This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Utah State, BYU and Bronco Mendenhall are all facing Pac-12 football teams Saturday. The schedule is skewed toward the 8 p.m. MDT (or later) television window, but the opportunity exists for fans in Utah to see most of those three games. On to the picks:  Utah State at USC, noon MDT, Pac-12 Networks So the team that lost by 46 points last week is favored by more than two touchdowns over the team that won by 39. That's the difference between Alabama and Weber State. This matchup is difficult to predict. The Aggies have played well in Power 5 settings in recent years; they also got blasted by Tennessee in the 2014. And who knows what to think of USC, until the Trojans play someone other than Alabama? USU won't be overwhelmed, but the Trojans have too much talent to stay down. USC 31, Utah State 17.  Idaho at Washington, 3 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Networks Dating to last season, the Huskies have topped the 40-point mark in four straight games, matching a 1944 record. Make it five. Washington 52, Idaho 21.  Idaho State at Colorado, 3:30 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Networks Idaho State is biting off Pac-12 opponents in consecutive weeks (Oregon State is next). That didn't seem unreasonable until Colorado looked so good in pounding Colorado State last week. Colorado 44, Idaho State 14.  BYU at Utah, 5:30 p.m. MDT, Fox I'll have more to say about this game in another forum – and who knows, I may even change my mind. I'm usually conservative in the official Pac-12 Picks, so the Utes get the edge. BYU's offense did some good things vs. Arizona, but needed nearly every available second to hit 18 points. That won't be good enough in Salt Lake City. Utah 21, BYU 17.  UNLV at UCLA, 6 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Networks It was easy to lump USC and UCLA together last week, because the Pac-12 South favorites both lost in Texas, but there's a difference between the Trojans' debacle and UCLA's overtime loss at Texas A&M. Yeah, the Bruins missed an opportunity to win in regulation, but they also rallied to put themselves in that position. They'll get on track at the Rose Bowl. UCLA 42, UNLV 21.  Texas Tech at Arizona State, 8 p.m. MDT, FS1 This could be a wild adventure, resembling some of the high-scoring games the Sun Devils played at the end of last season. Texas Tech will score some points; can ASU keep up the pace? This will be a telling game for ASU, which needed a strong fourth quarter to pull away from Northern Arizona last week. Texas Tech 42, Arizona State 39.  Washington State at Boise State, 8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN2 Cougs, Cougs, Cougs. What are we supposed to think of you? WSU lost to Eastern Washington last week, after falling to Portland State last September. And now the Cougars visit a solid FBS program. The Cougars responded well last year to an opening-game loss, but this is a tougher assignment. Boise State 42, Washington State 35. Virginia at Oregon, 8:30 pm. MDT, ESPN Mendenhall is in for a long-term building project at Virginia, and facing the Ducks in Eugene won't improve the immediate outlook. In the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl, Mendenhall's BYU defense held Oregon to eight points. That won't happen this time. Oregon 47, Virginia 17.  California at San Diego State, 8:30 p.m. MDT, CBS Sports Network This is a good matchup, unlikely to resemble Cal's 35-7 win last season. SDSU has an 11-game winning streak and is a seven-point favorite. I still like the Bears, behind quarterback Davis Webb. California 38, San Diego State 31.  Grambling State at Arizona, 8:45 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Networks The Wildcats revert to their usual nonconference schedule after opening vs. BYU. Arizona 48, Grambling State 13.  – Kurt Kragthorpe