Arizona vs. Oregon will be a Pac-12 Conference battle of unbeatens

1. Arizona (4-0) at No. 2 Oregon (4-0) on Thursday is a battle of undefeated Pac-12 Conference schools only because the Wildcats and Ducks survived recent harrowing encounters. Arizona scored 36 fourth-quarter points and still needed a Hail Mary pass to defeat California two Saturdays ago. Oregon needed a late touchdown in Pullman to defeat Washington State.

2. One Mississippi, two Mississippi. A state known for its river and its writers — William Faulkner, Willie Morris, Richard Ford — takes center stage in football. Ole Miss and Mississippi State boast a combined 8-0 record as they play Super Southeastern Conference host this week to undefeated Alabama and Texas A&M.

3. The Dodgers and Angels will suck much out the local-sports oxygen out of next weekend, but both football teams are home in key Pac-12 South divisional matchups. UCLA, coming off a 62-27 win at Arizona State, hosts Utah at the Rose Bowl. USC, a 35-10 winner over Oregon State on Saturday, plays Arizona State at the Coliseum.

4. Stanford visits Notre Dame in a another mini-drama matchup that is gaining ground on Notre Dame versus USC as an annual intersectional rivalry. After losing seven straight in the series early in the century, Stanford has rebounded to win four of the last five meetings

5: Six schools from the SEC West are ranked in the top 15 of this week’s Associated Press poll. The bad news for the SEC is that its teams now have to start playing each other. No. 15 Louisiana State, which already lost to Mississippi State, makes a critical trip this week to No. 5 Auburn.