NCAA Football: Pac 12 North preview

I love college football. LOVE it. It was my first love. One that started all the way back in 1984. I was a kid living in Oklahoma, and the Sooners were the hottest ticket in town. I was hooked. The Jamelle Holieway-Spencer Tillman-Lydell Carr option took me in and never let go.

More from College Football Odds

Fast-forward 30 years later, and I am still a college football junkie. I spend my Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and most of Tuesday watching every game I could record over the weekend. For love of the game, I guess.

For the last four years, I have picked every single 1-A vs. 1-A college football game against the spread. I will do the same this year. But leading up to that, I am going to do a conference by conference preview. That’s right, for love of the game. And for those of you that are rabid fans like I am.

This piece will focus on the Pac 12 North . Teams are in the projected order of finish. The AAC is here. The Coastal division is here. The Atlantic division is here. The Big 12 preview is here. The Big Ten East is here. The Big Ten West is here.

Mariota came back for one reason: to win a title. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

1. Oregon:

Schedule: vs. South Dakota, vs. Michigan State, vs. Wyoming, at Washington State, vs. Arizona, at UCLA, vs. Washington, at California, vs. Stanford, at Utah, vs. Colorado, at Oregon State

Prediction: The loss of De’Anthony Thomas won’t hurt much. The Ducks have used plug-and-play at RB for years now without losing a step. The loss of TE Colt Lyerla and WR Josh Huff hurt more. That said, super QB Marcus Mariota came back for one reason: to win a championship. Byron Marshall actually led the team in rushing last year, and should see many more carries this year. The offensive line is a strength, and so are the receivers, even wihout Huff. Last year, Bralon Addison started. This year? He is a third stringer. That’s how much the unit has improved. Everyone on the defense besides sophomore SS Reggie Daniels is an upperclassman. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu might be the best CB in college.

The Ducks get Stanford and Washington at home, but have to travel to UCLA and Oregon State. Both of those games could be tough. I also think Michigan State can give them problems because their defense is physical, just like Stanford’s. Still, this may be Oregon’s best shot at a title yet. Mariota will be in the Heisman discussion by week three unless they get shut down by the Spartans. This schedule is too tough for me to say the Ducks win out. I will say 11-1. Where will they lose? You will just have to check my weekly odds and predictions for that!

Montgomery needs to have a huge year for the Cardinal to duplicate last year’s success. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2. Stanford:

Schedule: vs. UC Davis, vs. USC, vs. Army, at Washington, at Notre Dame, vs. Washington State, at Arizona State, vs. Oregon State, at Oregon, vs. Utah, at California, at UCLA

Prediction: Stanford lost a lot from last year. LBs Trent Murphy and Shayne Skov, T Cameron Fleming, G David Yankey, RB Tyler Gaffney, S Ed Reynolds, DEs Josh Mauro and Ben Gardner, and FB Geoff Meinken are all gone. QB Kevin Hogan won’t see many familiar faces in the huddle this year. Barry Sanders Jr has vaulted to the top of the depth chart this year, and should be able to pick up where Gaffney left off. WR Ty Montgomery is still a dynamic playmaker. The defensive line is still a strength, and LB A.J. Tarpley might have been their best LB last year. Don’t feel bad for the Cardinal. They seem to have reloaded quite nicely.

Wow, this schedule is tough. They draw USC and UCLA from the south, and have to play at Oregon, Notre Dame, Washington, and Arizona State. Even if they do beat Oregon again, there is no way they win all of those. I see Stanford at 10-2, but if the O-line struggles, they could easily go 8-4.

