ASU Football: Pac-12 against the spread for Week 13

ASU football may be eliminated from Pac-12 South contention, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for as the Pac-12 North gets decided Friday.

In Week 13, Utah clinched the Pac-12 South division title, and the Utes will face the winner of the Apple Cup in the conference championship.

For the Pac-12, Week 13 crowned a division champ, further legitimized a Heisman candidacy and saw an upset in a cross-town rivalry. It’s the Conference of Champions, baby!

In the last weekend of the regular season, the Pac-12 returns with seven matchups, five of which are rivalries.

Oregon at Oregon State

Line: Oregon -14.5

As the season has gone by, Oregon State has seemingly gotten a little better. But the Beavers are still the joke of the Pac-12.

The only one-score game the Beavers have been a part of this season was when they took down Colorado on the road. Since then, Oregon State has lost three games by a combined 67 points.

Next for the bottom-feeding Beavers is the Civil War game against Oregon. For the first time in a while, Oregon showed some defensive prowess against Arizona State, particularly in the first half.

The line is only at two scores despite Oregon State’s 1-16 Pac-12 record over the past two seasons. That seems grossly low, and I expect Oregon to cover pretty easily.

Washington at Washington State

Line: Washington State -2.5

The entire Pac-12 football season has led up to this: the Apple Cup. No, this isn’t the Pac-12 Championship, but it’s the matchup of the conference’s two best teams.

Led by star quarterback Gardner Minshew, Washington State has been the surprise of the conference and, maybe, of all college football. The “mighty mustache”threw for 4,325 yardss and 36 touchdowns in the preceding 11 games.

On the other end, Washington has lost three times this year, and lately, the Huskies have struggled with consistency on offense. The defense has still been terrific, however, holding opponents under 25 points the last four games.

What this game will ultimately come down to is whether or not Washington can stop Minshew. No one has really been able to this year, and with the home crowd behind him, Minshew will lead the Cougars to the Pac-12 North championship while covering the spread.

Stanford at UCLA

Line: Stanford -7.0

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After five games, UCLA was 0-5, and a lot of experts didn’t expect the Bruins to win a single game this year. Slowly but surely, Chip Kelly‘s coaching prowess has started to show in Westwood.

The Bruins have won three of their last six games and, for a while, they had an outside shot at the Pac-12 South. That’s no longer intact, but Joshua Kelley has established himself as one of college football’s most productive backs in the process.

This week, UCLA hosts a Stanford team that has struggled to find its identity all season long. Fresh off a win over USC, UCLA will be thirsty for a win to end Kelly’s first season on a high note.

Because of this, UCLA will cover the spread.

Arizona State at Arizona

Line: Arizona State -2.0

With control of the Pac-12 South, Arizona State blew it in Week 12, falling on the road to Oregon. Now Utah has clinched the division, and the Sun Devils are playing for a better bowl pairing.

And, of course, Territorial Cup bragging rights.

The home team has won the rivalry game between the Sun Devils and Wildcats in the last five meetings. ASU will look to change that against an up-and-down Arizona team that most recently fell to Washington State 69-28.

Khalil Tate has played his best football of the season lately, and because of that, Arizona’s overall offensive production has increased. This and the home-field advantage will propel the Wildcats to a Territorial Cup win.

Colorado at California

Line: Cal -12.5

Following Colorado’s blowout loss to Utah, head coach Mike MacIntyre was canned. It was justified.

Colorado has lost its last six games after a 5-0 start to the year, and with a loss to California, the Buffaloes won’t go bowling for the second year in a row. The losing streak includes a pitiful loss to Oregon State — the Pac-12 cellar dweller.

This week, the Buffaloes’ recently stagnant offense faces off against one of the conference’s best defenses in Cal. Luckily for Colorado, Cal’s offense offsets for how good its defense has been.

Offensive woes and mind-boggling turnovers will help Colorado cover the spread away from home.

Notre Dame at USC

Line: ND -10.5

When the clock hit 0:00, chaos and disbelief ensued at the Rose Bowl. USC had lost to a dismal UCLA squad, putting the Trojans in a deep hole.

Now 5-6, USC is one loss away from bowl ineligibility with just Notre Dame left on the schedule. That’s tough.

The Fighting Irish are ranked third in the College Football Playoff rankings, and with a playoff chances on the line, they won’t take any prisoners come Saturday. Notre Dame will easily cover the spread at the Coliseum in probably Clay Helton‘s last game in cardinal and gold.

BYU at Utah

Line: Utah -13.0

No, the Holy War doesn’t matter for the Pac-12 South race, conference records or anything. Even so, not much gives the Utes as much pleasure as beating the Cougars.

That is just what they have done in recent years, winning the last seven matchups of the rivalry.

Without Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss, many expected Utah’s offense to plummet, but it has done just the opposite. The Jason Shelley-led Utes most recently clobbered Colorado in Boulder.

While BYU’s defense isn’t bad and anything goes in rivalry games, this one shouldn’t be close. Utah won’t have much trouble covering in Salt Lake City.