This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

With five conference games this weekend, the 2016 Pac-12 football schedule begins in earnest. Each of the next 10 weeks, several league games will be played. Eight teams will launch Pac-12 play this week, notably Utah, hosting USC on Friday night. On to the picks: Friday's game  USC at Utah, 7 p.m. MDT, Fox Sports 1 Going into the season, USC's September schedule made the Trojans the most interesting team to watch in the first month. The Trojans very likely were going to bring a 1-2 record to Salt Lake City; the only surprise is they totaled 16 points in losses to Alabama and Stanford and already have made a quarterback change. Utah figured to be 3-0 and ranked in the Top 25 by this point. That has happened, although its offense has failed to dominate up front and finish drives. Both elements will be critical against the Trojans, yet it difficult to picture a first-time starting quarterback coming into Rice-Eccles Stadium and thriving against the Ute defense. Utah 24, USC 17.  Saturday's games Boise State at Oregon State, 1:30 p.m. MDT, Fox Sports 1 The Beavers (1-1) appear to be improved, but whether they can top last year's 2-10 record is another issue. OSU should be competitive against the Broncos, but beating the program that Beavers coach Gary Andersen has to admire from his Utah State experience is asking a lot. Boise State 31, Oregon State 21.  Colorado at Oregon, 3:30 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Networks As only Oregon could do, the team is breaking out Duck-inspired uniforms with orange shoes and socks, making this game worth at least a glance. Colorado was tied with Oregon last season in Boulder and won't be overwhelmed in Eugene. Picking an upset is too much, though. Oregon 35, Colorado 27. Stanford at UCLA, 6 p.m. MDT, ABC Utah will welcome all the Stanford victories over Pac-12 South schools that it can get, while missing the Cardinal in the scheduling rotation. The Cardinal beat USC last week and now tackle UCLA, which stuffed BYU's running game and will provide a good test for Christian McCaffrey. This is one of those matchups where you have to pick the team with the eight-game winning streak in the series, until proven otherwise. Stanford 28, UCLA 21.  California at Arizona State, 8 p.m. MDT, ESPN2 This game will be a wild adventure, along the lines of Cal's 50-43 win over Texas and ASU's 68-55 defeat of Texas Tech. How do you distinguish between them? ASU's at home. Arizona State 51, California 48.  Washington at Arizona, 8:30 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Networks  Washington has routed Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State, all at home. What happens when the Huskies go on the road and find themselves in a tough game? That question makes this game interesting, but Arizona is too inconsistent to stay with Washington until the end. Washington 35, Arizona 24.  – Kurt Kragthorpe