Jon Joseph

ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, NYET, NUDGE, is the number, or null set, of Pac-12 QBs invited to this year's NFL combine. Where have you gone Terry Baker, Jim Plunkett, Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, Marcus Mariota, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, close to a half dozen USC guys, et al? The conference QB play has nowhere to go but up. And I think in 2022 we will witness better QB in the Pac-12? At least, I hope so. WASHINGTON STATE. Cameron Ward transferring to WAZZU could be big? Ward won the Walter Peyton Award last season; the FCS Heisman. This young man threw for close to 5,000 yards in 2021. Helping Ward's cause, his HC at Immaculate Word has also 'transferred' to WSU and will be the Cougars OC. This should make for a seamless transition on offense. I think WSU is this season's Pac-12 'sleeper' team. I am looking forward to seeing what Ward and WAZZU can do when the Cougars trip to Wisconsin. (How did WSU get a H+H with Wisconsin?) ARIZONA. Great for the conference and great for the Wildcats that the once Pac-12 Frosh player of the year on O, Jayden de Laura, stayed in conference once Ward came on the scene in Pullman, and transferred to Arizona. Among others he will have to toss the ball to is the highly rater WR Zona 'stole' from the Ducks. The Wildcats will be more productive on O this season. I think the Oregon at Arizona game is a 'look out' game for the Ducks. ASU and UCLA - Jayden Daniels returns for the Sun Devils and DTR is back at QB for UCLA. Can Daniels return to the form he showed in his frosh season? Will DTR play more consistently and not repeatedly turn over ball? Regardless, these are two returners who have had their moments in the Pac-12. DTR has 3 OOC cup cakes to feast on before entering conference play in 2022. UTAH - Cam Rising is the man at QB from the get-go for the Utes in 2022. And when Rising was injured in the Rose Bowl, Bryson Barnes looked like a veteran coming off the bench. Utah runs an O with heavy use of the TEs. 2 of the top 3 TEs are back and Utah picked up 2 more TEs from the portal. Rising will have a chance to show his stuff vs Florida on 9/3 in the Swamp. Win this game in what should be brutal weather conditions for the Utes and Utah will be in the Final 4 mix. UW - Can Michael Penix, Jr., transferring in to UW stay healthy? When healthy he is a dynamic player who played for new UW coach DeBoer when DeBoer was the OC at Indiana. If he can stay upright, UW has a shot at defeating Michigan State in Seattle. OREGON STATE - Chance Nolan is adequate but the Beavers will not win a lot of games if it can't replace Baylor at RB. Interesting that no players have portaled to OR ST this season. CAL - Jake Plummer comes in from Purdue but Plummer lost his starting job at Purdue. I don't see a lot of improvement here from 2021 starter Garbers. STANFORD - McKee is back and he is decent but not great. Stanford lost its best RB, Jones, to USC. I think Stanford being bowl eligible in 2022 is not likely to happen. CU - yes. I'll see you but not before ski season. USC - Dart was from a bad QB. Ditto Slovis. But Caleb Williams brings a new dimension to the QB position at SC. And he will be playing in a system he is accustomed to under Riley and his top WR from Oklahoma is joining him at SC, along with Dye (sigh) and stud Stanford RB, Jones. What once were sacks will now be whiffs. SC's OL is nowhere near as bad as its DL. SC is going to put up a lot of points in 2022 and 2023, before Williams can go pro. On paper, Williams is the best QB in the conference and the best QB pro prospect. OREGON - Good bless Anthony Brown who did his best for the Ducks. Brown started 1 game vs a top 25 team that he won, at Ohio State. A big win no doubt but more of a team win than a Brown win. Comparing Brown's stats, mostly posted in the ACC, with NIx' stats put up in the SEC, is apples to oranges. Nix played against far more difficult competition. Nix has a number of top 25 starts and wins including a victory against Bama. Before being injured in 2021, Nix was having a very, very good season. And Nix has played for OC Dillingham. He has two seasons of eligibility left. Ty Thompson? Could not beat out journeyman Brown. But did he under Mario ever have a fair shot at the job? And Butterfield was also a highly ranked recruit. If Nix wins the job one or both of these guys are heading to the portal. Nix has played against Georgia. Nix has played in front of crowds like Oregon will see in its opening game and rarely sees in today's Pac-12. Nix faced tougher competition in the SEC than did Brown in the ACC, and the competition for Nix is about to get far easier. No Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss, MS ST, A+M, Arkansas and LSU are on the schedule. Annual Auburn foe Georgia, is on on the Duck's 2022 schedule. Nix is 0-3 vs UGA but 2 were very close games. On the whole I think the QB play in the Pac-12 will be far better in 2022 and I expect Nix to win the Oregon starting job and play big boy ball under HC Dillingham.

