If you ever doubted Mark Dantonio before, you definitely shouldn’t anymore. Dantonio has done an amazing job at Michigan State. Keep in mind this was a program in disarray when he arrived. John L. Smith had driven them in the ground with back to back ugly seasons before Dantonio totally righted the ship.
Mark Helfrich’s first year as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks was excellent in many respects. He won 11 games, made it to a bowl game and competed for a Pac-12 title the entire season.
The USC Trojans spent many years dominating the Pac-12, but it’s been Stanford and Oregon who have taken control over the past few seasons. The question now is whether or not new leader Steve Sarkisian can bring this program back to prominence, and if he can, will it happen in his first season roaming the sidelines as head coach?
The Arizona Wildcats are entering their third season under head coach Rich Rodriguez, and they’re making strides toward improvement, having gone 8-5 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12 both years.
The California Golden Bears are not a good football team. Sorry to be so blunt with fans of Berkeley, but there’s no nice way of saying that this group was not a contender in 2013, and it’s going to be one in 2014.
The Colorado Buffaloes are a ways a way from being competitive in the Pac-12. That was evidenced when they went 4-8 overall last season, and it’s even clearer when you look at their 1-8 record in conference play – a record bad enough for a last-place standing in the Pac-12 South Division.
The Oregon State Beavers are coming off of a 2013 college football season that saw them go 4-5 in conference play, while posting a 7-6 record overall. Recapping the year that was, simply put: It was a roller coaster.
Nebraska fans are split on Bo Pelini. There are a bunch of Cornhuskers fans who really don’t like the guy at all and want him canned in no time. On the other hand, there are a decent amount of fans who appreciate the hard nosed spirit he brings to Lincoln and hope he stays around for forever. Pelini is back for another year.
Indiana was pegged by many as a team that should be one of the most improved in the country last year. They did improve to 5-7, but they fell short of their goal of reaching a bowl game. Indiana had just one win in 2011. They won four games in 2012 and five games in 2013.
Head coach Gus Malzahn really cooked up a magical season in 2013. The Tigers pulled off a couple of nail-biting victories, and that’s not counting Chris Davis’s legendary “Kick Six” in the Iron Bowl versus Alabama.
