Pac-12 Will Dominate College Football in 2012

Ok im going out on a limb but I am predicting the Pac-12 to have more ranked teams by bowl season than the the Big 10, Big XII, and SEC. The teams that will be ranked in no particular order will be:

1. USC
2. Oregon
3. Stanford
4. Utah
5. Washington
6. UCLA

I dont see that many teams in the Big XII that will be ranked, and the SEC it really only looks like Bama, LSU, So Car, and UGA will make the cut. I think Florida Aub and Ark will flirt with being ranked all year but fall off towards the end. Tenn... nope MSU and Ole Miss... nope.... and Vandy could make noise but it wont last.  I think i missed someone oh yeah Ky hmmmmm yeah um nope. Missou eh and A & M probably not this year. Again this is just my thoughts. I welcome your opinion on the idea of this happening. 

I am as big a homer as there is - but to say UCLA will be ranked and Ark. not ....  that is a huge stretch.

Ark is poised to fall apart without their coach. Petrino made that place work. Thats why i think they will fall by the way side toward the end of the year. I just think that UCLA will surprise some people plus they have a favorable schedule. They dont play your ducks this season and get us and Stanford at the end of the season.

You lost every shred of creditability with your comments regarding UCLA and Arkansas.  

Besides, how will the PAC dominate when the SEC brings home its seventh in a row? 

Homer alert!  Pac 12 goes like this:

1.  USC




Everybody else.  Oregon will be ranked, but that's about it.  Stanford's 15 minutes have officially expired (back to the basement with the Cardinal).  I do think Mike Leach will turn the WAZZU program around, but that's at least another year away.  Pac 12 is back to being a one team conference again.

dude.  the teams you listed out of all 122 teams about rankwise IMO teams somewhere between 2 (USC) and 45 ( UCLA ).    6 teams in the top 45.   The SEC has at least 9 top 45 level teams.   I'm not an sec fanboy - in fact they are super annoying - but reality is reality.   the big 12 has 7 top 45 teams ( ou, wvu, texas, tcu, osu, ksu, and baylor ).   the pac 12 will not dominate.   you must be smoking something.     asu, zona, wsu, osu, colorado, and cal will all finsih 6-6 or worse.   only half of the pac 12 teams, the six you listed - will finish will winning records.     the power rankings for conferences in 2012 will be:

1. SEC - 10 of 14 ( 71%) will finish with winning records
2. BIG 12 - 7 of 10  (70%) will finish with winning records
2. BIG 10 - 8 of 12  (67%) will finish with winning records
4. PAC -  6 of 12 (50%) will finish with winning records
5. ACC - 8 of 14 (56%) will finish with winning records however the top is not as strong as usc and oregon so i have them behind pac
6. Big east - 5 out of whatever. 

Mora Jr.  will have a nice first season, but I doubt that they will be ranked at the end.   probably 7-5, maybe eek out 8-4 if they get a lot of breaks.    Washington returns the worst defense D1 - new coaches - but the players are the worst.

Free_Safety,

Let's be honest here.  First I think the PAC 12 will have more than 6 winning records, but that isn't the point I want to make.  My point is to say .500 in the SEC is as good as .500 in the PAC 12 is a stretch, heres why.

SEC pays 8 conference and 4 OOC, usually 3 or the 4 are weak.  the standard excuse is the SEC is so tough.  The PAC 12 plays 9 conference games and 3 OOC with most teams playing 1 weak team, 1 decent team and 1 solid to great team.

You can go 3-5 in the SEC and go 3-1 or 4-0 OOC with the schedule some SEC teams play.

I really don't want to turn this into a bash the SEC thread, there have been enough and the point has been made.  But let's be realistic with our numbers.  As the old saying goes, "stastitics doen't lie but liars use statistics".

The Mountian West is a solid conference and the WAC is head and shoulders above the Sunbelt.

I just get tire of the circular arguement made by SEC fans

The SEC is so tough that...
They need to play a weaker OOC schedule that...
results in a higher OOC winning percentage that...
with .500 in conference gives the SEC the highest overall percentage that...
means that the sec is so tough.........................repea
t over and over until you buy in.

Give me a break!

Stanford's 15 minutes have officially expired (back to the basement with the Cardinal).

Which is why they just hauled in the best OL recruiting class possibly of all time, right? Fail. They are on the right track, and will be replacing Notre Dame as the place where true student athletes want to play.

It amazes me how the casual observer of Stanford football assumes that it was all about Harbaugh first, and now Luck. Harbaugh helped build a program, and the basic principles of that program are still there. Mainly because David Shaw also helped build that program as well. They completely changed the environment there to be tough, smart and above all else, physical! This team may have a bit of setback next season as the new recruits learn, and we transition from Luck to Ryan Burns, but this program has a boatload of momentum right now, and I think they are going to be on the map for the foreseeable future. 

I agree with you that a the OOC skeds are tougher for PAC teams than sec teams with the exception of LSU.   The PAC gets props for scheduling tough.      That doesnt change my believe that this season top to bottom, the PAC will not be one of the 3 best conferecnes.  We'll see.  Hasnt happened yet.   Leach is a great fit at WSU, RichRod is a great fit at Zona, and Mora should be an upgrade over neuheisal at UCLA.  PAC has the coaches to become a dominant league, but I would say that that is a year, 2 or even 3, from happening.

