The pundits, prognosticators, talking heads and various other numbskulls have all weighed in, and they're all wrong. Most have the Ducks finishing fourth in the conference. It's simply absurd that a team with so much talent, offensive firepower and an outstanding team culture could improve every position group in the offseason and win fewer games than they did the season before.
Save this post, because this is how it's going to go down:
Oregon 11-1 The defense will be better, and the offensive line will be a strength, not a weakness.
USC 10-2
The Trojans are the most talented team in the West but it's concentrated in a few areas. The offensive line gave up 30 sacks last year and returns just two starters. Bear Alexander helps, but teams can still run on their front seven. An easy early schedule will have everyone pumping them up as a playoff team, but in the second half they're at Notre Dame, host Utah, at Cal, host Washington, travel to Oregon then play UCLA in the Coliseum
Utah 9-3
Ute stars and team leaders quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe have still not been cleared for practice. They'll stumble a bit early but emerge as the league's most disciplined and well-coach team by November.
Oregon State 8-4
Clemson transfer D.J. Uiagalelei won the starting quarterback job. The Beavs have a great offensive line and running game but the receivers are only so-so. Defense is the problem with two new cornerbacks and losing reliable inside linebacker Omar Speights.
Washington 8-4
The Huskies had a magical season in Kaelin DeBoer's first year. They started 2022 with four home games including Kent State and Portland State, missed Utah and USC and went 5-1 in one-score games. This year in November, they're at USC, host Utah and travel to Oregon State over three straight weeks. Penix is good, but he'll face more pressure this year replacing all three interior offensive linemen. In fall camp starting running back Cam Davis and guard Gaard Memmelaar were hurt, lost for the season.
UCLA 7-5
Senior linebacker Laiatu Latu may be the conference's best defensive player, 10.5 sacks last year. Ball State transfer Carson Steele takes over at running back; he led the MAC in rushing last season with 1,556 yards. Chip Kelly has yet to name a starter at quarterback between Ethan Garbers, 5-star true freshman Dante Moore or Kent State transfer Collin Schlee. Road schedule is tough: they're at Utah, at Oregon State, at USC.
Arizona 6-6
Jayden de Laura returns at quarterback after passing for 3,685 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2022. He has terrific receivers in Tetairoa McMillan (8 touchdowns as a freshman) and Jacob Cowing, but the Wildcats only return one starter on defense.
Washington State 6-6
Quarterback Cameron Ward plays behind a veteran offensive line with four returning starters, but he has four new receivers. The defense is anchored by two solid edge rushers in Ron Stone and Brennan Jackson, who both elected to return for their senior seasons. Overall, not enough talent, and they're at Oregon and at Washington this year.
Cal 5-7
The Bears return all five starters on the offensive line but the bad news is that group surrendered 31 sacks last season. Running back Jadyn Ott rushed for 897 yards and 8 TDs last year, and there's a new quarterback in speedy TCU transfer Sam Jackson V. The defense returns seven starters, led by inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon who paced the team in 2022 with 104 tackles.
Arizona State 4-8
New head coach Kenny Dillingham will build around freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada, receiver Elijhah Badgers and tight end Jalin Conyers. A strong secondary returns four starters, plus USC transfer at safety Xavion Alford.
Colorado 3-9
The tent will collapse early on the Deion Sanders circus: in September they are at TCU, host Nebraska and Colorado State, travel to Oregon and then host USC. That slate is likely to expose the Prime Time experiment as hype with a lack of size, fundamentals and muscle.
Stanford 2-10
First-year coach Troy Taylor has a tough road at a school that doesn't care about football.
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