Chip Kelly vs. Herm Edwards! (2018 PAC-12 Preview Thread)

[OregonDucks]

Rick Neuheisel era (2008–2011)

Rick Neuheisel Coaching Record | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Football seasons don't run like 2008-2009, 2010-2011. Each year is it's own separate season. You got to count 2008 as one year, 2009, 2010, 2011, count each year independently.

 

[Hitman Hart]

How long did Neuheisel last?

4 seasons

 

[OregonDucks]

light bulb just went on.

 

[Deep Creek]

FIGHT ON!!!

no no no no no Corp. You roll on trojans...not fight 'em on.

It is "ROLL ON TROJANS"!

 

[jon2tanman]

"News flash" whoregon will NOT be a natty contender any time soon. UCLA will NOT be a better team consistently over Washington and USC. Chip had his chance and failed. Whoregon was a product of a down UW and USC. Pretty uniforms and hurry up offenses don't beat hard nosed smash mouth football.

 

[trojanfan12]

Only sad part is I'll be forced to actually want to see USC win games.

Welcome to the Trojan family.

 

[trojanfan12]

This is the most OD that OD has been in quite some time.

Maybe he's finally going to go full OD again?

 

[Scooby-Doo]

UCLA will be winning the South in a year, and they will probably stay there until Chip decides to leave.

You loves you some Chip man juice

 

[AlaskaGuy]

This is the most OD that OD has been in quite some time.

Maybe he's finally going to go full OD again?

This is why ...

2019 Football Team Rankings

Elijah Blades, nation's No. 1 JC cornerback, commits to Oregon Ducks over Alabama, LSU, others

 

[DJ Fieri]

Every HC on that list since Donahue lasted at least four seasons at UCLA. Are you counting interim coaches?

AG is a moron.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

AG is a moron.

Bad night with the bf I take it eh DJ.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Bad night with the bf I take it eh DJ.

How's that violent r*pe in Alaska? Still leading the US?

Got the ankle bracelet off yet?

 

[AlaskaGuy]

How's that violent r*pe in Alaska? Still leading the US?

Got the ankle bracelet off yet?

I'm guessing you're getting tired of being the catcher.

 

[jwolt92]

This is a freakin trainwreck

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Oregon State

Preview segment: The Oregon State Beavers

Last season: It's great to finally see some activity on this thread (mostly about good ol' Chip Kelly), but as PAC-12 fans maybe we should focus more on some of the other teams in this conference. Like the Beavers of Oregon State, for example!
...Wait. They went 1-11 last year, didn't they? ...Shit! Well, never mind.

Good news: The Beavers got a break when QB Jake Luton was cleared to return to football after a spine injury, and he should fit it well with the new coach's pro-style offense. The O-line should do well, too.

Bad news: Fans in Corvallis love their new head coach Jonathan Smith, but you can't ignore the fact that this is his first head-coaching job ever. And he'll have a few problems to deal with; the middle of the defense could get picked on by it's PAC-12 neighbors and there's a lack of playmakers at RB and WR for the Beavers.

2018 X-factor: The opener against Ohio State- All of the CFB magazines are freaking out over Oregon State's first game of the 2018 season: A trip to Columbus. And if Ohio State blows them out, it could indeed destroy the team's confidence.
But you never know! Now, they're not gonna win in Columbus. But if they hang around and lose by only a TD or two, that could build up the team's mojo, like "Hey! We hung around with a big boy! Our coach must know what he's doing."

Key games:
9/15 @ Nevada (Thing is, hope doesn't always translate to wins. You gotta get out there and earn them. And here's a game that the Beavers can take.)
10/6 vs. Washington State (If the Beavers defense can improve, then this game looks winnable for OSU.)
10/27 @ Colorado (See above game.)
11/23 vs. Oregon (69-10. The last time Oregon State played against their most hated rivals, they lost 69-10. Let's all hope that doesn't happen again.)

Bottom line: It's time for another rebuild for Oregon State, so we can ignore them in 2018 as Jonathan Smith works to get everything working again in Corvallis. Unless, of course, the Beavers can upset someone...

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Southern California

Preview segment: The USC Trojans

Last season: On the surface, it was another fine year for this perennial power from Los Angeles. USC now officially has 26 conference championships in the PAC-12 after beating Stanford in December, and they've now sent Sam Darnold to maybe fix the New York Jets in the NFL.
But knowing USC fans, I'll bet they focused more on their 3 losses rather than the 11 wins they got in 2017. And to be fair to those fans, those 3 losses WERE pretty bad; USC got humiliated by Notre Dame 49-14, they got outclassed in that Cotton Bowl against Ohio State, and their national title shot went kaput against Washington State.

Bad news: With Sam gone from USC, the betting-line favorite to replace him as the starter is JT Daniels... who is a freshmen. And with USC's O-line being a work-in-process, that doesn't bode well for that Trojan offense.

