On this episode, Nick and Drew of College Football Pros discuss the PAC 12 North. The PAC 12 should be one of the most exciting conferences this year, so the duo wastes no time listing their favorites.
Pac 12-North
Team: California
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 6
Rushing Offense – 87
Overall Offense – 13
Passing Defense – 128 [worst]
Rushing Defense – 38
Overall Defense – 124 [5th worst]
Points Scored – 38.3
Points Allowed – 39.8 [6th most points allowed]
Offense:
QB – Jared Goff is a guy that kind of flies under the radar, because everyone Cal plays usually has the gaudy stats. But Goff does too, and he’s good. He will finish this year most likely as Cal’s all time leading passer, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he eclipsed 4000 and flirted with 40 scores.
RB /OL– OL returns lots of start so we hope to see the success that the running game had last year with Daniel Lasco. He really was the perfect compliment to the passing game, and I look him to have another good year, with last seasons stats being totally attainable.
WR/TE – Goff has an embarrassment of riches at this position. Chris Harper is gone, but he returns Kenny Lawler, Stephen Anderson and Brice Treggs. This will be committee approach again, so fantasy wise it will be challenging, but it should be fun to watch this show take place.
Defense: No other way to cut it last year other than to say Cal’s defense blew it. The numbers suggest that they were good at stopping the run, but the reality is they were so bad at stopping the pass that nobody needed to run! Even though they are seeing lots of starters return, how reassuring can that be considering how poorly they played last year? I’m not a buyer!
Players to Watch: Jared Goff and Daniel Lasco are both guys to look out for this year in the right situations. As I said, the WR situation is too crowded for my liking, so I will stick to the guys I know will be dominant at their position on this team.
Team: Oregon
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 10
Rushing Offense – 22
Overall Offense – 3
Passing Defense – 111
Rushing Defense – 62
Overall Defense – 89
Points Scored – 45.4
Points Allowed – 23.6
Offense:
QB – This will be a tough year without three year start Marcus Mariota. As of now, Jeff Lockie is being called the starter in camp, but that could change with a strong fall from Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams. Adams doesn’t have the skill set that Mariota does, but he can still get it done, and would be an exciting replacement IF he can compete on the FBS level full time.
RB /OL– The OL loses 2 starters and their career starts drop, but the didn’t perform as well as expected last year, so the hope will be for that to change. Royce Freeman will be in his second year, and I expect the offense to be centered around him this year. I think his stats will increase, and he could be one of the top RBs in the country at the end of it all.
WR/TE – With the exception of Keenan Lowe, all the starters return, so whoever starts at QB will have a lot to work with. In additional to Byron Marshall, Darren Carrington, Devon Allen, Dwayne Stanford, Pharoah Brown and Charles Nelson, the new QB will have Bralon Addison back on the field. This is one of the best receiving corps in the country.
Defense: The numbers don’t match the production. 89th in the nation overall, and only 23.6 points allowed? Absurd. That is bend but don’t break at its best. The Pac 12 is quietly coming along as a tight, tough division, so I think these numbers are reasonable for the divison, though with losing some of their best players, I think they will score less and give up more.
Players to Watch: Honestly, this is another situation where just about everyone should be on your radar. Favorites would be the Adams, Freeman and Marshall.
Team: Oregon State
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 32
Rushing Offense – 113
Overall Offense – 75
Passing Defense – 94
Rushing Defense – 53
Overall Defense – 76
Points Scored – 25.6
Points Allowed – 31.6
Offense:
QB – All time leading passer Sean Mannion has moved on to a career in the NFL, leaving red shirt freshman Seth Collins to start in his place. Collins has good mobility, which is unusual from what we’ve seen in Oregon State, but with Mike Riley departing for Nebraska, there could be a change in how the position is played. I wouldn’t go crazy quite yet over Collins, but he’s a name to watch in the Pac-12.
RB /OL– Rush numbers were pretty bleak last year, but an improve OL and Storm Woods having all the attention on him could make for a much better situation this year. Gary Anderson is coming over from Wisconsin where he pounded the rock for two straight years, so this could be a good opportunity for Woods to show the world what hes got in his final year.
WR/TE – Victor Bolden and Jordan Villamin are the top two targets in the passing game. Last year, Mannion didn’t have bad stats, but they weren’t great either. The hope will be for more consolidations of scoring at the receiving position, and better output as well. I am cautious to say that is a go because I do not know the QB, but it is a situation to monitor.
