Jon Joseph

Not - I watched the Clemson spring game yesterday. Could not believe it snowed earlier in the day in Clemson! I was interested to hear Dabo say that CFB will be 'blown up' and a league, he mentioned 50 teams, completely free of NCAA involvement is coming. He also thinks the league will have its own network and a lot of games will be pay-to-watch broadcast. Also noted that in this week's mailbag, Jon Wilner thinks that NIL will 'divide' the conference by 2030, along what he refers to as 'academic lines.' Wilner also reports that SC has sub-rosa, reached out to the B1G for possible membership. Go Ducks. Fired up for the Spring game, glad to get Coach Boles' take and glad Charles linked in Boles' thoughts.

Therein lies the rub? Can he do it again? Agree with all of the points you made. Although I note that at OK, Riley never had a roster ranked, if it was higher ranked, significantly higher than the Texas roster. During his time at OK the B12 was not blown out in a NY6 non-playoff Sugar Bowl, and the B12 representative usually defeated the Pac-12 opponent in the Alamo Bowl. If Riley performs at SC like he did at OK it will be far from 'underperforming.'

Interesting. It has now been 7 years since SC signed a 5* OL guy.

In the playoff he underperformed. But he won the B12 year after year and went to the playoff 4 times in 8 seasons. And, he produced 2 Heisman winning QBs. I very much disagree that he underperformed as the HC at OK.

OL is a ballet. Ballet dancers practice a given role to get in synch with one another. Ballet dancers far longer than do CFB OL guys in the limited time allowed for practice.

In agreement with many of the above. No, he won't start. But I think he will see playing time.

Thanks Mike. Again, I sure hope you are right. Baylor's D was pretty good in 2021. It held down a prolific Ole Miss O in the Sugar Bowl (part of that was due to the Ole Miss QB being hurt in the game) and won a conference that I think was better and deeper than the Pac-12; see the bowl results. The B12 went 5-2 in the post season and won 2 NY6 bowl games. I do think the Ducks are catching UGA at the right time in 2022. Lots of guys on that great D will be playing in the NFL in 2022. And if he is healthy and starts at QB, this will be Nix 4th start versus the Dawgs. And Nix has played many the game in an atmosphere that the Ducks will see in Mercedes Benz stadium. The talent on D as you so note should be fantastic; especially, if Flowe can play at his top drawer level. But as you also noted, it will be young and facing an O led by a QB with a ton of experience playing behind the best OL the Ducks is likely to see in 2022. It's going to be a fun and interesting ride.

A judgement call. But on Stanford's last drive the judges all seemed to be against Oregon? 1 brutal call after another. Something you would not see in the SEC if Bama had a 1 score lead against MIZZOU on MIZZOU's last possession. But Stanford is the Ducks NEMISES. What can go wrong against the Cardinal usually does go wrong.

If not the Ducks I hope the guy will at least stay out west?

He was inconsistent at Auburn but not in his frosh season with Dillingham as his OC. In 2021 had he stayed healthy I believe Auburn would have defeated Bama, kept Bama out of the playoff, taken the heat off HC Harsin, and perhaps, Nix would not have transferred? I think he sees his best path to the NFL as once again playing for Dillingham and also except for the opening game, going against lesser Ds than he did in the SEC. (And this UGA team has lost a lot of quality D starters.) I expect the QB competition will go into to fall but I will be very surprised, unless Nix' ankle isn't fully healed, if a young man with playing experience in a mid-division HS league in Arizona can beat out a guy who started in the SEC for 3 seasons.

And this is big part of the SP+ rankings. I agree 30, quantity means nothing if the guys do not improve from year to year. One really big question for the Utes? Will the transfer LB from Florida, who had a very good season for the Gators last year, come anywhere close to playing at Lloyd's level? Lloyd will be a 1st round draft pick. I know the Utes was down 2 starting CBs in the Rose Bowl, but saying their replacements were lit up is underrating the inferno that was the Utah pass D vs Ohio State. The Ducks DL + LBs did a far better job putting pressure on the Buckeyes QB than did the Utes. And this was without Flowe and KT. Oregon was simply mentally off the rails the 2 times the Ducks played the Utes last season. Off the rails from the HC on down. When you know the HC has quit on you why shouldn't you quit? Let's not forget that Oregon State, San Diego State and BYU beat Utah in the 2021 regular season. Based on everything we have heard in the off season, Charles' question hits the bullseye. I too am surprised to see the Ducks returning more starters than is Utah. It's easy to forget how young Oregon was in 2021 and the Ducks will still be a young team in 2022 with lots of room for improved play.

