THE PAC 12 THREAD v.5

[TheReal_NU]

I like how you guys don't get passive sarcasm either. I always tell people to not get excited over these things in summer. I know Feb is a long way out. I know kids change their minds. and most of these are 3* players. im not thumping my chest or blowing my load over any of this.

Well heck, that's no fun.
Can we get @OregonDucks here to do it for you?

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Why USC is your Pac-12 favorite

 

[Olyduck]

Well heck, that's no fun.
Can we get @OregonDucks here to do it for you?

chest thumping yes the other thing no

 

[socaljim242]

Why USC is your Pac-12 favorite

Because they are the best team. lol

 

[WizardHawk]

Most talent depth? Sure. Best team?

 

[socaljim242]

Most talent depth? Sure. Best team?

Both have units to rebuild but one showed it had the depth and talent to beat the other so i think yes until Washington shows it can beat a USC type (or better) defense .

*and yes this all a homer fans point of view . But I'd love to hear your opinion.
** Stanford still scares the shit out of me

 

[socaljim242]

Why USC is your Pac-12 favorite

Quite evident last season.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Quite evident last season.

He's the best in the PAC and possibly the nation. No arguing that fact. I'm going to miss him when he goes to the NFL this season ... well not really.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

IT'S CALLED THE FUCKIN PAC12!

for a reason…


"coming to venue near you soon."

 

[RegentDenali]

He's the best in the PAC and possibly the nation. No arguing that fact. I'm going to miss him when he goes to the NFL this season ... well not really.

We'll see how his numbers are after losing 3/5 of their Oline to the NFL, including a pair of SR tackles. Not saying he's some no talent phony. Just not buying the heisman koolaid yet. Although most of the PAC South is looking like a dumpster fire this year, and UCLA continues to gasp for relevance so it's not like they'll be tested to the limits.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Colorado disgraced the conference by winning the Fulmer Cup yet this pos gets the PAC-12 coach of the year award.

Mike MacIntyre, Chancellor Disciplined for Mishandling Abuse Allegations

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Three best revenge games from 2016

#1. Washington: 70 | Oregon: 21
One of the best seasons in a long time for the Washington Huskies, and it all leads to Chris Peterson. No one does more with less than what “The Bishop” does. The Huskies beat Oregon last year for the first time since 2003. Twelve miserable years the Huskies had to endure until they finally knocked off the Ducks. A win was not enough for this game, it was in the fashion it came in. The demolishment, and roasting of the Ducks is what made this so sweet, and why it is #1 on our list.

 

[socaljim242]

We'll see how his numbers are after losing 3/5 of their Oline to the NFL, including a pair of SR tackles. Not saying he's some no talent phony. Just not buying the heisman koolaid yet. Although most of the PAC South is looking like a dumpster fire this year, and UCLA continues to gasp for relevance so it's not like they'll be tested to the limits.

Both teams play Stanford, And USC plays 5 out of the other 8 PAC teams UW plays. USC plays Texas and Notre Dame and Western Michigan while the Huskys play Rutgers ,Montana and Fresno state.
It's not like USC will be tested? Have you seen your schedule?lol. It's not PAC bad it's nationally bad.
And you're wondering if the first time QB who posted the best numbers under pressure can do the same or better with another year under his belt? Because he might be ( the funny part)under pressure? LOL

 

[Vitamike]

We'll see how his numbers are after losing 3/5 of their Oline to the NFL, including a pair of SR tackles. Not saying he's some no talent phony. Just not buying the heisman koolaid yet. Although most of the PAC South is looking like a dumpster fire this year, and UCLA continues to gasp for relevance so it's not like they'll be tested to the limits.

Geez, some Husky fans sure can be full of themselves with just ONE relevant season since the near turn of the last Millennia!!

(Especially, considering there has only been ONE season over .500 in the last 15 plus seasons, much less a relevant season until LY)

What is relevant, UCLA is just one of three PAC teams with at least 2 trips to the CCG. Only Stanford, the PAC poster boy for relevance since moving to 12, has more with 3.

Even with the tough schedule them Bruins have, most Bruin fans expect the team to compete for another CCG trip again this season.

 

[WizardHawk]

Both teams play Stanford, And USC plays 5 out of the other 8 PAC teams UW plays. USC plays Texas and Notre Dame and Western Michigan while the Huskys play Rutgers ,Montana and Fresno state.
It's not like USC will be tested? Have you seen your schedule?lol. It's not PAC bad it's nationally bad.
And you're wondering if the first time QB who posted the best numbers under pressure can do the same or better with another year under his belt? Because he might be ( the funny part)under pressure? LOL

Didn't see where regent said anything along the lines of Darnold not being tested as much as Browning will be. He simply said he isn't buying Darnold with their lost line/talent on offense and the south not being that strong.

There is no doubt USC, and frankly probably every other team in the Pac12, has a stronger schedule than UW does. That doesn't change whatever perceptions people might have about USC's overall challenges and their arc specifically just through the division.

