College football is literally right around the corner. We at SportsFansSpeak we feel it only appropriate to start breaking down one of the top conferences that is very close to home. The PAC 12.
The PAC 12 in my opinion is one of the deepest conferences in college football. From top to bottom almost anything can happen at any moment. Fast offenses, great defenses and quick quarterbacks, the PAC has it all. Here is our regular season predictions for the PAC 12.
NORTH
1. Oregon 11-1 (9-0) North Division Winner
It’s hard to count Oregon out of anything when it comes to football. They are a deep team with a very serious candidate for the Heisman award with returning QB Marcus Mariota. Mariota played out of his mind last year, going his first 9 games without a single interception. He’s fast and makes defenders pay with his quick feet. They also return all 5 of their offensive lineman, and a great RB core. Offense should not be a problem for Oregon.
Defense on the other hand could. Yes, they seem to get a good defense going every year, but it seems to me like the defense could yet again be the ahilles heel of this team. That’s why I see them taking a loss against Michigan State early in the year.
I think the Ducks will beat all their opponents coming out of the North, and the only real threat I see coming from their division is Stanford. However, it’s hard to see Stanford pulling off another upset in what looks to be like a little bit of a rebuild year for them. I do believe the Ducks will see the UCLA Bruins twice this year as well. I think they grab the first one in the regular season play, but I think they get edged by them in the PAC 12 Championship game.
Wins: South Dakota, Wyoming, at Washington St, Arizona, Washington, Cal, Stanford, Colorado, at Oregon State, UCLA
Losses: Michigan State
2. Stanford 9-3 (6-3)
Stanford has had a decent run these past couple of years under head coach David Shaw. He has really taken the program above and beyond what a lot of people expected. Last year was a good season for the PAC 12 conference champion, but it kind of ended sour with it’s loss to the Michigan State Spartans in the Rose Bowl. Sadly, I believe this year will continue to be a bit more sour for the Cardinal.
Sour to the point where they won’t be winning the PAC 12 this year. Don’t get me wrong though.. Stanford will still be a very competitive team and will win most of its games, but there’s a lot of question marks that will need to be answered on one particular side of the ball. The offense. The cardinal will lose 4 out of 5 O-Line starters this year, which leaves the question mark of whether Kevin Hogan will feel comfortable in the pocket. That O-Line was his secret sauce, and while there is a lot of good talent coming in to replace those guys; how long will it take them to put together a solid O-Line? Luckily Hogan still has Ty Montgomery, who is an absolutely incredible receiver, who should help give Stanford a lot of wins. I just don’t think one of those wins will come against Oregon or UCLA this year. I think they’ll also have a potential matchup nightmare against USC in their second game this year, and I find it hard to see the Cardinal running much offense against Leonard Williams and company while trying to figure out that O-Line.
Their defense on the other hand looks to be impressive, and that’s why they should still be a threat to every team they face. They do have to replace some holes, but there are plenty of high quality defenders coming back this year along with some highly recruited young talent. This should be enough to get the Cardinal to get to 9-3, but something tells me that Cardinal fans will not be happy with that.
Wins: UC Davis, Army, at Washington, at Norte Dame, Washington State, at Arizona State, Oregon State, Utah, Cal
Losses: USC, at Oregon, at UCLA
3. Oregon State 8-4 (5-4)
The Beavers can be an interesting team to follow every year. They were off to a bad start in 2013, and then things picked up a little mid season for them, but the remainder of their season was awful. The biggest thing they lack is consistency, and I think that will show again this year.
Sean Mannion will be returning to the offense this year along with a decent core of WR’s, TE’s and RB’s. A lot of folks think Mannion will be a darkhorse Heisman candidate, but I think it’s a long shot with what he’s surrounded with. He won’t have his star WR Brandin Cooks back on the field, but maybe someone else steps up to catch his passes. Still, I don’t think it will be enough to get some of the big wins they’ll be hunting for this season.
