Golden Blogs Writers Pick-em Week 3

Hello friends! Nik Jam here with our writer's picks of Pac-12 games in Week 3! A lot of good games are in store today, let's see how our staff expects them to go.

BUT FIRST! Here's last weeks results.

Everyone trusted Cal to win and we were rewarded with a correct pick. Only Ruey had Washington State winning and just two of us figured the Furd would blow out Central Florida. And how about our old friend Nam being the only one to believe Cal/SDSU would combine to score under 61 points.

Here's the points tabulation. Two points for picking the winner + spread correctly. One point for picking the over/under correctly.

After winning Week 1, I struggled mightily in Week 2 sporting the worst point total. Nam won Week 2 but it was a very close one. It looks like we'll have ourselves a fun year.

Week 3 has 7 games being picked out of the 11 games, as three games (Wyoming/Washington State, Northern Arizona/Arizona, and Utah/Fresno State) did not have spreads when I had to send the form out to our staff. Two of them have since been given lines but it's too late for me to add them. Georgia State/Oregon has had a line all week, but it was too high for me to consider including.

Again I should also note that these reflect Monday's lines. They may have changed by today. Games are listed in order of when they kick off.

ARIZONA STATE VS. NEW MEXICO

Arizona State is a 28 point favorite

Arizona State struggled to put away Cal Poly. Can they make a statement blowout win against New Mexico? A good portion of our crew seems to think so.

Nik Jam: Arizona State needs to take their frustrations out on somebody and it'll be New Mexico.

Ruey Yen: Not sure if ASU will play better in this one due to how lackluster their Cal Poly win was last week, but I'm going with not really. ASU win but not cover.

Berkelium97: I haven't seen anything from ASU this season to suggest that they will beat anyone by 28 points.

KWBears: Another dud game for ASU?  New Mexico is better than Cal Poly and we all saw how poorly ASU showed-up against Cal Poly last week....

WASHINGTON VS. UTAH STATE

Washington is a 6 point favorite.

A tough test for Washington. Can they get it done against Utah State? Seems like our crew thinks so, and everyone has a low scoring affair happening.

Nik Jam: Washington is getting scary at home.

Ruey Yen: I think Washington wins by about a field goal.

Andrew G. Miller: I think I've clearly demonstrated through two weeks that I don't know what I'm doing. Bad news for the Huskies: I like their chances against Utah State.

Berkelium97: Given Utah State's recent history, they should win this one.  I'm not sure what to expect from either team this weekend, however.

KWBears: Utah State is no slouch - the Huskies will have their hands full this week.  Chris Petersen needs to salvage as much of this season as possible before the Pac-12 slate starts for them (and the losses start piling up).

COLORADO @ COLORADO STATE

Colorado is a 4 point favorite

Colorado has a tough task on the road against their in-state rivals Colorado State. A game they probably need to win, most of our staff sees them putting it together.

Nik Jam: The Buffs get it done on the road. They need to.

Ruey Yen: Colorado State has a new coach since their old one bolted to the Florida Gators. Colorado might be able to take advantage of a new coach still installing his system in Fort Collins. Maybe I have too much faith in the Buffs.

Andrew G. Miller: Colorado earns one week's worth of trust for getting the job done against UMass.

Berkelium97: Colorado State only lost by 3 to Minnesota last week, and Minnesota is a pretty good team. Sorry, Mac.  I'd pick Colorado State to win outright.

KWBears: Colorado turned it around last week with a good win after a bad Week 1 loss.  This will be a nice final tune-up before they head into Pac-12 games.

CAL @ TEXAS

Cal is a 7 point favorite

So we have yet to see anyone pick against Cal so far this season. Hopefully Cal proves us right again.

Nik Jam: I don't expect the offense to completely light the scoreboard but I trust Cal's defense for once, and that the bounces will go our way.

Ruey Yen: As it's well documented, this line changed quickly. I'm less sure that the Bears will cover by a TD as the Bears have a good shot to win, but count me as one of those Cal alum that is still very bitter toward Mack Brown. (I take it that Cal fans rushing the Texas field would be frown upon?) GO BEARS!

Andrew G. Miller: I don't know I don't know I don't know. Why does this feel like a trap??

Berkelium97: The rational, objective college football fan inside me should be very confident in this pick.  The neurotic, superstitious Cal fan inside me is very wary of picking Cal to cover the spread on the road against a college football blueblood.

KWBears: This game is going to be a lot closer than people are predicting.  The Longhorns football program seems like a disaster right now - but I'm predicting the coaches and players pull it together so they don't get embarrassed this week.  But, Cal should still pull away with a win and start off this season 3-0.

STANFORD @ USC

USC is a 10 point favorite

Our first conference game of the year sees the Trojans and Cardinal square off. One of those "Whoever wins, we lose" games, who will come out on top in the match-up of our evil rivals? Most seem to think USC.

Nik Jam: Trojans probably win but I doubt it'll be easy. The Card always play them tough.

Ruey Yen: Ah, the battle of the lone two private schools in the Pac. Does this game really need to have a winner?

Andrew G. Miller: The Trojans haven't been tested yet but...have you looked at Stanford recently?

Berkelium97: After a strong start this season, Sark is due for one of his patented faceplants.  It's going to happen soon, but I'm not fully convinced it will happen this week.

KWBears: While we expect this to be a formidable Pac-12 vs Pac-12 matchup, Furd has thoroughly exposed themselves these past two weeks.  Expect U$C to just exploit Furd's weaknesses on both sides of the ball.  David Shaw's conservativeness is not going to serve his team well this week against the Trojans.

OREGON STATE VS. SAN JOSE STATE

Oregon State is a 7.5 point favorite.

Oregon State cannot afford to lose this game if they want to have a chance of reaching bowl eligibility this season. Everyone thinks the Beavers will take care of the Spartans.

Nik Jam: Beavers can't afford to lose, so I'm assuming they don't.

Ruey Yen: I don't think that highly of the Beavers but I think even less of the Spartans.

Andrew G. Miller: Pillow fight!

Berkelium97: San Jose State struggled mightily last season.  Oregon State has no business losing this one.

KWBears: This will be a good match-up for the Beavers.  SJSU will provide a real good test as HC Gary Andersen builds-up his program.

UCLA VS. BYU

UCLA is a 16 point favorite

This seems like an oddly high spread given the high quality of play we've seen from BYU the first two weeks. Can UCLA make a statement and cover? Most of our crew says no, but still sees UCLA pulling it off.

Nik Jam: UCLA becomes a national story, if they haven't already, Saturday night.

Ruey Yen: UCLA has been good but BYU has been magical. Bruins win but not cover.

Andrew G. Miller: I'm not willing to call the straight upset, but it's now industry practice to spot BYU one fluke touchdown per week.

Berkelium97: I'm not convinced that BYU will notch its third upset in a row, but I think they'll make a game of this.

KWBears: BYU's hail mary magic is only going to last so long.  Expect the Bruins to show-up big this game and thump the Cougars.

Closing

Should be a fun weekend this week. Let's hope for a Cal win against Texas and see what the rest of the Pac-12 do. Literally running to the Oakland Airport to go to Austin after I finish this article. Go Bears!