This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Thursday's games went pretty much as I expected for Pac-12 teams, with Utah beating Southern Utah by 24 points (I said 31) and Oregon State losing at Minnesota by seven (I said 10), although the Utes could have pulled away sooner and the Beavers definitely could or should have won their game. Two more games are scheduled Friday and seven more Saturday. Friday's games Colorado vs. Colorado State, Denver, 6 p.m. MDT, ESPN This is always a tricky game to pick. Even when the Buffaloes have been good, they've lost occasionally to CSU, and even when they've been bad – like the 2013 team that coach Mike MacIntyre inherited – they've beaten the Rams sometimes. Colorado is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings, including two overtime victories, as the Buffs took a 27-24 win in OT last September. Sefo Liufau is the key for the Buffs. If the quarterback performs well in his return from a Lisfranc foot injury, Colorado will win. The pick: Colorado 28, Colorado State 21. Kansas State at Stanford, 7 p.m. MDT, FS1 Kevin Hogan was one of those college quarterbacks who seemingly played forever. But now Ryan Burns gets his turn as Stanford's QB. Kansas State is a well-chosen opponent, in the sense that the Wildcats are a Power 5 program, but not in the top tier. Stanford fits that description and this will be a good showcase for Heisman Trophy candidate Christian McCaffrey. The pick: Stanford 35, Kansas State 17. – Kurt Kragthorpe