Comments on: Pac 12 Preview: Five Questions Heading Into 2012

By: cassino

cassino — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 00:26:46 +0000

Loss of Foles won’t hurt them too much, Matt Scott is a really good mobile QB. Arizona will probably be better than most anticipate next season. WSU may have a better record by virtue of their schedule being a bit easier (WSU doesn’t play USC, Arizona does and has an almost certain loss against Oklahoma State), but right now, I’d much rather go against WSU than Zona.

By: Ty Duffy

Ty Duffy — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 22:30:56 +0000

Without digging deep (I would’ve left that for resident Pac-12 analyst Cassino, even before seeing his comment) I really would have guessed from my cursory eyeball tests of the two teams last season that Arizona is in a much better position for a quick turnaround than Washington State.

Both need their offenses to work. Washington State has a potentially very good quarterback and a lot of pieces at skill positions. Liability on the offensive line…but…Leach’s offense gets the ball out quickly.

Arizona moving from a predominately passing offense to a more hybrid/run under Rich Rod. Lost Foles and four of their top five receivers. They are closer to where they need to be on defense, but probably need a couple years to get the offense functioning on all cylinders. Washington State should be able to at least score on people this year.

By: Nada

Nada — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:46:47 +0000

I can undefeated or 1-loss USC vs. undefeated SEC champ in the NC game. If SEC weeds each other out and no one’s undefeated, USC vs. Big 12 champ.

By: ms621

ms621 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:34:45 +0000

USC’s gonna go undefeated then lose to LSU or BAMA in the NC.Their 2013 class is downright stupid.If they can stay qualified, USC is set up to be good for a long time.

By: VladimirCrouton

VladimirCrouton — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:23:45 +0000

USC’s gonna go undefeated then lose to LSU or BAMA in the NC.

By: starkweather

starkweather — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:21:21 +0000

Without digging deep (I would’ve left that for resident Pac-12 analyst Cassino, even before seeing his comment) I really would have guessed from my cursory eyeball tests of the two teams last season that Arizona is in a much better position for a quick turnaround than Washington State.

By: starkweather

starkweather — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:19:20 +0000

with a loaded roster

J.R. Smith transferred to USC, too?

By: cassino

cassino — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:07:40 +0000

Things overlooked:
Stanford returns the fewest OL starts of any Pac12 school (never good) and has to replace two All Americans there. Huge potential for them to regress based on that alone: they won’t be able to overrun everybody this season.
WSU was already one of the top passing teams in the country last season. There’s not a lot of room for improvement, and their defense doesn’t “need work”, it’s horrendous. It needs an overhaul, and unlike UW’s similarly horrendous defense, there’s no talent there for WSU. None. People are pencilling them in for a bowl, but that’s probably going to be a struggle giving up 50 a game.

By: Milk Steak To Go

Milk Steak To Go — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:07:25 +0000

Will Mike Riley and/or Jeff Tedford and/or Todd Graham be coaching in 2013?

Fixed.

By: Liquor

Liquor — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:04:10 +0000

Good write up. Leech and DickRod will make things interesting. Neither will ever field a title contender, but they play the spoiler role well.

Still think the conference is pretty down this year. Oregon and Stanford both take a big step back.

By: Ty_Webb

Ty_Webb — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:54:47 +0000

Nice read Duffy.

By: bsanders37

bsanders37 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:51:26 +0000

Go Ducks.