Vita, man I love your passion bro, but they are very much like a few other teams in the south you frequently love on paper that appear to have a recent history of not reaching basic expectations that now have to prove it before anyone will believe it. And that's not a bad place to come from as a fan of a team. Always less stress coming from under the radar than having a target squarely on your back. If Rosen stays healthy they should be a lot more dangerous than they were last year, but USC is fully reloaded (albeit quite young in some key roles) and coming with some momentum from last year in addition to having the top rated QB in your division.

Trust me, I'd much rather see UCLA win the south and I'll be the biggest bruin backer in your game against USC. I'm just not going to hold my breath or bet my house on it. I don't ever buy the bullshit of support the team from your conference with the best chance to win something nationally. Fuck that. Oregon and USC will always always ALWAYS be rooted against in my house every damned time.

 

[Vitamike]

Vita, man I love your passion bro, but they are very much like a few other teams in the south you frequently love on paper that appear to have a recent history of not reaching basic expectations that now have to prove it before anyone will believe it. And that's not a bad place to come from as a fan of a team. Always less stress coming from under the radar than having a target squarely on your back. If Rosen stays healthy they should be a lot more dangerous than they were last year, but USC is fully reloaded (albeit quite young in some key roles) and coming with some momentum from last year in addition to having the top rated QB in your division.

Trust me, I'd much rather see UCLA win the south and I'll be the biggest bruin backer in your game against USC. I'm just not going to hold my breath or bet my house on it. I don't ever buy the bullshit of support the team from your conference with the best chance to win something nationally. Fuck that. Oregon and USC will always always ALWAYS be rooted against in my house every damned time.

Thanks for that, not that I necessarily agree with your take on the basic expectations aspect.

I can offer a half dozen good reasons, excuses if you rather, but I'll narrow it down to a couple over the last few years. It's been injuries coupled with a high coordinator churn rate on both sides of the ball. That's enough to hamper most decent programs with high expectations on paper.

I'll agree with your 'prove it' take for most outside the Bruins program, but I'm not sure any PAC team save USC is in that group from the PAC.

Outside of your HC, UW is still very much in that phase too. The dogs haven't had any competition to really challenge their ascension to date. (Sidestepping LY the highest ranked South team in the CCG, and catching both Stanford & Oregon on down years, then catching the surprise South winner in Colorado who barely found a way to win in the PAC in the same year. Next it's off as the underdog and losing to Bama in the playoffs. So the North was there for the taking, the CCG opponent was served on a platter, the OOC schedule was embarrassing, and the Bama loss was expected, so I didn't see the Dubs taking anything last year that that wasn't expected.

Was last year a perfect storm? IDK

Again this year, Washington has a clear path to the CCG with arguably the easiest schedule in the North, hell in the PAC for that matter and Stanford must try to learn how to win without do it all Christian.

With that, I have no doubts that like you, most Dog fans don't want the favorite SC in the CCG, it would be the easiest path to the playoff's once again, but I really don't see too much sharpening of the blade, so it could be another lack luster loss in the playoffs for the second year coming if you all get your wishes.

 

[WizardHawk]

UW having the same level of schedule as last year means they aren't under the same 'prove it' doesn't it? I mean they have already proven they can carry a mediocre/sub standard schedule into November and take the north. By definition they are the team with the target on their back from that division. That is coming from a different area than all but USC in the conference right now.

I wasn't speaking about playoff or national championship level expectations, but specifically winning your division and challenging for the conference title.

I don't want to see UCLA beat USC because I think it's an easier path or UW. I want to see UCLA beat USC because I freaking can't stand that school. Period. Stop. That's it. I was pulling for Penn State in the RB.

Whoever wins the south will present problems for UW should they be in the CCG. A team that can derail USC has to be dangerous. While UW is the favorite for the north, I haven't exactly already crowned them. It doesn't take many problems along the way to derail a run for the conference. Ask USC about last year. Finished in the top 10 nationally and yet couldn't play in the CCG because of a couple of early season missteps. It's not impossible for that to happen to us this year. Stanford is very capable of giving them a run for their money and I still expect WSU to randomly win the north some year. The other 3 are surely capable of upsetting a quality team at the very least.

If I had to place a wager now I'd put UW and USC in the CCG, but would not be surprised in the least to have either or both missing from it. That's what makes college football so great. The unexpected happens quite often.

 

[socaljim242]

Didn't see where regent said anything along the lines of Darnold not being tested as much as Browning will be. He simply said he isn't buying Darnold with their lost line/talent on offense and the south not being that strong.

There is no doubt USC, and frankly probably every other team in the Pac12, has a stronger schedule than UW does. That doesn't change whatever perceptions people might have about USC's overall challenges and their arc specifically just through the division.

Vita, man I love your passion bro, but they are very much like a few other teams in the south you frequently love on paper that appear to have a recent history of not reaching basic expectations that now have to prove it before anyone will believe it. And that's not a bad place to come from as a fan of a team. Always less stress coming from under the radar than having a target squarely on your back. If Rosen stays healthy they should be a lot more dangerous than they were last year, but USC is fully reloaded (albeit quite young in some key roles) and coming with some momentum from last year in addition to having the top rated QB in your division.