Defense could also be a question mark for the Beavers this year as well. Last year they were just bad, even more so against the run. They do return a decent amount of linebackers this year, but will they be able to lead this defense back to a competitive level? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. They should still should have a decent enough team to get them to the 3rd spot in the North with a nice bowl bid.
Wins: Portland State, at Hawaii, San Diego State, at Colorado, Utah, Cal, Washington State, Arizona State
Losses: at USC, at Stanford, Oregon, at Washington
4. Washington 7-5 (4-5)
Chris Peterson is finally getting his shot at the big time as the new head coach for the Huskies. I can’t help but be optimistic about the future he has with Washington. He built Boise State into a powerhouse, and they became a nightmare for other teams around the nation. Now he hopes to bring that same mentality to Washington, and being in the PAC 12 can only make things better for him.
I don’t think we will see Coach Peterson’s success right away because they’re are still a lot of kinks that need to be worked out on the team. The offense is going to be the biggest weak link in the armor. Washington does return a hefty group of O-Lineman, but they have key losses with Bishop Sankey, Keith Price and Austin Seferian-Jenkins. I’m just not sure where they’re going to find the offense with a new QB and RB. I feel the offense will be rebuilding this year.
Luckily, Coach Peterson has a stout defense returning this year. The front 7 are arguably the best behind UCLA. It features two of the best defensive lineman this conference has to offer with DE Hau’oli Kihaha and DT Danny Shelton. They will also have Marcus Peters returning to the secondary unit, who might be one of the best corners coming out of the league this year. This defense should be good enough to bring in a decent amount of wins and a bowl game, and with Coach Peterson at the helm I don’t think it will be too long before Huskies become a serious contender in the PAC 12.
Wins: at Hawaii, E. Washington, Illinois, Georgia State, at Cal, at Colorado, Oregon State, at Washington State
Losses: Stanford, at Oregon, Arizona State, at Arizona, UCLA
5. Washington State 6-6 (3-6)
Coach Mike Leach’s offenses are a pass first, and then pass again, and again, and again, and always. Surprisingly it was good enough to get them to a bowl game last year, but it failed them against Colorado State in that bowl game. I’m a believer in a balanced offense, and I think if Coach Leach and the Cougars want to get more wins they need to run a more balanced attack.
It's not that an all out passing attack can't be successful every now and then, but it still leads to a lot of 3rd down attempts, a lot of 3rd and 10’s, and eventually leads to a lot of quick 3-and-Outs. That’s a lot of time for the Cougar defense to be on the field, and that Cougar defense is going to be about as average as it was last year. That’s why I have a hard time with this offense. Again, I feel it needs to be more balanced.
The Cougars should be good enough to get back to a bowl game, and I see them also pulling off an upset against USC at home. I just have a hard time seeing them do much more than 6 wins.
Wins: Rutgers, at Nevada, Portland State, California, Arizona, USC
Losses: Oregon, at Utah, at Stanford, at Oregon State, at Arizona State, Washington
6. California 2-10 (1-8)
There’s not a whole lot to be excited about for the lowly California Bears. With winning only one game last year there’s no where to go but up, unless of course they don’t win any games this year. Let just hope that doesn’t happen for the sake of the conference.
Cal should improve this season to two wins. That’s not a lot, but it is improvement! Sadly, there are still too many question marks surrounding this terrible (just terrrribbblee) team. The offense might see some bright spots this year, but it won’t be enough.
Best of luck Cal.
Wins: at Northwestern, Sacramento State
Losses: at Arizona, Colorado, at Washington State, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, at Oregon State, at USC, Stanford, BYU
SOUTH
1. UCLA 11-1 (8-1) South Division Winner, Conference Champion
3. Arizona State 8-4 (5-4)
UCLA is the team that I think will turn a lot of heads this season. They had a pretty decent season last year, but lacked some of the experience to win the South Division and ultimately the PAC 12. They return starting QB Brett Hundley, who in my opinion is set up to be the best QB's in the PAC 12 this year. He’s also my pick for the Heisman award. The only real worry I have for the Bruins offense this year will be their young O-Line. However, Hundley is a great QB and has plenty of offensive weapons to use this year, including his own two feet.