How about just letting entering the portal speak for itself with no need to say or do anything else? Too Old School? Don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out you self-absorbed XXXXXXX!

There are schools paying more than TENNE$$EE? Who knew!

It looks to me like the Matrix (and agent Smith?) didn't know what to do with Dillingham? Dillingham had a good deal of success at Memphis and did OK at FSU; a team with a bad OL and a team where the HC and not Dillingham, was the shot caller on offense. Of course, this was the same situation at Memphis. Dillingham ranked behind Lindgren at OSU (John Smith isn't the true OC?), Sanford (a guy who has flamed out all over the country) at CU, and as 30 notes above, 3 yards and a cloud of dust Shaw; I don't get it? And Morris was lights out in FCS at Immaculate Word, but let's see how he does calling plays in the P5? Holy Trinity! I'm reasonably certain that Neo could have done a better job than this! Maybe he was stuck in a train station? The only accurate thing I see here is the kudos deservedly given to Kenjon Barner!

Mike, I certainly understand your point. But the Cougars HC is back. The assistant coaches are back. The starting QB is back. The all time RB is not back but I think BYU will find a decent substitute. And you know you will be playing against a bunch of mature guys and not youngsters just out of high school. Yes, BYU lost its bowl game to UAB. But the Cougars QB was hurt. And how fired up are you going to be as the No. 13 ranked team playing a nothing-burger team in an off the radar exhibition game? No program is going to benefit more from joining the B12 and moving up to the P5 than is BYU. Baylor was a very good football team in 2021; BYU barely lost in Waco. And in 2021, BYU went 5-0 vs the Pac-12, including defeating conference champ Utah. A Utah team that blew out the Ducks twice in three weeks. I think this team will present a very significant challenge for a team with a new starting QB and an entirely new coaching staff. However, my friend, I sure hope your are right!

Definitely agree Cincinnati got every benefit of the doubt last season. The Indiana team it played was bad. The Notre Dame team it beat in South Bend was overrated. The Committee ranked ND #5 at the end of the day; like Cincy, ND played a junk schedule in 2021. ND should have lost at FSU and Va Tech. Giving up a 21 point lead in the Fiesta Bowl was not good. And of course, ND at 11-1 and not having to play a champ game got the Fiesta bid instead of 11-2 ACC champ Pitt. ND's privileged PO status needs to disappear come 2026. I think 2L Ohio St, with all starters playing, as well as a 2L B12 champ Baylor, would both have given Bama a better game than an over-its-head Bearcats team. But we all know the second L is the PO kiss of death. UGA -13.5? It will be very interesting to watch the direction in which the line moves closer to game day.

Vandy = The Commodores Too many Tigers, including Mizzou, + Clemson and not enough Gamecocks roaming the south..

WSU is a sleeper, no doubt. But the team to beat in the north I still believe is the Ducks.

My only concern Chipper-wise is that he won 8 games last season but none against a team with a winning record. He lost a lot of production on O. I hope you are correct. The conference needs more fans in the Rose Bowl other than on 1/1.

Excellent take. There are 'serious' CFB fans in the Pac-12 footprint but not close to the number down south. One reason? Many the SEC teams are in small cities and towns that do not have NFL teams. And the interest in HS football is far greater down south than it is in the Pac-12 footprint.

