Can Washington Save A Conference Suffering From Down Years By Oregon & Stanford?
The past few years, a few people (incorrectly, but it made for a compelling argument) were making the case that the Pac-12 was the best conference in college football.
But not even anti-SEC man Danny Kannell can defend the Pac-12 now, because it’s mediocre at best and bad at worst. And can the one bright spot – Washington – save it and even earn a berth in the 2016 College Football Playoffs? Not based on the first playoff rankings – the committee placed one-loss Texas A&M above U-Dub.
It starts at the (former) top. Oregon, which used to set the Pac-12 standard, stinks. Mark Helfrich is either way in over his head or simply lacks the fire to inspire the Ducks. Mot likely, it’s both.
Stanford, which had been there to pick up the Oregon pieces the past couple of years and has been a physical force since Jim Harbaugh was on The Farm, has been whipped on the line of scrimmage and is a threat only to teams as bad as, well, Notre Dame.
UCLA can’t run the ball, can’t catch the ball and has a wounded quarterback, its only offensive weapon. The two Arizona schools are pathetic.
Things are so average (or bad), USC under Clay Helton is starting to look good.
If you’re a Pac-12 fan, then U-Dub is about all you have to root for now. The Huskies have been impressive – they demolished Stanford and hung 70 on Oregon – but is that a product of the team being great or of the poor quality of the Pac-12 competition? Non-conference games against Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State provide no clue.
Shockingly, the second best team in the conference is Colorado. The once inept Buffs have finally pulled themselves off the mat and may be the team to face Washington in the conference title game. But then again, they lost to USC. And played a pathetic game against UCLA in which more than 20 penalties were called.
What about Utah, you ask? Forget it. The Utes are nothing more than an above-average team that’s basic and well coached and looks awfully boing, and somehow manages to win one-possession games by the scores of 20-19 (BYU), 31-27 (USC) and 19-14 (Oregon State).
Tho they did lose one of those, 28-23, to Cal, a team that is so depleted on defense with injuries – hardly it’s strength to begin with – it’s like a leaky faucet that’s turned into a waterfall.
But hey, at least the Pac-12 has the USC Song Girls, the best cheerleaders in college football!
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