The Huskies and Ducks feel similar to me. A potential stumbling block, though, is that the Trojans avoided Washington and Oregon last year but play them back-to-back this November. Lincoln Riley has brought in enough impact transfers on defense ( Oklahoma State LB Mason Cobb, Texas A&M DE Anthony Lucas, Georgia DT Bear Alexander, Arizona DT Kyon Barrs) to give hope this will be a more balanced team. USC is the obvious first candidate thanks to Williams. There are as many as five teams with the potential to be great. However, my hot take for 2023 is yes, the Pac-12 will end its Playoff drought. And Caleb Williams-led USC nearly made it last year thanks to a prolific offense, but we all know how horrendous that defense was. Utah in 2019, led by QB Tyler Huntley, RB Zack Moss and a high-end defense, was pretty darn good, but great teams don’t get their butts kicked 37-15 in the conference championship game. Is this the year the Pac-12 finally breaks through to the Playoff since Washington in 2016, or does it cannibalize itself again? If so, who makes it? - Jake S.Ĭannibalization was more of a Pac-12 excuse for many years when the reality was they just didn’t have a great team. I could see a world where Georgia’s flaws get masked by being so much better than most of its opponents, only to be exposed by a more worthy adversary come the final four. But there will be at least a few worthy adversaries come Playoff time. But that 2013 team’s secondary was not its finest, and I would not have liked its chances against Jameis Winston.Īll of which is to say - I still have more confidence in Georgia than anyone else this season, and I cannot imagine the Dawgs losing to anyone on their schedule prior to at least the Nov. Granted, in a four-team College Football Playoff, Alabama would have gotten a mulligan for that one and possibly done exactly what it did in 2017 after losing the Iron Bowl - win the national championship.
Until Vince Young took down the Trojans one game short, and the Kick Six abruptly ended Alabama’s quest.
Then the season started and both teams’ defenses gave out warning flares - USC fell behind 21-3 at Arizona State and got into a shootout with Fresno State Johnny Manziel put up 562 yards on the Tide - but they just kept winning, so their aura just kept growing. Both looked characteristically loaded on paper, especially the Trojans with Matt Leinart/ Reggie Bush/Lendale White back. It’s not without questions - is Carson Beck fully ready to take over for Stetson Bennett? Is Mike Bobo a capable replacement for impactful OC Todd Monken? Should we be more concerned the defense took a slight step back last season? But is there another team you have more confidence in? I certainly don’t. Georgia has won the last two and is the undisputed favorite to win again this fall.
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