Welcome to the 2017 Pac-12 Football Preview. The league should be more competitive than it’s been in years. It has two potential playoff contenders that should collide in the conference championship.
Pac-12 Preview
Pac-12 North
Washington Huskies – Jake Browning, Myles Gaskin and Dante Pettis are back to give defenses sleepless nights. The Huskies won’t sneak up on anyone this season. Can they handle having the target on their back as the defending Pac-12 Champs?
Washington State Cougars – QB Luke Falk is back with experience around him. If the defense can improve from 50th in scoring last year, the Cougars will be contenders.
Stanford Cardinal – With All-Everything RB Christian McCaffrey gone, the Stanford offense has big questions. Can the QB play improve and boost the offense?
Oregon Ducks – a coaching change was made as Willie Taggert inherits many starters. He’s got to turn around the defense that was 126th in scoring last season.
Oregon State Beavers – RB Ryan Nall will have to carry the load on offense. The Beavers need to make big improvements on both sides of the ball as the offense was 86th in scoring and the defense 82nd.
California Golden Bears – Justin Wilcox takes over a program that desperately needs his defensive mind. He’ll have to get the defense to improve from 127th last season. The Bears will have a new QB who will have some skill around him to help.
Pac-12 South
USC Trojans – After a Rose Bowl win, the Trojans enter with huge expectations. Sam Darnold is back for his sophomore season but will have a lot of new starters along side of him.
Utah Utes – New offensive scheme with four of five starters new along the O-line. Defense should again be good and keep them in games.
UCLA Bruins – QB Josh Rosen is back healthy. The offense was 96th without him last season. Defense has only a few starters back so Jim Mora’s gonna have to find ways to get his team to win while his seat gets hotter.
Arizona State Sun Devils – Lost six straight to finish out 2016. Todd Graham has to improve last season’s 124th scoring defense. The Devils offense should be able to score but if the defense doesn’t get better, Graham could be out.
Arizona Wildcats – Rich Rodriguez returns his QB and entire offensive line which should help an offense that ranked 100th in scoring last season. The defense has to do better after being tied for 118th in 2016.
Colorado Buffaloes – A tough schedule should set the Buffaloes back in ’17. Only two starters return from a defense that was 20th in scoring last year. A new QB should get help from good skill players.
2017 Pac-12 Predictions
| Predicted Record | ||||
| PAC-12 NORTH | W | L | CONF W | CONF L |
| Washington Huskies | 11 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Washington State Cougars | 11 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Stanford Cardinal | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Oregon Ducks | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Oregon State Beavers | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| California Golden Bears | 4 | 8 | 2 | 7 |
| Predicted Record | ||||
| PAC-12 SOUTH | W | L | CONF W | CONF L |
| USC Trojans | 11 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Utah Utes | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| UCLA Bruins | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Arizona State Sun Devils | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Arizona Wildcats | 4 | 8 | 2 | 7 |
| Colorado Buffaloes | 5 | 7 | 2 | 7 |
2017 Pac-12 Football Championship Game Prediction
Ohio State over Wisconsin
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Make your picks for week 1 of the 2017 College Football season!