PAC - 12 Surprise Teams, Are They For Real?

Two weeks into conference play, some surprises have emerged in both the north and south divisions. Let's take a look and decide who is legit, and who is going to fade down the stretch.

We know about the Oregon Ducks already, as well as the Stanford Cardinal, USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins, fresh off their shellacking of the rival Arizona State Sun Devils. And we have already seen some teams fold up revealing themselves as a year(or more) away. The aforementioned Sun Devils would be one team, with the perennially terrible Colorado Buffaloes and Washington State Cougars. The Oregon State Beavers, who just got bludgeoned by the Trojans, are another team we can be comfortable dismissing. 

That leaves four teams we are unsure of, the Arizona Wildcats, Utah Utes, Washington Huskies, and California Golden Bears. Let's break them down one at a time, rendering a verdict for each team, starting with the least promising and moving on to the most promising. 

We start with the Utes of Utah. Watching the game on Saturday was agonizing. This Utah team is tough, they have an underrated defense, and a strong running game. They have a good non-conference win over Michigan, but are coming off a dissapointing loss to Washington State. In the game against the Huskies they jumped out to a 21-0 lead, and seemingly had the game won until late in the fourth quarter. Looking more closely, you see that of those 21 points, the first touchdown came on an interception return, and the second came from a punt return. The final touchdown came from a long run by Devontae Booker. There was not the long, sustained drive you expect to see from a legit offense. The quarterback play was atrocious, with starter Travis Wilson averaging a pathetic 4.3 yards per pass attempt. Combine that with timid, unimaginative coaching, and I am afraid I do not see many PAC-12 wins coming this year. Verdict: Pretender. 

Next, lets look at the California Golden Bears. The Bears have been a bottom feeding laughingstock of a program for the last several years. No one expected anything from them this year, so when you see that they are 3-1 on the season, including a quality non-conference win at Northwestern, you are a little surprised. Even their one loss came on a last second hail-mary against Arizona, after leading for most of the Game. Cal has a dynamic offense, fifth in the nation in points scored, with quarterback Jared Goff playing out of his mind. It is clear this is a program headed in the right direction, although I think a difficult schedule down the stretch combined with a underperforming defense will make it tough for the Bears of Berkeley to compete for a top-three spot in the conference. Verdict: Pretender. 

Now we examing the Washington Huskies, who are also 3-1 after being handed their first loss by the Stanford Cardinal in a close game. Washington is a team that is tough to figure out. One week they are squeaking by a Hawaii squad 17-16, the next they are fighting for their lives against Eastern Washington, 59-52. It is clear that against top competition, Husky quarterback Cyler Miles just is not good enough to consistently move the ball. He was abysmal against the Cardinal, and while he has yet to throw an interception, its clear that his poor play will be holding this team back. Nevertheless, its possible the Husky defense and running game, combined with a lack of turnovers by Miles, will be enough to surprise a few teams, although not enough to seriously contend for a top bowl berth. Verdict: Pretender. 

Finally, lets look at the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona is another team that is tough to figure out. At times, this team plays like a juggernaut, and then there are stretches where they sleepwalk through entire quarters. Much of that has to do with the play of quarterback Anu Solomon, who has seemed to play only as good as the situation demands. When down big, or in a big moment, he come through again and again. However, when there is nothing on the line, he fades away, and you almost forget he is on the field. Still, they have a consistent rushing attack, and have the ability to score points seemingly at will. The defense has not been great, but it has stiffened when needed. Overall, this feels like a team that needs just one more big win before their confidence carries them into contention. And wouldn't you know it, the Oregon Ducks just happen to be up next on the schedule. Coach Rich Rodriguez has shown what his teams can do in big games, and Solomon seems like someone who relishes the prime time stage. Call me crazy, but I think this team is legit. The PAC-12 south is full of overrated and overhyped pretenders, so maybe, just maybe the Wildcats can seize the opportunity and claim their first south division title. Verdict: Contender.