Despite Stanford, UCLA, and Oregon taking a significant step back, the PAC-12 still sent five teams (USC, Washington State, Stanford, Utah, Colorado) to a bowl game in 2016 and one of its members to the College Football Playoff (Washington). The conference went 3-3 during bowl season with USC winning in Pasadena, Stanford in El Paso, and Utah in Santa Clara. Obviously, the goal is to get more than half of your conference to a postseason game and to do better than .500 as a conference during bowl mania. In 2017, the PAC-12 has a number of teams looking to stay atop the conference and compete for a spot in the playoff, while a handful of others (Oregon, UCLA, Cal) will try and claw their ways back into relevance.
Team-By-Team Breakdown, Key Players
The 2016 season was 99% a failure for the Arizona Wildcats. The only reason why it was not a total disaster is because the Wildcats spoiled archrival Arizona State's bowl hopes with a 56-35 win in the final week of the regular season for their lone conference victory. Arizona finished the season 3-9 and dead last in the PAC-12 South. Obviously, 2017 serves as a massive season for head coach Rich Rodriguez, who's currently riding the hot seat despite leading the Wildcats to a bowl game in each of his first three seasons at the helm including the 2014 Fiesta Bowl.
Arizona's passing offense was a mess last season. Brandon Dawkins and Jordan Tate are both returning and should battle for the starting quarterback job, but throwing the ball isn't the strong suit of either of them. At running back, the Wildcats return sophomore J.J. Taylor and senior Nick Wilson, and both should serve as a solid one-two punch. Taylor and Wilson will run behind a strong offensive line with three returning starters in left tackle Layth Friekh, left guard Gerhard de Beer and right guard Jacob Alsedek (all seniors). Arizona's offense is very much reliant on the run, but in a conference like the PAC-12 with so many prolific passing attacks (USC, Washington, Washington State), simply running the ball is not enough to have success. The Wildcats will have a solid base with their rushing attack, but the ceiling for this offense is extremely low if neither Dawkins or Tate can step up and take the Arizona passing game to the level it needs to be in order to win multiple conference games. Junior Shun Brown is the only returning starter at receiver so developing a reliable passing attack is going to be extremely difficult.
Defensively, Arizona is going to have to rely on the experience of its secondary to make up for a surplus of holes up front. The Wildcats return cornerbacks Dane Cruikshank and Jace Whittaker as well as both starting safeties in junior Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and sophomore Isaiah Hayes. The front seven, meanwhile, is littered with question marks. Senior defensive tackle Parker Zellers and sophomore defensive end Justin Belknap return but their size disadvantages (both under 250 Ibs) significantly limit their capabilities on plugging up the run and rushing the pass. Outside of Zellers and Belknap, the Wildcats return no other starters to their defensive front, leaving the bulk of the workload on the shoulders of shaky recruiting class and junior college transfer Taufahema Sione. This could get ugly.
Overall, Arizona is not a significant threat to USC and Colorado in the PAC-12 South. There are too many holes on this defense and questions at the quarterback position to consider the Wildcats a contender. Four wins should be the ceiling for U of A in 2017.
The Sun Devils completed imploded following a 4-0 start last season, losing seven of their final eight games including a terrible 56-35 loss at rival Arizona in the final week of the regular season to keep them out of a bowl game. The obvious goal for this season is to get back to bowl eligibility, but a brutal conference schedule against USC, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Stanford, and Colorado will make that task extremely difficult.
Quarterback Manny Wilkins returns for his junior season, but it appears as if Alabama transfer Blake Barnett is making a significant push and could actually be the team's starter under center to begin the season. Running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage are both back, as is wideout N'Keal Harry who broke the ASU record for most receptions by a freshman in 2016. The offensive line of Arizona State is extremely young, however, and returns just one starter from last season, making it a massive area of concern.
