The big games for the conference's ranking:
(Opponents’ consensus preseason ranking in parenthesis)
Arizona State vs. Texas A&M (25th)
USC @ Notre Dame (26th)
Stanford vs. Notre Dame (26th)
Oregon @ Michigan State (8th)
Those are the only tough OOC match ups that will get voters’ attention. Among the top six Pac-12 teams, neither Arizona nor UCLA have a tough OOC game this year.
Arizona’s tough match ups:
Home: UCLA
Away: Stanford, USC, ASU
Byes: Oregon, Cal
Arizona State:
Home,: USC, Oregon, Arizona, Texas A&M
Away: UCLA; and playing at Utah is tough
Byes: Oregon State, Stanford
UCLA
Home: ASU
Away: Arizona, Stanford, USC—and Utah
Bye: Oregon, Washington
USC
Home: Stanford, Arizona, UCLA
Away: ASU, Oregon, Notre Dame
Bye: Oregon State, Washington State
Oregon
Home: USC
Away: Michigan State, Stanford, ASU
Bye: UCLA, Arizona
Stanford
Home: Oregon, UCLA, Arizona, Notre Dame
Away: USC
Bye: ASU, Utah
1. Can’t complain about our schedule via a vis the other good conference teams. Oregon gets two nice byes but has three tough road games., as do Arizona and USC, and you could argue that UCLA has four.
2. That opener for Oregon against Michigan State will be the anchor for the voters. An Oregon win and the conference looks tough unless and until it proves otherwise with losses to either Notre Dame or Texas A&M, or a loss to a weak OOC opponent.
3. Unrelated, but I’m surprised by Notre Dame’s relatively low ranking. They get all those sophomores back upon whom they relied so much last year.
4. Not quite related either, but I don’t get Oregon’s high ranking. They have fewer top 40 Pac 12 players than in any season I can recall: Freeman, Marshall, Buckner, and Johnstone—perhaps only four of the top 40 players. I’d peg UCLA for seven top 40s and USC for six. Oh well. But the Ducks only have four tough games, and ASU is a consensus number 26, which means the Ducks play only three consensus top 25 teams.
(Opponents’ consensus preseason ranking in parenthesis)
Arizona State vs. Texas A&M (25th)
USC @ Notre Dame (26th)
Stanford vs. Notre Dame (26th)
Oregon @ Michigan State (8th)
Those are the only tough OOC match ups that will get voters’ attention. Among the top six Pac-12 teams, neither Arizona nor UCLA have a tough OOC game this year.
Arizona’s tough match ups:
Home: UCLA
Away: Stanford, USC, ASU
Byes: Oregon, Cal
Arizona State:
Home,: USC, Oregon, Arizona, Texas A&M
Away: UCLA; and playing at Utah is tough
Byes: Oregon State, Stanford
UCLA
Home: ASU
Away: Arizona, Stanford, USC—and Utah
Bye: Oregon, Washington
USC
Home: Stanford, Arizona, UCLA
Away: ASU, Oregon, Notre Dame
Bye: Oregon State, Washington State
Oregon
Home: USC
Away: Michigan State, Stanford, ASU
Bye: UCLA, Arizona
Stanford
Home: Oregon, UCLA, Arizona, Notre Dame
Away: USC
Bye: ASU, Utah
1. Can’t complain about our schedule via a vis the other good conference teams. Oregon gets two nice byes but has three tough road games., as do Arizona and USC, and you could argue that UCLA has four.
2. That opener for Oregon against Michigan State will be the anchor for the voters. An Oregon win and the conference looks tough unless and until it proves otherwise with losses to either Notre Dame or Texas A&M, or a loss to a weak OOC opponent.
3. Unrelated, but I’m surprised by Notre Dame’s relatively low ranking. They get all those sophomores back upon whom they relied so much last year.
4. Not quite related either, but I don’t get Oregon’s high ranking. They have fewer top 40 Pac 12 players than in any season I can recall: Freeman, Marshall, Buckner, and Johnstone—perhaps only four of the top 40 players. I’d peg UCLA for seven top 40s and USC for six. Oh well. But the Ducks only have four tough games, and ASU is a consensus number 26, which means the Ducks play only three consensus top 25 teams.