Which is why they just hauled in the best OL recruiting class possibly of all time, right?

I don't know Kato Auburn had a monster OL haul this years and an great one last to the point this year they are only looking for guards and 5 star prospects at that they just don't have needs.  Here is where our OL depth chart is projected:

O-Line . . . PROJECTED STARTERS
•LT: Greg Robinson, 6-5, 309, R-Fr.
•LG: John Sullen, 6-5, 336, Sr.
•C: Reese Dismukes, 6-3, 302, So.
•RG: Christian Westerman, 6-3, 298, R-Fr.
•RT: Chad Slade, 6-5, 314, So.

RESERVES •OT: Patrick Miller, 6-7, 273, Fr.
•OG: Eric Mack, 6-3, 330, So.
•C: Tunde Fariyike, 6-2, 302, So.
•OG: Thomas O'Reilly, 6-3, 314, R-Fr.
•OT: Shane Callahan, 6-6, 280, Fr.
•OT: Shon Coleman, 6-6, 295, R-Fr.
•OL: Avery Young, 6-5, 292, Fr.
•OL: Jordan Diamond, 6-6, 289, Fr.
•OL: Alex Kozan, 6-4, 295, Fr.
•OL: Will Adams, 6-6, 280, Fr.
•OL: Robert Leff, 6-6, 270, Fr.

There is 1 upper classman on that list doesn't bode well for us over the next two years but then we should have the most experience line in the country.  I loved Stanfords recruiting class but I don't think their OL class was better than Auburn and if it was it was razor thin.

LLOYD I agree with you that sec teams play too many FCS oppenents.  citadel, furman, georgia southern on your schedule.  that is just embarrasing.   but more often than not when mid or top sec teams play out of conference opponents they win.    i am not saying that there are no weak teams in the sec.   uk and mississppi are weak.   texas a and m should bad, maybe 6-6 at best.   there are weak teams in the sec, but top to bottom, depth wise, it is the strongest.

 there are weak teams in the sec, but top to bottom, depth wise, it is the strongest


No it's not.  Top to bottom, I would say the Big 12 is and here is why.  The SEC will be another 2 team conference with LSU and Bama battling it out to see who whips the weak East champ.  The Big 12 has 5 legitimate teams who can win the conference this year (OU, TCU, WVU, Texas and KSU).  The SEC champ will either be undefeated or have 1 loss, while the Big 12 champ will more than likely have 2-3 losses this year.

You can call me a homer but I have to argue top to bottom the Pac 12 is the toughest.  the main reason is that it has the highest turnover of who is good and who is bad.  4 years ago Oregon state was rolling 10 wins seasons.  about 10 years ago WSU was conference champs.  20 years ago if you would say Oregon was winning the conference every year and UW was still rebuilding after a 0 win season people would call you crazy.  Sure it is probably fairly easy to to guess USC and Oregon will be on top this season but after that places 3-12 are up in the air. 

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UCLA may improve but they would need to win at least 9 games to get ranked. Do you see 8 wins on their schedule (plus a bowl win for 9)? I can see where they might win 8 but it is more likely to be 6 or 7.

Arky could go 8-4. They do have to play LSU, Bama, SC and Auburn which could all be losses. You see UCLA improving a whole lot more than I do.

Duck, this just my opinion, but these are my opinions on the final records for some teams:

1. USC 11-1
2. UO 10-2
3. STAN 9-3
4. UTAH 8-4
5. WASH 7-5
6. UCLA 7-5
7. ASU 6-6
8. CAL 6-6
9. WSU 5-7
10. AU 5-7
11. OSU 5-7
12. COL 3-9

1.LSU 11-1
2. ALA 10-2
3. USC 10-2
4. UGA 10-2
5. ARK 9-3
6. UF 9-3
7.AUB 8-4
8. TENN 7-5
9. MIZZ 7-5
10 MISSST 7-6
11. VAND 6-6
12 TAMU 5-7
13. MISS 4-8
14. UK 4-8

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Again, just my opinion, but the way I see, top to bottom the SEC is significantly stronger than the PAC.   The upper middle part is where the big difference is.   I wil take UGA over Utah, Arkansas over Washington six days a week and twice on Sundays, and Florida over UCLA 20 times out of 20.  Auburn, the 7th best team in the SEC, would ANNIHILATE whatever the 7th best team in the pac is; whether that be cal or zona state.

USC could give LSU a good game.   Oregon could give Bama a decent games.    The two worst from each league could also have competitive games.   The extreme ends, both good and bad, are roughly the same.   The big difference, is the that the middle of the SEC, especially the upper middle is MUCH stronger than the middle/upper middle of the PAC.    Teams like washington, ucla, cal and zona state strike fear into the hearts of no one - no one except the most delusional of pac 12 homers.

Cal had a great recruiting class this year. In a few years that class will come to fruition and I look for Cal to do something in this league then. If the coaching is good enough that is.

True, but for the time being they are mediocre.

That Texas guy sounds Stupid!! If he thinks Oregon is just gonna be ranked! Oregon would smoke Texas home, away, neautral! USC and Oregon are clearly the 2 best teams in the country! LSU and Alabama will come down to earth! Arkansas was never great to begain with! If we are talking about who is playing for the national championship!