Pac-12 Football: Week 14's Previews and Predictions

This week we have two Pac-12 games. 

No. 15 Oregon State will be playing Nicholls State on Saturday—the game was originally scheduled on September 1, but Hurricane Isaac forced the game to be rescheduled. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks at 2:30 p.m ET.

The Pac-12 Championship is also this week. No. 8 Stanford will host No. 16 UCLA at Stanford Stadium this Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on FOX. 

After this week, it's several weeks of no college football so get your fill now—it's going to be a long three weeks. 

Pac-12 Championship: UCLA at Stanford

Last Saturday, Stanford beat UCLA 35-17 at the Rose Bowl. If the Cardinal can beat UCLA twice in six days, Stanford will have punched its ticket to the Rose Bowl on January 1. 

The Cardinal appear to be more balanced than the Bruins, and the excitement factor has gone up with dual-threat quarterback Kevin Hogan adding a new dimension to the offense. Hogan will be playing toss-and-catch against a Bruins passing defense that is ranked No. 101 among FBS teams.

Last week the Cardinal only passed for 160 yards, but I expect that number to go up this week as UCLA prepares for the Cardinal's lethal rushing attack; Stanford gashed UCLA for 221 rushing yards last week. 

UCLA's offensive line was the obvious deficiency in last week's loss to Stanford—Brett Hundley was sacked seven times and running back Johnathan Franklin was held to 65 rushing yards.

I expect the game to be closer if UCLA avoids turnovers and can handle the pass rush, but I still think Stanford does the unthinkable and beats the same team twice in one week.

Prediction: Stanford beats UCLA 38-31 and goes to the Rose Bowl after a 13-year absence.

Oregon State vs. Nicholls State

This rescheduled game between the No. 15 Oregon State Beavers (8-3) and the Nicholls State Colonels (1-9) will actually be shown on the Pac-12 Networks this Saturday.

Hooray? 

The Colonels have played two FBS teams this season and the results weren't very surprising; Nicholls State lost 66-16 to Tulsa and 9-3 to South Alabama.

The Beavers should be up by 45 points at the half and will pull their starters before the third quarter begins. 

Prediction: Oregon State 62 Nicholls State 9