07-25-2011, 03:59 PM
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#12
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MVP
OVR: 24
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: los angeles
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Re: Redemption (The real USC Dynasty)
Updated: Aug 28, 2011
Pac-12 2011 bold predictions
 By Michael Plesha from Bleacher Report
Summer practices around the country have now come to a close and teams are gearing up for the 2011 college football season. Many teams need the summer two a days to answer important questions regarding their depth at key positions.
One thing is for certain: It is never too early to get excited for college football season. To get us ready, here are 12 bold predictions for the first football season of the Pac-12.
 Colorado Will Finish Last in the Pac-12 South
The Buffs have a proud football tradition with many bowl wins and NFL stars, but the recent history of the team is nothing to be proud of.
It would be an understatement to say that Colorado is rebuilding, but first-year head coach Jon Embree seems to be the right man for the job. Embree played for the Buffaloes in the late 80s under coach Bill McCartney, who led Colorado to the national championship in 1990.
The Colorado faithful believe that Embree can return them to their days of glory, but the Buffs have a long way to go. After losing two players to the first round of the NFL Draft, Colorado doesn’t have any superstars at any positions. And 2011 is going to be a rough year for Colorado, but hopefully the Buffs are on the right track to someday be competitive in the Pac-12.
Colorado RB Rodney Stewart rushed 1,318 yards in 2010
 Washington RB Chris Polk will lead the Pac-12 in rushing.
This may come as a shock to some, being that Heisman runner-up LaMichael James plays in the same conference, but Polk doesn’t have the same supporting cast as James.
The Huskies will have the challenge of replacing Jake Locker, who started for four years at quarterback, as well as the team’s leading tackler in Mason Foster. Head coach Steve Sarkisian is hoping to take Washington to a bowl game in consecutive seasons, which hasn’t been done since 2001-02.
Huskies fans may not want to hold their breath.
Polk is going to have to do everything for Washington on offense, which will not result in many wins, but he is still going to have a stellar season and end up getting drafted in next year’s NFL Draft.
 2011 Will be Rick Neuheisel's last season at UCLA.
It is not a secret that Neuheisel is on the hot seat after failing to win more than three conference games in each of his first three seasons.
UCLA has had far too much talent to finish at the bottom of the conference, and Neuheisel will need a stellar season from his Bruins if he wants to save his job.
The Bruins do not have a sure thing at quarterback or running back, and after losing their two best defenders to the NFL Draft, UCLA will likely finish near the bottom of the Pac again this season.
The question for UCLA is where do they go from here, because when Neuheisel was hired, they thought he was the man who could take on USC for the battle of LA and win.
UCLA's Tony Dye might be one of the Nation's top safety with 96 tackles in 2010
 Washington State will not finish last in Pac-12 north.
The Cougars have not been to a bowl game since 2002, and I think that the streak will continue this season.
With that said, Washington State is much better than in years past. The Cougars return 15 starters from last season, including the team’s leaders in passing, rushing, tackling and sacks.
Paul Wulff’s team has a shot to surprise some people this season, but they will have to do it on the road. If Washington State can steal wins at either Cal or Washington, the Cougars will avoid finishing last in the Pac-12 North in the first season of its existence.
 Cal will have three different Quarterback start at least 1 game.
Recently head coach Jeff Tedford announced that Zach Maynard will start the season opener against Fresno State. Maynard transferred from Buffalo following the 2009 season and had no guarantee he would win the starting job over the team’s five other quarterbacks.
There is a belief in college football that when a team says they have multiple quarterbacks, they actually have zero quarterbacks. This statement is never more true than at Cal, where they have not been able to find a solid starting quarterback since Aaron Rodgers. And 2011 is going to be a tough season for the Bears, which lost their best offensive and defensive player to the draft. Maynard is a dual-threat quarterback, which isn’t a perfect match with Tedford’s West Coast Offense.
Mainly for that reason, I see Brock Mansion and Beau Sweeney also starting games for the Bears. If one of these guys can’t take hold of the offense, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Tedford’s last season in Berkeley.
 Oregon State QB Ryan Katz will lead the Beavers to a bowl game.
The 2010 season marked the first time in five seasons that Oregon State did not play in a postseason bowl game. The Beavers had NFL talent on both sides of the ball, but turned the ball over far too much to put together a winning season.
