The USC Trojans may be the favorite to win the Pac-12 South this season, but can the UCLA Bruins give them a run for their money?
You may be wondering to yourself why I am only counting these two teams as contenders to win the Pac-12 South this season as there is so much more depth in this division than possibly any other in college football — yes, I said it SEC fans.
Next: Ranking the 50 Greatest Football Programs of All-Time
Teams one through five in last year’s Pac-12 South rankings could all realistically compete for the crown this season — I’m sorry, Colorado, but I still think it will be a couple more years until you are threats.
Looking at those teams, you have USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. Going down the list, sans UCLA and USC, the Wildcats of Arizona had an improbable run last year, winning the South, but I just don’t see Rich Rod’s squad pulling off a miracle yet again, despite having some great young talent in Anu Solomon, Nick Wilson and Cayleb Jones.
Arizona State is losing Taylor Kelly, but bringing back Mike Bercovici who started a handful of games in the injured starter’s absence last year. He has a rocket arm, but losing Jaelen Strong and the team’s top deep threat Cameron Smith to a season-ending knee injury will hamper the Sun Devils.
Finally, Utah has an outside shot of winning the South, but I just don’t think Travis Wilson can get the job done with such a grueling road schedule in conference play. Running back Devontae Booker will be fun to watch again, though.
So back to the original argument. Who will win the South, USC or UCLA?
That’s a loaded question because there are so many factors that play into it.
First of all, the Bruins are losing a starting quarterback in Brett Hundley which will hamper the passing attack. Or will it? Five-star recruit and true freshman Josh Rosen will fill in as the starter and he may be the best newcomer in the conference. He was ranked the 12th-best recruit by 247Sports and has been the day one starter since enrolling early this past spring.
The Trojans are bringing back a Heisman-hopeful at quarterback as Cody Kessler will look to do what Matt Barkley failed to do in his senior season at USC which is live up to expectations. Kessler is a different type of player, though, as he has had to earn his position and he’s been excelling ever since.
UCLA will have a tougher defense than the Trojans as it brings back eight starters from a 63rd-ranked unit compared to just six from USC’s 76th-ranked group.
It really all comes down to the players surrounding the starting quarterbacks. Both guys have the talent and ability to lead their respective teams to the division crown, but I think that USC’s stockpiled elite talent at receiver and running back will be the difference.
The Bruins may be returning nine starters on offense, but the most important position, quarterback, will be left up to a true freshman, and that’s extremely risky.
Barring a historical season out of Rosen, the Trojans will run through the Pac-12 South on the way to the conference title game, most likely with Oregon.
More from College Football
- Jim Harbaugh facing 4-game suspension over NCAA violations
- College football neutral site games in 2023: Full list
- College GameDay announces surprise Week 1 destination
- College football analyst warns Oklahoma that Texas is doing better prep for SEC
- College Football Playoff national championship game locations for 2024, 2025 and beyond