Pac-12 Predictions: Picks against the spread for Week 7

Oct 10, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes cheerleaders pose for a photo during the second half against the California Golden Bears at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah won 30-24. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Pac-12 picks against the spread for every conference game for Week 7.

We have a strong slate of games this week in the Pac-12, and it kicks off on Thursday with a battle of two top 25 teams, both coming from the state of California.

Both UCLA and Stanford are coming off a bye week, so this should be a clash of two well-prepared teams pushing for a division championship.

Washington State is coming off a big time win for the program vs Oregon, holding on in double overtime. They get a beat up Oregon State team that doesn’t really have much direction right now.

We get our traditional USC vs Notre Dame match-up this week, and this has an interesting story line behind it. With Steve Sarkisian out as head coach, we’ll see how his team responds. Will they come out motivated? Or is will they continue rolling downhill from here?

Arizona used Oregon State as a stepping stone this past week to get back to form, and they head to Boulder to ruin their Homecoming Weekend. Colorado has been able to play some close games, but never seem to be able to finish it out.

Arizona State and Utah are the leaders in the Pac-12 South, and this could be a huge win for both programs. A win for ASU puts them in the driver’s seat to win the Pac-12 South, giving Utah their first loss of the season, owning the tiebreaker over the Utes. But a win for Kyle Whittingham would give his team a two game lead over every Pac-12 South opponent, putting them in great shape to win their Pac-12 South.

The weekend will close out with Oregon heading up to Seattle. They’re coming off a stunning loss to the Cougars, and are fighting to for a .500 record. Washington has proved their worth, downing USC, and even getting a few extra days of preparation, last playing on October 8th.

This week is where teams will start to show their true colors, keeping them in contention to win the division, or earn a bowl bid. Meanwhile, some teams will slowly see their division championship hopes slowly fall out of reach.

Next: UCLA vs Stanford