Take Your Pick:Pac 12 Edition

[devils1854]

Question 1:What team is the favorite in the South Division?
Since the split to two divisions, the South has been the little brother to champions in the north. UCLA has been named the champion both years, but they have been less than stellar with a combined 11-7 record those two years. They could once again be at the top of the division this year, but they will get challenged by cross town rival USC, and a experienced Arizona Wildcat team in year two under Rich Rodriguez.

-UCLA has the least amount of starters coming back, but head coach Jim Mora has been able to amass a good amount of talent during his short time in Los Angeles. He does have potential All Conference QB Brett Hundley coming back for his sophomore season. He will have his top receiver, Shaq Evans back for another year. Jonathan Franklin and Joseph Fauria will be missed, and the offense will need players to step up in order to win the division again. The defense had its share of losses with the departure of Datone Jones and Tevin McDonald, but there are still a number of great players left on that side of the ball. DE Cassius Marsh and OLB Anthony Barr should be one of the best pass rushing tandems in all of college football this year, and they will be aided by ILB Eric Kendricks. The secondary might be the weak link of the defense, with just one starter returning. They will have to become a solid unit with the good passing games that they will face.

-USC could be the most talented starting 22 in the league this year, but they could face depth issues since they are still fresh off NCAA sanctions. Also having a underachieving head coach could be another factor in how many games they win this year. The offense will be successful if they can find a starting QB. No starter was named during the spring. Max Wittek started the last couple of games for the team last year, but he was less than impressive. He is being challenged by Cody Kessler and true freshman Max Browne. Whoever lines up as the starter will have some great talent surrounding him. RB Silas Redd is one of the best in the conference, and WR Marquise Lee is probably the best WR in the nation. The offense also brings back all 5 starters on the offensive line. The defense also brings back a good amount of talent. The linebacker unit should be the best, and could be one of the best in the country with all four starters coming back. Morgan Breslin is the star of the unit after posing 13 sacks in 2012. Hayes Pullard and Devin Kennard could also see big numbers this season.

-Arizona might not be considered a favorite for the division championship by many, but they bring back 17 starters from a team that won 8 games last year. They will be replacing QB Mike Scott, who threw form 3600 yards and 27 TDs last year. Former USC QB Jesse Scroggins looks to be the favorite for the job after committing to the Wilcats from the JUCO ranks this year. Potenitial All American RB Ka'Deem Carey will lead the offense after rushing for over 1900 yards last year as a sophomore. WR Austin Hill will also be returning to Tucson after a 2012 year that saw him catch 81 ball for 1300 yards. The offense also brings back both of their starting tackles, who started the whole season as sophomores in 2012. The defense was the main problem for the team last year. They finished just 105 in scoring defense, giving up a whopping 35 points a game. 10 starters do return, but they will have to step up big time, if this team has any hope in winning the division. LB Marquis Flowers is their best player, and could see his name on some all conference teams after posting 5.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, and 13.5 tackles for loss in 2012.

Question 2:Who will be the best QB in the league in 2013?
Even though Matt Barkley and Mike Scott have graduated, there are a number of good quarterbacks left in the league, and as a whole, the conference might have the best combined talent at the position this season. It could be a tight race as to which player will be named first team all conference this year.

-Oregon QB Marcus Mariota is probably the favorite after a fantasic freshman season in 2012. He threw for over 2600 yards, 32 TDs, and had a completion percentage of 68.5%. He was also very effective on the ground where he ran for over 700 yards. He does have his top 3 receivers back, along with a nice stable of RBs, so he should be able to have another fine year.

-Brett Hundley is another freshman QB that put his name on the map last year. He helped lead his UCLA team to 9 wins, and a South Division Championship. He accounted for 38 total TDs last year for the Bruins offense. With Jonathan Franklin gone, his legs might be needed more often in 2013. He does have his top target back, Shaq Evans, who accounted for 60 of his 319 completions last year.

-We might as well profile another outstanding freshman next. Although, Kevin Hogan only started the last 6 games for Stanford last year, he made a major impact, and was one of the biggest reasons that his Stanford team went to the Rose Bowl. His last 4 starts were against Oregon, UCLA(2), and Wisconsin. He was 4-0, completed 69% of his passes, had 5 total TDs, and averaged 5 yards a carry on 30 attempts.