Thanks for the great reply. Who was the Clemson QB who was hurt when the Tigers lost at Syracuse? I could have sworn it was Watson? Being stronger than the Pac-12 does not = strong; AMEN! I don't think Dabo is praying for tougher competition but I believe the Pac-12 commissioner is doing so? I love the Ducks but Oregon has ZERO CFB championships and 1 Heisman winner. The Blue Blood in the conference is USC. Oregon rose when SC faded but not to the level of winning playoff titles. Does SC have to be good for Oregon to make the playoff? Heck no. Any P5 team that goes 13-0 is in the playoff. Does Oregon have to recruit DL guys like Clemson to win a championship? Looking at the PO winners to date, this seems to be the case. Does SC have to be good for the conference to score better media deals? I have to answer this question with a 'Yes.' Along with, conference teams playing better in their OOC and bowl games would not hurt the cause. Again. great points + great reply. From experience I can advise you that sooner than you think possible, that 6 year old little guy will be bigger, faster and stronger than Dad.

Great point. Where did Willie go 10-2? In the G5. Where he went 30-48 as you so accurately noted. SMH at the folks who believed that Mario would 'grow' as a HC. I have no understanding of why people believe Mario will return the U to the glory days but thank you for bringing him east.

Good points. But best of luck trying to sack Caleb Williams. Far more athletic than Joe Burrow, Dart and Slovis. And the SC offense will be led by a guy who has produced Heisman winners and runner-ups at QB.

? 1 season when Watson was hurt, Clemson lost at Syracuse, made and won the playoff. A number of Clemson ACC games have ended in 1 score games. Line the top 12 ACC teams up in a theoretical matchup with the Pac-12 and who do you think would come out on top? UCLA got a COVID break last season not having to play NC State. Instead of losing to Miami, WAZZU lost to Central Michigan. Clemson last season lost against Pitt, NC State and Georgia. The ACC in CFB is a deeper and better conference than is the Pac-12.

The entire Alliance is an alliance in name only. GK does want 8 games and the ACC wants to continue playing 8, but without the B1G going to 8? These three cannot even agree on what a post-season playoff expansion should look like. And 2 of the 3 including the ACC, need the expanded playoff money. B1G Commish Warren is getting a lot of grief from many in the B1G for agreeing to an alliance with 2 conferences that have nowhere near the financial resources that the B1G has. I will be very surprised that within the next 5 years or so, the B1G doesn't add Kansas, Duke, UNC, UVA, Pitt and Georgia Tech; all AAU members. I also believe that the SEC, along with OK and TX, will add Clemson, FSU, NC State and VA Tech or Miami. Follow the money to the creation of 2, 20 team Super Conferences. And this will lead to a 'merger' of some kind between the Pac-12 and B12, which, IMO, should be happening now and has to happen sooner rather than latter for football 'in the west' to survive at a competitive level.

4 starters back on the Trojans OL. 2 were Pac-12 honorable mention. A big OT get from UVA out of the portal. Run game was best in 4 years in 2021, 4.4 yards average. And this was without Dye and Stanford's best RB who both transferred in. Plus, Caleb Williams is incredibly elusive and a much bigger broken-play run threat than both Dart and Slovis. London is a big loss. But the WRs coming in from the portal, especially Williams (no relation) from Oklahoma, make SC in 2022, very dangerous on offense. In the pac-12, how many great Ds will SC have to go up against? The DL and D in general is a problem but even with an average D, USC is a threat in 2022 to win the South and the conference. Recall, the Ohio State O put up 48 points versus Utah in the Rose Bowl and won a shoot out. I do not think many teams in the Pac-12 will be able to score enough points to keep up with SC?

It's still about the Jimmies and the Joes. Gattis had the top OL at Michigan last season that he won't find at Miami. He had a QB who was steady and did not make mistakes. Who replaces QB King at Miami? How did Gattis' O look versus UGA? And Steele? I would judge his career as inconsistent at best. At Auburn, he had better players on the D side of the ball than he will have at Miami. One of the top Miami DL guys portaled to ASU. I don't get all the love being thrown at 62-60 Mario and at the Miami program in general.

Great post. With next season's schedule, we'll see early on how Dillingham fits at Oregon. 1st game out of the box 'at' the defending champ and the 3rd game vs a ranked and experienced BYU.

