When the Pac-12 preseason media poll was first released in late July, more than a few snickered at the one voter who picked the Colorado Buffaloes to win the South Division.
Of course, with no clear-cut favorite to choose from, it probably shouldn’t have been all that laughable. All but one of the six teams in the South received at least one first-place vote, after all. And the only one who didn’t was Arizona State — a program that had become something of a national punchline in the wake of Herm Edwards’ hire as head coach.
Fast forward seven weeks, and the Buffs and Sun Devls boast the Pac-12’s two biggest non conference wins to date — Colorado’s come-from-behind victory in Nebraska, and ASU’s last-second 16-13 win over Michigan State. Meanwhile, Arizona and UCLA are winless, Utah struggled to fend off Northern Illinois, and USC managed only three points in a loss at Stanford.
Could it be that the two teams the media picked to finish fifth and sixth in the South are among the division’s top contenders? It’s obviously way too early to say.
But at the very least, nobody’s laughing at that prospect anymore.
Now, for the Omelette of Champions Week 3 picks (Last week: 5-1-1 vs. spread, 9-2 straight up; Season: 13-2-1 vs. spread, 19-3 straight up):
UC Davis (2-0) at No.9 Stanford (2-0), noon Saturday (No line) — UC Davis is a quality FCS program that knocked off San Jose State a couple of weeks ago. Probably not going 2-0 against the Bay Area, however. (Pick: Stanford 37, UC Davis 13)
San Jose State (0-2) at No. 20 Oregon (2-0), 3 p.m. Saturday (Oregon -41.0) — Speaking of the Spartans, expect a lot of push-ups for the Oregon Duck mascot in Eugene. (Pick: Oregon 52, SJSU 10)
New Hampshire (0-2) at Colorado (2-0), 3 p.m. Saturday (No line) — Whoever scheduled this game should be forced to watch every last second of it — like Alex in “A Clockwork Orange.” (Pick: Colorado 49, NHU 7)
Idaho State (1-0) at California (2-0), 4 p.m. Saturday (No line) — The Golden Bears defense is for real. Their three-headed QB monster, however, is not. (Pick: Cal 38, ISU 3)
Oregon State (1-1) at Nevada (1-1), 5 p.m. Saturday (Nevada -4.0) — Hate to take too much away from a blowout win over lowly Southern Utah, but the Beavers run game appears to be explosive. Oregon State might be a tougher out than first suspected. (Pick: Nevada 30, Oregon State 27)
No. 22 USC (1-1) at Texas (1-1), 6 p.m. Saturday (Texas -3 1/2) — J.T. Daniels struggled against a legit Power 5 defense in Palo Alto. Should be more of the same in Austin. (Pick: Texas 27, USC 20)
Eastern Washington (2-0) at Washington State (2-0), 6 p.m. Saturday (No line) —Washington State has taken care of business against overmatched competition so far this season — far from a given during the Mike Leach era. (Pick: Washington State 38, EWU 28)
No. 10 Washington (1-1) at Utah (2-0), 8 p.m. Saturday (Washington -6.0) — Two programs that are near mirror images of one another with tough, physical defensive fronts, bruising run games and savvy head coaches. The difference: UW quarterback Jake Browning has more weapons than Utah’s Tyler Huntley. (Pick: UW 23, Utah 16)
No. 23 Arizona State (2-0) at San Diego State (1-1), 8:30 p.m. Saturday (ASU -3.0) — This is just the sort of letdown game that has tripped up the Sun Devils in years past. Except this time ASU is out for revenge after last year’s home loss to SDSU. (Pick: Arizona State 23, SDSU 13)
Fresno State (1-1) at UCLA (0-2), 8:30 p.m. Saturday (Fresno -1) — The Bruins were respectable for two quarters against Oklahoma in Norman last week. Just not respectable enough to be favorites in their own building against a Mountain West opponent. (Pick: UCLA 28, Fresno State 24)
Southern Utah (0-2) at Arizona (0-2), 9 p.m. Saturday (No line) — Finally, the bleeding stops for a Wildcats team that might be the biggest disappointment in college football. (Pick: Arizona 42, S. Utah 14)
— , The Denver Post
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What’s on Tap?
- MLB: Diamondbacks at Rockies, 6:40 p.m., ATTRM | Pitching matchup |
TV/RADIO: Here’s what sports are airing today
Scoreboard
MLB: Rockies 13, Diamondbacks 2
Full story |
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Quick Hits
+ Nebraska coach Scott Frost: The play that hurt QB Adrian Martinez in the Colorado game might have been dirty.
+ Broncos recap: Five things we learned from the win over Seattle.
+ Broncos beat writer Ryan O’Halloran dives deeper into Sunday’s victory with his 10 takeaways.
+ Broncos beat writer Kyle Fredrickson did a little film study with 5 key plays from the Broncos’ victory over the Seahawks.
+ The Broncos’ Demaryius Thomas is not concerned about the shaky start against Seattle.
+ What can Broncos fans expect from Case Keenum this season? Mark Kiszla answered this and more in yesterday’s Lunch Special live chat.
+ Colorado Buffs linebacker Davion Taylor finds balance between football and faith.
+ With CU punter Alex Kinney sidelined with a broken collarbone, itap up to Davis Price to fill the void.
+ It looks like these Buffs just might like each other.
+ Colorado State coach Mike Bobo will be going into familiar territory when his Rams head to Gainesville.
+ Like it or not, Tyler Anderson isn’t going anywhere in the Rockies rotation.
+ Only a handful of players took action during national anthem on the NFL’s first Sunday of the season.
+ Billy Jean King says that Serena Williams continues to be treated differently than male athletes.
+ Broncos Mailbag: Have a question about the team? .
+ Rockies Mailbag: Have a question about the team? .
By The Numbers
15,802
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The NFL teams that have serious reasons to worry, versus the ones that don’t
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Get in Touch
If you see something thatap cause for question or have a comment, thought or suggestion, email me at dboniface@denverpost.com or tweet me .
