Pac-12 Football 2016: Season preview and predictions
Projected order of finish
The projected order of the Pac-12 conference might be easier to figure out than most conferences at the top. First, let’s start with the North. The Stanford Cardinal are the defending champions and they look poised to remain the favorites behind a veteran-heavy team and Christian McCaffrey. However, Washington is poised to make a move up this year and Oregon can never be counted out.
The easy pick here is to take the Cardinal, with Oregon and Washington right behind them. However, Stanford has a tough schedule this season and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Oregon or Washington win the North and battle for conference supremacy against the South. All three of those teams battling will be fun to watch.
North
- Stanford Cardinal
- Oregon Ducks
- Washington Huskies
- Washington State Cougars
- California Golden Bears
- Oregon State Beavers
In the South, it’s really the battle of Los Angeles. The two schools have done a great job of amassing top talent in recruiting that has given themselves the legs up on the other teams in their division. Ultimately, this conference is going to come down to USC and UCLA unless a dark horse like Utah can jump into the mix. USC’s brutal schedule might work against them, but if they can knock off their rivals, the conference is theirs.
South
- USC Trojans
- UCLA Bruins
- Utah Utes
- Arizona Wildcats
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- Colorado Buffaloes
Next: Conference winner