CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHT: PAC 12

The PAC 12 is a league in transition. It is commonly referred to as The Conference of Champions, but a football National Champion has not occurred in some time. There is intriguing play week in and week out but top to bottom this league needs to improve. An additional twist to the conference is the elimination of divisions. The 2 programs with the highest conference winning percentage will meet in Vegas for the crown.

If you didn’t hear, former Oklahoma Head Coach Lincoln Riley is the new Emperor of the Coliseum. This move brought significant pomp and circumstance as well as cemented the timing for the Men of Troy and Bruins of UCLA to announce their move to the B1G. This move truly impacts the league in a negative fashion and has the remaining institutions scrambling to protect their football future. Many rumors have swirled about other schools departing, but either way, the league needs to add a few institutions in the near future.

In addition to Riley, the coaching ranks is full of innovative and experienced head coaches. The 2 best head coaches are far and away David Shaw at Stanford and Kyle Wittingham at Utah. These two have built powerful and consistent programs who have their teams ready to play. Chip Kelly is the field general in Westwood and has this team primed to take the next step. Herm Edwards has struggled to build a program in Tempe and this could be a make or break year for him and the Sun Devils. Jedd Fisch (Arizona) and Jake Dickert (WSU) are entering their second season at the helm. Newcomers to the league are Dan Lanning at Oregon and Kalen DeBoer at Washington. Jonathan Smith (16-28 at Oregon State) and Karl Dorrell (8-10 at Colorado) have been in charge for 3 plus seasons and in this day and age, this is a critical season for program direction.

2022 INSTITUTIONS:

• ARIZONA WILDCATS
• ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS
• CALIFORNIA BEARS
• COLORADO BUFFALOES
• OREGON DUCKS
• OREGON STATE BEAVERS
• STANFORD CARDINAL
• UTAH UTES
• WASHINGTON HUSKIES
• WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS

PRESEASON PLAYER OFVTHE YEAR:

• QB CALEB WILLIAMS — USC: He showed plenty of flashes during his freshman season at Oklahoma. This offense is built for him to thrive and a full season as the starter will give him a chance to shine. I predict at least 3,700 yards of total offense and 40 TD’s
• HONORABLE MENTION: RB TAVION THOMAS— UTAH: Had an amazing freshman campaign and is the focal point of the offense
• HONORABLE MENTION: QB DORIAN THOMPSON-ROBINSON — UCLA: He accounted for over 3,000 yards and 30 TD’s in 2021, If he can stay healthy and they find some pass catchers, those numbers will skyrocket.

4 TEAMS WE’RE WATCHING IN 2022:

ARIZONA WILDCATS:

• The Wildcats had a Top 25 recruiting class and looking to rebuild the foundation. I expect 4 stars WR Tetairoa McMillan, RB Rayshon Luke and TE Keyan Burnett to play immediately and become significant contributors.
• Are we on the verge of a resurgent program in Tucson?
• Open at SDSU , host Mississippi State in week 2 and North Dakota State in week 3.
• The Wildcats finished 2021 124th in points per game with 17 per game. They finished 101st in total yards per game, but 69th passing yards and 96th in rushing yards
• The offense returns 5 starters, but also a lot of players who contributed last season. Arizona can only hope their playing time last season pays off with improved production
• The defense was a bright spot and finished 57th in the country for yards allowed per game with 371. They were carried by their pass defense, which only gave up 190 yards a game
• The defense did give up 31 points a game, which was 101st in the Nation. The yards allowed vs points can be attributed to short fields due to turnovers or hidden yardage in the return game
• The defense returns 8 starters, led by DE Jalen Harris and LB Kyon Barrs. Don Brown was the DC last season, but has moved onto become the head coach of UMass. How will the defense grow under a new DC after last years progress?
• Can Coach Fisch get this program back on track and do what Rich Rod, Kevin Sumlin and others have failed to do….win?
• Arizona has a tough schedule, which includes Oregon, USC, Utah, UCLA and Washington…..can the players develop and can they achieve 4-5 wins?

STANFORD CARDINAL:

• QB Tanner McKee has the skills to lead the Cardinal back to respectability. He threw for over 2,300 yards and 15 TD’s last year
• He does have 4 of the top 5 pass catchers returning (Elijah Riggins, Benjamin Yurosek, John Humphreys, Brycen Tremayne) who accounted for 15 TD’s and over 1,600 yards
• The offense does have 10 starters returning, with the running back position being wide open. Historically, this offense is run focused and that success allows the play action game to open up. Which running back will take the job and run with it?
• Can HC David Shaw get this program moving in the right direction, it just feels like this program has lost the magic a little bit. Can this program get back to the Andrew Luck, Christian McCaffery, Toby Gerhart days that resulted in bowl wins and National attention?
• Stanford was ranked in the 100’s in numerous statistical categories including points per game of 20 and finished 106th in the nation in points allowed
• The one defensive bright spot was that they only allowed 216 passing yards per game, which was 4th in the PAC 12 and 45th in the Nation.
• The defense returns 4 starters from 2021, so it will require a full team effort and execution to improve this Fall.
• This season is a very important campaign to maintain program consistency, in essence 2022 could be the proverbial fork in the road for David Shaw and the Cardinal.