The biggest strength for the Bruins is going to be their defense. The front 7 is the best the PAC 12 has to offer this season, and they’re going to be a tough team to move the ball against. Miles Jack will be the face of the Bruin defense this season, and he will be a key factor in leading them to the PAC 12 Championship game.
The Bruins have both Oregon and Stanford at home this year, but I don’t think they’ll be ready to take out Oregon just yet. However, I do see them getting the job done against Oregon in the PAC 12 Championship game. I’m hopeful that they’ll be the team that will represent the PAC 12 for the first time in the College Football playoff. That one loss though might barely edge them out. Let’s just hope it doesn't.
Wins: at Virginia, Memphis, at Texas, at Arizona State, Utah, at Cal, at Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Stanford, USC
Losses: Oregon
2. USC 9-3 (6-3)
USC’s program has struggled quite a bit until recently. They had a decent season last year and are looking to improve upon that this upcoming season. I just find it hard to see their new head coach Steve Sarkisian getting them much further this season. Coach Sark really hasn’t shown me that he can coach a championship caliber team yet, which is really the bar for USC. However, I do think he has the talent to get them there in the near future. I just think for this season the hype surrounding him and the Trojans has been set a little too high for that expectation.
USC returns a strong running game back to the field this year, but I still don’t think it will be enough to get them to the top of the South Division. What they lack is depth, and I’m not sure that their returning QB Cody Kessler is the guy who can really command this offense as a playmaker. I think this will be the fault in USC’s season. However, when you consider Coach Sark’s recruiting ability, and his QB coaching experience, I think we can see this USC squad getting pretty good in the upcoming years. Then maybe they’ll get to that championship.
The highlight for this team will be the defense. Leonard Williams will be the star again of this defense, and it’s crazy to think that he played last year with shoulder trouble. He’ll be a beast again without the injury, and should make a lot of stops on the line this year. He’s only one of the many playmakers on this defense that should be able to get a few key wins this year. They do lack depth in the secondary, which is why I think they take another loss at Washington State this year. I also think they have a few more bumps along the way at Utah and against UCLA.
Wins: Fresno State, at Stanford, at Boston College, Oregon State, at Arizona, Colorado, Cal, Norte Dame
Losses: at Utah, at Washington State, at UCLA3. Arizona State 8-4 (5-4)
The Arizona State Sun Devils are going to be one of the more interesting teams to watch this year. The PAC 12 South champs will bring back an explosive offense with the return of starting QB Taylor Kelly at the helm, and a deep WR core. It will be fun to see how much Kelly will improve next year, and he could very well be one of the best QB's in the nation.
The biggest question mark is going to be the Sun Devils defense. Will they be able to stay competitive with the loss of 9 starters from last season? That’s basically their whole squad. I think that’s why they’ll take a step backwards this season. The offenses this young Devils squad will face this year are going to be a handful, and I don’t think Kelly will be able to do enough to beat some of the better teams in the PAC 12.
It’ll be hard to see such a highly ranked offense suffer due to a poor defense, but with taking a step backward this year it’s hard to doubt that the former South Champs will take 2 steps forward once they get that defense figured out.
Wins: Weber State, at New Mexico, at Colorado, at Washington, Utah, Norte Dame, Washington State, at Arizona.