Senior Safety Marcus Ball is ASU's lone returning starter in their secondary. Ball will have to guide a duo of freshmen in safety Ty Thomas and cornerback Chase Lucas. Fellow safety Armand Perry has left the team and former No. 1 corner Kareem Orr transferred, meaning Thomas and Lucas will both likely be seeing some significant playing time. The linebacking corps will be the nucleus of ASU's defense with senior SAM D.J. Calhoun, redshirt junior WILL Christian Sam, and senior SPUR J'Marcus Rhodes all back. The line will be anchored by senior defensive tackle Tashon Smallwood and junior defensive end Joseph "Jojo" Wicker.
Arizona State's offense should make some big improvements from last season but it's difficult seeing this team win more than five games with such a grueling conference schedule and so many holes in the secondary. Can ASU get back to a bowl game? Of course. Matchups against UCLA, Oregon State, Arizona, Texas Tech, San Diego State, and New Mexico State are all very winnable. But, competing for a PAC-12 South title is likely a year or two away for this program.
New head coach Justin Wilcox has his work cut out for him with Cal coming off a 5-7 season that saw a 1-5 record against the PAC-12 North in 2016. Wilcox and the Bears face a tough non-conference slate (@ UNC, Ole Miss) and have an extremely tough conference schedule beginning with a September 23 date with USC followed by matchups with Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Washington State, and Colorado.
The biggest question entering summer camp is at quarterback, as neither junior Chase Forest or sophomore Ross Bowers was able to pull away with the starting job during spring ball. At running back, the Bears return a pair of seniors in Tre Watson and Vic Enwere. Watson's speed and versatility complement the power-style of Enwere, and both should be significant factors in Cal's offense this season as a solid one-two punch. Sophomore Demetris Robertston and slot man/tight end Ray Hudson highlight an experienced and deep set of receivers for either Forest or Bowers to throw to. The offensive line is a big problem, however, as Cal returns just one starter from last season in redshirt junior center Addison Ooms.
On defense, the Bears will make a switch to a 3-4 after allowing 40+ points nine times last season, ranking second-worst in total defense in the PAC-12. Cal's defensive front is young but does have an anchor to lean on in senior All-Conference Honorable Mention defensive end James Looney. Senior linebackers Devante Downs and Raymond Davidson are both back, but it remains to be seen how this duo will adjust under the new formations and overall defensive realignment. In the secondary, Cal returns a pair of experienced corners in redshirt senior Darrius Allensworth and senior Marloshawn Franklin. At safety, sophomore Evan Rambo appears to be ready to go after recovering from an ACL tear that ended his 2016 season. Rambo is currently listed as the No. 1 free safety on the depth chart, while a pair of redshirt juniors in Quentin Tartabull and Derron Brown battle for the starting strong safety spot.
Between Demetris Robertson and the running back duo of Watson and Enwere, Cal's offense should be solid enough to stay in games, and their defense has its standouts with Downs, Davidson, Allensworth, and Franklin. But, collectively, this is a program that is about a year or two away from really being able to compete with Stanford and the two Washington schools for a North Division crown. Improvements may not show up in the win/loss columns in 2017 for Cal, as their schedule both in and outside of the PAC-12 is extremely tough.
Things quickly went South for Jim Mora's Bruins in 2016 after quarterback Josh Rosen went down with a season-ending shoulder injury against Arizona State. Following Rosen's injury, UCLA fell in six of their final seven to finish the season 4-8 and miss out on a bowl game for the first time in Mora's tenure. With Rosen back and presumably healthy, UCLA should see improvement in 2017 as Jim Mora fights for his job and looks to avoid a second straight sub-.500 season.
UCLA returns its entire set of running backs from last season in junior Soso Jamabo, senior Nate Starks, and junior Bolu Olorunfunmi, giving Rosen a reliable rushing attack to fall back on. Center Scott Quessenberry returns for his senior season after taking home All PAC-12 honors in 2016. Quessenberry will need to be the anchor of a UCLA offensive line that collectively struggled in all areas last season. Senior Darren Andrews highlights a receiving corps that is otherwise extremely young and inexperienced. Junior Jordan Lasley and senior Eldridge Massington will battle with redshirt freshman Demetric Felton and sophomore Theo Howard for the final two starting receiver spots.