Defense: This is a defense on the decline, especially in the passing game. The DL isn’t awful, and should be a middle of the road producer like last year, but the LBs and especially the DBs will take a major hit, and it will be tough for them to produce to last years stardards. I think Oregon State could be a bottom 25% defense.
Players to Watch: Storm Woods is really intriguing in this offense so I will peg him as the guy to watch.
Team: Stanford
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 66
Rushing Offense – 72
Overall Offense – 77
Passing Defense – 8
Rushing Defense – 7
Overall Defense – 3
Points Scored – 27.2
Points Allowed – 16.4
Offense:
QB – Kevin Hogan is returning for his senior year. He didn’t perform poorly, but he also didn’t do anything that would really blow you away. This team has solid pieces on both side of the ball to make a very serious run at the playoffs, but the team is going to need an above average year out of Hogan.
RB /OL– This is one of the best OLs in the country, but there is no clear cut starting RB. Both Redmound Wright and Christian McCaffrey could take the lead at some point early on and quite frankly I think it will be imperative for that to take place in order to see this team prosper.
WR/TE –Ty Montgomery is gone to the NFL leaving Devon Cajuste and Austin Hooper as the top targets on the team. They are deep at TE which could be a difference maker when it comes to the red zone. I think the receiving numbers will increase because I think Hogan’s numbers will increase.
Defense: This was one of the top defenses in the country last year, and they will need it to be again is they plan on contending. Overall, I think this defense is not as good as last year, but will still come close to be a top 10 defense. Ultimately, I think more of the emphasis is going to be on the offense to produce.
Players to Watch: I don’t really like anyone specifically at this time, with the exception of Hooper because I love TE’s for fantasy purposes.
Team: Washington
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 89
Rushing Offense – 42
Overall Offense – 77
Passing Defense – 123 [6th worst]
Rushing Defense – 22
Overall Defense – 80
Points Scored – 30.2
Points Allowed – 24.8
Offense:
QB – Cyler Miles won’t be the starting QB of this team this year so it looks like the first shot will go to Jeff Lindquist. I don’t like this situation very much and I think it is going to be a difficult year for the Huskies to muster up much in terms of passing. I think around 2,000 yards is totally possible.
RB /OL– 149 career starts are gone, and that is a major loss. The narrative of this being the 2nd year in this offense is a moot point to me. I think Dwayne Washington will carry the bulk of the offense and he has the best shot of being the top overall producer for the team. 1,000 yards is not totally out of the questions.
WR/TE – Their top receivers including Jaydon Mickens and John Ross will return, but with the unknown at QB, it is very hard for me to get very excited about this team. I do think for the most part, these two should be the focus of the receiving corp, but I cant see either putting up stunning numbers.
Defense: The DL and LBs are going to lose a ton of starters, and that means the pass rush will be weak, giving teams all day to pass and run at will. The DBs look to be in good shape, but I cant feel great about it considering how soft they will be up front. I think there is a very real threat this team defense circles the drain in 2015.
Players to Watch: Dwayne Washington is the most interesting guy here, as there just really is not much else to love.
Team: Washington State
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 1
Rushing Offense – 128 [worst, 39.8 YPG]
Overall Offense – 7
Passing Defense – 127 [2nd worst]
Rushing Defense – 40
Overall Defense – 99
Points Scored – 31.8
Points Allowed – 38.6
Offense:
QB – Luke Falk is set to take over for record holder Connor Halliday. Falk did great in relief of Halliday in 2014, and with his receiving corp somewhat intact, he should be in for another big year in the Mike Leach air raid offense. He should easily top 4000 and 30 scores.
RB /OL– OL has been a problem, but it looks the best it has been in awhile. With no disrespect to any of the running backs, this is a pass heavy team, so while the numbers are likely to increase this year, it will not be by anything amazing.
WR/TE – While Vince Mayle and Isiah Myers are gone, River Cracraft and Dom Williams return, as well as Gabe Marks who was out of the 2014 season. This should be another big year for all three of those guys with Marks being in my opinion the top guy. This passing offense will remain a very fun offense to watch.
Defense: This defense is bad, and I think it is likely to remain in a similar position to last year. I think their rushing D will be more susceptible with a highly questionable DL, so I think that will take some of the focus off the passing game. I wouldn’t expect them to be the 2nd worst pass D, but I don’t think they will be above 100 in the Pac-12
Players to Watch: Falk, Marks, Cracraft and Williams are all guys to target in fantasy this year due to this teams penchant for passing and scoring.
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