Well, last week was another fantastic weekend among the Pac 12 Conference.  With losses by UCLA and Arizona the Sun Devils find themselves right back in the thick of things in the Pac 12 South with a chance repeat as champs of the South.  The road won’t be easy and the Devils need some help but this is another week with huge games that not only impact the race to the Pac 12 Championship but also have huge national implications.  Let’s see what is on tap for on Saturday.

#20 Utah @ Oregon State (Thursday)

The conference is littered with teams with a 4-1 record and two of these teams match-up against each other on Thursday night as the Utes travel to Corvallis to take on the Beavers.  I have been telling everyone I know for the past month to watch out for Utah because I still believe they will determine who wins the South.  Both of these teams have a great shot at a bowl but I would really like to see Utah climb in the rankings before coming to Tempe for a huge game with the Devils.  Let’s root for the Ute to continue to win and take care of business in Oregon.

#23 Stanford @ #17 Arizona State

This is a revenge game for the Devils and it scares me to death.  ASU simply does not match up well with Stanford, which was proven last year with two blowout losses. However, the Cardinal don’t appear as dominant this season, already having lost two games.  Word is that ASU will play both Taylor Kelly and Mike Bercovici at the QB spot in order to mix things up offensively.  Stanford is still favored to win in Sun Devil Stadium but let’s hope the Devils can do just enough to get a much needed win.

UCLA @ Cal

For the first time all season UCLA goes into a game unranked.  They are looking to get back on track after losing two weeks in a row but are traveling into Berkeley to take on a pesky Bears team.  I am still upset at Cal for blowing a late lead to Arizona and it would be good for the conference for the Bruins to climb back into the national rankings to make the Devils loss to them not look so bad.  Let’s pull for UCLA here.

Colorado @ #22 USC

This is a tricky one.  On the surface it might look as if we should pull for the Trojans in order to climb the rankings and make our victory over them look that much more impressive.  However, this is a battle of two Pac 12 South teams and ASU has already beaten Colorado.  It would not be the worst thing for the Buffaloes to pull off an upset here and hand USC another loss in the South, which would almost eliminate them from contention in the Southern Division.  Basically, this is a win-win game and I am hoping for a good battle but if I have to root for one team over the other I’m pulling for the Buffs.

Washington @ #9 Oregon

Here is an interesting battle in the Pacific Northwest.  Washington is a very quiet 5-1 and would jump back into the rankings with an upset win here.  However, the Ducks seem to be focused on climbing into the top 4 so they can get a spot in the coveted new playoff system.  I am torn once again on whom to root for but I think we should pull for the Ducks.  They need to continue to move up in the rankings and I am sure that Washington will pick up another win soon and become bowl eligible in their first year under new coach Chris Peterson. Aside from what appears to be a great game you might want to watch to see yet another uniform combination by Oregon, this one is a throwback version of the 1994 season, which feature the old logo and Donald Duck on the sleeves.  I think the new unis are pretty sweet.

#5 Notre Dame @ #2 Florida State

Perhaps the biggest game outside of the battle ASU faces with Stanford is this match up of two top 5 teams.  We want Notre Dame to keep winning before they come to Tempe on November 8.  If the Irish keep winning and there are a few more slip ups at the top of the rankings there is a very real possibility that Notre Dame comes to Tempe as the number 1 ranked team in the land.  With opportunities for the Devils to climb in the rankings with quality opponents the next few weeks things could set up for a monster match-up in Tempe. Go Irish

Wow! Another fantastic week to be a couch potato! So many teams and so many possible scenarios but one thing we know for sure is that the Devils need to take care of business against Stanford. Go Devils!