Pac-12 Odds: Picking Against the Spread for Week 9

Bye weeks can be relieving for everyone. I know I touched on this last week, but in my string of plane trips to away games and five hour drives to home games, I was ready for a break. Every October, I completely forget how productive I can be when it's not football season. I took my wife out on two (!!!) dates, I cleaned the house, I set up my DirecTV disconnection, took my dog for a long walk (well, as long of a walk as a bulldog will tolerate), played a ton of PlayStation and took like three naps.

Why do I go to football games again?

So since there was a Cougcenter mandate that every article this week must tie into Mike Leach's Twitter ban, I'd like to offer my advice to the players: it'll suck at first, but embrace it. You'll never realize how much time you were using on it until it's forced away from you. I bet when the twitter ban is eventually lifted, you may not even want to go back because you forgot how fun life was without it. Sort of how I'm dreading getting on a plane to Palo Alto this weekend.

Of course, once we start winning again, that addiction is going to come back and kick me in the face and I'll have no desire to nap during football weekends. Hoping you give me my fix soon, Cougs!

On to the week's picks

COLORADO (+45.5) at OREGON: If this game were being played a month ago, I'd take the points every which way I could, but after watching two undefeated teams pass them and faced with the worst team (strength of schedule-wise) on their schedule, Oregon is probably going to go for style points here. Colorado might not score. I would've taken Oregon if the spread was 55.5. Take Oregon and give the points.

UCLA (+6.5) at ARIZONA STATE: Well, ASU took their first loss ATS last week, and did it in style, didn't they? UCLA coach Jim Mora, still upset about getting his ass handed to him the last time UCLA went on the road against Cal, has said he wants his players to be prepared to play in any environment. I'm not entirely sure how one prepares to play for a game in an half empty stadium in pleasant weather and the home team is concentrating on how many beers they're going to take down on Mill Ave instead of concentrating on winning a football game (that last one may just be me and not the Arizona State football team). UCLA has had two weeks to think about this, and I'm still not sure they get past the Sun Devil bus murder in the parking lot in time to cover. Take the devils, give the points.

USC (-6.5) at ARIZONA: Congrats to Arizona, becoming just the latest team for Vegas to completely whiff on their value after their game with UW. And congrats to all of you who get free money for laying 6.5 on USC. Take the Trojans and look ahead to the USC/Oregon matchup next week along with them.

WASHINGTON STATE (+25) at STANFORD: Washington State players aren't allowed to tweet because they are posting offensive content. Stanford players don't tweet because they're too busy building rockets and curing cancer. Advantage: Trees. Take Stanford in a blowout.

CALIFORNIA (+1) at UTAH: I've been racking my head trying to decide if Cal is undervalued because of their abysmal performance against Stanford last week, or if Utah is over-valued because they're at home. The Utes are still perfect ATS at home this year, so that's where I'm leaning. Take Utah and the point.

OREGON STATE (-3.5) at WASHINGTON: I've been hovering around .500 all season on my picks, but if I didn't have to pick Beaver games where I'm 1-6, I'd be making this site a lot more money. That is also because I have picked against the Beavs every week. So here I'm torn, do I pick against the Beavs, thus ensuring them a win against UW, or do I start worrying about my own credibility and recognize OS for the incredible story they've become? Credibility wins; take the Beavs, give the points.

Six games and I took six favorites. That can't be right, can it? I've been wrong before, and have proven that week after week this season. Let me know which ones I missed in the comments.

Last week: 2-3

Overall: 26-25

Good luck this week and may your picks bring you a small fortune, provided you didn't start with a large one.