2022 Pac 12 Thread

[bayareabadger]

There is absolutely no excuse for both of those programs to be dumpster fires.

ASU’s situation is mostly self-inflicted these days, right?

[CatsbyAZ]

ASU’s situation is mostly self-inflicted these days, right?

One decision that isn’t helping the Sun Devils retain their roster, NCAA investigation or not, is the ASU athletic department’s reluctance to engage with the NIL reality, meaning their latest additional transfer announcements, all just last week – two DTs, an OL, and a WR if I’m keeping track – are leaving because of higher potential NIL opportunities elsewhere. Their AD was on local radio last month advocating “no intention of being in an arms race…we can’t do that,” and they don’t expect to be a “heavy hitter with NIL deals.” Well you know what, Ray Anderson, College Football is more of an arms race than ever before.

As for how the rest of the conference is adapting to the new realities of transferring and NIL deals, as of last week, “243 football players have passed through the transfer portal on their way out of or into the Pac-12” (see link below).

Of note is Stanford, who, losing the strength of their already lagging offense by the loss of both starting tailbacks, highlights what might be the disadvantages the transfer portal will cause Stanford for the foreseeable future: “We feel confident predicting Stanford will never be a transfer portal winner — the admissions standards pose a major challenge for both undergraduate and graduate students. (Fields is the Cardinal’s only newcomer in this cycle.) Peat stands as the most significant departure instead of leading rusher Austin Jones, who left for USC, because of his big-play speed and success as a kick returner. But the combination is a major blow to a running game that struggled even with both players in the lineup.”

Finishing a listless 3-9 last season (to go along with 11-19 the past 3) fans aren't wrong to wonder whether Stanford has lost their trademark stability under David Shaw, made more uncertain by the new age of the Portal and NILs, though the Cardinal are still signing among the conference’s top rated recruiting classes.


https://twitter.com/mercnews/status/1518590959642193923

[CatsbyAZ]

The big drama in the Pac 12 lately has been USC’s potential inducement to lure Pitt’s Biletnikoff-winning wideout Jordan Addison through the transfer portal on an NIL deal of upwards of $3 Million. Apparently it’s all a radio rumor started by Colin Cowherd. The $3M bidding war is, anyway. And Lincoln Riley is getting scapegoated for potentially tampering with Addison before Addison left Pitt for the transfer portal where his name finally appeared last week. “A source told ESPN that Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi caught wind of USC as a potential destination and called Trojans coach Lincoln Riley multiple times on Friday to express his displeasure. Pitt officials suspect that tampering could have occurred.”

Now it looks as though there’s an arms race between Texas, USC, and potentially Alabama hosting Addison this month.


https://twitter.com/TrojansWire/status/1524751427431772160

[Brutus Buckeye]

SI did a preseason Pac 12 power ranking. 

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football-rankings/college-football-rankings-pac-12-power-ratings-2022-season#gid=ci029be7a210002795&pid=12-arizona-wildcats

The Utes are first, and then the other three MTZ teams are bringing up the rear. Didn't realize ASU and Colorado were supposed to be so putrid. 

[CatsbyAZ]

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football-rankings/college-football-rankings-pac-12-power-ratings-2022-season#gid=ci029be7a210002795&pid=12-arizona-wildcats

Didn't realize ASU and Colorado were supposed to be so putrid.

Colorado lost around 20 players to the portal, including many top performers from their secondary and skill positions. Gone is pretty much the entire Buffalo’s roster from the success of their winning 2020 Covid shortened season that ended with a trip to the Alamo Bowl.

As bad as the Pac 12’s cellar is, take a look at the midsection – 9. Cal 8. Stanford 7. Washington 6. Washington State 5. Oregon State. Putting OSU at #5 is only by default since they are the most likely bowl certainty after the conference’s top 4, and a likelier 6-6 bowl qualification at that. Outside of the projected top 4 – USC, UCLA, Oregon, Utah the rest of the conference, #5 – #12 are no better than good for 3 or 4 win finishes in the Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, and maybe that bad for the ACC too.


https://twitter.com/ESPNRittenberg/status/1483552180552540165

[bayareabadger]

SI did a preseason Pac 12 power ranking.

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football-rankings/college-football-rankings-pac-12-power-ratings-2022-season#gid=ci029be7a210002795&pid=12-arizona-wildcats

The Utes are first, and then the other three MTZ teams are bringing up the rear. Didn't realize ASU and Colorado were supposed to be so putrid.

The Colorado fall has been something. It doesn't help to have a coach leave in March and then having to go with Karl Dorrell, a true journeyman's journeyman. 

