UNDATED (AP) — Arizona State visits Utah on Saturday in a matchup between the Pac-12′s last two unbeaten teams in conference play. While it’s still relatively early, the game could have implications for the Pac-12 South down the road. The 18th-ranked Sun Devils are coming off a 28-10 victory at home over Stanford, which moved them up four spots in the AP Top 25. Utah was coming off an emotional 42-26 road victory over USC, the Utes’ first game after the tragic death of teammate Aaron Lowe.

UNDATED (AP) — The Pac-12 enters a new season buoyed by the league’s accomplishments in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The conference turned heads with three teams reaching the Elite Eight and UCLA playing in the Final Four. Now it’s time to take that next step and consistently do well in March. The conference is again loaded with talent headed into the 2021-22 season, led by UCLA. The deep runs last spring have boosted the confidence of teams across the league that they can do it, too.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — UCLA is an overwhelming favorite to win the Pac-12 after reaching the Final Four last season. The Bruins’ men’s basketball team received 32 votes from 34 media members who cover the league in the preseason poll. Oregon received the other two first-place votes and was second, followed by Southern California, Arizona and Oregon State. UCLA made a surprise run to the Final Four last spring after losing in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. Most of the key players from that team return, led by guard Johnny Juzang. Oregon has won the past two Pac-12 regular-season titles and will have a new-look roster.

UNDATED (AP) — Sometimes a big game really isn’t. No. 1 Georgia faces No. 11 Kentucky on Saturday, the third straight game for the Bulldogs against a ranked Southeastern Conference opponent. Georgia won the first two easily and the oddsmakers don’t expect this one to be much closer. Kentucky-Georgia is one of two games matching ranked teams in Week 7 of the college football season. The other has No. 12 Oklahoma State visiting No. 25 Texas.

DENVER (AP) — Olympic sports organizations will look into co-hosting championship events with the NCAA as a way of preventing the U.S. gold-medal pipeline from withering under financial pressure. The hosting partnerships were one of seven recommendations the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee released after several months of meetings between Olympic officials and college athletic directors across the country. More than 75% of the 613 U.S. athletes who went to the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year were products of an NCAA program. According to one recent estimate, U.S. universities combine to spend $5 billion a year on Olympic sports programs.

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