College Football Power Five Preview: Pac-12 Edition…Can USC or UCLA return to glory?

College football season is finally upon us after months of wild changes, a transfer portal full of surprises, and a potential conference re-alignment nightmare ahead.

For now, we can finally end months of speculation and watch some kids hit each other on some of the biggest stages in America.

This is part four of the DailyMail.com’s five-part series dedicated to previewing all of the Power Five conferences in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Throughout the week, we will be grouping each of the teams in the biggest conferences into four categories:

• 1.  College Football Playoff Contenders: the teams we expect to be in the national conversation all year long.
• 2. Cinderella Hopefuls: the teams that will be close to the top of the college football landscape, but will probably just miss out on glory. But if they do, they’ll be the biggest stories of the year. 
• 3. Also-rans: the teams we expect to be in the bowl conversation, maybe even playing close to New Year’s Day, but will probably not shake the tree of the CFB elite. 
• 4. Bottom feeders: be it a tough schedule, a new coach, or just a young team in complete transition, these are the squads that will probably not make any noise in college football this year 

Today we will be taking a look at the 12 teams in the Pac-12.

College Football Playoff Contenders 

No. 7 Utah Utes

The reigning Pac-12 champions are among the favorites to win the conference this year and rightfully so. Utah comes into the season looking like the most complete team in the conference.

More importantly the progression of junior quarterback Cam Rising could give the Utes one of the more explosive offenses in the nation.

Rising stepped in off the bench last season and Utah’s offense looked like it had immediately been injected with new life after he took over in Salt Lake City. The Utes went 9-1 through his 10 starts to win the Pac-12. 

They would eventually lose in the Rose Bowl however after injuries in the secondary left them unable to stop Ohio State’s offense for throwing for over 500 yards. 

As long as the issues in the secondary are cleared up the Utes should have no issues maintaining control of the conference. 

No. 11 Oregon Ducks

The Ducks come into this season with the momentum of a decent run last season, combined with the excitement of some major changes.

Following Mario Cristobal’s departure for Miami, the Ducks brought Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to Eugene after leading college football’s best defense last season.

They also brought in Auburn transfer quarterback Bo Nix, who could bring the Ducks offense to a whole new level. Nix had been a highly volatile player maker throughout his career with the Tigers, and could prove to be the life or death factor behind Oregon’s offense.

Lanning and the Ducks will however have the benefit of one of the nation’s most talented offensive lines, while they deal with the turnover at both quarterback and running back following the departures of Travis Dye and CJ Verdell.

Cinderella Hopefuls

No. 14 USC Trojans 

The USC Trojans should be a more exciting team to watch this year, thanks to the additions of head coach Lincoln Riley and transfer quarterback Caleb Williams, both of whom came to Los Angeles from the University of Oklahoma. 

The Trojans should have no trouble putting points on the board, thanks to a wave of new transfers including Biletnikoff Award-winning receiver Jordan Addison from Pittsburgh and Oregon’s Travis Dye, not to mention a talented backfield that led the conference in rushing last season. 

The bigger question will be can USC stop the opponent from scoring even more points. The Trojans defense has lacked physicality in recent years and was one of key factors that lead to the demise of former coach Clay Helton.

The Trojans defense in fact finished in the bottom two or three in the conference in most statistical categories last season, so new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is certain to have his hands full turning the unit around.

UCLA Bruins 

Much like their crosstown rivals, UCLA comes into the season with an offense that should be very capable of carrying its own weight. However the defense is also littered with more question than there are stars on the walk of fame.

Fifth-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is coming off a strong year that saw him finish the season with 2,409 yards, 21 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

He should be set to lead the Bruins to another strong season after the team finished 8-4 last season.

The Bruins also have a cupcake nonconference schedule that should allow majority of the year to go smoothly in Chip Kelly’s fifth season as coach in Pasadena.

Also-rans

Washington Huskies 

Washington is one of the Pac-12 teams hoping big changes will bring big results this season… or at least medium results. The Huskies made the decision to bring Kalen DeBoer up to Seattle from Fresno State in the hopes he can turn the team’s offense around.

