I'm wondering based on who had a heavy amount of seniors or not.

$C is going to be at the top of the list?

Seems like CU was senior-heavy so they may be back to being a BDW again.

As for us: our o-line is going to be mostly intact so that is a positive. If we can get decent QB play, we could score some points yet again. Our D may be somewhat better since we should be healthier. But let's see if it's just the yearly cycle of D injuries in our system. If so, we need to blow up this era. I think we should tolerate at most 1 more year of this. If we can get Chip, maybe we should short circuit it as the cupboard is not completely bare.

Champs Tier : USC, UW, stanfurd
Dark Horse Tier : Utah, Oregon

Cal has 3 dynamic playmakers in Hansen, Stovall and Robertson. Sonny and Spav need to be burning the midnight oil figuring out creative ways to get those guys as many touches as possible. So, the offense should continue to score points. If they can come up with even an average D they'll win some games. Just don't think they'll be upper echelon even within the Division.

In order:

USC, Furd, UW

Wazzu, UCLA, Utah, Oregon, CU

Zona, ASU, Cal, OSU = irrelevant tier/no real order

UW is losing a ton of talent, but CP's staff has proven that no only are they great recruiters/talent evaluators, but they develop their players quickly. They'll be at/near the top of the division by the Nov.

BAyers3;842785219 said:

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Champs Tier : USC, UW, stanfurd
Dark Horse Tier : Utah, Oregon

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Interesting that no one is picking UCLA despite all those 4 recruits the last several classes and Rosen.

Gotta think SC is the class of the conference.

UW and Furd have some holes to fill, but certainly will be strong: Udub it's still too early - have to see who leaves. Furd defense will be excellent, as well the oline. They lost two starting WRs and McCaffrey. Not convinced Crist is that good of a QB.

Agree that Utah has tons of potential, and that Colorado takes a step back. No idea about the Arizona teams, other than ASU has had some good recruiting years and s/b better than their showing. Oregon will improve, but I would have to guess they are a year or two out. WSU should on paper be a dark horse, but I have given up trying to read the Pirate and his shitzoid team. They look great some times, and other times look like cr@p.

Cal is mediocre. Offense will take a slight step back due to new QB (yes, the oline will continue to be the strength and we have decent backs, but Sony's offense is based on passing) and I think the defense is better, but still bad. I just don't see the talent to compete in the defensive front 7. Sorry. NO bowl, even thought the team may look more competitive against better teams).

OSU is sorta Cal light. Cal finishes fourth in division ahead of the improving Beavs.

Way to early predictio:

Furd
UDub (these two are interchangeable)
Oregon
WSU
Cal
OSU

SC
Utah
ASU
Colorado
UCLA
UofA

wifeisafurd;842785237 said:

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Interesting that no one is picking UCLA despite all those 4 recruits the last several classes and Rosen.

Gotta think SC is the class of the conference.

UW and Furd have some holes to fill, but certainly will be strong: Udub it's still too early - have to see who leaves. Furd defense will be excellent, as well the oline. They lost two starting WRs and McCaffrey. Not convinced Crist is that good of a QB.

Agree that Utah has tons of potential, and that Colorado takes a step back. No idea about the Arizona teams, other than ASU has had some good recruiting years and s/b better than their showing. Oregon will improve, but I would have to guess they are a year or two out. WSU should on paper be a dark horse, but I have given up trying to read the Pirate and his shitzoid team. They look great some times, and other times look like cr@p.

Cal is mediocre. Offense will take a slight step back due to new QB (yes, the oline will continue to be the strength and we have decent backs, but Sony's offense is not based on passing) and I think the defense is better, but still bad. I just don't see the talent to compete in the defensive front 7. Sorry. NO bowl, even thought the team may look more competitive against better teams).

OSU is sorta Cal light. Cal finishes fourth in division ahead of the improving Beavs.

Way to early predictio:

Furd
UDub (these two are interchangeable)
Oregon
WSU
Cal
OSU

SC
Utah
ASU
Colorado
UCLA
UofA

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rosen's shoulder situation will determine a lot

76Bear;842785229 said:

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Cal has 3 dynamic playmakers in Hansen, Stovall and Robertson. Sonny and Spav need to be burning the midnight oil figuring out creative ways to get those guys as many touches as possible. So, the offense should continue to score points. If they can come up with even an average D they'll win some games. Just don't think they'll be upper echelon even within the Division.

