On this episode, Nick and Drew from College Football Pros finish up their discussion and analysis on the PAC 12 South. Both hosts believe USC is the team to beat, but one of them does not think they will win the conference.
Pac 12-South
Team: Arizona
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 21
Rushing Offense – 47
Overall Offense – 26
Passing Defense – 121 [8th worst]
Rushing Defense – 70
Overall Defense – 105
Points Scored – 34.5
Points Allowed – 28.2
Offense:
QB – Anu Solomon had a strong freshman year, tossing for just under 3800 yards and 28 scores, adding 2 on the ground. There is nothing to suggest his numbers will decline in 2015, as he is returning his most prolific playmakers so I think another huge season around last years numbers are totally possible.
RB /OL– The OL sees some departures, but brings in some highly talented recruits, so that is a great sign. Nick Wilson was a revelation last year, and I believe it is likely he could see and increase in production yet again due to the departure of Terris Jones Grigsby. The offense will put up big numbers this year.
WR/TE – Austin Hill is the main loss, but both leading receiver Cayleb Jones and Samaje Grant are returning. This team is deep at the position, so it is very likely that last years numbers will repeat in 2015. It is not out of the question to see this unit exceed 4000 yards.
Defense: Overall, this was a bad defense, with the passing game being the pits. This year, the DBs lose a lot of experience, so that should raise an eyebrow off the rip. The LBs and DL are going to have more experience, so hopefully it is enough to put more pressure on the QB to take some stress of the DBs.
Players to Watch: Nick Wilson is going to be a consistent player to watch, and Solomon and the receivers as well will be good targets.
Team: Arizona State
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 33
Rushing Offense – 58
Overall Offense – 36
Passing Defense – 106
Rushing Defense – 51
Overall Defense – 83
Points Scored – 36.9
Points Allowed – 27.9
Offense:
QB – Mike Berkovici stepped in for the injured Taylor Kelly last year, and this offense didn’t skip that much of a beat. I think overall the numbers were less than expected, mostly because of the transition period, but I believe there is a good chance we can see numbers slightly above last year.
RB /OL– OL is returning 8/10 including the top players, so major plus there. DJ Foster is going to slide into a receiving role, leaving mostly Demario Richards and Kallen Ballage to handle the running duties. I think in some scenarios we will see Foster running the ball, but mostly I look for Richards to be the main guy.
WR/TE – Losing Jaelen Strong to the NFL is going to hurt this offense. I think it will struggle to see a replacement for Strong, and I can imagine a situation where DJ Foster and Cameron Smith take the lead of the receivers and combine for the majority of the receiving yards, with Richards/Ballage getting some run with checkdowns.
Defense: This was not a great defense last year, so there is a lot of room to make up here. I think it is one of the defenses that can legitimately improve from last years numbers. The defense is far more experienced than it has been, so it should be a nice step forward for the D in 2015.
Players to Watch: My favorites on this team are going to be Demario Richards and DJ Foster, as I think they have the best opportunity to produce in this offense.
Team: Colorado
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 20
Rushing Offense – 77
Overall Offense – 40
Passing Defense – 103
Rushing Defense – 104
Overall Defense – 114
Points Scored – 28.5
Points Allowed – 39 [10th most]
Offense:
QB – Sefo Liufau started off well, but struggled at the end of the year. For him to take the next step, I really think he needs to work on his control, as you can not be a QB throwing 15 picks in the Pac 12 and succeed. I think the opportunity is there with his skill and his surroundings, so it will be a make or break year here.
RB /OL– The OL is improved with more experience. This is done by committee, so there will be a few different backs that have the opportunity to stake their claim. Christian Powell led the team last year, so the expectations are that he will be the lead back to start the year this year.
WR/TE – Nelson Spruce kind of came out of nowhere last year to become to center of this passing attack. Coming into the season, the hype was all about Bryce Bobo, but there is a major difference between practice and games, and that translates into every sport. I think this will be the center of the program again.
Defense: The experience is important here, as there are a lot more starts here than last year, so the hope is that will translate into productiveness. I am not sure there is a correlation here. This one for me will be a wait and see, but I can really see this being a poor defense once again.
Players to Watch: Nelson Spruce is the guy to watch in Colorado. Everything else is a shot in the dark.
