Pac-12 Report – Week 1

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ACC · Big 12 · Pac-12
2017-18 PAC-12 STANDINGS
NORTH DIVISION
Team SU Conference  ATS Over/Under
Washington 10-3 7-2 7-6 7-6
Stanford 9-5 7-3 7-6-1 6-8
Washington State 9-4 6-3 7-6 6-7
Oregon 7-6 4-5 6-7 6-7
California 5-7 2-7 8-4 5-7
Oregon State 1-11 2-9 3-9 9-3
SOUTH DIVISION
Southern California 11-3 9-1 3-10-1 8-6
Arizona State 7-6 6-3 7-6 6-7
Arizona 7-6 5-4 6-7 9-4
UCLA 6-7 4-5 4-9 8-5
Utah 7-6 3-6 9-3-1 6-7
Colorado 5-7 2-7 3-8-1 6-6


San Diego State at Stanford (Fri. - FOX Sports 1, 9:00 p.m. ET)
The Cardinal open their season Friday night on The Farm, and they will have revenge on their minds. Head coach David Shaw's bunch took a 20-17 loss in San Diego on Sept. 16, 2017 as an 8 1/2-point favorite as the 'under' (47.5) cashed. That was a road game. The Cardinal was much better at home last season, posting a 6-0 SU and 4-2 ATS mark. Meanwhile, the Aztecs will be looking to replace all-everything RB Rashaad Penny, now playing his football on Sundays for head coach Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks. The Aztecs are just 5-12-1 ATS in the past 18 non-conference battles and 6-13 ATS in the past 19 against the Pac-12 despite that win last season against Stanford. The under might be the attractive play. The under is 4-1 in San Diego State's past five against the Pac-12, while the under is 4-1 in Stanford's past five at home and 7-3 over their past 10 games overall.

Colorado vs. Colorado State at Denver, Colo. (Fri. - CBS Sports Network, 9:30 p.m. ET)
The Buffaloes head to Broncos Stadium at Mile High in Denver looking to add to the unexpected woes of the Rams, their rivals from up the road in Fort Collins. Colorado State suffered an inexplicable home loss against Hawaii in Week Zero, 43-34. QB K.J. Carta-Samuels wasn't the problem, as he threw for 537 yards and five touchdowns against the Warriors, but the pass defense of the Rams couldn't stop anyone. That might be a problem against experienced QB Steven Montez. The Buffaloes have posted a 3-1-1 ATS mark in the past five meetings in this series, while the under has hit in each of the past four meetings. More on the under, it is 6-0 in the past six for Colorado and 13-3 in the past 16 against Mountain West foes. The under is 5-1 in Colorado State's past six against the Pac-12 and 6-2 in the past eight neutral-site contests.

Oregon State at Ohio State (ABC, 12:00 p.m. ET)
The Beavers make the cross-country trek from Corvallis to Columbus for the Battle of OSU's, although the telecast will be dominated by the scandal involving Urban Meyer, his assistant Zach Smith and the domestic abuse allegations. Will it be a distraction for the Buckeyes, as they start their season? Vegas doesn't seem to think so, installing the Bucks as a 38 1/2-point favorite. Oregon State could catch a break, at least early on, as there might be some sluggishness on the other side as they slowly jell after all of the distractions. The Beavers are a dismal 1-4 ATS in the past five non-conference battles, 1-6 ATS in their past seven road games and 16-34-1 ATS in the past 51 games in September. Ohio State has posted an impressive 12-3-1 ATS in the past 16 against Pac-12 foes. 

Washington vs. Auburn at Atlanta, Ga. (ABC, 3:30 p.m.)
The Huskies and Tigers play in one of the more underrated first-week battles in a showdown of Top 10 schools. Washington opened as a 2 1/2-point favorite, but bettors have flipped that around and are backing Auburn, who is now a 1 1/2-point favorite as of Wednesday morning. Neither of these sides have been particularly good in non-conference games, as Washington is 1-5 ATS in their past six non-conference battles, while Auburn is 0-5-1 ATS in their past six outside of the conference and 1-5 ATS in their past six neutral-site tilts. Perhaps bettors will lean to the under, as the total has gone under in five of the past seven for Washington in a neutral-site contest. The under is 5-0-2 in Auburn's past seven neutral-site battles and 12-3-2 in their past 17 outside of the SEC.

Washington State at Wyoming (CBS Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.)
In one of the more intriguing matchups of Week 1, the high-octane Washington State offense will look to solve the suffocating defense of Craig Bohl's Wyoming side. The Cowboys posted an impressive 29-7 victory as five-point favorites at New Mexico State, a bowl team from a season ago. The Cougars do not have the luxury of a game under their belt, and they have to open on the road against a tough team. They are just 1-4 ATS in their past five road games, 1-4 ATS in their past five non-conference tilts and 2-5-1 ATS in the past eight against the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming is 5-1 ATS in their past six at home, 9-2 ATS in the past 11 games overall and 3-1-1 ATS in the past five against the Pac-12. While the over is 4-0 in Washington State's past four on the road, the under is 5-2 in the past seven non-conference tilts. The under is also 13-3 in Wyoming's past 16, 7-2 in the past nine non-conference battles and 4-0 in the past four against the Pac-12.

