Bear Down Wildcats

http://www.thesidelineview.com/columns/ ... 12-preview

NORTH CHAMPION

OREGON
Why Oregon should win the North:

Marcus. Mariota.
Arguably, the best defensive player in the conference - CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
Defensive front seven has more players/depth than in its had in years
Ton of experience in the OL
Only tough conference road game is at UCLA
Washington and Stanford go to Eugene
Why Oregon may not win the North:

Loses of WR Bralon Addison and T Tyler Johnstone
Loss of Johnstone moves RT Jake Fisher to left, so two spots on OL are "new"
Teams not named Stanford closing the gap (Washington and Oregon State)
Three members of secondary not named Ifo are relatively inexperienced
SOUTH CHAMPION

USC
Why USC should win the South:

DE Leonard Williams is fully healthy
14 returning starters
New HBC Steve Sarkisian should solidify a program now out of sanction Hades
Five of seven returners in back seven on defense
Road schedule isn't as daunting as it could be
WR Nelson Agholor returns as big play threat
Why USC may not win the South:

Road game bookends - at Stanford (Sept. 6) & at UCLA (Nov. 22)
Most importantly, that UCLA game is across town at the Rose Bowl
What if QB Cody Kessler doesn't build on progress of bowl win over Fresno State?
Defensive line took significant graduation hits
Right side of the offensive line doesn't mature quickly enough
CONFERENCE CHAMPION

USC
I know, I know...I'm going well off the page in the Pac-12, not picking Oregon, Stanford or UCLA to win the conference. I get that completely, but there doesn't appear to be a huge divide between the top six or seven teams in the league. This feels like it's going to be a Pac-12 bloodbath and no team really pops out at me. That said, USC strikes me as a dark horse that could emerge from this group. Oregon losing Bralon Addison and Tyler Johnstone and a shaky secondary (outside of Ifo Ekpre-Olomu) worry me. Stanford has five road tilts over the last seven weeks and lost four OL starters. UCLA's OL concerns me, not to mention a Washington, USC and Stanford triple play to close the season.

Sarkisian is a calming influence on the program and there's a little bit of depth with the talent now that the sanctions are behind the Trojans. I'm rolling the dice, yes, I know, but let's Fight On with the Trojans in the Pac-12.

THE PAC-12'S ULTIMATE 11
This is my ranking of the best players in the conference, based on college production and performance, not taking into account any player's NFL projections at this point.

11. Washington OLB/RB Shaq Thompson
10. USC RB Javorius ‘Buck’ Allen
9. UCLA ILB Eric Kendricks
8. UCLA QB Brett Hundley
7. Stanford OT Andrus Peat
6. Washington DE/OLB Hau'oli Kikaha
5. Washington CB Marcus Peters
4. Oregon CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
3. UCLA OLB/RB Myles Jack
2. Oregon QB Marcus Mariota
1. USC DE Leonard Williams
THE X-FACTOR
Everyone can recite the stars for each team but what about the players, that few know, that'll play a significant role in the success for their program? Here are those X-factors for each team in the conference.

Oregon - DE DeForest Buckner
Oregon State - S Ryan Murphy
Washington - MLB John Timu
Washington State - DT Xavier Cooper
Stanford - DE Henry Anderson
Cal - LB Hardy Nickerson
USC - CB Josh Shaw
UCLA - C Jake Brendel
Arizona - Spur Tra'Mayne Bondurant
Arizona State - NT Jaxon Hood
Utah - DE Nate Orchard
Colorado - Greg Henderson
'ROOKIES' OF INTEREST
The most intriguing individuals competing in the Pac-12 for the first time.

Arizona LB Jamadre Cobb
Washington HBC Chris Petersen
Arizona DE Dalvon Stuckey (JUCO A-A in 2013)
Colorado CB Ahkello Witherspoon (JUCO transfer)
Colorado WR Shay Fields
UCLA S Jaleel Wadood
UCLA LB Zach Whitley
USC WR Juju Smith (maybe DB too?)
USC Man mountain OL Damien Mama
Cal RB Tre Watson
Oregon S Tyree Robinson (redshirt freshman)
Oregon State LT Bobby Keenan
USC HBC Steve Sarkisian
Arizona State OLB D.J Calhoun
Washington S/CB Budda Baker
USC CB Adoree Jackson
KEY MATCHUPS
...more than worth the price of a ticket.

