-12 South the Utah Utes hold onto a one game lead on USC and UCLA. However Utah has a tough task with Arizona, who nearly beat USC. USC and UCLA have winnable games against Colorado and Washington State, respectively and look for Arizona for help to achieve a tie in the Pac-12 South.

In our league, PerryScope won yet again and widened his lead significantly, aided by being one of two people to pick Arizona and getting an upset special right. It'll take a big week for Nam and Ruey to catch up and keep this league competitive. The bottom of the pack got tighter as well because of the huge week by Berkelium (also picking an upset) and Kevin (only one with a correct Lock of the Week pick). A big week by someone in the bottom can get them right back in it.

A lot of points up for grabs this week. Let's get to the picks! These are using Wednesday's lines.

USC @ COLORADO (FRIDAY, 6:00 PM ESPN2)

USC is a 16.5 point favorite. Over/Under is 62

USC is a big favorite in their matchup in Colorado, in fact the line is now USC -18. Colorado could use a big upset to have a shot at a bowl game, but our staff sees the Trojans winning big.

Nik Jam: Sorry Buffs. Just don't see it.

Ruey Yen: USC win but doesn't cover.

Andrew G Miller: USC has apparently righted the ship under Clay Helton. The Buffs can only hope to keep it close.

Berkelium97: USC has been somewhat sluggish in recent weeks while Colorado has been feisty (furd game exempted). Recent results and the altitude factor suggest that this should be a bit closer than 16.5 (maybe a 10-point USC win).

PerryScope: Trojans roll in a shootout. They can't afford any more losses if they want a bid in the Pac 12 title game.

KWBears: This will be a thorough beatdown of the Buffs.

WASHINGTON @ ARIZONA STATE (SATURDAY, 12:00 PM PAC-12 NETWORKS)

Arizona State is a 3 point favorite. Over/Under is 54

Here we have a match-up between 4-5 teams that would really like a win to boost their chances at a bowl game. The loser of this game will have their backs against the wall with rivalry games coming up. Our staff is split with this one, the home team Sun Devils getting the edge.

Nik Jam: I'd rather they get their two wins for a bowl bid against Washington and Arizona before they play Cal.

Ruey Yen: When in doubt, go with the home team.

Andrew G Miller: ASU has played a lot of tight games recently. They finish the job against the Huskies.

Berkelium97: These teams desperately need this win to put themselves in position to earn a bowl berth. I'm not confident in either team, as they've combined for one win in the past month, but I'll give the nod to the better coach.

PerryScope: Sun Devils had chance to beat Wash St last week and UW doesn't have enough offense.

KWBears: U-Dub pulls off the upset in Tempe!

OREGON @ #7 STANFORD (SATURDAY, 4:30PM FOX)

Stanford is a 10 point favorite. Over/Under is 69. Let's be adults here with that one. Haha, just kidding. NICE!!!

Despite Oregon's current hot streak, Stanford is a double digit favorite against Oregon (the line is STILL ten). We have a few who think Oregon can pull the upset or at least keep it close, but the slight majority see the Cardinal clinching the Pac-12 North before the Big Game.

Nik Jam: I just gotta feeling.

Ruey Yen: Would be sweet if the Bears can deny Stanford the North...but this would require a Oregon win first.

Andrew G Miller: Yup. Stanford will be coming in hot for Big Game week.

Berkelium97: Someone has to beat the Lobsterbacks, but it's not going to be Oregon. Not with that defense.

PerryScope: I know they're not going to put up 700+ yards but I think that they will run enough plays to where Stanford's defense gets fatigued by the 4th quarter.

KWBears: No one is stopping Furd at this point....

#10 UTAH @ ARIZONA (SATURDAY, 7:00PM FOX SPORTS 1)

This line might be a sign of the massive disrespect Utah has gotten this season from Las Vegas, or people are really taking stock of Arizona very nearly toppling USC. Our staff isn't buying it though, we have our first unanimous decision in quite some time, EVERYONE has Utah winning by at least a touchdown.

Nik Jam: No reason to doubt Utah at the moment.

Ruey Yen: Not sure why the Utes are only favored by so little. Maybe Vegas know something that I don't.

Andrew G Miller: The Utes haven't looked as dominant in recent weeks, but Arizona hasn't shown that it can beat anyone of consequence.

Berkelium97: I don't know which Arizona team will show up, but they'll probably lose.

PerryScope: Utes control their own destiny in the PAC 12 South and I think they'll keep rolling after their win against UW.

KWBears: The poor Wildcats are in for another rude awakening at the hands of the Utes.