Losses: UCLA, at USC, Stanford, at Oregon State
4. Utah 7-5 (4-5)
5. Arizona 6-6 (3-6)
It’s going to be very interesting to see what the Utes can do this season if the team stays healthy. Starting on offense, the Utes get back two key playmakers who went down to injury last year. QB Travis Wilson, and WR Kenneth Scott. Wilson was looking pretty good last season, especially in that game against Stanford, before crap hit the fan and a pre-existing brain injury nearly ended his football career. This season will be a good opportunity for him to bounce back on what looked like a promising breakout season for him. Kenneth Scott was also projected to have a breakout season for the Utes last year, but ended up breaking his leg instead. Scott will give the Utes another option down the field and should open up the lanes for WR Dres Anderson. If the Utes are going to win games in the PAC 12, the offense must stay healthy because there is not a lot of depth that can replace the talent they have.
Defense should improve this year as well, especially with the addition of Brian Blechen, who also went down with an injury last year. The Utah defense has always been competitive year after year and should continue to cause some problems for the teams they face this year.
A majority of Utah’s losses against ranked opponents last year (other than Oregon) were within a touchdown. If they can stay healthy, I can see the Utes having a couple of opportunities to win some of those games that come down to the wire. I think they can pull off at least one upset against USC or Oregon this year like they did against Stanford last year, and my pick is going to be against USC. They won’t be contending for the championship by any means this year, and I think they’ll struggle again to win on the road against PAC 12 teams, but they will improve to a bowl game and finally have a decent season since joining the conference 3 years ago.
Wins: Idaho State, Fresno State, at Michigan, Washington State, USC, Arizona, at Colorado
Losses: at UCLA, at Oregon State, at Arizona State, Oregon, at Stanford5. Arizona 6-6 (3-6)
I don’t expect Arizona to be a real threat this year. They will start off strong with a fairly easy non-conference schedule, but they will quickly fall near the bottom of the PAC 12. The Wildcats lose some key pieces on it’s offense this year. The biggest name being Ka’Deem Carey. Carey literally carried the Wildcat offense on his back and really stretched the field for Senior QB B.J. Denker. With the loss of both Denker and Carey, it’s going to be hard for the Wildcats to craft an explosive offense back to the field this season. They do have some QB hopefuls who will make their debut this year, but I think it will take more than a few games to get this offense figured out without Carey.
I also worry about the Wildcat defense, as they will lose three of their top defenders: Jake Fisher, Marquis Flowers, and sack leader Sione Tuihalamaka. They do have a nice piece to build around with the return of their 4th leading tackler Scooby Wright, but I feel the Wildcat defense will struggle to stop the explosive offenses they will see this year.
With struggles on both sides of the ball, I predict that this will be a rebuilding year for head coach Rich Rodriguez. However, it won’t be long before the Wildcats are back competing at a high level. I predict the Wildcats will go 6-6 (3-6), and still make it to a bowl game.
Wins: UNLV, at UTSA, Nevada, California, Colorado, Washington
Losses: at Oregon, USC, at Washington St, at UCLA, at Utah, Arizona State
6. Colorado 4-8 (1-8)
Last year the Colorado Buffaloes saw great improvement to 4 wins from the 1 they had in 2012, and it was nice to see them turn some heads with a glimpse of their up and coming future. The offense returns young QB Sefo Liufau, who will have a chance to make this Buffs team his this season. However, in spite of how hopeful Sefo looked on the field last year, I still don’t think it will be enough for the Buffs to make a huge difference this year. The offense will have it’s moments both good and bad, but it’s not an offense that’s worth comparing to some of the top dogs in the PAC 12 this year.
The defense does return some starters this year and should see some improvement in multiple positions on the field. That improvement won’t be much though because the Buffs haven’t really shined when it comes to facing the explosive offenses the PAC 12 has to offer. They’re still trying to play catch-up since joining the conference 3 years ago, and I don’t think they’ll be quick enough this year to really stop many teams.
The Buffs are looking to prove a lot of people wrong this year, but it won’t be enough. “Enough” though, may be making it’s way very soon in a few years.. I predict that Colorado will finish the season at 4-8 (1-8)
Wins: at CSU, at MASS, Hawaii, at California
Losses: Arizona State, Oregon State, at USC, UCLA, Washington, at Arizona, at Oregon, Utah
- Nick H.
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