We’ve talked about players to watch and surprise teams, now it’s time to answer the most important question: which team is going to win the conference?
Q. Who will win the Pac-12 conference this year.
Kevin Causey
On Twitter @CFBZ
Who will win the Pac-12 this year? The same team that has won the Pac-12 Championship Game 3 of the last 4 years…..Stanford.
It helps that they have the best player in the conference in Christian McCaffrey.
It also helps that year in and year out they are among the top defensive teams in the Pac-12. Over the last six seasons, Stanford has finished at least third in total defense and scoring defense.
David Shaw is probably the most underrated coach in college football. In his five seasons at Stanford, he’s only failed to win double-digit games in one of those seasons. He also has three conference titles in just five years as a coach. That’s amazing and this year he will add a fourth to his legacy.
Bart Doan
On Twitter @TheCoachBart
Man, I’m all in on Washington.
The Huskies return 17 starters and this is fully Chris Petersen’s vision, this now his third year in. They could reasonably be a year away, but this offense led by Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin (QB and RB, respectively … actually, much respect-ively) are as dynamic as any pairing in the league.
The offensive line needs to be better. They were 9th in the Pac-12 in rushing, but they do return four starters and again, they’ll get better. They’re getting the best in-state players to stay there, which spells doom for other clubs that have been feasting on the area talent.
The defense, though, is where they make championship-level noise. They ranked in the top five in scoring, passing, and rushing defense, and tops overall in the conference in yards allowed. They were also tops in scoring defense. So to recap: a defense returns eight starters from a unit that gave up the fewest yards and points in the conference last year.
Stingy is the word. The transition to the 3-4 … ahem … clearly worked.
The secondary may be the best in the conference, and you’ll hear DB Sidney Jones’ name in a prominent way on Sundays if you watch that rigged sort of football. This is a large leap from 7-6, but when you have a budding explosive offense around the best defense in the conference, it’s a large leap worth making.
Terry Johnson
On Twitter @SectionTPJ
The Pac-12 is the deepest conference in college football this season. There’s so much talent in the league that I could legitimately make a case for six different teams to win the conference championship in 2016.
So, who did I pick?
In the South, USC will nudge out Utah and UCLA for the divisional crown. While all of these teams are about even, the Trojans return plenty of experience on offense, whereas the Utes and Bruins need to replace some key components from last year’s team. That gives USC the advantage over both teams in a close game.
I like Washington to win the North in a tight race over Stanford and Oregon. The Huskies are the most experienced team of the three, returning 15 starters from last year’s squad — including quarterback Jake Browning (2,955 yards passing) and running back Myles Gaskin (1,302 yards). UW also welcomes back 7 starters from last year’s defense, which led the Pac-12 in total defense (351.8) and yards per play (4.90).
Since defense wins championships, I’ll pick the Huskies to beat the Trojans in what should be an exciting Pac-12 title game (even if it is a rematch).
Previous Conference Roundtables
Sun Belt
MAC
Conference USA
Mountain West
AAC
Big 12