Defensively, UCLA lost three massive pieces with the departures of Takkarist McKinley, Fabien Monroe, and Jayon Brown to the NFL. Versatile senior Jacob Tuioti-Mariner will anchor the defensive front and will likely see time both at end and in the middle depending on the opposition's alignment. Redshirt sophomore Keisean Lucier-South, freshman Jaelen Phillips and sophomore Rick Wade will all battle for the two starting defensive end spots. Senior Kenny Young will anchor an otherwise young linebacking core. UCLA's secondary is also young with freshman Darney Holmes currently sitting atop the depth chart as the team's top corner.
The fate of UCLA's season relies on the health of Josh Rosen, and in order to ensure that Rosen doesn't have another season-ending shoulder injury, the Bruin offensive line has to hold up its end and protect him. UCLA's defense as a whole is young but they have enough experienced pieces (Young, Tuioti-Mariner) to duplicate their No. 3 ranked unit in the PAC-12 from last season if their underclassmen (Lucier-South, Phillips, Holmes) play up to their capabilities. Expect an improvement record-wise for UCLA in 2017 at or around bowl eligibility, but anything beyond that seems like a bit of a stretch.
2016 put Colorado football back on the map following a decade of mediocrity, as the Buffaloes rattled off six straight to finish the regular season 10-2 and earned their first ever PAC-12 South title. The dream season came to a tough end, however, in the form of back-to-back lopsided losses to Washington (41-10) in the PAC-12 title game, and Oklahoma State (38-8) in the Alamo Bowl. Despite the two tough losses to finish the season and the departure of their long-time starting quarterback Sefo Liufau, Colorado enters 2017 with high expectations and the goal of repeating in the PAC-12 South.
Taking over under center for the Buffs in 2017 will be redshirt sophomore Steven Montez, who saw a decent amount of playing time last season when he started in three games (2-1 record) in place of an injured Sefo Liufau, tossing nine touchdown passes in just 140 passing attempts. Montez will have a full arsenal of receivers to work with that includes seniors Shay Fields, Bryce Bobo, Devin Ross. and junior slot man Jay MacIntyre. The Buffs will also be getting back redshirt junior receiver Juwanne Winfree, who was described as the best all-around wideout on the team heading into last season before a torn ACL forced him to miss all of 2016 At running back, the Buffaloes return arguably the best ball carrier in the entire conference in senior Phillip Lindsay (1,745 yards, 16 touchdowns in 2016). The Colorado offensive line returns four of its five starters from 2016, highlighted by senior left tackle Jeromy Irwin.
Defensively, Colorado will need to retool a ton after losing eight of their starters from 2016. Redshirt junior Rick Gamboa is back to anchor the linebacking core in the middle. Gamboa will line up in the 3-4 alongside senior outside linebacker Derek McCartney, junior inside linebacker Drew Lewis, and senior BUFF Ryan Moeller. McCartney is returning from a season-ending ACL tear last September while Moeller will try and build upon his 39 solo tackles and one forced fumble from 2016. Senior defensive end Leo Jackson III is back atop the depth chart and will anchor the defensive line after being bumped down to second string a season ago. Senior safety Afolabi Laguda is the lone returning starter in the secondary. Junior Nick Fisher is currently the only strong safety listed on the team's depth chart while redshirt freshman Trey Udoffia, sophomore Dante Wigley, junior Isaiah Oliver, and sophomore Tony Julimisse battle for the two starting cornerback spots.
