We take a brief detour from coaching speculation to give our weekly Pac-10 picks --- in case you'd forgotten there are some teams still out there playing meaningful games.

Our faith in the Huskies wasn't rewarded last week as UW was our only defeat, putting us at 2-1 straight up and against the spread. We're now 53-14 straight-up and 38-29 against the spread for the season.

As always, lines from the trusty Seattle Times:

UCLA AT ARIZONA STATE (Sun Devils by 10): The so-called Survivor Bowl as the winner gets to keep its hopes of a bowl game alive for one more week, only to see them devoured like the pumpkin pie at our dinner tonight next Saturday. ASU simply looks like the better team in this one, having significant advantages in two key areas --- quarterback and run defense. Remember how close ASU was to beating Oregon State three weeks ago before winning its next two pretty easily against UW and WSU. UCLA has had an interesting week with the father of QB Kevin Craft implying that he's unhappy with the treatment of his son by the team's coaching staff. ASU 31, UCLA 17.

OREGON AT OREGON STATE (Beavers by 3): The game of the week in Pac-10 and the game of the last four decades for the Beavers, who with a win will go to their first Rose Bowl since 1965. This is probably the biggest Civil War since 2000, when the Beavers beat the Ducks in Corvallis to knock Oregon out of the Rose Bowl and send UW to Pasadena, instead. Looking at the stats, the Beavers appear to have one huge edge --- a passing offense rated No. 1 in the Pac-10 going against an Oregon pass defense rated last. (And who would have thought that in August when some were calling the Ducks' secondary one of the best in the country? Oregon has allowed 19 TD passes --- only UW (20) and WSU (23) have allowed more in the Pac-10). Still, for some strange reason we just think it's Oregon's turn to pull the upset in this one, especially if Jacquizz Rodgers can't play --- he's still listed as doubtful. OREGON 30, OSU 24.

NOTRE DAME AT USC (USC by 32-and-a-half): If you're a believer that the gamblers really know what they are doing, then apparently Notre Dame will just get killed in this one --- the line has gone erom 27 to its current 32-and-a-half, a pretty massive swing. That kind of defeat could do in Charlie Weis, whose main claim to fame at ND is that he almost beat USC in 2005 in the famous "Bush Push'' game. Since then, USC has won by 20 and 38 points, downright Willinghamesque --- remember, one of the main criticisms of his time at Notre Dame was that he lost all three games against the Trojans by exactly 31 points. The Trojans need every point they can get to ensure the best BCS bid possible, so no mercy coming here, you wouldn't think. USC 48, NOTRE DAME 10.

WASHINGTON STATE AT HAWAII (Warriors by 28-and-a-half): Cougars will really wish the season had ended a week ago when they get done with this one. Hawaii has improved greatly since the start of the year and needs a win to get a bowl game. Cougars seem to be improving, but this just feels like a buzzsaw for a WSU team that figures to have a hard time giving as intense a performance this week. HAWAII 45, WSU 6.