CALIFORNIA VS. OREGON STATE (SATURDAY, 7:30PM PAC-12 NETWORKS)

California is a 20.5 point favorite. Over/Under is 57.5

The spread has actually gotten to 21.5 point as of today, due to Seth Collins' injury meaning the Beavers will have a backup QB against Cal. Seems like a lock that Cal will win, but Nam and I aren't convinced our worrying offense can deliver a blowout win. The rest of the staff is pretty confident.

Nik Jam: My Cal related picks have been wrong pretty much the whole year. I'm 90% sure I've gotten it wrong every week. So here's good luck for Cal (plus we really haven't put away any conference teams EVER under Dykes).

Ruey Yen: Against my better judgment, picking the Bears to cover here.

Andrew G Miller: I don't know if I really want to give Cal three scores, but my pick-em season is shot so I'm okay being a homer.

Berkelium97: Despite the Bears' struggles over the past five games, they should win this one easily. Oregon State is an awful, awful football team that somehow gets worst every week thanks to endless injuries.

PerryScope: Oregon State is so bad and Cal has lost 4 in a row. Cmon now.

KWBears: Beavers are the worst team in the conference - this should be an easy game for Cal.

WASHINGTON STATE @ #19 UCLA

UCLA is a 9.5 point favorite. Over/Under is 65.5

Some mad disrespect for Wazzu who clinched a bowl berth last week, or mad respect for the Bruins? Either way, only Nam and Kevin have UCLA covering. The rest have either a Cougars upset or a close loss.

Nik Jam: Just another feeling from one of the bottom feeders in this Pickem league.

Ruey Yen: See UCLA find a way to win this one...maybe another Couged FG for Wazzu?

Andrew G Miller: I think UCLA wins with their more balanced offense, but the Cougs are better than they've been given credit for.

Berkelium97: The Cougs are cruising, but this also feels like another one of those games that UCLA inexplicably loses.

PerryScope: UCLA hasn't been tested in a while and they might already be thinking about their crucial matchup with Utah next week.

KWBears: This will be a really close game.

WILD CARD: LOCK OF THE WEEK

Choose the winner (straight up) of one of the following games for two points!

Georgia @ Auburn
Pitt @ Duke
Utah State @ Air Force
#22 Temple @ South Florida
#12 Oklahoma @ #6 Baylor

We have some variety today! Two have Temple, two have Oklahoma, and we have one pick for Baylor, Georgia and Duke. This is a great chance to hopefully see some of us gain ground on others.

Nik Jam: Gotta go with the highest rank team just because.

Ruey Yen: Showing some Philly pride here.

Andrew G Miller: Jarrett Stidham looked good in his first start...but I'm not about to pick him against Oklahoma.

Berkelium97: Temple's solid run defense should corral the one-dimensional USF offense. USF doesn't have the firepower on offense to win if this turns into a shootout.

PerryScope: Bob Stoops and the OU coaching staff will look at the Baylor K State game and understand that their offense is weak to the QB run. Baker Mayfield can certainly beat you with his legs and if OU can get a few timely stops on defense then I like their chances.

KWBears: The Blue Devils will bounce back after getting embarrassed last week by the Tar Heels.

WILD CARD: UPSET OF THE WEEK

Pick one of the following double digit underdogs (or close enough to one) to pull a straight up win for three points! Or pick No Upset and get one point if all 10 favorites win.

Colorado (vs. USC)
Illinois (vs. #3 Ohio State)
Maryland (@ #13 Michigan State)
Purdue (@ #18 Northwestern)
NC State (@ #16 Florida State)
Iowa State (vs. #8 Oklahoma State)
Indiana (vs. #14 Michigan)
Oregon (@ #7 Stanford)
Washington State (@ #19 UCLA)
Oregon State (@ California)

Man what does it say about the Pac-12 that four games feature double digit underdogs? Oh well, we have six other good choices this week as well. We have one for Indiana, one for Washington State and two for Oregon to beat Furd. Hey, a few people picked Wazzu on Halloween and were ALMOST right. Maybe it'll work this time out...

Nik Jam: I could go with Oregon or Washington State but I liked what I saw from Indiana recently. They hung with Iowa at home.

Ruey Yen: My two favorite teams each week are the California Golden Bears and whoever is playing the Stanfurd Cardinal.

Berkelium97: Lots of good choices this week (Indiana vs. Michigan, NC State at FSU), but Falk and the Air Raid are getting better every week.

PerryScope: I love my Ducks! No not really but in the past Oregon has lost to Stanford when they were having a good season. This year the tides have turned and Oregon's offense with Vernon Adams at the helm is a really good offensive team.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully we will enjoy a Cal win and start planning our bowl trips! Hopefully Oregon will pull the upset and set up a chance for Cal to play Spoiler next week! Hopefully we get some exciting Pac-12 South shakeups! GO BEARS!