Rich Rodriguez is getting another chance to prove he can take a team to the top. After great success at West Virginia, Rodriguez was run out of Michigan after disappointing seasons. Mike Stoops never panned out for the Wildcats. Arizona had an embarrassing 4-8 campaign in 2011.
The high expectations are back at USC. Over the last couple years the program has been in a minor slump after the NCAA punished the program in a big way, but Lane Kiffin’s Trojans are loaded and ready to go in 2012.
Stanford football fans hoped this day would never come, but this is the year where they must go on without Andrew Luck under center. The prosperity of the last couple seasons wasn’t based on only one player, but losing him will hurt a great deal.
The 2011 Washington Huskies are probably best remembered for losing 67-56 in last year’s Alamo Bowl. Steve Sarkisian is an offensive wizard, but it has become completely clear that this team must find a way to play a little more defense if they are going to contend with the best teams in the PAC 12 on a weekly basis.
The Utah Utes took a major step up in class last year when they joined the PAC 12 Conference. No longer would the team have breathers every other week like they did in the Mountain West. The Utes went 8-5 on the season, and 4-5 in the PAC 12.
Todd Graham didn’t make any friends during his 11 month stay at Pittsburgh. Graham bolted from Pittsburgh in the blink of an eye last December to take the job at Arizona State.
He believed it would be a better fit for him and his family.
The Oregon Ducks have become a true national power in college football over the last three years. Chip Kelly had no previous head coaching experience, but he has proven to be an excellent hire for Oregon. Kelly has taken the program from a solid yearly winner to a team capable of playing for a title each year.
It’s hard to believe the Colorado Buffaloes won the NCAA Football Championship in 1990. This program is a proud program that has really fallen on hard times in the last few years. The Dan Hawkins experiment didn’t go as planned, and now Jon Embree has been left to pick up the pieces.
A few years ago it seemed Mike Riley had the Oregon State football program moving in the right direction. The team was knocking off some highly ranked opponents and going to bowl games on an annual basis. The past couple years have been big disappointments. In 2011, the Beavers only managed three wins all season long.
The last time the UCLA Bruins won the Rose Bowl was 1984. The Bruins haven’t even been a part of the Rose Bowl since 14 years ago. Rick Neuheisel promised to take the program back to the top, but that never panned out. Jim Mora was brought in to try things a different way in Westwood.
I need to start by stating that I think it is a real shame that USC is not permitted to participate in the Championship Game in the inaugural season of the PAC 12.
As weird as it sounds, more than two wins in 2011 will be an improvement for the Washington State Cougars who went just 2-10 overall and 1-5 in conference play last season. But it won’t get any easier with the newly realigned PAC-12 that puts them in the North with powerhouses Stanford and Oregon.
Despite a spectacular year from quarterback Jake Locker, the Washington Huskies managed to barely finish the 2010 season with a better than .500 after a 19-7 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in last year’s version of the Holiday Bowl.
After losing its first two contests of the season, UCLA appeared to have turned a corner winning three straight., but then tragedy struck as the Bruins finished out the 2010 season winning just one of its final seven, a 17-13 win over Oregon State.
Despite NCAA sanctions that prevented the team from participating in a bowl game in 2010, the University of Southern California Trojans burst out of the starting gate winning four straight and then suddenly faded, winning just one out of its next four to finish the season 8-5 overall under first year head coach Lane Kiffin.
The Stanford Cardinal lost only one game in 2010, a heartbreaking 52-31 defeat to PAC-10 powerhouse Oregon, a game in which they lead 31-24 at the half. Had they of won that single decision, it would have been them playing Auburn in the National Championship Game.
2011 Pac Twelve | Stanford Cardinal Football Preview
Coach: Brian Shaw
2010-11 Record: 12-1 (8-1)
Stanford Cardinal Gambling Odds from Bodog.com to win BCS: 16-1
Stanford Team Page – Players Stats – Roster – 2011 Schedule –>
Despite the loss, Jim Harbaugh’s Cardinal finished the season 12-1, after a crushing defeat over Virginia Tech, 40-12 in the Orange Bowl. Regrettably for Stanford, Harbaugh left the team to coach the San Francisco 49ers this season.
Enter new head coach, former offensive coordinator Brian Shaw, who will get the privilege of taking over a team that has a ton of potential on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
And with a little “Luck”, as in QB Andrew, and a few other key returning starters, as well as getting Oregon at home this year. The Cardinal definitely have a shot of winning it all in 2011.
To get a better picture of who Stanford will put on the field come opening day, here is a breakdown and my prediction on where I see them finishing the year in the newly formed PAC-12.
After Harbaugh’s departure, there was much speculation that Luck would follow, deciding to enter the NFL Draft. However, the junior QB decided to stick around for at least one more season to see if he could lead his team to a National Title.
After passing for more than 3,300 yards with 32 TDs to just eight INTs, I’d say the odds are pretty good. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
But even great players can’t win championships alone, and he will get some help from returning starting running back Stepfan Taylor, who had a great sophomore campaign with 1,137 yards and 15 touchdowns.
And while Taylor has the skills to help mix up the Cardinal offensive attack, there are a few questions concerning an offensive line that will need to find three new starters to bookend two of the best offensive lineman in the conference, in junior left tackle Jonathan Martin and junior right guard David DeCastro.
Nothing is perfect in the receiving corps either, as there is still the uncertainty left by a pair of departing pass catchers that combined for 99 receptions and 11 touchdowns in 2010.
However, tight end Coby Fleener is one of those guys who figures to see his numbers jump in 2011, especially being on the receiving end of a first-rate passer like Luck.
Just as the offense appears to have the necessary ingredients for a successful season, the same can also be said for a Cardinal defense that returns six starters that helped Stanford hold opponents to an average 17.4 PPG, beginning along the three-man front with senior defensive end Matthew Masifilo.
Just behind Masifilo, returning starters and two of the teams top tacklers who combined for 152 tackles, Shayne Skov and Chase Thomas, will anchor a solid linebacking squad.
The secondary should also be strong again in 2011, with three of four starters returning.
Senior safeties Delano Howell and Michael Thomas finished third and fourth in tackles last year, and Howell had a team-best five interceptions.
The team should be adjusted by Week 1 to Snow’s offense that I expect to mimic last year’s playbook, and I look forward to the Cardinal to knocking off the defending conference champs with a reverse in this year’s home meeting to finish the season with a perfect record.
I also anticipate this team to roll over anyone from the PAC-12 South in the title game, spotting them a bid for the National Championship.
9/3/11 12:00 PM ET SJST
9/10/11 3:30 PM ET @DUKE
9/17/11 9:45 PM ET @ARZ
10/1/11 12:00 PM ET UCLA
10/8/11 12:00 PM ET COL
10/15/11 12:00 PM ET @WSHST
10/22/11 8:00 PM ET WASH
10/29/11 8:00 PM ET @USC
11/5/11 12:00 PM ET @OREST
11/12/11 12:00 PM ET ORE
11/19/11 12:00 PM ET CAL
11/26/11 8:00 PM ET NOTRE