Seeing as Washington ranked in the bottom third of the Pac-12 in almost every offensive category, merely showing a pulse on that side of the ball will be seen as an improvement.

Furthermore, any signs of life from the offense should allow the Huskies’ defense to give them a fighting chance in most of the games on the schedule. Washington’s defense was the complete opposite of its offense and finished among the conference leaders in most categories.

Washington won four games last year while only playing competently on one side of the ball. But with cupcake games against Kent State and Portland State looking like easy wins, the Huskies could be a mid-tier team in the Pac-12 in 2022. 

Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona State’s biggest claim to fame in recent years has been having former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Herm Edwards patrolling the sidelines.

This year the Sun Devils are in for an interesting season but it’s too early to tell if that will be a good or a bad thing.

Following the defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce’s resignation amid an NCAA investigation, the Sun Devils also boast one of the larger incoming transfer classes in the conference.

Former Florida Gators quarterback Emory Jones will definitely walk into a situation in Tempe where he is the leader of the offense, however the teammates on that offense he will be throwing to are all rather unproven. 

One thing how ever is for certain, any Herm Edwards-coached team will certainly ‘Play to win The Game.’

Oregon State Beavers 

Oregon State definitely won’t be one of the flashier teams in the conference but has a good chance to once again finish better than many people expect.

The Beavers finished 7-5 last year and earned themselves an appearance in the LA Bowl, although it ended in defeat. 

Oregon State’s offense was quietly one of the better offenses in the country last season and the team is bringing back a good amount of key players from last year.

There seems to be no reason the Beavers aren’t able to finish this season in Corvallis with similar if not better results if they can build off the progress made in 2021. 

Bottom feeders

Washington State Cougars

The Cougars have an excellent chance to surprise their Pac-12 foes. The addition of new offensive coordinator Eric Morris in Pullman would already be enough of a change to cause some intrigue. More importantly, he’s bringing a field general. 

Cameron Ward played quarterback for Morris while at Incarnate Word, and joined the Cougars as a transfer.

Having a coach and quarterback that are experienced both working together, as well as running the Air Raid offense, could create a powerful new reality for Washington State’s offense. A reality that could possibly see them steal a win or two from the teams at the top of the conference.

Stanford Cardinal

Stanford has reached the point of being much more name than game at this point. Several years ago, back in the Andrew Luck era, the Cardinal would continuously be one of the best teams in college football.. or at least one of the toughest.

However, the Stanford that took the field in 2021 looked like a shell of coach David Shaw’s former teams, which seemed to lose their trademark grit. 

The Cardinal ranked at or near the bottom of the conference on both sides of the ball.

A non-conference schedule that includes games against BYU and Notre Dame isn’t going to make things any easier. Stanford should struggle against the Pac-12’s more talented teams. 

California Golden Bears 

The Golden Bears’ stats from last season look like they belong to a losing team, which, of course, they were. 

Cal’s offense has, in fact, struggled for several seasons in Berkeley despite hosting a lineup littered with experience, or hiring veteran NFL coach Bill Musgrave.

In a time when college football teams are putting up video game numbers on offense, it’s almost astonishing this team hasn’t been worse in recent years, not counting the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Arizona Wildcats

If you can’t say anything nice about a team, you might be talking about the Arizona Wildcats. 

The good news is, coming off a 1-11 season, that they can double their win total with a second victory this season.  Unfortunately even that won’t be an easy task on paper.

Home games against North Dakota State and Colorado appear to be their best chances to get back on the winning track, but anything beyond that could be a challenge.  

Colorado Buffaloes

The Buffaloes only won four games last year and finished among the worst teams in the conference statistically on both sides of the ball. 

The team from Boulder comes into this season with a similar amount of talent, and much like Arizona, a schedule that features no ‘easy’ games.

Another four-win season may be best case scenario for the Buffaloes, if they are able to even rekindle that much magic.