Back in the day, when the NCAA Football series was still a thing, (With all due respect, fuck you Ed O’Bannon….no offense) my buddy and I used to line up each of the conferences and play out the games to find out who was the best conference.  Since we can no longer do this because the NCAA sucks, we’ve decided to take matters into our own hands and let the Student Section vote on it.  We had our followers vote on the top conferences and it came out as follows:

1. SEC
2. B1G
3. ACC
4. PAC 12
5. Big 12

We then set up a bracket that with those conference rankings.  The Big 12 and PAC 12 will have a “play in game” to play the SEC and the B1G will match up with the ACC.  Within each conference, we had our EXPERT contributors put together a preseason rankings to figure out the match ups.  Our contributors then wrote a quick blurb on why their team would beat their counterpart.  Now we need your help.  We need you to vote on the match ups below to help us figure out who is the dominate conference since the NCAA and Ed O’Bannon won’t let us.  We will be rolling these votes out over the course of the next two weeks leading us right up to the first weekend of college football.

Texas vs Colorado

Texas – Frank Fanelli

Tim Beck might be the offensive coordinator, but this is Tom Herman’s offense. Both coaches will try to make sure the Longhorns achieve Ohio State-like success right away. Of course, the main man in the attack isn’t around anymore. The Longhorn ground game has to try replacing 2,000-yard back D’Onta Foreman, meaning bruiser Chris Warren will have to carry the majority of the load this year. Four starters are back up front for a young and improving line to help pave the way. Almost all of the top receiver weapons return for a passing game that should be even more explosive under the new staff. Now the coaches just have to acknowledge what everyone already knows, Shane Buechele is the starter, and he’s going to be terrific.  On the defensive side, Todd Orlando’s defense will be loaded with experience, returning ten starters and a whole boatload of veterans to work into a rotation.  Now they have to be more physical, crank up an even stronger pass rush, and improve the defense that was 105th in the nation in passing yards allowed, and I believe they will do that.  That coaching staff is going to whip those boys into shape and believe it or not….TEXAS IS BACK BABY, Longhorns all the way!

Colorado – Brendan Smith

In Phillip Lindsay, Colorado’s offense returns its leading rusher from last season. Lindsay rushed for an impressive 1,189 yards and 16 touchdowns last year for a team that went 10-3 (8-1) and won the Pac 12 South. Steven Montez will take over as the signal-caller, after going 2-1 as a starter last season, totaling 1,017 passing yards and 9 touchdowns in 10 games. Shay Fields, who led the team with 845 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns last season, also returns, giving Montez a potent, experienced target. Moreover, Colorado is an explosive first-half team, with 263 of their 427 points coming in the first half of games.

Defensively, the Buffs proved they can dominate games, keeping four opponents under 10 points, including a 10-5 victory over Stanford. Second-leading tackler Rick Gamboa (79 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 INT, 1 TD) returns to anchor the defense. The defense also recorded an impressive 36 sacks on the season.

A dynamic defense combined with an explosive offense should give Colorado the ability to compete for a Pac-12 title, one year after losing to Washington in the championship last year. The Buffs will rely on Phillip Lindsay to beat the Longhorns.

Baylor vs Utah

Baylor – Austin Brown

Anu Solomon went 2-0 against Utah while he was at Arizona, and neither of those teams had the talent or coaching prowess that Baylor has. I know Solomon hasn’t technically been named the starter yet, but I am determined to speak it into existence. Phil Snow will have Baylor’s defense playing at a much higher level than in years past. That being said, it won’t take much defense to stop Troy Williams and the Utah offense. Utah is simply not that good. Disclaimer: if Matt Rhule does a dumb thing and starts Zach Smith over Solomon, Baylor would probably lose this game and many others as well.

Utah – Braeden Mueller

This game will be the closest game out of the bunch we have analyzed. Now I believe Utah will win because of the ability to grind the game and control the tempo. Utah is notorious for running the ball, racking up their time of possession, and wearing out the defense (or lack of defense in Baylor’s case). They did lose many stars and play-makers, but their game revolves around the next man up mentality. If the game becomes a typical offensive dominated game, then I have no faith in Utah. Although in reality, it’ll become a struggle between two mediocre teams. Prediction Utah- 21. Baylor-14

Texas Tech vs UCLA

Texas Tech – Frank Fanelli

The offense continued to be the typical Texas Tech offense by putting up 44 points per game while also leading the nation in total yards and passing, averaging 565 total yards per game with 463 of them through the air. It’s not just about the interchangeable parts, but the system continues to work under offensive coordinator Eric Morris. Stud QB Patrick Mahomes is gone, but Nic Shimonek leads the pack of options to take over the reins. The top four receivers are back, with all of them catching at least 50 passes with seven TD’s last year. Da’Leon Ward and the top three backs return, and they have to carry the load more after Mahomes handled a good portion of the running work. The line needs a little shuffling after allowing just 14 sacks, but three decent starters are back. Their “defensive coordinator” David Gibbs is back, and his success should be tied into the entire Red Raider season. Rosen eats, but Tech scores enough to win in a shoot out.