UNLV at Southern California (Pac-12 Conference, 4:00 p.m.)
The Runnin' Rebels travel to venerable Los Angeles Coliseum to battle the Trojans in the opener for both sides. USC is installed as a 26-point favorite as of Wednesday morning. The Trojans will be starting freshman quarterback J.T. Daniels, as the 18-year-old gets his feet wet. He'll need to learn on the job quickly, as ranked teams from Stanford and Texas await in the next two games. The Rebels have been pretty outstanding on the road over the past couple of seasons, going 6-1 ATS in the past seven road games and 7-3 ATS in their past 10 in the month of September. USC is 1-5 ATS in the past six at home, 1-6 ATS in the past seven in September and 0-5 ATS in the past five non-conference battles. Perhaps the over is the play, as the total has gone over in eight of the past nine non-conference games for UNLV while going 5-1 in their past six aganst the Pac-12. The over is 6-2 in USC's past eight overall and 11-5-1 in the past 17 non-conference contests.

North Carolina at California (FOX, 4:00 p.m.)
The Tar Heels head out to the left coast looking for revenge against the Golden Bears. Cal posted a 35-30 victory, winning outright as a 12 1/2-point favorite, while the 'over' connected. It was the first of many losses for UNC in a lost and injury-plagued season, as they went just 3-9 SU. However, the Tar Heels did end up 4-0 ATS in their final four games after a trying 1-8 ATS start. Cal lost their final two games of 2017 to fall just short of bowl eligibility, although like Carolina they were able to close on a high note by covering three straight, and five of their final six. California also covered all five of their home games last season against FBS opponents, and they're 9-2 ATS over the past 11 at home against FBS clubs.

Cincinnati at UCLA (ESPN, 7:00 p.m.)
The Bearcats and Bruins will do battle in the Rose Bowl with UCLA favored by more than two touchdowns. Neither of these sides have fared particularly well against the number in recent seasons, especially against unfamiliar foes. Cincinnati is just 8-20 ATS in their past 28 games overall, and they're 4-10 ATS in the past 14 in the month of September. In addition, Cincy is 0-5 ATS in the past five games on grass. In Cincinnati's past 17 non-conference games the Bearcats have managed a dismal 4-13 ATS mark. The Bruins haven't been much better, going 7-17 ATS in the past 24 on grass, 4-11 ATS in the past 15 overall and 1-8 ATS in the past nine games in the month of September. In addition, the Bruins are a terrible 1-8 ATS in the past nine non-confernece battles. The under is 8-2-1 in Cincinnati's past 11 outside of the conference, while going 22-10-1 in the past 33 games overall. The under is 4-1 in UCLA's past five games at home, but the over is 5-2-1 in their past eight non-conference battles.

Bowling Green at Oregon (Pac-12 Network, 8:00 p.m.)
Oregon has been facing some FCS teams in the month of September in recent seasons to open, but this year they'll at least face an FBS club. The Ducks are still favored by more than four touchdowns to knock off Bowling Green from the MAC. Bowling Green heads into this one looking to turn around some ugly trends. They're 3-10 ATS in their past 13 games overall, while going 0-9 ATS in the past nine non-conference games and 0-9 ATS in the past nine in the month of September while going 3-7 ATS in the past 10 on a fieldturf surface. The Ducks haven't been much better, going 8-18-1 ATS in the past 27 games overall, 4-10-1 ATS in the past 15 in September while going 2-6-1 ATS in the past nine non-conference battles. Total bettors might be hammering the over this week in this battle. The over is 7-0 in Bowling Green's past seven overall, and 4-0 in their past four on the road. The over is 52-19-1 in the past 72 games at home and 37-18-2 in the past 57 games in the month of September.

Texas-San Antonio at Arizona State (FOX Sports 1, 10:00 p.m.)
The Roadrunners and Sun Devils do battle for the second time in the past three years as head coach Herm Edwards makes his college football debut at the helm. The last time UTSA played Arizona State in the Alamodome, the Sun Devils escaped with a 32-28 win on Sept. 16, 2016 while easily covering a 21 1/2-point number. The Roadrunners have covered each of their past four against the Pac-12, and they're 5-1 ATS in the past six non-conference battles, too. The Sun Devils are 12-5 ATS in the past 17 games at home, but they're 0-5 ATS in the past five non-conference battles. The under hit in the final seven regular season games for UTSA, while going 4-0 in the past four road games. The over finished up 5-1 in the final six for Arizona State, however.

Brigham Young at Arizona (ESPN, 10:45 p.m.)
The Cougars and Wildcats do battle in Tucson in an attractive late-night matchup to close out the Week 1 slate, at least the games in the conterminous 48. Arizona opened as a 15-point favorite, but the money has been on BYU, betting the line down to 11 1/2 points. The Cougars enter the game with a 4-0 ATS mark in their past four non-conference tilts, while going 5-2 ATS in the past seven Pac-12 contests. Arizona hasn't been as fortunate against the number, although they're 5-2 ATS in their past seven at home. The Wildcats have covered just twice in the past eight non-conference battles, and they're 5-12 ATS in the past 17 September outings. The under is 4-0 in the past four meetings in this series, while going 14-5 in BYU's past 19 no-conference battles. The under is also 8-3 in the past 11 on the road for the Cougs. For Aizona, the over is 6-2 in their past eight home games, and 4-1 in their past five non-conference battles.

Other Games
Weber State at Utah (Thu. - Pac-12 Network, 8:00 p.m.)