Trust me, I'd much rather see UCLA win the south and I'll be the biggest bruin backer in your game against USC. I'm just not going to hold my breath or bet my house on it. I don't ever buy the bullshit of support the team from your conference with the best chance to win something nationally. Fuck that. Oregon and USC will always always ALWAYS be rooted against in my house every damned time.

Here's my take on the O line. Yes, it should be the main concern. When you read who's leaving (3 all pac linemen) most would think its going to be hard to replace. But what most USC fans will tell you they really didn't live up to their billing. Personally I think Damien Mama peaked in High school. He wasn't the force he was touted to be at USC and I think gained all pac on reputation. Wheeler will be missed because I think when healthy he was the most consistent. Banner was a physical specimen who will probably be a better NFL player than college player because he took a while to be able to be affective against D linemen who werent as good but were smaller and quick. In the NFL he's going to be playing against better players but closer to his size . As a group they were always out of sync, always getting called for movement or holding at the worst times. Darnold helped them more than they helped him in my opinion. This seasons line will have players with experience and maybe not the high school all americans and physical specimens that left , but might be better as a group (thats the hope). Having Darnold is a big plus. You can't just bring the house because he would bounce around and kill teams after giving the receiver's time. It felt like he could find that open guy most times. So teams wanted pressure but they are not going to want to totally go all out because he slips the rush and guys are open. That helps the O line a lot.
As far as losing playmakers I don't worry about that. This season its Juju and Adoree. The seasons before it was Lee, Woods, Smith and Agholor.

 

[WizardHawk]

There's a reason I have still been saying USC is a heavy favorite despite whatever youth they may have. You don't have to ask a USC fan to know their depth is unrivaled in the conference and only a handful can nation wide. Of course they should reload, and more importantly, have way more options than most teams when the inevitable injuries do come.

USC had a solid run last year and Darnold stepped up. It is still a coaching staff without a years and year long track record and several players that could end up as disappointing as you believe maybe Damien Mama might have been. That and what if Darnold goes down add the ever present unknown to the upcoming season. We will see how teams adapt now that they have a lot of solid tape on Darnold. Will they find ways of taking away any of his strengths?

Obviously the same questions of youth can be asked of almost every team every year. UW will be breaking in a very young and inexperienced secondary despite what they might look like on paper. It has to be an unknown. UW also has to worry about Browning's health and recovery of his shoulder and hope Azeem Victor doesn't have any setbacks as they don't have nearly the depth of options USC has.

 

[Vitamike]

UW having the same level of schedule as last year means they aren't under the same 'prove it' doesn't it? I mean they have already proven they can carry a mediocre/sub standard schedule into November and take the north. By definition they are the team with the target on their back from that division. That is coming from a different area than all but USC in the conference right now.

I wasn't speaking about playoff or national championship level expectations, but specifically winning your division and challenging for the conference title.

I don't want to see UCLA beat USC because I think it's an easier path or UW. I want to see UCLA beat USC because I freaking can't stand that school. Period. Stop. That's it. I was pulling for Penn State in the RB.

Whoever wins the south will present problems for UW should they be in the CCG. A team that can derail USC has to be dangerous. While UW is the favorite for the north, I haven't exactly already crowned them. It doesn't take many problems along the way to derail a run for the conference. Ask USC about last year. Finished in the top 10 nationally and yet couldn't play in the CCG because of a couple of early season missteps. It's not impossible for that to happen to us this year. Stanford is very capable of giving them a run for their money and I still expect WSU to randomly win the north some year. The other 3 are surely capable of upsetting a quality team at the very least.

If I had to place a wager now I'd put UW and USC in the CCG, but would not be surprised in the least to have either or both missing from it. That's what makes college football so great. The unexpected happens quite often.

I guess we sort of agree, except on the prove it aspect. UW was only challenged in a couple of wins last year, the other times they were challenged they lost. The Utah game was impressive & on the road, but let's face it, it was Utah. If that's your prove it win, than you still have something to prove. The Arizona game only proved that the Dogs could win games they were suppose to win. Had you beat possibly USC (@ home) or Bama (Neutral) I would absolutely agree with you.

That said, what impressed me the most, was not who you beat rather how you all did it. Most games were over before the end of the 3rd quarter if not by half time.

As far as the USC rankings go, I think they got pretty lucky to get the Rose Bowl invite with the Buffs dropping 2 spots in a loss to your No. 4 Dogs in the CCG, and the Trojans rising 2 spots idle to finish just one spot ahead of Colorado. They really should use the regular season rankings prior to the CCG's. (History shows there have been many occasions when the higher ranked PAC team missed the RB even with a tied record, but rather the PAC12 Conference place determined the RB invite. This was prior to the 12 team format of course so last year was a precedent setting selection)

IMO, teams shouldn't get rewarded in their own Division for sitting idle while others are play an extra game vs top competition. With that, who knows if USC gets a top ten ranking if they would have played in the Alamo Bowl, or even if they beat the Cowboys?