-Sean Manning was the impressive freshman QB in the conference in 2011. He did show some improvement last year, but a knee injury in the 4th game of the year vs Washington State kept him out of 5 total games, and hampered him in others. He still ended the year 5th in the conference in QB Rating, and 4th in completion percentage. He will have two talented running backs behind him, and receiver Brandin Cooks is back after a 1000 yards season in 2012.

-Name this quarterback. 2nd in the Pac 12 in passer rating(159.9), 1st in yards per attempt(8.5), 2nd in completion percentage(67.1), 3rd in TDs(29), and 4th in yards(3039). If you said the answer was Arizona State QB Taylor Kelly, then you are probably lying. This was all done as a sophomore that had only 4 attempts before last season. He has a chance to get even better in Todd Graham's second year. He also has 3 of his top 4 targets back in 2013.

Quick Questions

Question 3:Name the First and Second Team All Conference players at the skill positions.
I have touched on this briefly with the quarterback question, but the Pac 12 might have the best set of skill position players in the country this year.

QB:Marota, Hundley, Hogan, Mannion, Kelly
RB:Ka'Deem Carey(Arizona), Bishop Sankey(Washington), De'Anthony Thomas(Oregon), Silas Redd(USC), Storm Woods(Oregon State)
WR:Marquis Lee(USC), Austin Hill(Arizona), Shaq Evans(UCLA), Kasen Williams(Washington), Brandin Cooks(Oregon State)
TE:Austin Seferin-Jenkins(Washington), Chris Coyle(Arizona State), Colt Lyerla(Oregon)

Question 4:Who is the best defensive player in the conference?
There is plenty of high level talent to choose from

DE:Cassius Marsh(UCLA), Deandre Coleman(California), Henry Anderson(Stanford), Taylor Hart(Oregon), Scott Crichton(Oregon State)
DT:Will Sutton(Arizona State)
LB:Marquis Flowers(Arizona), Anthony Barr(UCLA), Eric Kendricks(UCLA), Morgan Breslin(USC), Trent Murphy(Stanford)
CB:Alden Darby(Arizona State), Terrance Mitchell(Oregon), Ifo Ekpre-Olomu(Oregon), Deon Buchannon(Washington State)
S:Ed Reynolds(Stanford)

Question 5:Who goes Bowling?
BCS(Rose/National Championship)
Alamo
Holiday
Sun
Las Vegas
Kraft Fight Hunger
New Mexico
_________________

Peppers90 on the sig
Evan Gattis is just better than you. Deal with it.

[Lions017]

PAC-12 looks pretty good to me this year. I actually see Stanford winning the conference - I think that Oregon might slip up a couple of times without Chip Kelly. In the south I think Arizona State could actually sneak in and win it. They're one of my sleeper teams this year. These teams go bowling...

Stanford
Oregon
Arizona State
UCLA
USC
Oregon State
Washington
Arizona
Utah
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[ThePrototype]

[devils1854]

1.As long as Lane Kiffin is the coach at USC, I wont pick them as favorites. They definitely have the most talent in their starting 22, but Im going to go with UCLA. Im starting to believe in Mora big time, and Hundley is about to take off. It also helps that the defense has 3 "stars" returning for 2013. 1.UCLA 2.USC 3.Arizona 4.Arizona State 5.Utah 6.Colorado. Thats my gut feeling of now without looking at schedules, although I think UCLA gets both Oregon and Stanford this year.

2.Im going to go with Hundley here. Its not a slight on Mariota(I think both are top 5-7 QBs in football), but I really think Hundley is going to take it to the next level in 2013, even if they have a slightly below average running game without Franklin.

3.
1st Team
QB:Brett Hundley
RB:Ka'Deem Carey, Silas Redd
WR:Marquis Lee, Shaq Evans
TE:Austin Seferain-Jenkins

2nd Team
QB:Marcus Mariota
RB:De'Anthony Thomas, Storm Woods
WR:Austin Hill, Brandin Cooks
TE:Chris Coyle

4.I didnt realize this but Will Sutton was actually the Defensive POY in the conference in 2012. He should have another good year, but I dont see him winning the award in back to back years. Im going to give the nod to Anthony Barr slightly over the corner tandem of Mitchell and Ekpre-Olomu. He is such a freak, and I dont think he has gotten close to tapping all the potential that he has.

5.
BCS Championship-Stanford
Rose-Oregon
Alamo-UCLA
Holiday-USC
Sun-Arizona
Las Vegas-Arizona State
Kraft Fight Hunger-Oregon State
New Mexico-Washington
_________________

Peppers90 on the sig
Evan Gattis is just better than you. Deal with it.

