Roundup: Arizona kicks off the weekend for Pac-12 football

The football fun starts Friday night in the Pac-12, with Arizona heading to UTEP (7:15 p.m. PT, ESPN), and Michael Lev writes about Rich Rodriguez’s decision to stick with Brandon Dawkins at quarterback despite a slow start to the season.

Big non-conference game for Cal with Ole Miss comin’ to town on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN), and Rusty Simmons writes that Cal’s defense is entering a “quarterback gauntlet” starting with the Rebels’ Shea Patterson. After Ole Miss, it’s Sam Darnold and USC, then Justin Herbert and Oregon, then Jake Browning and Washington and finally Luke Falk and Washington State in successive games.

Zach Helfand looks at USC’s injury situation on defense heading into the Texas game (5:30 p.m. PT, FOX). Linebacker Porter Gustin and defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu are doubtful, while linebacker John Houston Jr. has been held from practice this week.

A real meeting of the minds here – listen to Jon Wilner’s podcast with Doug Haller on the state of Arizona State football. Coming off a tough home loss to San Diego State, the Sun Devils head to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech (5 p.m. PT, FSN).

The Bruins have the dreaded 9 a.m. PT start as they get ready to take on Memphis in Tennessee (ABC), and Thuc Nhi Nguyen writes that UCLA is looking to get its running game going against Memphis.

With Washington State welcoming Oregon State to Pullman on Saturday afternoon (2:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Networks), Theo Lawson dives into Oregon State quarterback Jake Luton’s roots in the Palouse and his circuitous route to Corvallis as an Idaho transfer.

Meanwhile, Michael Preston of CougCenter explains why Luke Falk is Washington State’s most important player against Oregon State.

The Ducks’ first road game of the season takes them to Wyoming (4 p.m. PT, CBS Sports Network), so Tyson Alger writes about the challenge of facing Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, a guy with a lot of NFL hype. Nearly 20 NFL scouts will be in attendance to watch Allen play, and he’s considered a potential No. 1 pick.

Tom FitzGerald features Stanford wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside as the Card gets ready for a tricky game at San Diego State (7:30 p.m. PT, CBS Sports Network). How about this nugget? J.J. (short for Jose Joaquin) had visited eight European countries by the time he was 2 (he was born in Spain and arrived in the States at 7).

Pat Rooney features Colorado receiver Devin Ross and his place in CU history; he is one of three current Buffs with 100 career receptions. The Buffs greet Northern Colorado for an early start at Folsom Field on Saturday (11 a.m. PT/noon MT, Pac-12 Networks).

Washington finishes up non-conference play against Fresno State Saturday night (6:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Networks), so read this Seattle Times Q&A with Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford, the former head honcho at Cal.