The Pacific Athletic Conference:
Reasons to be excited: Parity has taken over. The new PAC-12 has far more parity than the old and used PAC-10 conference. It seems hard to remember the days of USC’s dominance (not really), but it’s hard to point at any clear team walking away with the title next year, even with Oregon coming within a field goal of a National Championship last season. The balance in the conference mainly comes from the emergence of Stanford, otherwise known as Andrew Luck, but Arizona, Utah, USC and even Washington could all compete for the PAC-12 crown in 2011.
Breakout player(s): On offense, it’s Washington State wideout Marquess Wilson. As a true freshman last season, Wilson led the Cougars in receiving with 55 catches for 1,006 yards. He earned Freshman All-American honors last season, but he’ll compete for the All-American honors this year. On defense, watch for Washington linebacker Cort Dennison to break out. It’s hard to say Dennison didn’t do that last year, with 93 tackles, but with Mason Foster gone, he should load up even more.
Get to work on: Keeping the respect gained in 2010. For a while, the PAC-10 had been known as a weak league, soft compared to the other conferences. That changed last season, particularly in their non-conference play. Arizona’s early win over Iowa was a big morale boost to the conference. The league will get its chance again in 2011, with non-conference games scheduled against LSU, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Ohio State and OK State.
What to look for: Some struggles from new members Utah and Colorado. Changing conferences is never an easy process, particularly when you’re a rebuilding team. The Buffaloes face a daunting schedule with nearly every top conference team on board. Utah gets a bit easier ride, but taking the step up from the Mountain West to the PAC-12 will be a big task in its own. Getting accustomed to the play of PAC-12 teams may take a year or two.
Quarterback competitions: California will need to find a replacement for the underachieving Kevin Riley. The candidates include senior Brock Mansion, redshirt freshman Austin Hinder and sophomores Beau Sweeney and Zach Maynard. Mansion has the most experience at Cal, but smart money is on Hinder for the job. Washington has to fill big shoes in replacing Jake Locker. The battle will be between sophomore Kevin Price and redshirt freshman Nick Montana. Montana is the more highly regarded quarterback, but Price, who started the Oregon game, shouldn’t be downgraded. The Bruins have a quarterback controversy brewing between sophomores Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut.
Bold Prediction: Washington State will win five games in 2011. Considering the Cougars have won a total of five games the last three years, five wins would be a nice step forward. The offense appears to be way ahead of the defense at this point, so building the defense this spring will be the number one task at hand for the coaches. They can start by building around junior defensive end, Travis Long. The schedule shapes up with home games against Idaho State and UNLV, then a three game road stretch to San Diego State, Colorado and UCLA. A home game against Oregon State is another possible win opportunity. Based on how the Cougars finished and the play of quarterback Jeff Tuel, things don’t look as gloom for WSU in 2011.
How they’ll finish: The league is split into North and South divisions with the Arizona’s and USC to the South and Oregon, Stanford and obviously Washington, to the North. Those are pretty much the competitors in 2011. For the title game, look for the veteran quarterback play of Nick Foles and Andrew Luck to bring Arizona and Stanford to the Championship. Arizona may feel like a reach, but injuries killed the Wildcats down the stretch in 2010. Surprisingly, I like Stanford’s chances to win the conference, even without Harbaugh around. Keep an eye on Washington, they’ve gotten better every year under Sarkisian, but the Oregon vs. Stanford game will determine the North. CHAMP: Stanford
Next up...The Big Ten Conference
1 comment:
Taking some time to do your research can make a big difference when it's time to lay down your wagers, and with your carefully researched free sports picks
Post a Comment