Overall, there's a lot to like with this Colorado team heading into the 2017 season. The offense should be just as potent as it was last season with all of the starting wideouts, four of the five starting linemen, and a lethal running back in Phillip Lindsay all back. Yes, Steven Montez has only seen a limited amount of playing time, but there is a lot of upside with his arm and ability to make plays with his legs. The defense might be an issue having to replace so many starters, but the Buffaloes seem to have a strong set of underclassmen/2016 second stringers ready to step in and contribute mightily. A September 23 meeting with PAC-12 North favorite Washington will be a testament as to whether or not the Buffs are going to be able to compete with USC for the South crown.
The days of Oregon making a mockery of the PAC-12 North are on hold for now following a 4-8 season in 2016 and the firing of Mark Helfrich. But, the Ducks are hopeful that newly hired head coach Willie Taggart will be able to put things together and get the program back to a bowl game this season. The Ducks return a multitude of their offense from last season, several defensive starters, and had a massive pickup on their defensive front, so there's a lot for Duck fans to feel positive about.
Quarterback Justin Herbert is back after taking over the starting job midway through last season. Also back is starting running back “Rolls” Royce Freeman and backup Tony Brooks-James. Freeman and Brooks-James will run behind an offensive line that returns four starters. Unfortunately, the Ducks will be without two of their top pass catchers after Darren Carrington's dismissal (DUI arrest) and Devon Allen giving up football to concentrate on track. Senior Charles Nelson is going to have to pick up the slack as the team's new No. 1 receiver. The offensive line also returns four starters.
Clemson graduate transfer defensive tackle Scott Pagano is expected to serve as Oregon's defensive anchor, and he should add a level of pass-rushing/run-stuffing that the Ducks lacked significantly in 2016. Seniors Jimmy Swain and A.J. Hotchkins figure to highlight the linebacking core while junior Jalen Jelks and senior Henry Mondeaux man the ends. The spring game taught us that Oregon's secondary is extremely young, as redshirt freshman Brady Breeze started at safety and true freshman Thomas Graham junior served as the team's No. 1 corner. The Ducks did away with defensive coordinator Brady Hoke along with the firing of Helfrich. Jim Leavitt comes over to Eugene from Colorado after revamping their defense and making it one of the PAC-12's best in 2016 alongside Washington. Leavitt has shown before that he can turn a pile of bricks into a house, and with an NFL caliber player like Pagano as his main brick, the task of rebuilding this defense and helping Oregon get back on the map is off to a strong start. Unfortunately, a weak and young secondary could be this defense's downfall in year one under Taggart/Leavitt.
Expect Oregon to hang around in the PAC-12 North this season and win six or seven games. The Ducks do get Washington State and Utah at home but face the daunting tasks of traveling to both Washington and Stanford. With the number of weapons Oregon returns on offense, a bounce back is imminent. However, expecting a divisional title or anything more than simply getting back to a bowl game seems rather unreasonable for a program that just fired its coach, had two of their top wideouts abruptly depart, as well as being in the process of completely rebuilding the defense.
It's been a tough couple of years for Oregon State with their last bowl appearance coming in 2013 (Hawaii Bowl). Gary Anderson and his staff are in the midst of a massive rebuild and improvements are being made, but it still might be a year or two until the Beavers are ready to take the next step and compete for the PAC-12 North title.
OSU returns two quarterbacks from last season's team (Marcus McMaryion, Darrell Garretson), but the No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart currently is '6"6 junior college transfer Jake Luton. Obviously, Anderson and his staff see that the ceiling with Luton under center is a lot higher given his size and arm strength. Luton will still need to compete with McMaryion and Garretson in camp in order to stay atop the depth chart, but as long as he stays healthy and remains on the good side of OC Kevin McGiven, he should be the signal caller against Colorado State on August 26. Redshirt junior running back Ryan Nall (951 yards, 13 touchdowns in 2016) should serve as the offense's nucleus with his versatile skill set and ability to plow through defenders. The Beavers also swiped Oregon transfer Thomas Tyner to add some depth at the running back position. Senior Jordan Villamin figures to take over as Oregon State's top wideout with his '6"5, 220 Ibs frame following the departure of Victor Bolden. Outside of Villamin, the Beavers have a lot of injury concerns in their pass-catching corps. Tight end Noah Togiai is eying a return from a torn ACL and wideout Seth Collins was forced to miss the final two games of last season after being hospitalized with an unknown illness. If both can return healthy, it'll be a massive boost to the OSU offense. The offensive line returns just two starters, so obviously that will need to sort itself out in camp in order for Luton to stay somewhat safe in the pocket and for Nall/Tyner to contribute effectively on the ground.
