There aren’t many big games this weekend for the conference, but the Trojans do play in perhaps their most important contest of the year against Stanford, a team that has dominated this rivalry in recent times, but it could put the ‘Men of Troy’ back into the top-25 with an upset over the Cardinal.
Max Browne looked better last weekend, but that was expected against Utah State. This weekend he must stay composed and get the passing game rolling for any chance at a win. The defense will of course need to slow down all-purpose running back Christian McCaffrey. If they can play with some fire and purpose, they could get some revenge for the two losses they had at the hands of Stanford in 2015, but it will be a tough ask for a program that has struggled to win big games for the last few years.
UCLA hits the road to face BYU, who has already played two PAC 12 teams to start the year. The Cougars defense has played well, but face a much-tougher offense against the Bruins. This should be a good football game and with the home crowd and a few turnovers an upset is possible, but not likely, look for UCLA to head back home with the win.
Cal has an offense that can score against anyone, but the defense is poor and that has been evident through two games. This week they face the resurgent Texas Longhorns in a game that could bring back some credibility to the conference. UT is now ranked eleventh in the country and are making some noise with a big win over Notre Dame, but playing on the road this weekend against the Bears could prove challenging and with little support in the stands, this could be the upset of the college football weekend.
There’s no doubt this conference needs some big wins to even get in the conversation for a spot in the NCAA Football playoffs. Stanford has the best shot at this stage of the year, but Washington is definitely on the rise and Oregon could earn some respect with a win at Nebraska on Saturday, all of which could get some respect to the west coast and help all the schools in recruiting.