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Hansen is gone.

wifeisafurd;842785240 said:

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Hansen is gone.

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Darn it

wifeisafurd;842785240 said:

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Hansen is gone.

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I wouldn't be surprised, but would you care to tell us a little more about that? Or did I miss something?

76Bear;842785229 said:

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Cal has 3 dynamic playmakers in Hansen, Stovall and Robertson. Sonny and Spav need to be burning the midnight oil figuring out creative ways to get those guys as many touches as possible. So, the offense should continue to score points. If they can come up with even an average D they'll win some games. Just don't think they'll be upper echelon even within the Division.

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After watching some bowl teams do this I don't know why teams, us specifically, don't throw to RBs more. Heck, even put a WR in at RB and then hit him out of the backfield. It seems like everytime I see a team do this the RB has beaten the LB that is inevitablly trying to cover him. Stovall and Robertson would be perfect for this.
Bill Walsh made a career out of doing this and he learned it while coaching the Bengals under Paul Brown. It's been around a long time. Might be time to dust off this strategy

82gradDLSdad;842785286 said:

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After watching some bowl teams do this I don't know why teams, us specifically, don't throw to RBs more. Heck, even put a WR in at RB and then hit him out of the backfield. It seems like everytime I see a team do this the RB has beaten the LB that is inevitablly trying to cover him. Stovall and Robertson would be perfect for this.
Bill Walsh made a career out of doing this and he learned it while coaching the Bengals under Paul Brown. It's been around a long time. Might be time to dust off this strategy

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Pete Carroll loved putting Reggie Bush in the slot. That was a matchup nightmare for some poor safety or LB to cover him.

Not sure I understand the 'furd love. Their offense was mediocre at best this year, and they lose McCaffrey. Shaw always has a solid D, but offensive genius he's not.

UrsaMajor;842785298 said:

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Not sure I understand the 'furd love. Their offense was mediocre at best this year, and they lose McCaffrey. Shaw always has a solid D, but offensive genius he's not.

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We've been using this logic since they lost Toby Herhart, then Luck, Harbuagh, Gaffney, Ty Montgomery and so on. It doesn't work.

Furd will not come close to winning the PAC 12. USC and u dub will play for the chip with USC winning

wifeisafurd;842785240 said:

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Hansen is gone.

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Actually been seeing draft predictions that would make him want to stay.

I am normally a sunshine pumper, but I am not optimistic about the 2007 Bears. Maybe 5-7, maybe 4-8.

Except that they were 8-5 in 2014, and 3rd in the P12 North last year. A good, solid team, but not in UW or USC's class.

UrsaMajor;842785316 said:

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Except that they were 8-5 in 2014, and 3rd in the P12 North last year. A good, solid team, but not in UW or USC's class.

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They've had one "bad" year since their run began. Of any team in conference, they've shown they can reload and bounce back when necessary. They've done so after losing every featured player. Not saying they're elite, just saying losing CM is not unlike what they've done time and time again.

RJABear;842785314 said:

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I am normally a sunshine pumper, but I am not optimistic about the 2007 Bears. Maybe 5-7, maybe 4-8.

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Yah, but we were #1 for a quarter so there's that. I'd be more optimistic about the 2007 bears.

We don't disagree; I was just pointing out that putting them up at the top of the conference was a bit of a stretch.

UW will obviously reload as well, as they have shown under CP, but during their last reload in 2015, a Sonny Dykes team beat them in Seattle and they finished 5th in the Pac 12 North.

socaliganbear;842785230 said:

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In order:

USC, Furd, UW

Wazzu, UCLA, Utah, Oregon, CU

Zona, ASU, Cal, OSU = irrelevant tier/no real order

UW is losing a ton of talent, but CP's staff has proven that no only are they great recruiters/talent evaluators, but they develop their players quickly. They'll be at/near the top of the division by the Nov.