Good news: The defense could be good enough to carry the team; at least 20 players with game experience will come back to that unit. People like Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman showcased their skills at WR late last season, and the 2 of them will cause matchup headaches for PAC-12 defenses.

2018 X-factor: RB Stephan Carr- Stephan Carr is a talented back, but his durability is already being questioned in L.A. and with a new QB now running the show it is critical that the run game gets going to help the offense out. The big question is, will Stephan be the one to lead the way, or will Cody Kessler be forced to use someone else?

Key games:

Old stand-by's:
9/8 @ Stanford (These in-state rivals have played each other every year since 1946. USC must answer 2 questions in order to win this year's installment: "Will our new QB be ready for this?", and "Can our defense stop Bryce Love?")
11/17 @ UCLA (It goes without saying, but it's gonna be a zoo when the Trojans face the Bruins once again... this time with Chip Kelly on the UCLA sideline.)
11/24 vs. Notre Dame (Recently, this rivalry has been dominated by Brian Kelly and company; Notre Dame's won 5 out of the last 8 against USC.)
Other big games:
9/15 @ Texas (USC barely won last year's fight with Texas 26-23. Now they meet again, this time in Austin.)
9/29 @ Arizona (Now here's where it gets REALLY scary. USC must also go to BOTH Arizona...)
10/20 @ Utah (...and Utah. And both of those teams want to throw the Trojans out of the PAC-12 South throne room.)

Bottom line: As usual, the talent level that USC has is undeniable. But with that slate staring them in the face, the Trojans cannot afford to have the sort of uninspired performances they had last season. Their defense will keep them in the PAC-12 hunt, but ANY shot at another conference title will hinge on that Trojan offense.
But you know, if JT Daniels lives up to the hype he got in high school, then maybe...

 

[Olyduck]

"News flash" whoregon will NOT be a natty contender any time soon. UCLA will NOT be a better team consistently over Washington and USC. Chip had his chance and failed. Whoregon was a product of a down UW and USC. Pretty uniforms and hurry up offenses don't beat hard nosed smash mouth football.

news flash you cant predict these things. in the 90s you could have made the same prediction and then it happened.

 

[nddulac]

Other than Terry Donahue, has anyone been at UCLA for more than four years.

There was that guy who followed him - Bob Toledo.

 

[nddulac]

11/24 vs. Notre Dame (Recently, this rivalry has been dominated by Brian Kelly and company; Notre Dame's won 5 out of the last 8 against USC.)

I wouldn't quite call that (5-3 over the last eight) domination, but last year's 49-14 drubbing was pure sweetness!

 

[WizardHawk]

Oregon State

Preview segment: The Oregon State Beavers

Last season: It's great to finally see some activity on this thread (mostly about good ol' Chip Kelly), but as PAC-12 fans maybe we should focus more on some of the other teams in this conference. Like the Beavers of Oregon State, for example!
...Wait. They went 1-11 last year, didn't they? ...Shit! Well, never mind.

Good news: The Beavers got a break when QB Jake Luton was cleared to return to football after a spine injury, and he should fit it well with the new coach's pro-style offense. The O-line should do well, too.

Bad news: Fans in Corvallis love their new head coach Jonathan Smith, but you can't ignore the fact that this is his first head-coaching job ever. And he'll have a few problems to deal with; the middle of the defense could get picked on by it's PAC-12 neighbors and there's a lack of playmakers at RB and WR for the Beavers.

2018 X-factor: The opener against Ohio State- All of the CFB magazines are freaking out over Oregon State's first game of the 2018 season: A trip to Columbus. And if Ohio State blows them out, it could indeed destroy the team's confidence.
But you never know! Now, they're not gonna win in Columbus. But if they hang around and lose by only a TD or two, that could build up the team's mojo, like "Hey! We hung around with a big boy! Our coach must know what he's doing."

Key games:
9/15 @ Nevada (Thing is, hope doesn't always translate to wins. You gotta get out there and earn them. And here's a game that the Beavers can take.)
10/6 vs. Washington State (If the Beavers defense can improve, then this game looks winnable for OSU.)
10/27 @ Colorado (See above game.)
11/23 vs. Oregon (69-10. The last time Oregon State played against their most hated rivals, they lost 69-10. Let's all hope that doesn't happen again.)

Bottom line: It's time for another rebuild for Oregon State, so we can ignore them in 2018 as Jonathan Smith works to get everything working again in Corvallis. Unless, of course, the Beavers can upset someone...

I know you gotta sell this stuff, but the beavs are going to get entirely murdered in Columbus. There's no way they are in it past the first quarter, more or less late into the game. I wish they were in position to spoil their opener, but way too much change to do well going on the road against a deeply talented and seasoned team.