A yearly pattern in early non-conference games has been the Mountain West giving the Pac-12 fits. That has started to wane, as we saw in last week’s big Arizona victory over San Diego State. On Saturday, look for Oregon State to carry over the strong defensive effort we saw in last week’s victory over Boise State. In what should be a back-and-forth contest, take the Beavers to prevail over the experienced Bulldogs.

I will almost always play pick'ems. If I can't get those right, I may as well go into the embalming business. Fresno has maybe the best pure passing QB on the West Coast in Jake Haener. OSU had a nice win over Boise State in Week 1, but I think we've seen that's not really anything. Again, now I have a reason to watch.