Poor quarterback play was a big reason for this, and I see the play of quarterback Ryan Katz as the reason why OSU will return to a bowl game this season. Mike Riley is an excellent coach, and he has confidence in Katz’s ability to lead his team.
If the Beavers can find a rushing attack to offset the loss of Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State should compete in the Pac-12 North and play in a bowl game come December.
 Utah will not finish the season in the top 25.
For many years, the Utes have been the class of the Mountain West Conference, finishing in the Top 25 each of the past three seasons.
Their first season in the new Pac-12 will not yield the same type of results.
Despite the fact that quarterback Jordan Wynn returns for his second season as the team's signal caller, Utah does not have much talent around him. Utah’s players are always well coached and can compete in most situations, but the need to play at the highest level on a weekly basis will be a new challenge for the Utes.
Without a doubt, Utah was a great addition to the conference, but it will take a while to get acclimated and eventually assert dominance.
 Arizona States's Vontaze Burfict will repeat as Pac-12 defensive player of the year.
Simply put, Burfict is a beast on the field. He was all over the field last season for an Arizona State defense that was one of the Pac-10’s best.
The Sun Devils return eight starters on defense and will no doubt have one of the strongest defenses in the conference yet again.
Arizona State has the talent to compete with USC in the Pac-12 South as long as the Devils can find stability at quarterback and avoid the little mistakes that have plagued them in recent years.
 Stanford QB Andrew Luck will hurt his draft stock.
If Andrew Luck would’ve declared for the NFL Draft this season, he would’ve been the No. 1-overall pick, period. In 2010, he showed all of the tools needed to be a successful pro quarterback under the coaching of former NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh is now in the NFL, as are many of Luck’s former teammates, including four offensive linemen and his favorite receiver.
The cupboard isn’t bare at Stanford, but the team will not enjoy the same success as last year. Another year in college gives scouts more time to dissect tape and find flaws, which will likely be the case for Luck since his team won’t be racking up as many wins.
Juron Criner was Pac-10's best receiver in 2010 with 1233 yards and 11 TDs
 Arizona quarterback Nick Foles will lead the Pac-12 in passing.
For some of you, this may be a difficult idea to grasp, with quarterbacks like Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Darron Thomas in the same conference, but it is going to happen.
Foles averaged almost 40 pass attempts a game last season in Mike Stoops’ offense, and that number is only going to go up in 2011. To help matters, the Wildcats are extremely deep at wide receiver, which gives them the ability to spread the field and wreak havoc on defenses.
Arizona is poised to have a strong season in the Pac-12 South as long as they can survive their tough games at the beginning of the schedule. When looking at Arizona, one thing if for certain: whether they are ahead or behind, Nick Foles is going to throw the ball and rack up the yards.
 USC will lead Pac-12 in scoring.
If you didn’t already know, the Oregon Ducks not only led the Pac-10 in scoring last season, they led the entire nation. So with so many of their offensive weapons back, why wouldn’t the same thing happen this season?
The reason is that USC has even more offensive firepower than Oregon does. Quarterback Matt Barkley started to show signs last year why he was so highly touted coming out of high school, and with another offseason under his belt, the sky is the limit for the junior.
To help him out, USC has arguably the best receiving corps in the nation, which is made up almost exclusively of 5-star recruits. The Trojans are also very deep at running back and will likely feature four different guys each game.
The only thing holding USC back is the defense, which is extremely young. If the defense can come up with the stops it needs at critical points, the Trojans should win the Pac-12 South.
Oregon's Cliff Harris was a surprise last year with 4 punt return for TDs and 6 interception
 Oregon will will the first Pac-12 Championship game.
The reigning conference champions return 11 starters from last year’s team, including Heisman finalist LaMichael James and quarterback Darron Thomas.
Although 11 starters may not sound like a lot, the Ducks use so many different players on both sides of the ball that there isn’t a big difference in the amount of minutes the starters play versus the reserves.
The Ducks are a team built around speed, and they have plenty of it at the key positions. If Oregon can escape their season opener against LSU in Dallas, the Ducks will have a chance to return to the national championship this season.
Last edited by drlw322; 07-25-2011 at 04:02 PM.
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