The front seven will serve as the strength of Oregon State's defense, led by senior ends Phillip Napoleon and Baker Pritchard. The addition of junior college transfer and nose tackle Craig Evans gives the line some much-needed depth alongside sophomore tackle Elu Aydon. Senior Manase Hungalu and junior Bright Ugwoegbu will highlight a rugged and deep group of linebackers. Sophomore ILB Andrzej Hughes-Murray and junior OLB Jonathan Willis figure to round out the 3-4. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Xavier Crawford will be leaned on heavily in the OSU secondary after winning Freshman All-American in 2016. The rest of the Beaver secondary consists of a multitude of freshmen, as Gary Anderson signed seven defensive back recruits in the class of 2017 including the highly touted David Morris.
Oregon State's front seven is experienced and powerful, and their offense returns a significant number of weapons (Villamin, Nall). Unfortunately, OSU's schedule in 2017 does them absolutely zero favors having to face the top tier of the conference (Washington, Washington State, USC, Colorado, Stanford) in consecutive weeks to open up PAC-12 play. Oregon State's final four PAC-12 games against Arizona, ASU, Cal, and Oregon are all winnable, but it is hard seeing this team earn a conference win until at least early November with this brutal slate in September/October. Five wins max.
Sam Darnold had one hell of a coming out party in the Rose Bowl, guiding USC to a 52-49 comeback victory over Penn State in an all-time classic of a game. However, following a 1-3 start that included a 52-6 beatdown at the hands of Alabama at AT&T Stadium, a 27-10 loss at Stanford, and a last-second 31-27 loss at Utah, most of the Trojan faithful would have called you crazy for thinking there was any hope of a Rose Bowl win in 2016. Well, an eight-game win streak to end the season paved the way for USC to jump back in the top-25, and Washington crashing the College Football Playoff party as well as Stanford falling off the map opened the door for the Trojans to head to Pasadena. Darnold made the most of the opportunity and delivered a 453-yard/five-touchdown effort to guide USC to victory in what appeared to be a lost season in September.
Following Darnold’s masterful late performance in the Rose Bowl, expectations for USC in 2017 are as high as they were during the Pete Carroll days. Losing wideouts JuJu Smith-Schuster and Darreus Rogers hurts, as the duo was responsible for nearly half (41%) or USC’s receptions in 2016, as well as 45% of their total receiving yards. Junior Deontay Burnett, sophomore Michael Pittman, and redshirt senior Steven Mitchell are currently atop the depth chart. Burnett’s three-touchdown effort in the Rose Bowl showed that there is a lot of potential between him and Darnold in 2017. Ronald Jones rushed for over 1,000 yards and had 12 touchdowns last season and is now the feature back for the Trojans as he heads into his junior season. The Trojans return two starting offensive linemen in senior center Nico Falah and senior right guard Viane Talamaivao, but lost both of their starting tackles, so defending the perimeter pass-rush is going to be a challenge. Junior Chuma Edoga figures to take the left tackle spot while redshirt freshman Nate Smith and redshirt sophomore Clayton Johnson battle for the starting right tackle spot.
