Preseason Pac-12 power rankings: Will anyone challenge Oregon and USC at the top?

Preseason Pac-12 power rankings: Will Oregon or USC rule?

This is where things get very tricky. The Pac-12 South is wide open with three teams capable of challenging USC at the top. UCLA is at the bottom of that pecking order simply because of uncertainty. Chip Kelly struggled early in his tenure, but the Bruins have gotten steadily, though frustratingly slowly, better each year. Now he’s got Dorian Thompson-Robinson leading a team that may be ready to turn the corner. They have to prove it before we believe it.

Kyle Whittingham is a very good coach. At this point, you just have to assume Utah will be in and around the Pac-12 South title race every year until they’re not. The Utes had their issues last season, particularly on defense. Those need to get sorted out before they can truly challenge USC or ASU. However, they’re returning important cogs like linebacker Devin Lloyd. Quarterback is a wildcard with Charlie Brewer arriving from Baylor.

The offseason recruiting troubles they got themselves into have put a dark cloud over the ASU program. Their worries didn’t get any better with the news that top defensive tackle Jermayne Lole could miss most of the 2021 season with a triceps injury. Despite those concerns, the Sun Devils have a strong defense to lean on and some talent on offense. Jayden Daniels could be one of the best quarterbacks in the conference, but he has to first improve his accuracy, consistency, and availability.

Here’s the thing about Washington that no one is talking about: They should have had the chance to compete for the Pac-12 title last year, not Oregon. In an alternate universe where COVID-19 didn’t keep them out of the championship game, the entire perception of the Huskies going into this season could be very different. They have stability with Dylan Morris at quarterback and a loaded offensive line in front of him. The defense should be strong again.

USC has all the hallmarks of a team capable of challenging for the conference title. They have the quarterback in Kedon Slovis and a stud wide receiver in Drake London. They have a star defensive end in Drake Jackson. And they just brought in some exciting young talent on the recruiting trail. The issue is they also have huge concerns about the quality of the offensive line and depleted depth on the defensive line. This could be a boom or bust campaign. Clay Helton needs to be on the right side of that if he wants to keep his job.

Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux is the best player in the conference coming into the 2021 season and he’ll be leading a team still stocked with much of the talent that won the Pac-12 title last year. The only real question is at quarterback, where Anthony Brown will have to shoulder some huge expectations. The Ducks look like the class of the conference, but if Brown isn’t the guy their aspirations will suffer.

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