247 Sports with the help of SP+ and ESPN's Bud Elliott, after simulating thousands of games has come up with these projected Pac-12 2022 win totals. 247's Brad Crawford, predicts the teams that he believes will go Under (U), Over (O) or Even (E) on the projected totals. Arizona - 4 - U - San Diego State and Mississippi State are tough draws OOC. And the FCS opponent is defending FCS Champ North Dakota State! ASU - 6 - E - So much dysfunction in this program from the president, Michael Crow, AD Anderson and Herm himself, on down. I see U here. CAL - 7 - U - I agree with the U. Jake Plummer coming in from Purdue at QB is not an improvement over Gabers. Colorado - 2 - O - Agree; I can see 3 wins. Stanford - 4 - O - Some good recruits coming. Once again no staff changes by Shaw. But I do think the QB is good enough to produce 6 wins? OREGON - 9 - E - I see 10-2, with the caveat below. Oregon State - 7 - E - With Boise State and Fresno State OOC I think 7 is optimistic? Who replaces RB Baylor? UCLA - 8 - E - The Bruins with a putrid OOC slate will start 3-0. So, with DTR back I think 8 wins is doable. USC - 8 - O - see comment below. Utah - 9 - O - If Utah wins at Florida as predicted, I think this is low. I think the Utes have a good shot at 12-1 and a final 4 spot. Washington - 6 - O - I think DeBoer is good enough if transfer QB Penix is healthy enough, to get 6 wins. But 2 UW CB's are projected as 1st round picks. Washington State - 7 - U - How good is transfer Cam Ward who last year in FCS threw 47 TDs against 10 picks. WSU could be the 'surprise' team in 2022. The simulations on their own predict 9 bowl eligible teams; I believe 7 is more likely. Utah is predicted to win at Florida, win the conference title but not make the playoff final 4. 8 wins would double last season's number of Trojans wins. I think this doable; however, I think SC is two good recruiting/portal seasons away from national championship contention. (As to ESPN's 2023 recruiting rankings to date, which is very, very early, the Ducks is not in the top 25. USC is.) I see the Ducks finishing 10-2, with BYU being the swing game between 9 and 10? The game in Pullman vs the WSU Cougars after playing the BYU Cougars at home is IMO, scary. For the most part the above projections look to me to be realistic. How about you, what do you think?

Whose next? Please, not Flounder!

Another great take. Thanks Joshua. Fertile recruiting ground, money and sorry, but it does kind of mean more. South Carolina, a mediocre at best CFB program, sells out close to a 100,000 seat stadium for every home game. This, in Columbia, SC, a city roughly the size of Eugene. In general, folks down south give more of a whip about HS football and CFB than do folks out west. The SEC has far more 4M+ viewer watched CFB broadcasts than any other conference. The SEC leads year after year in recruiting as you so noted, and also leads year after year in the number of players who move on and up to the NFL. I do agree with the coach's take, Oregon is located in a small city where fans give a whip and fervently, since Oregon became a big time brand, support Ducks football. But would the Ducks consistently sell out a 100,000 seat stadium? Sell out for a game versus The Citadel? Utah and UW fans care and show up. SC fans show up when SC is winning. Stanford can't sell out its 50,000 seat stadium when Notre Dame comes to town. The Rose Bowl was full when LSU played UCLA. Why? Because of the number of Tigers fans who tripped west for the game. I ponder over what the 'SEC mentality' is today? Watching the UGA D last season was to me, watching old time SEC brute force football. But watching Ole Miss on O and D in 2021? More like the old B12 rubric, all O and no D. Completely agree with you when it comes to recruiting. To win a title you must have a Blue Chip roster; 50% or more 4 and 5 star recruits on the roster. And in reality, you need closer to 70% of the players to be 4* plus guys. It was tough enough to win a title when you had to win 1 game vs a quality opponent. Now you have to beat 2 quality opponents in a row and this # will expand when the playoff expands. At least 1 of the elite teams you will have to beat to be a champion will more than likely come out of the SEC. Thanks again, always enjoy reading your takes.

The Wazzu president is one of the front-runners to assume the job, as is UW AD Jen Cohen (?) and the usual suspect, Oliver Luck. Does Bowlsby's resignation give the Pac-12 an opportunity to increase market-size?

Spot on regarding Chip. But was Chip the only guy using a 'runner' to help out with recruiting? Oregon was an easy target. The NCAA did nothing regarding two decades of academic fraud at UNC so UNC is a squeaky clean program? The NCAA practices selective investigation and enforcement. Teams in the west and the Midwest, like the 'Kansas City Jayhawks,' are more likely to be slammed than teams down south. When investigations take years and years and years, like the SC/Reggie Bush investigation and the Kansas CBB investigation now into its 4th plus year, something is fundamentally wrong with the investigators. If I used the NCAA as my moral compass I likely wouldn't be able to back out of my garage.