After calling the Stanford-Arizona State game on Thursday, we only have 3 more conference games to call on the week. This weekend’s slate of contests looks like an easy one to call, but we said that last week and still underestimated UCLA. So we proceed with confidence, albeit confidence of the cautious variety.

• Oregon at California: Oregon and Washington State are the only two teams on the west coast that have proven that predicting their games is only slightly more difficult than breathing. Cal has played great football at home this season, but their inconsistency away from Berkeley and the loss of their starting quarterback, Kevin Riley, mean that the Golden Bears have only the slightest of chances to upset the top team in the nation this week. Look for Oregon to run away with the game and stay atop the BCS rankings.
• Washington State at Oregon State: Read the above prediction. Washington State has gotten better, but they aren’t even close to being able to go into Corvallis and beat a talented Oregon State team. Even though the Beavers only posted 14 points and lost to a mediocre UCLA squad last week, don’t expect OSU to fall at home to the conference’s worst team.
• USC at Arizona: Even though both teams had poor performances in their last games, this showdown in Tucson should be the most compelling game in the PAC-10 this week. Look for both teams to score a lot of points. Nick Foles will have another week of recovery and the experience of getting back on the field against Stanford, both of which should work to the Wildcats’ advantage. USC’s secondary has proven weekly that they can’t stop effective passers, and Foles will target star wideout Juron Criner all night. In the ABC-televised game, look for home field advantage to give Arizona a narrow win over the Trojans.

Related Posts:

• PAC-10 Power Rankings Redux
• PAC-10 Picks Week 9
• Final PAC-10 Power Rankings