Defensively, the Trojans obviously want to make some significant improvements after allowing 49 points in the Rose Bowl. But, the Trojan defense did have several bright spots last season including holding Washington to just 13 points in a 26-13 upset late in the year and finished the season ranked third in the PAC-12 in total defense. USC’s linebacking core will be their strength, highlighted by junior Cameron Smith, junior Porter Gustin, and senior Uchenna Nwosu (all returning starters). The defensive front of USC, meanwhile, is extremely inexperienced following the departure of tackle Stevie Tu’ikolovatu. Junior Jacob Daniel figures to be Tu’ikolovatu’s replacement at the nose, while junior Rasheem Green and redshirt sophomore Christian Rector man the ends. USC’s secondary lost a big piece with the departure of Adoree’ Jackson, who took home the Jim Thorpe Award (nation’s best cornerback) in 2016. Outside of Jackson, however, the Trojans still have a lot of starters returning in the secondary, including junior corner Iman Marshall, junior corner Isaiah Langley, redshirt senior safety Chris Hawkins, and junior free safety Marvell Tell.
This is a huge year for USC football, especially following the bowl ban resulting from the Reggie Bush “pay for play” fallout. Winning the Rose Bowl was step one. Now, the Trojans must take the next step and win the PAC-12 (normally that’s what gets you to the Rose Bowl but thus was not the case with USC last season) and crack the College Football Playoff. Sam Darnold showed the world that he has that clutch gene, and if he opts to leave school following the 2017 season, he’ll likely be a top-five pick in the 2018 draft. USC benefits from not having to play Washington, who along with Stanford and Washington State are the four realistic CFP contenders in the PAC-12. The Trojans will host Stanford and Texas in back-to-back weeks in September, but will then play back-to-back road games against Cal and Washington State. Outside of those four games, there aren’t many dates to circle on the calendar. Obviously, the Notre Dame and UCLA rivalry matches are big ones but both of those schools are coming off a down year. USC has 11-win/undefeated potential if they can get out of September 4-0.
In 2016, Stanford was exposed pretty early in the season in the form of back-to-back lopsided losses at Washington (44-6) and at home against Washinton State (42-16). With their College Football Playoff hopes basically gone after dropping from the rankings completely, the Cardinal won seven of their final eight games including a 25-23 win over North Carolina in the Sun Bowl without Christian McCaffery (resting for the draft) to finish the season 10-3 and at No. 12 in the AP. Anytime you lose a versatile playmaking savage at running back like Christian McCaffery, it’s going to have its effects. The Stanford Cardinal enter 2017 with the hopes of competing for the PAC-12 North title, but winning the PAC-12 and earning a spot in the Rose Bowl/CFP also are not out of reach.
Ryan Burns and Keller Chryst are going to battle for the starting quarterback job, but the aerial attack has never been Stanford’s bread and butter (alright, maybe it was with Andrew Luck). Stanford always has and always will be a power-running team, and the heart and soul of their offense in 2017 will be junior running back Bryce Love (779 yards, three touchdowns) who performed up to task as the spell back in 2016 whenever McCaffrey needed a breather. Another strong suit of this offense is the return of four of the five starting offensive linemen (LT David Bright, C Jesse Burkett, RG Nick Wilson, RT A.T. Hall) from last season. Whether it’s Love, Trevor Speights, Cameron Scarlett. or Dorian Maddox running between the trenches on a given play, they’ll have an experienced group of blockers guiding them.
The receiver position is often one that gets dismissed at Stanford due to how paramount their running game is, but juniors Trent Irwin and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside figure to be the top-two Cardinal pass-catchers in 2017 after they each put up solid numbers as sophomores in 2016. Irwin should make a massive impact on special teams and be Stanford’s go-to guy when they need to move the chains thanks to his strengths as a possession receiver. Arcega-Whiteside, meanwhile, should be Stanford’s biggest red zone threat thanks to his size (6’3,” 215) and ability to go up and make a play on the fade route. Look no further than his game-winning grab at UCLA last season.