USC TROJANS:

• Throw out 2020 and 2021 stats and thoughts
• Lincoln Riley arrived with all the Hollywood glitz and glamour, now it’s time to win immediately
• The 2022 signing class of incoming freshman was underwhelming, but the transfers arriving in the locker room are very lethal. QB Caleb Williams, WR Jordan Addison, WR Mario Williams and RB Travis Dye are 4 of the 20 plus transfers ready for the Coliseum
• The schedule does have some challenges like hosting Jake Haener and Fresno State, traveling to the defending PAC 12 Champion Utah Utes as well as hosting UCLA and Notre Dame in November
• If this defense can improve it will allow this program to compete at a higher level much faster, that is really the biggest question mark
• This offense has an abundance of explosive players, but the overall program depth is not elite yet
• If this team can stay healthy, I can see them finishing 10-2 in the regular season and making the conference title game in Vegas.

WASHINGTON HUSKIES:

• A proud program that had a rough 2021. In addition, they missed out on playing for the PAC 12 title as the Champions of the North due to Covid in 2020. They couldn’t play and it allowed Oregon to play in their place
• The Huskies are the LAST PAC 12 program to make the College Football Playoff (2016)
• New Head Coach Kalen DeBoer arrives from Fresno State where he developed QB Jake Haener and that explosive offense. Their defense was very solid as well and the Husky faithful hope that arrives in Seattle.
• Only 8 starters return ( 5 offense 3 defense)
• The offense was ranked in the hundreds in points, rushing yards and total yards per game last Fall.
• The QB Battle in Seattle is going to be fantastic. Big time QB recruit Sam Huard is a Sophomore and former Hoosier QB Michael Penni’s Jr transferred in.
• The key to the success of this program is getting the QB right and seeing the offense put points on the board
• The defense embraced Purple Reign and finished with the 33rd best defense in points allowed per game, 23rd in total yards allowed per game and the Nation’s best pass defense in passing yards allowed per game last year.
• The Huskies schedule is very manageable and they could be a dark horse for the PAC 12 title game. They travel to UCLA and Oregon this Fall and one of those must be a victory for them to challenge for the crown.

GAMES WE’RE WATCHING IN 2022:

• TCU AT COLORADO (Week 1)
• OREGON VS GEORGIA (Week 1)
• ARIZONA AT SDSU (Week 1)
• UTAH AT FLORIDA (Week 1)
• BOISE STATE AT OREGON STATE (Week 1)
• WASHINGTON STATE AT WISCONSIN (Week 2)
• ARIZONA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Week 2)
• USC AT STANFORD (Week 2)
• OREGON STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Week 2)
• MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ARIZONA (Week 2)
• CAL AT NOTRE DAME (Week 3)
• BYU AT OREGON (Week 3)
• MICHIGAN STATE AT WASHINGTON (Week 3)
• SDSU AT UTAH (Week 3)
• FRESNO STATE AT USC (Week 3)
• UCLA AT COLORADO (Week 4)
• ARIZONA AT CAL (Week 4)
• STANFORD AT OREGON (Week 5)
• UTAH AT UCLA (Week 6)
• USC AT UTAH (Week 7)
• UCLA AT OREGON (Week 8)
• UTAH AT WASHINGTON STATE (Week 9)
• OREGON STATE AT WASHINGTON (Week 10)
• ARIZONA AT UTAH (Week 10)
• WASHINGTON AT OREGON (Week 11)
• STANFORD AT CAL (Week 12)
• UTAH AT OREGON (Week 12)
• USC AT UCLA (Week 12)
• ARIZONA STATE AT ARIZONA (Week 13)
• OREGON AT OREGON STATE (Week 13)
• WASHINGTON AT WASHINGTON STATE (Week 13)
• NOTRE DAME AT USC (Week 13)

BEST STADIUM IN THE CONFERENCE: HUSKY STADIUM IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON….Yes, this league is home to The Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, Folsom Field, Autzen Stadium, Reser Stadium, and The Farm, but there is nothing like pregaming on the lake then watching the game.

CONFERENCE CHAMPION: USC TROJANS

The Trojans will face the Utah Utes in Vegas for the title. The Utes will win in October and USC will get redemption in the championship game.

GET READY FOR PAC 12 AFTER DARK!!

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