Pac-12 Report – Week 3

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

7 minute read

San Jose State at Oregon (Pac-12 Network, 5:00 p.m. ET)
The Spartans and Ducks kick off the weekend in the Pac-12 conference at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, and Oregon is favored by more than 40 points in this one. It might not be enough, as the Spartans are horrific. San Jose State kicked off the season 44-38 with a loss at home against UC Davis of the FCS, and they were blanked last week at Washington State by a 31-0 score, just missing as 30-point underdogs. The Spartans are 6-14 ATS over their past 20 against teams with a winning record, and 3-9-1 ATS in the past 13 games overall. In addition, the Spartans have covered just two of their past nine games away from the Bay Area. while going 0-4 ATS in the past four against Pac-12 foes, including last week's shutout setback. Oregon hasn't been much better against the number, going 8-20-1 ATS across their past 29 while posting a 2-8-1 ATS mark over the past 11 non-conference contests. They're also 1-6 ATS in the past seven against teams with a losing mark. The over is 19-6-1 in the past 26 home games agaisnt a team with a losing record record, while going 53-20-1 in the past 74 overall at Autzen.

Oregon State at Nevada (ESPN3, 7:00 p.m.)
The Beavers are back on the road, traveling to the Biggest Little City in America, Reno, to battle Nevada. The Beavers were bludgeoned in their opener at Ohio State, 77-31. While the defense was horrific, they were able to manage some decent offensive totals. They bounced back nicely last week with a 48-25 win and cover against Southern Utah as 13 1/2-point favorites as the 'over' cashed for the second time in as many weeks. Nevada worked over FCS Portland State 72-19 in the opener, but they were outclassed at Vanderbilt by a 41-10 score as 10-point underdogs. Can they bounce back at home? Vegas believes so, ever so slightly, installing the Wolf Pack as a 3 1/2-point favorite. The Beavers have covered just once in their past five non-conference games, last week vs. SUU. They're 0-4 ATS in the past four road contests. Meanwhile, the Wolf Pack are 5-0 ATS in the past five home outings, although they're 1-4 ATS in the past five non-conference battles.

Southern California at Texas (FOX, 8:00 p.m.)
The USC-Texas should be a marquee game, but both teams have stumbled out of the gate with a loss each through two games. The Trojans offense was listless in Palo Alto last week, managing just three points in a loss to Stanford. While Texas won last week, a win over Tulsa by just seven points didn't make Longhorns fans and alumni forget about the disappointing neutral-site loss against Maryland on Sept. 1. USC enters this game with a dismal 11-27-1 ATS mark over the past 39 road outings, and they're 0-6 ATS in the past six non-conference tilts and 0-5 ATS in the past five in the month of September. While Texas is 6-2 ATS in the past eight tries against Pac-12 clubs, they're just 2-5 ATS in their past seven overall, including 0-2 ATS this season. The 'under' is just 4-1 in the past five for USC in the month of September, but the over is 5-2 in the past seven non-conference tilts. The under is 4-1 in Texas' past five non-conference battles, while going 37-18-1 ATS in the past 56 in Austin.

Washington at Utah (ESPN, 10:00 p.m.)
The Huskies and Utes open their conference portion of the schedule at Rice-Eccles, as Washington tries to keep their playoff chances afloat. They lost a heartbreaker to Auburn in a neutral-site game to open the season and cannot afford another setback or they're likely done from the national playoff conversation. Utah would like to force them out early. It hasn't been pretty for the Utes to date, winning 41-10 over FCS Weber State before winning 17-6 in a soggy battle at Northern Illinois last week in a non-cover. Defense has been good for Utah so far, as they're allowing just 8.0 PPG. The last time these teams met in Seattle on Nov. 18, 2017, the Huskies held off the Utes 33-30. They didn't cover then, but the Huskies are 8-3 ATS across their past 11 confernce battles. However, they're 1-5 ATS in the past six overall and 0-4 ATS in the past four on the road. For Utah, they're 4-1 ATS in the past five overall and they're 5-1 ATS across the past six in September. They've also been good at home, going 5-2-1 ATS over the past eight in Salt Lake City while hitting 9-4-1 ATS in the past 14 Pac-12 contests.

Arizona State at San Diego State (CBS Sports Network, 10:30 p.m.)
Head coach Herm Edwards has earned props during the early going, turning Sparky into a contender after they outlasted Michigan State last weekend. QB Manny Wilkins and man-child WR N'Keal Harry, destined for first-round pick status in the 2019 NFL Draft, are one of the better pass-catch connections in the nation. If they played in the east, everyone would know about that. AZ State is just 1-5 ATS across the past six against Mountain West clubs, while going 6-13 ATS across the past 19 on the road. That's the one thing we haven't seen with Edwards, how his team responds on the road. The Aztecs, on the other hand, haven't been good anywhere lately. They're 6-14 ATS in the past 20 against the Pac-12, 6-15-1 ATS in the past 22 games in the month of September, 0-5 ATS in the past five against winning teams and 0-4 ATS in the past four against non-confernce clubs.

Fresno State at UCLA (FOX Sports 1, 10:30 p.m.)
It's a strange time. Fresno State heads to UCLA looking to add to the woes of the Bruins, who have opened 0-2 SU/1-1 ATS, although they did cover at Oklahoma last week. Of course, that was as a 30-point underdog! They enter this one as either a pick 'em or a 1-point favorite, depending on the shop. It's not exactly what everyone expected from Chip Kelly in SoCal. The Bulldogs lost 21-14 as a pick 'em last week at Minnesota, so will they face a similar fate this week? Fresno is 7-1-1 ATS across the past nine road outings while going 6-1 ATS in the past seven games in the month of September. They're also 19-6-1 ATS in the past 26 and 6-2-1 ATS in the past nine against losing teams. UCLA is just 5-11 ATS in the past 16 at home while going 2-9 ATS in the past 11 no-conference games and 5-12 ATS across the past 17 contests overall.

Other Games
UC Davis at Stanford (Pac-12 Network, 2:00 p.m.)
New Hampshire at Colorado (Pac-12 Network, 5:00 p.m.)
Idaho State at California (Pac-12 Network, 6:00 p.m.)
Eastern Washington at Washington State (Pac-12 Network, 8:00 p.m.)
Southern Utah at Arizona (Pac-12 Network, 11:00 p.m.)

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