UCLA – Austin Montgomery

The Texas Tech secondary is a mouth watering entree for UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen to feast on. This is probably the most lopsided mismatch in our BIG 12 vs Pac-12 previews. UCLA’s offense ranked 55th in S&P last year despite having the nation’s second worst rushing attack and playing without their star QB for their last 8 games.  The UCLA returns a boatload on offense anchored by an offensive line with 52 combined starts, two leading receivers Darren Andrews and Jordan Lasley, as well as running back Soso Jamabo. New offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, who coached under Jim Harbaugh the last couple years, will bring toughness to the UCLA offensive creating a more balanced attack. This is the guy who helped make Jake Rudock into an NFL player. Texas Tech’s defense ranked 125th in S&P last year. After star nose tackle Breiden Fehoko transferred this spring, the Red Raiders lacks a single top 100 defensive recruit on their roster. In addition, UCLA has the athletes on defense to keep up with the speed of Tech’s offense.  UCLA loses a lot of defense, but they are loaded with tons of untapped defensive talent. On the ends they have former 5 star defensive end Keisean Lucier South, who is finally ready to see some action filling out his 6’6 frame from 210 to 240 pounds over 3 years. UCLA brings in 2017 top prospect in defensive end Jaelan Phillips who has garnered Myles Garrett comparisons.  UCLA has elite athleticism in their linebacking corps headlined by Kenny Younge, Josh Woods, and redshirt freshmen Mique Juarez. All three players were top 5 recruits at their positions. UCLA returns one of the top secondaries in the Pac-12 headlined by elite safety combo Jaleel Wadood and Adarius Pickett. In Vegas, UCLA would be a 10 point favorite over Tech in a possible neutral site game.

Iowa State vs Arizona State

Iowa State – Brendan Smith

Year 2 of the Matt Campbell regime will begin with enthusiasm in Ames. While a 3-9 record may look terrible, there are a couple of silver linings in that bleak record. Quarterbacks Jacob Park and Joel Lanning threw only 8 interceptions all year, while totalling 21 touchdowns, receiver Allen Lazard gained 1018 yards through the air and 7 touchdowns, and all three return to lead Campbell’s offense. In addition, leading rusher David Montgomery also returns after rushing for 563 yards as a freshman last season.

While things are looking up on offense, the outlook on the defense is still bleak. As a unit last season, the Cyclones managed just 19 sacks and 13 turnovers last season. On the bright side, Willie Harvey, the team’s leading tackler, returns, as well as Kamari Cotton-Moya, who tied for the team lead with 2 interceptions. Lanning will also now be playing the defensive side of the ball, taking up a role as a linebacker now. Both Harvey and Cotton-Moya will be counted on by Campbell to lead the defense.

Park and Lazard will lead a powerful offense that averaged 27.67 points per game, while Campbell’s main focus will be righting the ship of the defense. Campbell did bring in a decent recruiting class, ranking 53rd in the nation (24/7 Sports), the best class since 2006. In a battle of mediocrity, Iowa State may have an advantage because of their upward swing.

Arizona State – Braeden Mueller

First off, this is a slap in the face of an Arizona State student and fan by matching up with Iowa State. Secondly, I shouldn’t have to write much on this issue. ASU will win and destroy ISU, simple? The reasoning is that the Sun Devils offense will be top 25 in the nation this year. This year the Devils have the best backfield in the country with Kalen Ballage, Demario Richard, and Eno Benjamin. Next up will be the returning star of N’keal Harry, and John Humphries who will secure our receiving core. Manny Wilkins is starting the season as QB1, and if he stays healthy, he could be amazing in our new system. If he gets injured, the QB position will be okay. ASU will lose the game if their defense is just as bad as last year (and that is highly unlikely). Iowa State is literally the joke of the Big-12, Arizona State is a middle of the pack team in the PAC-12. Prediction: ASU: 63, ISU: 42.

Kansas vs California

Kansas – Cody Goggin

This may finally be the year! Yes, it is actually happening… Kansas should win their first road game since 2009. Although this team is trending in the right direction and slowly getting better, that is more than can be said for Cal as they are currently bottoming out. Kansas is getting better in the trenches and just improving in general. Both teams may finish 3-9 this year, but the Jayhawks would put up the better fight and win their first non-conference Power 5 game since Nam.

California – Jacob Allen