Oct 5, 2013; Stanford, CA, USA; Washington Huskies linebacker Shaq Thompson (7) congratulates defensive back Marcus Peters (21) rafter Peters intercepted a pass against the Stanford Cardinal in the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

3. Washington:

Schedule: at Hawaii, vs. Eastern Washington, vs. Illinois, vs. Georgia State, vs. Stanford, at California, at Oregon, vs. Arizona State, at Colorado, vs. UCLA, at Arizona, vs. Oregon State, at Washington State

Prediction: The offense lost a lot of firepower in QB Keith Price, RB Bishop Sankey, and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins. They will be very tough to replace. Leading receiver Kevin Smith is also gone, but Washington is still loaded there with Jaydon Mickens and Kasen Williams. The offensive line is very good, so sophomore Dwayne Washington could have a good year. Not Sankey good, but Washington ran well as a freshman last year. Cyler Miles is inexperienced at QB, but he still has a lot of talent around him. Unlike Keith Price did as a sophomore. The defense is a strength, especially on the line. All four starters are seniors who will take up a lot of space to free LBs John Timu and Shaq Thompson to make plays. The Huskies are young in the secondary, so that could be an area of concern.

They get Stanford, UCLA, Arizona State, and Oregon State at home. The only really tough road game is at Oregon. I could see Washington finishing with a better record than Stanford simply because of schedule. Still, 10-3 looks like a safe bet. Their secondary worries me.

Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

4. Oregon State:

Schedule: vs. Portland State, at Hawaii, vs. San Diego State, at USC, at Colorado, vs. Utah, at Stanford, vs. California, vs. Washington State, vs. Arizona State, at Washington, vs. Oregon

Prediction: The Beavers lost their best player in WR Brandin Cooks, who was the best receiver they have had since Chad Johnson. Backup QB Cody Vaz graduated, so they are inexperienced behind Sean Mannion. Mannion still has Richard Mullaney and Caleb Smith to throw two, and the two-headed RB of Terron Ward and Storm Woods is also back. On defense, they lost DE Scott Crichton and LB Michael Doctor, but still have playmakers in DE Dylan Wynn and LB D.J. Alexander.

The Beavers finished with seven wins last year, and the schedule is there for them to improve on that number. Games at Stanford, USC, and Washington will be tough, but they get Arizona State and rival Oregon at home. I see them going 8-5 this year.

Halliday is showing that he is a great fit for the AirRaid offense. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

5. Washington State:

Schedule: vs. Rutgers, at Nevada, vs. Portland State, vs. Oregon, at Utah, vs. California, at Stanford, vs. Arizona, vs. USC, at Oregon State, at Arizona State, vs. Washington

Prediction: This team has showed steady progression under Mike Leach, and will all of the key components back on offense, this could be the year the offense busts out. Connor Halliday has six solid receivers to throw to in the Air-Raid attack. Leach has got everyone to buy into it in Pullman, and they are seeing results. Now if the defense could hold up. That could be a problem since they lost S Deone Bucannon to the NFL and LB Justin Sagote to graduation. Still, this is a seasoned and solid front seven. Behind that they show some youth.

They get both Arizona schools and USC from the south, so the schedule is kind of tough. They do get both Washington and Oregon at home. Are they to the point where they can pull an upset in one of those? Maybe not, but this team should still win six games. 6-6 is good enough for a second straight bowl berth!

Goff could have a great year if the Bears are once again playing from behind all the time. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

6. California:

Schedule: at Northwestern, vs. Sacramento State, at Arizona, vs. Colorado, at Washington State, vs. Washington, vs. UCLA, vs. Oregon, at Oregon State, at USC, vs. Stanford, vs. BYU

Prediction: QB Jared Goff was about the only bright spot on a Cal team that finished 1-11 last year. His favorite targets Chris Harper and Bryce Treggs are both back. They did lose TE Richard Rogers to the NFL. However, their biggest losses were on defense. They lost DT Deandre Coleman and LB Khairi Fortt, which puts two big holes in their defense.

The Bears should be improved this year, but I’m not sure that will result in more wins. Their schedule outside of Sacramento State is tough. The only other game I can really see them winning is against Colorado at home, but they lost to the Ralphies last year. I will take Cal at 2-10

Come back later today for the Pac 12 south preview!

Add us as a preferred source on Google