The PAC-12 North will be a dogfight with Stanford’s rushing attack and Washington and Washinton State getting back Jake Browning and Luke Falk. Stanford’s defense is going to need to step up big in 2017 following the departure of star defensive end Solomon Thomas (No. 3 overall pick by San Francisco). Senior defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (led the team in sacks last season with 6.5) and junior defensive end Dylan Jackson figure to be Stanford’s top pass-rushers. The strongest aspect of Stanford’s defense, however, will be their set of linebackers (all seniors) in Joey Alfieri, Bobby Akereke, Kevin Palma, and Peter Kalambayi. Alfieri should lead the team in tackles while Akereke and Palma are rotated all over thanks to their versatility as pass-rushers and cover guys. This group should serve as Stanford’s backbone. The Cardinal secondary returns two starters from last season in senior free safety Brandon Simmons and senior corner Alijah Holder.
We will get a good feel as to whether or not Stanford is suited to climb back atop the PAC-12 North early in the season when they travel to USC. Back-to-back games against Washinton and Washington State to begin November will likely decide the fate of their season. Nine or ten wins seems like a reasonable prediction but do not be surprised if it’s more.
Maybe the biggest surprise of last season was how good the Washington Huskies were. The Husky defense was absolutely dominant in 2016, holding every one of their opponents to 28 points or fewer. Washington began the season 9-0, including a 44-6 melting of Stanford in primetime. The Huskies’ lone regular season defeat came to a hot group of Trojans from USC (26-13) on November 9, but Washington responded with wins over Arizona State (44-18) and rival Washinton State (45-17) to win the PAC-12 North climb back in the top-four of the rankings. A 41-10 beatdown of Colorado in the PAC-12 title game earned Washington the conference title and their first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff. The Huskies gave Alabama everything they had but ultimately came up short, falling 24-7.
Losing top wideout John Ross to the NFL is obviously not ideal, but the Huskies do return versatile playmaker Dante Pettis, who proved to be an extremely useful weapon both as a pass catcher and on special teams last season. Quarterback Jake Browning looks to build upon a solid output as a sophomore in 2016 (3,430 yards, 43 touchdowns) and could make a case for the Heisman. At running back, the Huskies return junior Myles Gaskin, who’s coming off back-to-back 1,300-yard seasons. Gaskin will run behind an experienced offensive line highlighted by returning starters Coleman Shelton (senior center). Andrew Kirkland (senior right tackle), and Trey Adams (junior left tackle). The line has some obvious holes to fill at left tackle and left guard, but Chris Peterson proved last year that his staff is more than capable of getting underclassmen prepared to step right in.
On defense, the Huskies have a lot of holes to fill following the departures of safety Budda Baker, defensive tackle Elijah Qualls, and corners Sidney Jones and Kevin King. The secondary is not going to be the dominant force we saw in 2016, as the Huskies ranked No. 12 in the nation in total defense and No. 8 in scoring, but Peterson and the coaching staff are extremely high on their set of replacements (junior safety Jojo McIntosh, sophomore safety Taylor Rapp, freshman corner Byron Murphy, and junior corner Jordan Miller). The front-seven will be the strength of Washington’s defense this season, highlighted by senior inside linebacker Azeem Victor.
Washington’s non-conference schedule (@ Rutgers, home vs. Montana and Fresno State) is nothing to call home about. The Huskies do not have to play USC this season but do have to travel to Stanford in November. Getting Washington State, Oregon, and Cal all at home, however, is huge. Washington’s defense was the main reason for their dominance in 2016, and a drop-off is to be expected this season. However, the Huskies return a significant portion of their defensive front, a solid all-around quarterback, as well as a dependable offensive line and running game. This is a team that will contend with Stanford for the PAC-12 North crown and quietly compete for another trip to the playoff. Set the +/- at 10 wins.
