Pac 12 Update

I am looking forward to tomorrow night's Oregon-ASU game as it is the first time this season that the Ducks are not double digit favorites (okay, it's 9.5).  Oregon has won seven straight in this series, and four straight in Tempe, but the Sun Devils can be buoyed by a gutty performance last season in which they led the Ducks by 3 in the 2nd half before losing by 14.  They also seem to have the offensive weapons in hand to fully implement new coach Todd Graham's offensive system.  They are 3-0 at home, with routs of Northern Arizona, Illinois and Utah.  With a daunting November schedule (at USC, at Cal, home vs Stanford, at Oregon State) awaiting them, the Ducks cannot afford to stumble here.  And since they have been away from the headlines due to a weak first half schedule, the Ducks could drop a spot or two without a strong performance.  As for ASU, this game is huge.  They sit in first in the Pac 12 South with a 3-0 record and an upset of Oregon will not only give them an extra leg up over second place USC but will force voters to not only rank the 1-loss Sun Devils but put them firmly into the top 20.  As for a pick, I'll take Oregon especially if I can get the 9.5 number.
I must admit I have a tough time dealing with Oregon's recent success.  I did root for them against Auburn in the BCS Title game as I felt the Tigers cheated and did not belong there, but the days of Oregon being a little guy challenging Southern Cal ended with the NIKE takeover of the sports department in Eugene.  They also seem to be bending, if not breaking, recruiting rules, but more on that subject when the NCAA finishes their investigation.
The Stanford-Cal hate-fest is the best Pac 12 match-up of Saturday.  The Bears have won two straight conference games but have lost two straight in the series.  The 115th edition of The Big Game should match last year's contest in excitement with both squads needing a win badly.  I will pick Cal in an upset as Stanford has had an emotional four-game stretch (win over USC, loss to Washington, OT win over Arizona, loss to ND) that has to be taxing.