With Pac-12 Media Day upon us, Go Joe Bruin predicts the final Pac-12 football standings, complete with overall and conference records.
It is almost time for Pac-12 football and fans from Seattle to Tucson are chomping at the bit for the new season to start. But what should we expect of the 2018 season?
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The North Division did not have a lot of change and will continue to be competitive, but will also be top-heavy. So is this still a Washington-Stanford battle or will a new contender emerge?
The South is completely different from 2017 and anything can happen. So what will the Pac-12 look like by seaosn’s end? Here are Go Joe Bruin’s predictions:
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North Division
- Washington, 11-1, 8-1
- Stanford, 10-2, 8-1
- Oregon, 10-2, 7-2
- Washington State, 6-6, 4-5
- California, 6-6, 3-6
- Oregon State, 1-11, 0-9
South Division
- Utah, 9-3, 6-3
- USC, 7-5, 6-3
- UCLA, 7-5, 5-4
- Arizona, 7-5, 4-5
- Colorado, 4-8, 2-7
- Arizona State, 2-10, 1-8
Starting with the North Division, it will once again be the Cardinal and Huskies battling for division supremacy. With Washington and Stanford going neck and neck through the season, their 2018 matchup will decide the division winner, which goes to UW.
Although Washington won’t escape the season with a perfect mark as up and coming Oregon will beat the Huskies in Eugene.
After that, there is quite the dropoff. Washington State needs to figure out their QB situation, but it won’t be in time to make a difference in 2018. Cal should continue to improve, but the dominance of the top three North teams will keep them down another season.
We can expect a lot of calamity in the South. With three teams changing coaches, USC losing several key players and Utah looking to bounce back, it is anybody’s division to win. Except for Colorado and Arizona State. They will, unfortunately, continue to underperform.
With that in mind, looking at the head-to-head schedule, it looks like Utah will come out on top decided by their late-season win over USC.
Though we here at Go Joe Bruin expect big things out of UCLA, their tough schedule will catch up with them and come out with four losses. Arizona will also put up a fight, but like UCLA, they will have some growing pains in 2018.
And finally, as stated above, Colorado will Colorado and unfortunately for Arizona State, they could take a step back with Herm Edwards in control.
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As for the Pac-12 Champion, with Washington and Utah going at it, expect the Huskies to capture another trophy and eventually head to the College Football Playoffs.