College football picks: Welcome to rivalry weekend in September for divorced Pacific Northwest foes

Welcome to rivalry weekend in September. As college football fans continue to adapt to the new world order brought on by conference realignment and playoff expansion, among the changes are a couple rivalries that used to cap off regular seasons are now taking place before summer ends. Despite the Pac-12 falling apart last year, Washington and Washington State and Oregon and Oregon State are playing Saturday. The Huskies and Ducks are now in the Big Ten. The Beavers and Cougars are now the Pac-12. That’s it. Just them. Both rivalry games will played in September for the first time.