Each week during the 2014 college football season I will offer up my picks and scores for the biggest games in addition to a handful of other key matchups.
Last week my picks went 7-3 straight-up and 6-4 against the spread. My overall record stands at 89-31 SU and 61-58-1 ATS.
While this week's slate of games is not as strong as recent weeks, there are still a handful of matchups that will help determine not only conference races, but also playoff positioning, with only three weeks left in the regular season.
No. 19 USC Trojans at No. 9 UCLA Bruins (-3.5)
Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET, ABC
This was one of my favorite rivalries as a kid growing up. I remember being 6 years old when UCLA QB Gary Beban and USC RB O.J. Simpson went toe-to-toe in the famous 1967 game that ended with a 21-20 USC victory. The Trojans had dominated this series recently, winning 12 of 13 from 1999 to 2011, but the Bruins under head coach Jim Mora have pulled the upset in each of the past two years.
The Bruins are finally playing to the level expected of them coming into the season, as they have won four straight games after back-to-back losses to Utah and Oregon at home earlier this year. After allowing 445 YPG in UCLA's first eight games, the defense has allowed just 311 YPG in its past two. Quarterback Brett Hundley has a 17-4 TD-INT ratio on the season and has started to use his legs much more. In the first five games he had a total of just 122 rush yards, but in the past five he has 442.
On the other side, USC is much better than its 7-3 record indicates, considering the Trojans lost on a Hail Mary touchdown pass to Arizona State and also gave up a touchdown pass with just eight seconds left to Utah in a three-point loss. Cody Kessler could be the most underrated QB in the country as he sports a sensational 29-3 TD-INT ratio and USC's starting 11 on offense and defense has as much NFL talent as any team in the country.
The matchup at the line of scrimmage could favor the Trojans, as they have a plus-2 sack differential on offense and defense while UCLA is minus-11. Also keep in mind, the top six teams in the Pac-12 have a combined conference road record of 19-4. I will take