ASU Football: Pac-12 against the spread for Week 3

Pac-12 football returns to action Saturday morning, which also means gambling returns. Get rich!

Last week, the only Pac-12 teams to lose were UCLA, USC (lost to Pac-12 opponent) and Arizona. The rest of the conference shined in their wins, but not all of them covered their spreads.

In Week 3, five Pac-12 teams face FCS opponents, so spreads haven’t been released for those games, but there are six other matchups fans can bet on.

Oregon vs. San Jose State

Line: Oregon -41.5

In their first two games, the Ducks haven’t had any issues with their cupcake opponents. That being said, they haven’t covered the spread yet in 2018.

However, this will be the week Oregon finally covers the spread, which is currently listed at 41.5.

San Jose State got shut out last week against Washington State and lost to an FCS opponent in UC Davis in Week 1. That’s a long way of saying they aren’t good at football.

Oregon State at Nevada

Line: Nevada -3.0

While Oregon State is one of the worst power five teams, the Beavers haven’t failed to put up points this year. First, they scored 31 against a strong Ohio State defense, and most recently, they scored 48 in their win against Southern Utah.

Sure, their defense looked really bad in the first two games, but Nevada’s isn’t much better. Last week, Nevada allowed 41 points to SEC bottom-feeder Vanderbilt.

I expect Oregon State to cover the spread and win outright on the road, giving the Beavers a 2-1 record going into conference play.

USC at Texas

Line: Texas -3.0

Neither Texas or USC looked great in their respective Week 2 games, with Texas squeaking by Tulsa and USC losing by double digits against Stanford. However, expect these teams to come out with maximum energy in the rematch of the famed 2005 Rose Bowl game.

While USC has shown it still has offensive issues, J.T. Daniels will have his best game yet and lead the Trojans to an outright win on the road.

Washington at Utah

Line: Washington -5.0

Both Washington and Utah blew past mid-majors in Week 2, and this week marks both teams’ first Pac-12 game.

Though Utah is known for its defense, expect Washington to put up points on the road. Since taking over at UW, Chris Petersen is 8-0 when coming off back-to-back games of not covering the spread.

Washington covers and wins by 10.

UCLA vs. Fresno State

Line: Fresno State -3.0

The start of Chip Kelly‘s tenure at UCLA has been a disappointment to say the least. UCLA, coming off a loss to Cincinnati, got throttled in Week 2 by a Kyler Murray-led OU team, which put up 49 points in the win.

Fresno State, on the other hand, is one of the top mid-major programs and nearly toppled a Big Ten opponent on the road last week in Minnesota.

The Bruins will fall once again in Week 3, and Fresno State will cover the spread. The Rose Bowl be wilting after this week.

Arizona State at San Diego State

Line: ASU -5.0

Not a lot of people expected instant success from ASU under Herm Edwards, but that’s exactly what the Sun Devils have produced in their first two games.

This week, however, ASU plays its first road game under Edwards against SDSU. The Aztecs come into the game 1-1, but their starting quarterback, Christian Chapman, is out indefinitely.

If ASU can stop SDSU running Juwan Washington, the Sun Devils will cruise and cover the spread and improve to 3-0.