Pac-12 football picks: Jacob Thorpe selects this week’s winners

All eyes will be on the Cougars this week. Washington State and Arizona State will have the 7:30 p.m. Thursday timeslot all to themselves, getting a head start on the rest of the conference. USC and Oregon State will also get to dance in their own spotlight with a Friday game. But really, aren’t we all just passing the time until the season’s marquee matchup between Oregon and Stanford next weekend?

• ASU at WSU, ASU by 12: Arizona State hasn’t fared well when the weather gets cold, and it’s going to be frigid on Thursday. Break out the Chewbacca costume for this Halloween upset. WSU 24-21

• USC at Oregon State, Oregon State by 4: This game pits a talented but undisciplined team against the poster-program for doing more with less. The Beavers will relish beating USC big before the Trojans become unbeatable again. OSU 35-17

• Arizona at California, Arizona by 16: The Bears are just waiting for the season to be over while the Wildcats are finally rounding into form. This one could get ugly. Arizona 51-21

• Colorado at UCLA, UCLA by 27 1/2: The Bruins will want a big win following the Oregon loss to remind their fans that this is still a fantastic team. Former Bruins WR Paul Richardson won’t be enough against his former team. UCLA 56-28

• Last week: 3-2 straight up, 2-3 against the spread. Overall: 17-5, 12-9