USC tops the poll in the South with arguably the best QB in the conference in Kedon Slovis. That said, the offensive line underperformed last year creating unnecessary pressure on the QB and very little space for the running game which was dead last in the conference. They lost their two top receivers but bring back 6’ 5” Drake London as well as a productive 6’ 5” TE. They lost two of their top three RB’s in the transfer portal but bring back their leading rusher as well as pick one up from Texas. Clay Helton is in his 7th season and just seems to do enough every year to hang on. Not sure how they landed at Number 1 in the South.
Kyle Whittingham returns for his 17th year as Head Coach of Utah and his 27th year with the program. In 2018 and 2019 the Utes made it to the PAC-12 Conference Championship game and are hoping to return this year after last year’s disaster. They lost their QB to the portal, but picked up a four year starter from Baylor who is more talented. The portal also brings them WR Theo Howard who, while playing for Oklahoma and UCLA, picked up over 1,500 yards on 132 receptions. They bring back all five huge offensive line starters and a defense that was third in the PAC-12 and expected to be better this year. Add to that a secondary that College Football News (CFN) says should be the best in the PAC-12 as well as a “killer” linebacking corp and you have to wonder, why wasn’t Utah on top of the poll.
Arizona State sits at No. 3 in the South and brings back most of a team that led the PAC-12 in total and scoring offense. 3rd Year starting QB Jayden Daniels leads the way throwing to all but one starting wide receiver and tight end from last year and protected by four of the five starters on an offensive line that was top in the conference in rushing offense and according to CFN, “solid in pass protection.” They bring back enough major pieces on defense to give both Utah and USC a run for their money for the top spot in the South.
UCLA sits fourth in the PAC-12 South but if they can beat No. 16 LSU on Saturday September 4th in the Rose Bowl it could start a streak for UCLA that they seem to be on the verge of and one the Bruin faithful hoped for with the hire of Chip Kelly, now in his fourth season as head coach. Last year’s team produced an average of 35 points and just 5 yards short of 500 yards of total offense per game. Ten starters return on offense, all with a lot of experience, and a QB in Dorian Thompson-Robinson who is capable of huge games. Ethan Garbers, who I thought Jimmy Lake should have picked for his starting QB last year for the Huskies, landed at UCLA through the transfer portal and looms large in the wings. The offensive line returns intact after producing the nation’s 12th best running game last year. On the other side of the ball UCLA led the PAC-12 in sacks but were middle of the road in total defense. Any improvement there could propel the Bruins right to the top of the South.
Colorado was definately the surprise of the PAC-12 last year in Head Coach Karl Dorrell’s return to college football. But this year’s schedule will be tough to deal with. They should be able to navigate Northern Colorado in Week 1 but will have tough preseason games against Texas A&M and Minnesota prior to playing Arizona State on the road and USC back at home before a bye week. Then they’ll have to deal with Cal, Oregon, UCLA, and Utah—all on the road and could easily loose two of three of their home games against Arizona, Oregon State, and Washington. Last year’s Freshman QB Brendon Lewis returns after taking over midway last year and looked good in the Alamo Bowl averaging 8 yards per carry on the ground and connecting on 60 percent of his passes. RB Jerek Broussard will be responsible for a big bulk of the load on the ground after averaging right at 150 yards per game last year. But the defense allowed 32 points a game against a far weaker schedule than they’ll be facing this year.
Last on the PAC-12 Media Poll in the South is Arizona. In a year in which it looked as though every coach was going to have job security due to the pandemic, Kevin Sumlin broke through with a miserable 0-5 season and 70-7 loss to instate rival Arizona State. In steps former New England Patriots QB Coach Jedd Fisch to rebuild a program with the worst offense and defense in the PAC-12 highlighted by their 12 game loosing streak. Other than attracting a really good QB in the near future who might desire the tutelage of Fisch, it’s going to be difficult to pick up highly talented players on both sides of the ball—especially in this era of the transfer portal where a good number of players with misplaced dreams of playing in the NFL bail on their teams if they aren’t getting enough playing time or sense that the program is going to fail.