Canzano: Never Too Early to Talk Pac-12 Football

[Charles Fischer]

Championship Rings and Non-Conference Flings...

 

Oregon State and San Jose State announced a home-and-home football series that will be played in 2029 (Corvallis) and 2030 (San Jose) this week. It got me thinking about the Pac-12’s non-conference games in 2022.

 

Oregon’s “neutral site” matchup in the season opener will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sept. 3. That’s a big test for the conference and Ducks’ first-year coach Dan Lanning, who will make a poetic debut against his former employer.

 

BYU feasted on the Pac-12 last season, going 5-0. The Cougars will play at Oregon and at Stanford in 2022. There’s some interesting non-conference scheduling strategy going on in the conference.

 

Here are the 2022 non-conference games for each Pac-12 program:

 

Arizona: at San Diego State, Mississippi State, North Dakota State

ASU: Northern Arizona, at Oklahoma State, Eastern Michigan

Cal: UC Davis, UNLV, at Notre Dame

Colorado: TCU, at Air Force, at Minnesota

Oregon: at Georgia, Eastern Washington, BYU

Oregon State: Boise State, at Fresno State, Montana State

Stanford: Colgate, at Notre Dame, BYU

UCLA: Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama

USC: Rice, Fresno State, Notre Dame

Washington: Kent State, Portland State, Michigan State

WSU: Idaho, at Wisconsin, Colorado

---

A RING TO IT: Utah honored the memory of running back Ty Jordan last season and Kyle Whittingham’s team won the conference title and went to its first Rose Bowl. The Utes’ conference championship rings are in and the program again paid homage to Jordan, who died of an accidental gunshot wound late in 2020.

 

Whittingham was widely celebrated last season. He’s done a terrific job. But I don’t think it can be overstated — this was a program that endured the tragic deaths of two players in a nine-month span. First Jordan, then teammate Aaron Lowe was shot and killed at a house party two miles from campus.

 

The team held a meeting after Lowe’s death in Week 2 of the season and discussed whether it should take time off or continue to play. The players decided to unite and rallied all season around their late teammates. Both players were honored with championship rings this week.

 

Major college football feels like a big deal sometimes. But what Utah pulled off last season felt even bigger.

---

CARDINAL RULE: Stanford is coming off a disappointing (3-9) season. David Shaw is now just 11-19 in his last three seasons. In 2021, I started to hear more and more from frustrated Cardinal fans who watched Shaw win 9, 9, 10 and 12 games in the prior four seasons.

 

I am especially curious about Stanford’s spring, which Shaw said has been simplified to help some of the younger players catch up. “We made it simple,” he said. “Guys are playing faster. We still have a little bit of funk in there to keep it interesting but are playing faster.”

 

Shaw knows he had some bad recruiting classes that haunted him. The incoming talent and his underclassmen are just plain better than his upperclassmen. Shaw’s 2021 recruiting class was exceptional. Stanford finished December’s signing day with a class ranked No. 12 by ESPN, No. 14 by Rivals and No. 15 by 247Sports. Additionally, last spring Shaw did something Stanford hadn’t ever done before — welcoming two early enrollees. He’s opened the door for early enrollees again this spring.

 

Stanford will be improved. Also, I like their schedule better in 2022 vs. 2021. They’ll get at least one easy one (Colgate) and there weren’t any easy ones on last season’s schedule.

---

Petros Papadakis works for FOX, among others.

 

GREAT CALL: Petros Papadakis is one of my favorite football broadcasters — maybe THE favorite. He’s knowledgeable, passionate, informative and most of all — genuine. Papadakis doesn’t get enough run nationally but Pac-12 Conference fans know him well.

 

I rarely watch a college football game just because of a broadcaster, but if I’m flipping past and Papadakis is on the broadcast I’ll not only tune in but stick with it. He’s often rough around the edges and I like that because it’s a very different experience from the herd of broadcasters there to mechanically promote network properties and manipulate the audience.

 

His authenticity comes through on FOX broadcasts and during the '“Petros and Money” sports-radio show he hosts in Southern California. He’s also an occasional guest on my statewide radio show in Oregon.

 

Papadakis attended high school in Southern California and accepted a scholarship to play running back at Cal. Papadakis told me once that he quit during double-day practices and took a taxi home from Berkeley. His parents must have flipped. He eventually ended up at USC, where he followed in his father’s footsteps and became team captain.

 

I smiled this week when I saw a story announcing that Papadakis had been elected to the Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Hall of Fame. I know why they want to claim him. He’s made them proud.

 

Papadakis told the local newspaper: “I was somebody who struggled in high school, like a lot of young people do. I was not a good student. I struggled getting along with my parents. I had a lot of issues with self-image and wanting to be accepted.”

 

It’s exactly the kind of message that makes him great at his job.

[Charles Fischer]

Shaw had to "dumb-it-down" for Stanford guys?  Huh.

[Jon Joseph]

Thanks Charles great post and great comment by you!

 

"Some interesting nonconference scheduling going on?" 

 

In other words, some OOC schedules are brutal and then there is this: Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama.