September 6 - Michigan State at Oregon
September 13 - UCLA v. Texas (Arlington - Jerry World)
September 25 (Thursday) - UCLA at Arizona State
September 27 - Oregon State at USC
September 27 - Stanford at Washington
October 4 - Arizona State at USC
October 4 - Stanford at Notre Dame
October 11 - Oregon at UCLA
October 18 - Washington at Oregon
October 18 - Stanford at Arizona State
October 25 - Oregon State at Stanford
November 1 - Stanford at Oregon
November 8 - Notre Dame at Arizona State
November 8 - UCLA at Washington
November 15 - Arizona State at Oregon State
November 22 - USC at UCLA
November 22 - Oregon State at Washington
November 28 (Friday) - Stanford at UCLA
November 29 - Notre Dame at USC
November 29 - Oregon at Oregon State
November 29 - Washington at Washington State - Apple Cup
MATCHUPS THAT NFL SCOUTS WANT TO SEE
August 30 - UCLA QB Brett Hundley v. Virginia S Anthony Harris
September 6 - USC WR Nelson Agholor v. Stanford CB A. Carter/W. Lyons
September 6 - Michigan State QB Connor Cook v. Oregon CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
September 6 - Oregon T Jake Fisher v. Michigan State DE Shilique Calhoun
September 6 - Oregon QB Marcus Mariota v. Michigan State secondary
September 13 - Texas RB M. Brown/J. Gray v. UCLA LB Eric Kendricks
September 20 - Utah WR Dres Anderson v. Michigan CB Blake Countess
September 20 - Wash. St. QB Connor Halliday v. Oregon CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
September 25 - Arizona State WR Jaelen Strong v. UCLA CB Fabian Moreau
September 27 - USC WR Nelson Agholor v. Oregon State CB Steven Nelson
September 27 - Stanford T Andrus Peat v. Washington DE Hau’oli Kikaha
September 27 - Stanford WR corps v. Washington CB Marcus Peters
October 4 - Arizona State WR Jaelen Strong v. USC CB Josh Shaw (maybe?)
October 4 - Utah WR Dres Anderson v. UCLA CB Fabian Moreau
October 4 - Notre Dame T Ronnie Stanley v. Stanford DE Henry Anderson
October 11 - UCLA QB Brett Hundley v. Oregon CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
October 11 - Arizona T Mickey Baucus v. USC DE Leonard Williams
October 18 - Oregon C Hroniss Grasu v. Washington DT Danny Shelton
October 25 - Oregon State QB Sean Mannion v. Stanford secondary
October 25 - Arizona State WR Jaelen Strong v. Washington CB Marcus Peters
November 1 - Arizona State WR Jaelen Strong v. Utah DB Eric Rowe
November 1 - Oregon QB Marcus Mariota v. Stanford secondary
November 1 - Stanford WR Montgomery/Cajuste/Rector v. Oregon CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
November 8 - Utah WR Dres Anderson v. Oregon CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
November 8 - Wash. St. QB Connor Halliday v. Oregon State CB Steven Nelson
November 15 - Arizona LT Mickey Baucus v. Washington DE/OLB Hau’oli Kihaka
November 15 - Stanford T Andrus Peat v. Utah DE Nate Orchard
November 15 - Arizona State WR Jaelen Strong v. Oregon State CB Steven Nelson
November 28 - Arizona State ATH D.J Foster v. Arizona Spur Tra’mayne Bondurant
November 28 - UCLA QB Brett Hundley v. Stanford secondary
November 28 - Stanford WR Montgomer/Cajuste/Rector v. UCLA CB Fabian Moreau
November 29 - Notre Dame T Ronnie Stanley v. USC DE Leonard Williams
November 29 - Oregon State QB Sean Mannion v. Oregon CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
PAC-12'S SURPRISE TEAM

WASHINGTON
Yeah, I'm rolling dice on QB Cyler Miles, rebounding from suspension, Chris Petersen honing the rough edges and a favorable home schedule (Stanford, Arizona State and Oregon State all travel to Husky Stadium). I LOVE the NFL talent in Seattle, the entire starting OL returns, the entire starting defensive front four returns and WR Kasen Williams is back healthy. I truly wouldn't be surprised if the Huskies knock off Oregon and win the North. You might...not me. Either way, it should be a solid first season for Petersen and the Huskies.

