Pac-12 Football: 5 teams on upset alert in Week 3

UCLA made easy work of Hawaii in Week 2, as the Bruins set themselves up for a jump into the AP Top 25. This weekend, Jim Mora’s team takes its first road trip of the year as they head to Memphis. The showdown against the Tigers presents a tough challenge, as the few players that remain from the 2014 contest can attest. That year, Paxton Lynch and Brett Hundley dueled in a 42-35 UCLA victory at the Rose Bowl.

Now the Bruins are finally playing that return match, and they head to Tennessee as three-point favorites. Both teams are undefeated, though we know less about Memphis after their Week 2 game against UCF was canceled due to Hurricane Irma. The opener against Louisiana-Monroe told us that the Tigers were either rusty from the offseason still, or that they have seriously regressed.

Given how close the spread is between the Pac-12 favorites and their Group of Five hosts, the oddsmakers seem to think that rust was the more likely explanation. Teams have been able to gain ground on the Bruins this year, and the Tigers are going to take advantage with a pair of dangerous running backs in Darrell Henderson and Patrick Taylor Jr.

Both of the backs will finish with over 100 yards apiece, as Memphis gives UCLA a rude awakening. Rosen’s Heisman case will tarnish a bit as he tosses two picks that Memphis turns into points, including a late interception as the Bruins push for a tying score. Look for something in the neighborhood of 45-31 as a final result as the Tigers make a mockery of the spread.