Three and out... new edition.

One) Stanford feels like a pretender. So does Oregon, which hasn't played anyone or been tested. But I trust the Cardinal less than I do the Ducks. Maybe it's just me but the Cardinal weren't particularly impressive in their early-season games. Even their 17-3 victory over USC now looks diminished given what we know about the Trojans. I mean, there might not be a smarter, more articulate, interesting team in the conference. The linebackers are terrific as a group. This is a very mature team. But I'm not sold that Stanford has what it takes up front, particularly on offense, to stay with Oregon on Saturday. The offensive line was supposed to be a huge strength and just hasn't looked great. Given that I think Oregon QB Justin Herbert is as-advertised, I'm thinking Stanford is going to have to score more than 28 points to win this game, and I just don't see that happening at Autzen Stadium.

Stanford RB Bruce Love suffered an undisclosed injury two weeks ago. It now looks like a concussion. See for yourself.

I asked former Ducks defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti about Stanford. Aliotti said, "I have not seen Stanford look like the Stanford we're using to seeing. I think they have offensive line problems... something is missing."

I agree.

My pick: Oregon 28, Stanford 24.

Two) Oregon State is already more fun than last season, isn't it? It got beat by a Mountain West Conference opponent on Saturday. That's bad. Coach Jonathan Smith mismanaged the final possession. That's bad. His kicker missed a potential game-winning field goal. That's bad. OSU lost the game to Nevada 37-35, and yet, somehow, I already feel better about the 2018 Beavers.

Losing that game stinks for Oregon State. And no matter what Smith says in the coming days, he should have used timeouts and his dominant wide receiver (Isaiah Hodgins) to try to end the game with a touchdown instead of a field goal attempt. But I couldn't help but feel oddly encouraged by the way OSU stormed back into the game and piled up 540 yards of offense, battled on defense. Hodgins (200 receiving yards) is a game-breaker.

Plus, the rest of the Pac 12 is a mess.

Last season... Oregon State falls behind 30-7 in the same game and curls into the fetal position. This season, it falls behind and comes back kicking and punching. OK. Maybe, "kicking" wasn't the right verb, but you know what I mean. The 2018 Beavers (averaging a conference-best 527 yards per game on offense) would have kicked in the teeth of the 2017 Oregon State team (last in the conference in offense).

I asked Aliotti also, what he sees happening with Arizona and quarterback Khalil Tate. Aliotti said he suspects Arizona has a locker room issue.

"Looks to me," he said, "that it's more than X's or O's."

Also, he said the game plan vs. Tate is to keep him from rolling or running to his right with the football in hand.

"Make him go left, play left and go left-handed," Aliotti said. "That's your best chance of stopping him. Maybe people have figured that out."

I had the Beavers starting 2-1 and finishing 3-9 this season. I still think this is a three-win operation, but that means Oregon State is going to have to win twice in the Pac 12 Conference. But I feel better about that prediction than I did a couple of weeks ago.

My pick: Oregon State 38, Arizona 31.

Three) Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert has a shot to have a big Heisman Trophy signature moment on Saturday. And I think he'll deliver on it despite struggling in big games early in his career. Against Boise State last season, and Washington/USC/Stanford his freshman season, Herbert just wasn't a dominant playmaker (more later on that). But I think those outcomes, in part, came for reasons that had nothing to do with Herbert. I wrote a column about the absence of a signature moment for Herbert.

I think he finally has one against Stanford.

As a freshman against Washington and USC, he failed to throw for 200 yards in either game. Last season, against Boise State, he threw for 233 yards and had two interceptions. But we're talking about a more mature Herbert, armed with an offense built around him. It feels like he's truly ready to put a team on his back and carry it against a top-10 ranked opponent.

After the obvious matchups, I am left with two things: A) Where it is played; and B) Which team is going to have the game's most dominant player. Oregon is the answer to both of those questions, and Herbert provides the edge.