OVER/UNDERS THAT I LIKE
Over 7 wins for Oregon State (-115)

Small favorite on either side of this one. But, I like the Beavers getting to eight wins. The Beavers face Portland State, Hawai'i, San Diego State, Colorado, Utah and Cal in the first eight weeks of the year. Win those and they'll need two wins from this group: at USC, at Stanford, Washington State, Arizona State, at Washington and Oregon. I should know by the night of November 15 whether I have a good shot at winning this bet or not. Well, if YOU have a chance to win this best or not - you know I don’t dabble in the Diet Coke business. A couple of key linebackers return from season long injuries, not to mention one of the most productive QB in the country in Sean Mannion. I can’t see the Beavers, even in a tough Pac-12, finishing with six wins and this being a losing bet.

"Sarkisian is a calming influence on the program" is a pretty funny line right now.

Week 1 Pac 12 Schedule:

Thursday, Aug 28
4:30 PM Idaho State @ Utah Pac-12 Network
7:00 PM Rutgers @ Washington State FOX Sports 1
7:30 PM Weber State @ #19 Arizona State Pac-12 Network

Friday, Aug 29
6:00 PM Colorado State vs. Colorado* FOX Sports 1
7:30 PM UNLV @ Arizona ESPN

Saturday, Aug 30
9:00 AM #7 UCLA @ Virginia ESPN
12:30 PM California @ Northwestern ABC/ESPN2
1:00 PM Portland State @ Oregon State Pac-12 Network
1:00 PM UC Davis @ #11 Stanford Pac-12 Network
4:30 PM Fresno State @ #15 USC FOX
7:30 PM #25 Washington @ Hawaii CBS Sports Network
7:30 PM South Dakota @ #3 Oregon Pac-12 Network

Looks like Utah is having their way with the ASU of the Northwest.

Lol wsu.

Washington State already down 7-0 to Rutgers.

The Rutgers qb is going to get one of his receivers killed.

Looks like ASSu is finally waking up.

asu looks pretty good...

...then you realize who they're playing.

Strong looks really good. Foster looks fast. Kelly makes good decisions.

Against a half-way decent defense though? Hard to say.

Weber state is one of the 10 or so worst fcs teams. 2-10 last year

The initial list by Dill was pretty good considering the author added Eric Kendricks on the list

Salty wrote:asu looks pretty good...

...then you realize who they're playing.

Strong looks really good. Foster looks fast. Kelly makes good decisions.

Against a half-way decent defense though? Hard to say.

asu's offense is legit......they proved that last year. The real question is how their defense will do against a halfway decent offense. I think their defensive line isn't as bad as some on this board thought.....their LB's and DB's on the other hand, are quite questionable.

WSU/Rutgers game is a shootout. Not boring at all.

What a great game this WSU/Rutgers game is. Rutgers just went up by 3 with less than 4 minutes to go.

Cougs getting ready to Coug it. Week 1 and they're in mid season form already. Aaaaand, as I type this Rutgers takes the lead. Still 3:24 left to see if Wazzu can unCoug it.

Wsu cougs it again and picks up where they left off with that new Mexico bowl meltdown.

Coug-ing complete.

Way to represent the PAC Wazzu.

From urban dictionary:

Coug'd
-Noun:
A spectacular failure, often occurring after a period of hope or optimism. Usually accompanied by obese “women,” high school dropouts, or Ryan Leaf.

dmjcat wrote:

Salty wrote:asu looks pretty good...

...then you realize who they're playing.