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USC--class of the PAC and it won't be close. probably going to the playoffs

UW, Wazoo--next tier of good teams and one of them will get the rose bowl

Furd, UCLA, Utah, Oregon-- bowling teams

CU, Zona, ASU, Cal, OSU--not in order or anything, just will all not be bowling

UW probably wins the division even though they are reloading. more to do with everyone else in the north having issues (wazoo will lose some games they really shouldn't)

Leavitt and Taggert get Oregon out of the irrelevant tier, but not past UW and Wazoo (that's a BIG rebuild on the D side, they keep the O revved up)

furd falls to the middle. they miss McCaffrey a lot and don't have the creativity to overcome it with blah qbs. D also isn't up to prior years (assuming solomon thomas leaves. if he stays he may single handedly keep them in the running).

Cal will probably be better, but the continuing issues on D drag them to 4-5 win zone, but i wouldn't be surprised if it "felt" like the team had actually improved

OSU is still in OSU land

UCLA may be able to stay in the middle tier, but may be in the bottom tier with Cal and others

Colorado is losing like 30+ guys off their team. they take a BIG step back

The usual suspects: USC, UW, LSJU, Utah. I'm not sure UW's losses will be greater than USC's although Baker, Ross, Qualls, Jones, Mathis and King were major pieces. They still have most of the OL in place, all of the DL except Qualls, the best pieces of their LB corps, Taylor Rapp is a freshman AA safety and their other young DBs got some quality experience this year. Ross is probably the hardest individual to replace and the CB replacements the biggest position concern. On top of everything else, Peteresn and his staff are as good as there is in the confernece. The trojies have some great talent returning but lose a big chunk of a defense that wasn't all that great to begin with. I don't think UO will turn around immediately but UCLA might if Rosen can return to form.

59bear;842785336 said:

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The usual suspects: USC, UW, LSJU, Utah. I'm not sure UW's losses will be greater than USC's although Baker, Ross, Qualls, Jones, Mathis and King were major pieces. They still have most of the OL in place, all of the DL except Qualls, the best pieces of their LB corps, Taylor Rapp is a freshman AA safety and their other young DBs got some quality experience this year. Ross is probably the hardest individual to replace and the CB replacements the biggest position concern. On top of everything else, Peteresn and his staff are as good as there is in the confernece. The trojies have some great talent returning but lose a big chunk of a defense that wasn't all that great to begin with. I don't think UO will turn around immediately but UCLA might if Rosen can return to form.

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I can't see anyone beating USC. Penn St scored on seven straight possessions, four tds in four plays. Just didn't matter. That's how good the offense is with Darnold. They haven't lost a game he has started.

82gradDLSdad;842785286 said:

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After watching some bowl teams do this I don't know why teams, us specifically, don't throw to RBs more. Heck, even put a WR in at RB and then hit him out of the backfield. It seems like everytime I see a team do this the RB has beaten the LB that is inevitablly trying to cover him. Stovall and Robertson would be perfect for this.
Bill Walsh made a career out of doing this and he learned it while coaching the Bengals under Paul Brown. It's been around a long time. Might be time to dust off this strategy

---

Remember the days when the offensive brain trust of White, Theder and Hackett would move Muncie out into the slot! Talk about a mismatch! He had the power to truck any nickel back or safety and too much speed for any backer to cover him and keep up. An incredible downfield weapon!

tim94501;842785308 said:

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Actually been seeing draft predictions that would make him want to stay.

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Invest the $99.

Health is more than 50% of the battle for the pac-12 title.
Washington was talented but not particularly deep.
They were incredibly healthy until losing Victor and Constantine, two key LBs.
Then they weren't as good, losing twice.

USC and UCLA are the only programs that consistently roll out talent and depth.

The trouble is, Cal is one of the most injured teams in the pac-12, particularly on D.

Constantine was slated to be a backup before his injury and could hardly be called "key". The key injuries suffered this year on defense were Mathis and Azeem Victor, the latter expected to make a full return for next year. After Victor went down, Ben Burr-Kirvin and D. J. Beavers stepped in and played pretty well and both are young with their best years ahead. The real challenge for the Huskies "D" is in the secondary where they lose 3 starters, including both corners. Also, there is still the possibility that RS soph DL Vita Vea may opt for the NFL which would create a big hole.

