In my eyes the Pac 12 is the second best conference in college football only behind the SEC. They have two elite teams in Oregon and Stanford with a couple of teams that could be even better than we thought in UCLA and Arizona. And don't forget that USC is still out there looking to prove that last year was a fluke. How is this year going to go?
Here are my predictions for the upcoming year.
North
1. Oregon Ducks (12-0 9-0)
The biggest question that surrounds the Ducks is how they will do without Chip Kelly running the team. New coach Mark Helfrich was Kelly's right hand man and the offense and everything else will remain the same. Offensively their loaded with QB Marcus Mariota who is the perfect leader for this offense and RB/WR De'Anthony Thomas to provide the home run threat. The Ducks should be looking towards another National Title Game appearance.
2. Stanford Cardinal (11-1 8-1)
I didn't think that David Shaw would be able to keep the training going after Jim Harbaugh left, but Stanford has continued to be a major player in the Pac 12 and even won the conference last year. Stanford returns a ton of talent on defense and could be the best in the nation. Offensively they return QB Kevin Hogan and hope he can improve on last year. If he does they could be champions again.
3. Oregon State Beavers (9-3 6-3)
After a five and three win seasons not much was expected out of the Beavers last year. However they shocked many getting off to a 6-0 start before finishing with nine wins. This year should be much the same when they return 15 of 22 starters, including QB Cody Vaz who really played well last year. Don't look for them to contend for the North Division, but they should have another fine season.
4. Washington Huskies (8-4 5-4)
QB Keith Price returns for his third year as the starter and brings with him some talented weapons on offense. RB Biship Sankey and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins while on defense they'll rely on the versitle Shaq Thompson who makes plays all over the field. They have the talent, but just haven't put it all together at once.
5. Washington State Cougers (4-8 2-7)
It's only a matter of time before Washington State is regularly going to bowl games and makes a run at the division title. However that won't happen quite yet. Leach is still building the team to fit his mold. In doing that he really is going to have to upgrade the talent level.
6. California Golden Bears (2-10 1-8)
I really liked the hiring of Sonny Dykes as their coach. He did well at Louisiana Tech and has experience in the Pac 12 as the offensive coordinator at Arizona. But this team is going to suffer a lot from Tedford's struggles the past few years and the level of talent going down. Another long year in Berkeley is in store.
South
1. UCLA Bruins (9-3 6-3)
It's safe to say that the hiring of Jim Mora Jr wasn't thought to be a great hire. However Mora was fantastic last year getting the Bruins to the Pac 12 Title Game. This year we should see much of the same. They return stud sophomore QB Bret Hundley to run their dynmaic offense while Anthony Barr is a potential top 10 draft pick at rush linebacker. Only a collapse will prevent them from making back to the conference championship.
2. USC Trojans (9-4 5-4)
Last year was a nightmare for the Trojans who were preseason #1 but ended up losing five games. Expectations are down this year, but the Trojans should still have a solid year. QB Max Wittek will be the key for their offense. If he can up his game from what we saw at the end of last year they could challenge the Bruins. If not, we could see the end of the Lane Kiffin era.
3. Arizona Wildcats (8-4 5-4)
In Rich Rod's first year he got them back to a bowl game and has them trending upward again. They'll really miss QB Matt Scott who was vastly underrated, but stud RB Ka'Deem Carey is back to carry the load. The Wildcats could be a sleeper pick with all their tough games at home and the winnable games on the road.
4. Arizona State Sun Devils (8-4, 5-4)
The Sun Devils are a trendy pick to finish towards the top of the South Division, and why not. Head Coach Todd Graham has had success everywhere he's gone and he's returning most of his starters from last year. However their schedule is going to be their undoing. Having to play Stanford from the North and Wisconsin and Notre Dame in the non-conference and it's going to be a tough road.
5. Utah Utes (4-8 2-7)
Utah went from going to BCS games while in the Mountain West to being a bottom feeder in the Pac 12. But a big part of that is they just have a dip in talent over the past few years. It looks like they could be getting back on track, but not quite yet.
6. Colorado Buffalos (2-10 0-9)
I really like hire of Mike MacIntyre. He built up San Jose State into a ten win team and Colorado really needs somebody to build the program. Add in that MacIntrye's recuiting ties to California and that could really pay dividens. As for this year, it's going to be a long season.
All Conference Team
QB: Marcus Mariota, Oregon
RB: DeAnthony Thomas, Oregon
RB: Ka'Deem Carey, Arizona
WR: MarQise Lee, USC
WR: Brandin Cooks, Oregon State
TE: Colt Lyeria, Oregon
OT: Cameron Fleming, Stanford
OG: David Yankey, Stanford
C: Isaac Seumalo, Oregon State
OG: Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA
OT: Taylor Johnstone, Oregon
DL Morgan Breslin, USC
DL: Will Sutton, Arizona State
DL: Scott Crichton, Oregon State
DL: DeAndre Coleman, California
LB: Anthony Barr, UCLA
LB: Shaq Thompson, Washington
LB: Trent Murphy, Stanford
CB: Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Oregon
S: Ed Reynolds, Stanford
S: Dion Bailey, USC
CB: Osahon Irabor, Arizona State
Offensive Player of the Year: DeAnthony Thomas RB Oregon
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Barr LB UCL
Newcomer of the Year: Steven Mitchell WR USC
Coach of the Year: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
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