NO. 18 CALIFORNIA (5-2) AT NO. 7 ARIZONA STATE (7-0)

* Kickoff: Saturday 7 p.m. PDT.

* TV: FSN Prime.

* Line: Arizona State by 3.

* California update: The Golden Bears are trying to regroup from consecutive losses that dropped them from the verge of the No. 1 ranking. They have given up 30 and 31 points in those losses and overall are giving up 26.1 points per game. The offense features receiver DeSean Jackson and running back Justin Forsett, who is averaging 115.9 yards rushing a game but had only 76 last week.

* Arizona State update: The Sun Devils moved up five spots in the Associated Press rankings and up to No. 4 in the BCS standings, and now we’ll see if it’s deserved. Their opponents so far are a combined 20-31. Their next four opponents are 22-6. The Sun Devils are giving up only 15 points and 304 yards per game, both among the top 15 in the nation. The offense, led by quarterback Rudy Carpenter, is 12th in the nation in scoring at 37.7 points per game.

* Story line: Arizona State is suddenly talking about Pacific 10 Conference and national championships, so the Sun Devils can ill afford a loss. California may now be a conference spoiler, but it still has major bowl aspirations. California has won the last four meetings.

* The pick: California. Arizona State has been overlooked thus far, but the Bears won’t make that mistake.

-- Peter Yoon