[ICE13]

Question 1:What team is the favorite in the South Division?

UCLA. USC might have the most "Recruited" talent but I have a hard time imagining much of that talent will develop (Is USC becoming the new FSU from last decade??).

UCLA is closing the gap and nobody on USC's team can touch someone like Hundley at QB.

Question 2:Who will be the best QB in the league in 2013?

Mariota, followed closely by Hundley & Taylor

Quick Questions

Question 3:Name the First and Second Team All Conference players at the skill positions.
I have touched on this briefly with the quarterback question, but the Pac 12 might have the best set of skill position players in the country this year.

QB:Marota - 1st team, Kelly - 2nd team
RB:Ka'Deem Carey - 1st team, De'Anthony Thomas - 1st team, Silas Redd - 2nd team, Storm Woods - 2nd team
WR:Marquis Lee - 1st team, Shaq Evans - 1st team, Kasen Williams - 1st team
TE:Austin Seferin-Jenkins - 1st team
Question 4:Who is the best defensive player in the conference?

Morgan Breslin - DE - USC

Question 5:Who goes Bowling?
BCS(Rose/National Championship) - Stanford
2nd BCS Bowl - Oregon
Alamo - UCLA
Holiday - UW
Sun - Utah
Las Vegas - USC
Kraft Fight Hunger - ASU
New Mexico - OSU
_________________
I'm a closet Vanderbilt fan.

"As always, criminal justice proceedings, if any, take precedence over any NCAA actions" - Mark Emmert, 1982

[LuckIsGOAT]

USC or Arizona to win the Pac12 South(ugh I still hate the way that sounds)

Top 5 QBs
1.Hogan/Mariota/Hundley
4.Browne(USC)
5.Price(Washington)

Top 5 RBs
1.Kadeem Carey (Arizona)
2.Anthony Wilkerson (Stanford)
3.Justin Davis (USC)
4.Thomas Tyner(Oregon)
5.Bishop Sankey(Washington)

Top 5 WRs
1.Marquis Lee(USC)
2.De'Anthony Thomas(Oregon)
3.Brandin Cooks(Oregon St)
4.Nelson Agholor(USC)
5.Gabe Marks(Washington St)

Top 5 Defensive players
1.Scott Crichton(Oregon State)
2.Ed Reynolds(Stanford)
3.Trent Murphy(Stanford)
4.Morgan Breslin(USC)
5.Will Sutton(Arizona St)
_________________
Giants
Stanford
Colts
Trailblazers
Canucks
Luck & RG3 fan

[Oregon Ducks]

1. UCLA

2. Mariota

3. QB: Mariota
RB: Carey
RB: Marshall
WR: Lee
WR: Huff
TE: ASJ

4. Good question. I'm thinking Barr or Sutton. Ifo will be close, but the DL like them get a lot of hype and make a lot of impact in games.
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[ronjon09]

1.UCLA is my first choice. ASU comes in a pretty close 2nd

2.Marcus Mariota.

3.
1st Team
QB:Marcus Mariota
RB:Storm Woods, Silas Redd
WR:Marquis Lee, Kasen Williams
TE:Austin Seferain-Jenkins

2nd Team
QB:Brett Hundley
RB:De'Anthony Thomas, Bishop Sankey
WR:Josh Huff, Nelson Agholar
TE:Colt Lyerla

4.Scott Crichton

5.
BCS Championship-Oregon
Rose-UCLA
Alamo-Stanford
Holiday-Washington
Sun-Oregon St.
Las Vegas-Arizona State
Kraft Fight Hunger-Arizona
New Mexico-Washington St.
_________________
The SEC fears Chip Kelly- Believing until proven wrong-

[mash3rramfan]

1. ASU
2. Marcus Mariota
3.
1st Team
QB Marcus Mariota
RB Ka'Deem Carey
RB Storm Woods
WR Marquise Lee
WR Josh Huff
TE Colt Lyerla

2nd Team
QB Brett Hundley
RB Byron Marshall
RB Bishop Sankey
WR Kasen Williams
WR Brandin Cooks
TE ASJ

4. Will Sutton/Anthony Barr/Ifo Ekpre-Olomu

5.
BCS Title: Oregon
Rose: ASU
Alamo: Stanford
Holiday: UCLA
Sun: Arizona
LV: Oregon St.
KFH: USC
NM: UW
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Props to mike 23md on the sig Kiltman on the avatar