Team: UCLA
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 43
Rushing Offense – 34
Overall Offense – 23
Passing Defense – 96
Rushing Defense – 42
Overall Defense – 65
Points Scored – 33.5
Points Allowed – 28.1
Offense:
QB – Brett Hundley is gone, so that in itself is going to be a major battle to overcome. Jerry Neuhiesel looks to be the most likely to start for this team, and fortunately for him, he will have 10 starters returning around him, so that is a major plus. It would not be surprising to see production dip slightly, but all the starters that are left will make the transition much better.
RB /OL– The OL returns 6 guys who have been full time starters, so this is a major plus. Paul Perkins is in a great position to have some more reign given to him on offense with the transition to a new QB, so hopefully he can take advantage of it. I would like to see him get to 1700 and 15 scores and I don’t think its out of the question.
WR/TE – Literally all the major receivers are coming back so they will be giving the QB a lot to work with. Aside from Jordan Payton, the distribution was pretty diversified, so a lot of different players get in on the action. That is a great situation to be in. No coach will ever complain about having a ton of talented receivers to choose from.
Defense: All three positions gain a lot of experience, and even with losses, still figure to be in a better position than the previous year. Their schedule is very tough, so it is tough to imagine the defense improving dramatically, but they should be more competitive.
Players to Watch: Paul Perkins is my main guy on this team to look at. I think more of the offense will be formed around him which should yield better numbers in his junior year.
Team: USC
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 15
Rushing Offense – 68
Overall Offense – 31
Passing Defense – 118
Rushing Defense – 27
Overall Defense – 78
Points Scored – 35.8
Points Allowed – 25.2
Offense:
QB – Cody Kessler is among my favorite QBs in all of college football. I think this year is a return of USC football to relevance. I think Kessler can flirt with 4000 yards and 40 TDs, and even though he loses his main target in Nelson Agholor and top RB in Buck Allen, there is an immense amount of talent on this team and should not skip a beat into 2015.
RB /OL– Great OL, including the C, just like Kessler, who turned down the NFL for another year at USC. The OL was largely freshman last year, so they now increase experience as well. Though Buck Allen is gone, Justin Davis should do a good job taking his spot. I don’t think he puts up Allen like numbers, but I believe he will be a great alternative to the passing game.
WR/TE – Nelson Agholor is gone, and that is a big deal. This team is talented at this position, with my favorites being JuJu Smith and Adoree Jackson. I think these guys could both play big parts in this passing offense. JuJu is my favorite of the bunch. Additionally, there are some highly talented JC transfers coming in that will make things better for Kessler.
Defense: For this team to make the college football playoffs, the defense will have to improve dramatically, and I think that’s exactly what I will do. I think there will be a major turnaround at DB which will drop the passing ranking down considerably under 100. Additionally, they gain experience and have recruited well at DL and LB, so I think this is a defense built for success.
Players to Watch: Kessler by far, especially against Cal. I really can’t wait for that game.
Team: Utah
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 95
Rushing Offense – 41
Overall Offense – 79
Passing Defense – 93
Rushing Defense – 41
Overall Defense – 60
Points Scored – 31.3
Points Allowed – 24.9
Offense:
QB – In all likelihood, there will be a QB competition between Kendall Thompson and Travis Wilson. At this point it is tough to say who will win. However does will inherit some good pieces, though they do lose several strong pieces at the receiver position.
RB /OL– The OL is going to return a lot of starters so that should help to protect the QB and give stud RB Devontae Booker the space he needs to operate. Booker came out and had a great 2014 campaign, leaving many in the country expecting big things out of him in the 2015 campaign. If he hits 1500 yards again that will be great, but mostly you hope he generates more than the ten scores he had last year.
WR/TE – Kaelin Clay, Westlee Tonga and Dres Anderson are all gone, and those are big holes to fill. Fortunately, this offense has some talented playmakers to move on to in the form of Kenneth Scott and Bubba Poole. Last years production wasn’t amazing, so it won’t be hard to meet it, but I think the focus will be on Booker.
Defense: The defense was not awful last year, and suffered some losses to the DBs hurt them to start. Those players will return, with a former QB moving to this position, which could aid in development. The DL has been a focus of recruiting, so this unit should improve as well. Finally, most of the top guys are returning to the LB corp, so it should make for a solid defense in 2015.
Players to Watch: On this team, the only guy I am really looking at is Devontae Booker. I think much of the offense will run through him, giving him a good opportunity to rack up some big stats in his final year.
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