Strong looks really good. Foster looks fast. Kelly makes good decisions.

Against a half-way decent defense though? Hard to say.

asu's offense is legit......they proved that last year. The real question is how their defense will do against a halfway decent offense. I think their defensive line isn't as bad as some on this board thought.....their LB's and DB's on the other hand, are quite questionable.

I actually think its the exact opposite. They have a lot of size and talent in the secondary, and I think they will be better than last years secondary (I guess I should point out that a couple of those guys that got all conference love were way over-rated, especially Darby, IMO. They were effective as a result of the penetration from Sutton and Bradford). The LB's should be decent, but will be really good next season (Calhoun is a bit small, needs a year in the weight room). The D-line is simply too young. They have some guys that could be absolute monsters in a couple years, but they are really lacking in experience, and strength.

Assu will get tourched. That secondary looked leaky at best. They also gave up almost 200 yards against Weber freaking St on the ground

azcat49 wrote:Assu will get tourced. That secondary looked leaky at best. Thry aldo gave up almost 200 yards against Weber freaking St

Been drinking?

ASUHATER! wrote:

azcat49 wrote:Assu will get tourced. That secondary looked leaky at best. Thry aldo gave up almost 200 yards against Weber freaking St

Been drinking?

LOL maybe. Fu*k ASSU

Just took a stroll over at the Coug's Scout board. Hide the cutlery.

ASU being ASU

[youtube]QWOF7MmPN5I[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWOF7MmPN5I

the real dill wrote:ASU being ASU

ASSu continues to impress.

Classic ASU!

Hand off to Foster
Screen to Foster
Jump ball to Strong

Think I've got them covered

WSU lost? Boy did I pick the wrong game to watch.

And you stay classy ASU.

Rado on top early.

Rado is looking better than last year. Is that saying anything though?

Hundley is really struggling with the Virginia pass rush.

I guess the Bruins D can win the game for them.

azgreg wrote:Hundley is really struggling with the Virginia pass rush.

Offensive line is really struggling and Mazzone is in vintage conservative mode

Virginia pulls its QB and scores a quick TD with the backup. Don't know what to make of this game so far.

UCLA better not screw this up. Its suppose to be Pac-12 year, we can't have UCLA losing to freaking Virginia.

Luckily for them, Virginia sucks

lol. 3rd and 10 with only 3:30 left in the game and the play call is a run up the middle. LMAO.

Cal looking alright.

Cal up 24-7 at northwestern.

Oregon State down to Portland State again. 7-6.

OSUCat wrote:Oregon State down to Portland State again. 7-6.

I was just looking at this score and shaking my head.

Lots of time left so the Beav might end up with the win or even a solid win, but if they don't we're going to see the "Annual Cursing of Oregon State Football Out of Conference Results." And rightly so, as it always is.

I'm interested to see how SC fairs tonight.

UCLA looked average today.

Cal is trying their hardest to Coug this one up.

Mike Riley is a notoriously slow starter

Chicat wrote:Cal is trying their hardest to Coug this one up.

Best result imo. It illustrates Cal's weaknesses, most notably a lack of a running game and poor clock management, shows that Goff is still pretty good, and yet Cal still gets the win, which is good for the conference.

Why the hell is UW ranked 25th. They're barely up by 3 on a Hawaii team that won only one game last year. They don't look very good to me.

Weird for this Boise resident to see Coach Pete in his new gear.

Washington looks like they kinda suck. I know it's game 1, but no, you shouldn't be up ONE point on Hawaii. Come on.

Trying not to read too much into any of the week 1 results. UW didn't have Broncos superfan Cyler Miles available. I do think UW has been getting too much love from the press but let's wait and see how they look next week w/ Miles.

I think Ted Miller had a tweet that wrapped it up pretty well but it can't find it, went something like:

Exceeded expectations: USC, Arizona, Cal
Met expectations: ASU, Utah, Stanford, Oregon
Disappointed: UCLA,UW,WSU,CU,OSU

USC was definitely eye-opening, I figured they would have a hangover from all the B.s.this past week. Obviously not so much.