Still, that team had an 8-year stretch without a bowl, snapped it with that 10-win MacIntyre team and then crashed back. Since the early 2000s, they've had two coaches fired amid controversy (aided by lagging records), two coaches with winning percentages below .330, one coach leave after a year, and hired a coach who went 13 years between head coach jobs and was unremarkable in that decade-plus (peak was either coaching Matt Schaub on a 12-4 NFL team, before going 2-14 the next year, or coordinating a Vandy offense that averaged 17.2 points per game)

[847badgerfan]

Colorado was pretty damn great for a while under McCartney. Was he cheating?

[MrNubbz]

The big drama in the Pac 12 lately has been USC’s potential inducement to lure Pitt’s Biletnikoff-winning wideout Jordan Addison through the transfer portal on an NIL deal of upwards of $3 Million. Apparently it’s all a radio rumor started by Colin Cowherd. The $3M bidding war is, anyway. And Lincoln Riley is getting scapegoated for potentially tampering with Addison before Addison left Pitt for the transfer portal where his name finally appeared last week. “A source told ESPN that Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi caught wind of USC as a potential destination and called Trojans coach Lincoln Riley multiple times on Friday to express his displeasure. Pitt officials suspect that tampering could have occurred.”

Now it looks as though there’s an arms race between Texas, USC, and potentially Alabama hosting Addison this month.

FFS they've went and ruined college football - 3 Million?Might as well start following Soccer,Rugby or Australian Rule Football

[CatsbyAZ]

After the NCAA chose last Wednesday to relax restrictions on conference championship games, giving determination to each conference on how teams will participate in title games, the Pac 12 wasted no time in changing up how spots in its Las Vegas conference championship will be earned.

“The Pac-12 announced that they would be changing the format for teams to get into the conference championship game, starting in 2022, now based on win-percentage vs. other conference teams, rather than the winner of the north and south divisions.”

“The Pac-12 says that the current 2022 schedule, with matchups based on divisions, will remain in place, but things will be re-evaluated after the season. There is a feeling that the conference could do away with divisions in the near future.”


https://twitter.com/VoxQUINDARO/status/1527092517082218497

[ELA]

Doesn't seem like the problem was inequitable divisions

[CatsbyAZ]

What was he thinking? As though losing his brains while playing and coaching for the Huskies wasn’t enough, former Washington player and coach donates his brains to the program too!

“It is 3:23 p.m. on Friday, May 13, and the Buster Alvord Laboratory for Neuropathology Research is hosting a family reunion. “This is him,” UW Medicine Division of Neuropathology and Fellowship director C. Dirk Keene says, removing a blue towel to reveal Jim Lambright’s brain.”

“Kris and Eric donated their dad’s brain to the UW Medicine Brain Repository and Integrated Research (BRaIN) laboratory following his death, in hopes it could assist medical research and improve treatment of brain injuries.”


https://twitter.com/SeaTimesSports/status/1527689480890720258

[CatsbyAZ]

Arizona State Labeled as Losers in Pac-12 Post-Spring Grades:

Poor offseason continues for ASU, this time summarized in the form of portal transfers - from the Athletic:

"It’s been almost a year since word of the NCAA’s investigation into Arizona State became public, and the hits to the program haven’t stopped coming since. Herm Edwards has seen five assistants be fired or leave for other jobs, and his roster has felt the effects of the uncertainty through the transfer portal."

"The Sun Devils have lost their starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, two of their top three receivers from 2021 (Ricky Pearsall and LV Bunkley-Shelton) and two talented defensive standouts, lineman Jermayne Lole and Eric Gentry. All have landed at Power 5 programs: Daniels picked LSU; Pearsall and Bunkley-Shelton ended up at Florida and Oklahoma, respectively; Gentry went to USC and Lole chose Louisville. That has made for quite the talent drain in Tempe.

"But it hasn’t been all bad for Arizona State in the portal this offseason. The Sun Devils recently brought in former Florida starting quarterback Emory Jones, on top of the earlier lauded additions of Wyoming running back Xazavian Valladay and Miami defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera. Keeping Omarr Norman-Lott, who briefly entered the portal but chose to return to the program, was another positive. But it’s hard to argue those additions will offset the losses the Sun Devils have suffered. No other program in the conference has lost as much since the initial portal wave ended."

edit: adding the below from Athlon's preview:


https://twitter.com/BradPowers7/status/1535735753694597120

[Abba]

As we discussed in the other thread, should be an interesting P12 race this year.  The contenders in my mind:

1) Utah (my pick)
2) USC (the popular pick)
3) Oregon (strange to call them a darkhorse)
4) UCLA (an actual darkhorse)

And with no divisions, who knows what kind of interesting title game matchup and possibly rematch we may get.  Any other teams I should be thinking about as dangerous?  ASU would normally be one of those teams, but they've had a bad offseason.  Does Stanford have anything in the tank?

[ELA]

Colorado was pretty damn great for a while under McCartney. Was he cheating?

I loved Colorado in the 90s.  They were my adopted "west coast" team.  Enjoyed them having that one good season a couple years back