Happy Monday afternoon Cougar faithful.
If you didn’t get a chance to check out Sean’s morning links, you may do so, here. Some great notes from around the Crimson Interwebs and the link to our latest (but def not greatest) Blogfather Podcast.
Moving on…
I am not sure if you remember, but last yearI sort of created a $#!+ storm when I unveiled my Pac 12 Media Ballot, final conference/division predictions and post season awards. The biggest mistake in my predictions was attempting to pick each game for each team on their schedule, which led to picking both teams to win certain games, and it was just a bit of a mess. The only thing that was accurate was that both Stanford and Oregon played in BCS Bowl Games.
I had blogs from other networks and professional pokers players essentially calling me a moron because I picked Cal to finish last in the North. It truly was a fun day, but in all honesty, what fun is knocking out a prediction post if it’s the same thing you get from the beat, Athlon’s and Phil Steele?
One quick reminder about our Yahoo Pick Em League, for those who have yet to join.
Click hereto sign-up. Search for Group 1191 and use “gocougs” as the password. The group has filled up rather quickly the past couple of years, so I will definitely create a second group when this one is full, please email me if the league is full and you’re unable to join.
Pac 12 North
Oregon:The Ducks return a ton of offensive and defensive starters, not to mention one helluva Kicker. They also have the softest schedule in the league and only play one “road game” before the middle of October, when they travel north to Seattle to play our Cougs. I would be shocked if they lose more than two games. DeAnthony Thomas is the most electric player in all of college football.
Stanford: The Cardinal return quite a few OL, a good ground game and a lot on the defensive side of the ball. I do not expect Stanford to make a third consecutive BCS Bowl Game, and honestly, see them sliding a bit in the years to come. That being said, this should be a nine win team. San Jose State and Duke should be a nice way to get the team gelled in the Post Luck Era (PLE).
Cal:A bit of a toss-up between the Cougs/Dawgs/Oskie here, but I had to settle on Cal. They return a lot of playmakers on defense, which I believe makes up for there lack of offensive fire power. I think Zack Maynard was the worst starting QB in the conference last year, but having Sofele and Allen back in 2012 should take some of the load off his poor decision making skills. Their defense is good enough to compensate for the mediocre offense that I think they will trot out, compared to the two teams I thought they were a toss-up with.
Wazzu: I see WSU this year as a team similar to UW last season. Lots of firepower on Offense, but not enough on the other side of the ball to get the job done. I have a hunch this team will be in lots of 56-49 type games from the opening snap in Provo, through the Apple Cup in November and a bowl game at the end of the calendar year.
UW:While things may have improved on the defensive side of the ball, lets face it Husky fans, there is no way you equal or exceed last year’s offensive output. The Dawgs might finish higher than Cal and Wazzu if Teeth Price can stay vertical and healthy through the first six games of the season, but I have a feeling he doesn’t even escape Baton Rouge fully healthy, which leads to RS Fr Derrick Brown seeing a lot of playing time. The same defense that gave up like 100 points to Baylor, manhandled the offense all spring long. There is no way you go from being the worst BCS Conference defense, to a dominant force, unles you’re going against that OL.
Oregon State:The Beavs might want to start fundraising the $15,000,000 it will take to relieve Mike Riley of the head coaching job, considering that’s what it will taketo buyout his deal before the next decade rolls around. But hey, they have Sean Mannion and Markus Wheaton!
Pac 12 South
USC:I saw a graphic on ESPN a week or so back, that USC has more “returning yards” at QB, WR, WR and RB heading into 2012 than they did in 2005 with Leinart, Bush, Jarrett and Smith. That graphic was shown before adding Silas Redd to the mix from USC. They also return 80% of an OL that yielded to fewest sacks in the BCS and a pretty salty defense. From everything I’ve seen, the only position they might be considered weak in, is along the DL.
Utah:Utah seems to be the consensus at #2 in the South, and I have a hardtime finding another team in the division to finish ahead of them. John White IV may be a darkhorse candidate for the Heisman Trophy, and their DL is absolutely savage. On a fun note, you should be able to catch them the same night we play at BYU in a few weeks, as they tee it up with Northern Colorado a few hours before our game.
UCLA: I have a really had time putting UCLA here, but to be honest, I think it’s just a testament to how bad the rest of the division is. Highly recruited RS Fr Brett Hundley has taken over the starting QB job in Westwood. Seriously, doesn’t it seem like Kevin Prince and/or Richard Brehaut was the QB here for like 20-some years?
ASU:While there season went from upsetting USC and being ranked in the Top 25 in the middle of last year, to an utter embarassment down the stretch, it’s a new day in Tempe. A day that will see Cameron Marshall take a lot of handoffs and have a very productive season out of the backfield. The big question is whether or not Todd Graham is their coach in 2013. What a flake!
Arizona: They have Rich Rodriguez trying to revive his career wearing a headset. Other than that, I know Matt Scott is their QB and that dude with the long hair and last name might still be their RB. Yawn.
Colorado: As Huddy pointed out when he recapped the position groups a few weeks ago, Colorado is really, really bad. They lost their starting QB Tyler Hawkins to graduation and will be starting a reject from the Kansas Jayhawks. Yikes! Not only is QB gonna be messy, they also lost their only legit shot at All Conference Honors, when stud WR Paul Richardson went down with a season ending injury in the off-season. Colorado may come into Martin Stadium at 3-0 after they play Colorado State, Fresno State and Sac State to begin the year, but could easily go winless in league play as they don’t play Oregon State and must play the league’s two best teams on the road.
Pac 12 Championship Game
USC 35 – Oregon 34
That’s all I’ve got for you this afternoon, Cougar fans!
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