59bear;842785600 said:

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Constantine was slated to be a backup before his injury and could hardly be called "key". The key injuries suffered this year on defense were Mathis and Azeem Victor, the latter expected to make a full return for next year. After Victor went down, Ben Burr-Kirvin and D. J. Beavers stepped in and played pretty well and both are young with their best years ahead. The real challenge for the Huskies "D" is in the secondary where they lose 3 starters, including both corners. Also, there is still the possibility that RS soph DL Vita Vea may opt for the NFL which would create a big hole.

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Thanks for the corrections
Health is important, especially for Cal.

wifeisafurd;842785237 said:

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Interesting that no one is picking UCLA despite all those 4 recruits the last several classes and Rosen.

Gotta think SC is the class of the conference.

UW and Furd have some holes to fill, but certainly will be strong: Udub it's still too early - have to see who leaves. Furd defense will be excellent, as well the oline. They lost two starting WRs and McCaffrey. Not convinced Crist is that good of a QB.

Agree that Utah has tons of potential, and that Colorado takes a step back. No idea about the Arizona teams, other than ASU has had some good recruiting years and s/b better than their showing. Oregon will improve, but I would have to guess they are a year or two out. WSU should on paper be a dark horse, but I have given up trying to read the Pirate and his shitzoid team. They look great some times, and other times look like cr@p.

Cal is mediocre. Offense will take a slight step back due to new QB (yes, the oline will continue to be the strength and we have decent backs, but Sony's offense is based on passing) and I think the defense is better, but still bad. I just don't see the talent to compete in the defensive front 7. Sorry. NO bowl, even thought the team may look more competitive against better teams).

OSU is sorta Cal light. Cal finishes fourth in division ahead of the improving Beavs.

Way to early predictio:

Furd
UDub (these two are interchangeable)
Oregon
WSU
Cal
OSU

SC
Utah
ASU
Colorado
UCLA
UofA

---

I'm gonna disagree a little bit. I foresee a good offense and it doesn't matter who Sonny chooses. I was a Webb fan, but now I'm not. After watching several of last season's games, I feel like many of the passes Goff made, Webb did not. He has a big arm and can go for the home run, but overall he was too prone to throw into traffic and less able to escape the pressure. We had a very low number of sacks, only 6, and the reason for much of that was Webb throwing it away early or inaccurately or for interception.

We have some very able talent on the team right now. I want Sonny to anoint someone during the Spring and give that player all the help he can. But I would hope it will be someone who can escape the rush and pick up some cheap yardage with his legs. It must be someone who is very accurate and can throw the "out." We have guys who can do just that, we merely have to give them a chance. No more grad transfers. It's asking too much to expect a transfer to have the timing and familiarity with the receivers that someone who has been here a year or more has. Furthermore, we have experienced running backs who are able blockers and know how to pick a hole for good yardage.

On defense, we get many players back. We need to strengthen the obvious holes at linebacker and safety, avoid injury and add depth at nose tackle. The experience of 2016 will pay dividends in 2017. We had some good efforts (Utah, Texas) and some terrible ones (SC, Wash, WSU). I don't expect much difference with the Trojans, but I do against the Huskies and the Cougs. Washington is losing many of its top players at critical positions. Losing John Ross allows a defense to man-up without worrying that a 4.38 forty guy is going to blow right by them. Qualls put on a great rush and great pressure, but now he will be gone. Sydney Jones was a shutdown CB - bye, bye. I'm wondering whether Pettus will declare as well? In sum, we should see a Husky team that is substantially different from this years product.

59bear;842785600 said:

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Constantine was slated to be a backup before his injury and could hardly be called "key". The key injuries suffered this year on defense were Mathis and Azeem Victor, the latter expected to make a full return for next year. After Victor went down, Ben Burr-Kirvin and D. J. Beavers stepped in and played pretty well and both are young with their best years ahead. The real challenge for the Huskies "D" is in the secondary where they lose 3 starters, including both corners. Also, there is still the possibility that RS soph DL Vita Vea may opt for the NFL which would create a big hole.

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Hard to feel compassion for Victor after he directed his elbow into Kenny Lawler's head in 2015.