Tempe, AZ – The Devils are in a good position this week. 5 days from now, ASU takes on Washington State up in Pullman. So for now, they just get to sit back, heal up from their rough schedule the past month and watch the rest of the conference teams beat up on each other today.

There are some intriguing match-ups today that will impact the conference standings and the national rankings. Make sure you catch a couple of the games today that will ultimately help the Devils in their quest for the Pac-12 south title and a shot at the Rose Bowl.

Utah @ USC

On the surface this appears like a meaningless game, however, it is really one of the more difficult match-ups to call this week. The Devils have already beaten USC so naturally one would think we want them to take out the Utes and give them another loss in the Pac-12 South. 

However, if Utah wins they could possibly be ranked when the Devils play them the game after next in Salt Lake City on November 11th. Now here is the kicker, Utah has a bye next week before they host the Devils, so if they don’t sneak into the national rankings this week they won’t be there when they take on Arizona State.

In this case, unless you have some allegiance to the Utes, we should root for USC to basically knock Utah out of the Pac-12 South race with another conference loss. USC is favored by almost a touchdown at home.

#12 UCLA @ #3 Oregon

We want Oregon to win every game this year, unless of course ASU meets them in the Pac-12 Championship Game with a spot in the Rose Bowl on the line.

Here’s another consideration: should the Duck’s lose at Stanford on Thursday, Nov. 7, that likely ensures that the Pac-12 South champion will play Stanford for the Pac-12 title. Should that team come from Tempe, AZ, Stanford would be the preferred contest.

If the Bruins had upset Stanford last week, we might be rooting for UCLA here since we want them ranked as high as possible when ASU plays them down the road. However, since UCLA lost to the Cardinal and dropped out of the Top 10, a UCLA victory against Oregon would hurt the Pac-12’s chances of reaching the National Championship Game. 

There’s some pros and cons with this game at 4:00 PM today. Where do you stand? Oregon is favored by over 23 points at home.

Arizona @ Colorado

ASU already beat Colorado and they are no threat in the Pac-12 South, so we want them to pound the Wildcats and eliminate them from Rose Bowl contention. Yes, I know it sounds strange to say “Wildcats” and “Rose Bowl” in the same sentence. 

Unfortunately, the Cats are favored by 14 points in the game but let’s hope for blizzard conditions in Boulder and hopefully, a Colorado victory.

#6 Stanford @ #25 Oregon State

I still don’t know how the Beavers got back into the rankings at #25 after opening the season with a loss to a FCS team and having to mount a fierce comeback to pull off a victory against a poor San Diego State team.

ASU already had their shot at Stanford and couldn’t pull off the upset. The loss to the Cardinal doesn’t look so bad as long as they stay ranked in the Top 25.

Since we play Oregon State at home in a few weeks, we want them up in the polls. If the Beavers beat Stanford at home, Stanford will still be ranked, which bodes well for the Sun Devils. Stanford is favored by 3.5 points here, but we would like to see the Beavers pull off an upset at home.

Cal @ Washington

This game really has no bearing on the Sun Devils. They crushed Washington last week and kicked them out of the national rankings, so neither victor would help the conference.

We want the Huskies tonight if they have any chance of creeping into the ranking at season’s end, not likely to happen. However, a Washington victory gets them to 5 wins, one shy of bowl eligibility. The more Pac-12 teams to earn bowl bids, the better it is for the conference.

*     *     *

Even though the Devils are resting up today for WSU on Thursday night, these Pac-12 games will impact ASU. Also,we want Notre Dame and Wisconsin to continue winning which helps the Devils’ strength of schedule. 

Enjoy the games this weekend, and we’ll present the results on Monday.

Just five days until Halloween and five days until the Sun Devils’ nationally televised game at the Palouse. ForksUp.

ASU @ Washington St. – Thursday, Oct. 31, 7:30 PM PT on ESPN