Great take Darren. Clemson is in a 'weaker conference' that plays its games on the east coast when folks are still awake. It is also a conference with a network owned and operated by ESPN that runs 2 daily shows dedicated to Clemson and CFB in season. And Clemson is in far better recruiting ground than is Oregon. Also, when Clemson has QBs like Watson and Lawrence it uses them and does not bury them like Mario buried Justin Herbert. And Clemson in the last few seasons has sent a number of stud DL guys to the pros. Clemson was down last season but played great D, finished 10-3 and ranked in the AP Final top 25. How 'down' is the ACC compared to the Pac-12? The ACC had 4 teams ranked at the end of the 2021 season; the Pac-12, 2. And although they have not played like it as of late, in people's minds FSU and Miami are still blue bloods. When it comes to blue bloods in the Pac-12, folks east of the Rockies think USC, and that's it. Where do Pac-12 fans think Clemson, Pitt, Wake and NC State would have finished in 'the Pac-16' last season? IMO, none of these teams would have finished in the bottom half of the conference.

Agree totally, 30, Cincy at Ark was a very strange choice IMO. Cincy coach, Luke Fickell, just got a nice pay bump to $5M a season but Houston is the favorite in the AAC coming into 2022. Both should be playing in the B12 as early as next season.

No way. Thanks for stringing the thread along.

According to ESPN+ (pay wall) CFB Playoff guru, Heather Dinich - the below listed games will impact the 2022 playoff. 1. 11/26 - Michigan at Ohio State - Will Harbaugh go back to back vs the Buckeyes? 2. 9/3 - Notre Dame at Ohio State - Kelly's gone. Can Freeman find the luck of the Irish? He lost the Shamrock in the 2nd half of the Fiesta Bowl. 3. 9/3 - OREGON (Let's Hear It!) 'at' Georgia - Dawg gone tough game for Danno's opening act. [Not on the list but 9/3 - Utah at Florida - Can Utes swamp the Gators? ] 4. 10/3 -Texas AtM at Alabama - With the amount of $ spent on buying the all time best recruiting class, Aggies may have to take the bus to Tuscaloosa? 5. 10/1 - North Carolina State at Clemson - Big game on the Dabo rebound tour. But a big game overall? Oh well, ESPN does own the ACC Network. 6. 10/15 - USC at Utah - This game could be a shoot out ala the Rose Bowl. Both teams have a decent chance to come into this game without a loss. Game Day in SLC? 7. 10/29 - Michigan State at Michigan - Can Mel Tucker portal his way to another top 10 finish? At 2 games over .500 and making $9M a year, Mel is already a big winner. Right, Jimmy? 8. 9/17 - The Fighting Mario's at AtM. Believe it or not, Miami is the 'toughest game' on the Aggies 2022 OOC schedule. 9. 10/9 - Oklahoma State at Baylor. - Two Pac-20 teams battle it out ... What's that? These are still 2 B12 teams? OK, I guess? 10. 9/3 - Cincinnati at Arkansas - Me thinks that Heather started hitting the Bloody Mary's well before posting THIS? Interesting: No Oklahoma vs Texas; Utah at Oregon; Penn St vs Ohio State/ Michigan; Florida vs Georgia; Bama at Ole Miss; Iowa vs Wisconsin; UW vs Anyone? Sorry, but as Charles noted this is a SLOW CFB news day. And more to follow before spring ball.

Mario's signal: PUNT!

How Swede it is!

Great take. I think SC has a very good chance of being 6-0 heading into Utah and that the Utes if Utah can start fast out of the box, can take down Florida in the Swamp. Bot 9/3 in the Swamp? It will feel like being in a Swamp.

Good take. But I see SC battling Utah for the South? I don't see many Pac-12 teams scoring at the pace of SC in 2022? Maybe Utah can hold down the SC O in SLC but Stroud and the Buckeyes lit up the Utah D and Utah AA LB Lloyd is off to the NFL.

I'm glad you missed it because I was WRONG! Peach and Fiesta Bowls are next seasons semifinal sites. Pac-12 champ will be playing on 1/2/23 in the Rose Bowl.

And when he matriculated at Pitt he was around 250 pounds and thus, a 3* recruit.

WRONG! RB is NOT a semifinal site next season. Peach and Fiesta Bowls are the semi sites.

I do think Nix gets the start at QB and he has played under Dillingham before. Under DL, I think Dillingham will be more than an ornament on the sideline. I don't see and hope we won't see, DL micro-managing during the week and on game day.

Great take. They also smothered a very good Michigan team. SEC champ game was the first time UGA was punched in the mouth. Bama had to win this game to make the final 4 and UGA did not. But the Dawgs mad one heck of a 2 game comeback after the loss.

Mr. Home Alone? LOL!

Fun Take. But Chase worked out pretty well for the Bengals.

The ACC is hobbled by its agreement with ESPN through 2036. I think the B12 by adding the Houston, Cincinnati and Orlando markets and the national following that BYU has, may well eclipse the Pac-12 in its new media deal? The B12 is now far more of a presence, with W VA, Cincy and UCF, in the eastern time zone. We'll know in a few years? But as of now we do know the Pac-12 as currently constituted will fall financially farther being the B1G and the SEC and IMO, will not be able to continue to prop-up a financially insolvent network.