 

All 3 opponents playing UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Yeah, Michigan backed out of a H+H series with the Bruins when the B1G went from 8 to 9 conference games, but that was years ago. THIS = chicken feces. But it also likely equals an AP Poll top 20 or better ranking after UCLA goes 3-0.

 

This is the kind of 'stuff' that makes a 4 team CFB playoff field idiotic. 5 P5 champs should be in for any so-called playoff to have legitimacy. You know, like its done in every other college sport.

 

After 3 OOC games, a 2-1 Oregon and even a 1-2 Oregon will likely be a better team than UCLA.

 

 

[FamilyofDucks]

A few years ago the great Paul Horning said Notre Dame needed to do the same thing; i.e. lower admissions standards to get the top notch football players.  He took heat for that, but it looks like the University did just that, as their recruiting has improved. 

[Mike West]

On 3/24/2022 at 11:36 AM, Jon Joseph said:

After 3 OOC games, a 2-1 Oregon and even a 1-2 Oregon will likely be a better team than UCLA.

 

I'm sure you meant a 2 - 1 Oregon team.  THEY WILL DOMINATE BOTH BYU AND EWU.  

 

There's no question both teams will struggle to score 20 plus.  Is be impressed if they do quite frankly.

 

Question marks and all, I expect a beat down, and I'd be seriously disappointed otherwise ( I told you guys, ride with Lemon-Lime Kool Aide Mike, we're awesome until proven differently ). 

 

Shock and awe baby!

 

 

 

[Jon Joseph]

On 3/25/2022 at 1:29 PM, Mike West said:

I'm sure you meant a 2 - 1 Oregon team.  THEY WILL DOMINATE BOTH BYU AND EWU.  

 

There's no question both teams will struggle to score 20 plus.  Is be impressed if they do quite frankly.

 

Question marks and all, I expect a beat down, and I'd be seriously disappointed otherwise ( I told you guys, ride with Lemon-Lime Kool Aide Mike, we're awesome until proven differently ). 

 

Shock and awe baby!

 

 

 

Lemon-Lime, your picks are divine. But I'm not as sure that BYU will so readily supine? Back to back Cougars wins would indeed be most fine. What are your thoughts on the current UGA line? 

 

Please maintain that sugar high at all times. Your comments my friend are a gold mine.

[30Duck]

On 3/25/2022 at 10:29 AM, Mike West said:

ride with Lemon-Lime Kool Aide Mike, we're awesome until proven differently

My pleasure. I try to incorporate some objectivity, pessimism? into my off season projections, so I'll respect BYU, and EWU is always a challenge. I'm going to believe they don't have another Cooper Kupp at WR for this game. 

[Jon Joseph]

On 3/25/2022 at 1:42 PM, 30Duck said:

My pleasure. I try to incorporate some objectivity, pessimism? into my off season projections, so I'll respect BYU, and EWU is always a challenge. I'm going to believe they don't have another Cooper Kupp at WR for this game. 

If they do have another Kupp, get him into the portal and beam him to Eugene.

[Jon Joseph]

On 3/24/2022 at 2:36 PM, Jon Joseph said:

Thanks Charles great post and great comment by you!

 

"Some interesting nonconference scheduling going on?" 

 

In other words, some OOC schedules are brutal and then there is this: Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama.

 

All 3 opponents playing UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Yeah, Michigan backed out of a H+H series with the Bruins when the B1G went from 8 to 9 conference games, but that was years ago. THIS = chicken feces. But it also likely equals an AP Poll top 20 or better ranking after UCLA goes 3-0.

 

This is the kind of 'stuff' that makes a 4 team CFB playoff field idiotic. 5 P5 champs should be in for any so-called playoff to have legitimacy. You know, like its done in every other college sport.

 

After 3 OOC games, a 2-1 Oregon and even a 1-2 Oregon will likely be a better team than UCLA.

 

 

And I should have added that after these 3 'brutal' OOC games DTR will likely be a Heisman candidate?

[Mike West]

On 3/25/2022 at 10:41 AM, Jon Joseph said:

Lemon-Lime, your picks are divine. But I'm not as sure that BYU will so readily supine? Back to back Cougars wins would indeed be most fine. What are your thoughts on the current UGA line? 

 

Please maintain that sugar high at all times. Your comments my friend are a gold mine.

I see UGA by eight or nine at this point.  Really depends on how loaded last year's bench was is in Athens.

 

Ducks at least a seven point fav against BYU , 14-17 on EWU.

[Goutes18]

Thanks for the props to the Utah team and coach Whit for how they worked through the tragic loss of two young men.  Living it here was something I won’t ever forget.    

 

Also, I assume leaving Utah off the non-conference schedule list was just an oversight.  They are at Florida, with SDSU and Southern Utah at home.  I think it is very possible that Utah and Oregon are both one loss teams when they meet in November.  Sure wish it was in SLC!

[Charles Fischer]

On 3/27/2022 at 10:45 AM, Goutes18 said:

 I think it is very possible that Utah and Oregon are both one loss teams when they meet in November.

Your team was also incredibly young last year, thus I believe you are set for a great year.  With all we've had to swallow of the USC hype--it would sure be great to see you take the South.

 

Thanks for your feedback as always.