The Cougars were a nice story of vindication last season after starting the year 0-2 including an abysmal loss to FCS opponent Eastern Washington in their season-opener at home. Washington State rattled off eight straight following the 0-2 start, including wins over Oregon (51-33), UCLA (27-21), a murdering of Arizona (69-7), and at Stanford (42-16). Late season losses at Colorado and at home against Washington kept the Cougars out of the PAC-12 title game, and they fell 17-12 to Minnesota in the Holiday Bowl.
In 2017, quarterback Luke Falk (4,468 yards, 38 touchdowns in 2016) returns for his senior season, and with Mike Leach’s pass-heavy offense, the Cougars should continue to thrive in a conference full of weak pass-covering defenses (Oregon State, Arizona, Utah). Wideouts Tavares Martin (junior), Kyle Sweet (junior), and Robert Lewis (redshirt senior) should put up some monstrous numbers.
The Cougs did extremely well on the ground in 2016, as their trio of Gerard Wicks, Jamal Morrow, and James Williams combined for 1,645 yards and 22 touchdowns altogether. All three return in 2017 and Washington State will also be getting back Keith Harrington, who missed all of 2016 due to injury. Washington State’s bread and butter might be their air raid passing attack, but their surplus of highly skilled running backs allow them the versatility on offense that is always ever so useful. The Cougars also return 2016 All-American left guard Cody O’Connell, as well as two other starting offensive linemen.
On defense, Washington State’s strength will be their core of linebackers in senior Peyton Pelluer, senior Frankie Luvu, and senior Isaac Dotson. However, Pelluer and company have a lot of pressure on their shoulders as the Cougars return none of their starters on the defensive line from a season ago. In the secondary, Washington State will return a trio of experienced corners in senior Marcellus Pippins, sophomore Marcus Strong, and junior Darrien Molton. Senior free safety Robert Taylor and sophomore strong safety Jalen Thompson emerged as playmaking ball-hawk safeties for Washington State a season ago, and both should continue to do so in 2017.
If there was ever a PAC-12 team to be high on in 2017 not named Stanford, Washington, or USC, it’s Washington State. This team is absolutely loaded with talent on offense and returns one of the top quarterbacks in the country to their offense. The Cougar defense has its holes up front but as does every team. Washington is the clear No. 1 team in the PAC-12 North but Washington State isn’t far behind, and the fate of the division could be decided when those two face off on November 25. We’ll find out whether or not this Washington State team is for real early on in the season with a week-two date with Boise State and a week-five date with USC (both in Pullman).
Preliminary PredictionsNorth
1. Washington (11-1, 8-1)
2. Stanford (10-2, 7-2)
3. Washington State (8-4, 5-4)
4. Oregon (7-5, 4-5)
5. Oregon State (5-7, 2-7)
6. California (3-9, 2-7)
South
1. USC (11-1, 8-1)
2. Colorado (9-3, 6-3)
3. Utah (7-5, 5-4)
4. UCLA (6-6, 4-5)
5. Arizona State (5-7, 2-7)
6. Arizona (3-9, 1-8)
Biggest Conference Games
1. USC vs. Stanford (9/9)
2. Stanford vs. Washington (11/10)
3. Washington vs. Washington State (11/25)
4. Washington State vs. Stanford (11/4)
5. Colorado vs. Washington (9/23)
6. Washington State vs. USC (9/29)
7. Colorado vs. USC (11/11)
8. USC vs. Utah (10/14)
9. Utah vs. Colorado (11/25)
10. Stanford vs. Oregon (10/14)
Biggest Non-Conference Games
1. USC vs. Texas (9/16)
2. Washington State vs. Boise State (9/9)
3. Utah @ BYU (9/9)
4. USC @ Notre Dame (10/21)
5. Oregon vs. Nebraska (9/9)
6. UCLA vs. Texas A&M (9/2)
7. Stanford vs. Notre Dame (11/25)
8. Arizona State @ Texas Tech (9/16)
9. Arizona vs. Houston (9/9)
10. Colorado vs. Colorado State (9/2)
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