Big 12 vs PAC 12 Part Two

Welcome to day two of our quest to find out who is the one conference to rule them all.  In case you missed day one, you can revisit it here to catch up.  The PAC 12 won day one 3-2 with wins from:  UCLA, ASU, and Cal.  The Big 12 was able to pick up wins from Texas and Baylor.  We finish off the play in round one with the big dogs from both conferences, headlined by a quarterback match up we all would love to see.

Oklahoma vs USC

Oklahoma – Anthony Ventura

Oklahoma, for a while now, has been one of the premier college football teams in the country. They did lose their coach, Bob Stoops, but new coach Lincoln Riley has been with the program for a while now, so he knows how the program is run, and will continue the tradition of success. Oklahoma did lose production from the RB and WR slots, but they bring back Baker Mayfield, who is one of the favorites to win the Heisman. His skill alone could put up 40+ points on almost any Pac 12 team, USC included. USC last year lost 3 of the first 4 games, albeit pre-Sam Darnold, but still, it is possible they could fall into the trap this year. Darnold is another Heisman favorite for many, but last year was also his first year, so he could have a sophomore slump around the corner, whereas Mayfield has been doing this at Oklahoma for 2+ years and he will be ready to torch USC’s defense. If Penn State scored 49 on USC, Oklahoma can put up even more than that. It will be a shootout, and Big 12 teams are used to that. Oklahoma for the win.

USC – Austin Montgomery

The Trojans enter the season as the hottest team in the country, winning nine straight to end the 2016 college football season; that climaxed with a thrilling comeback victory over Penn St in the Rose Bowl. USC is led by Heisman trophy contender and top NFL prospect Sam Darnold.   Along with Darnold, USC returns junior running back Ronald Jones, who is set to have a breakout season. Oklahoma returns a top secondary, so they may possibly be able to control Arnold’s aerial attack, however they would be outmatched in trying to stop USC on the ground.  Oklahoma’s rush defense was average last year, ranking 55th in the pass-happy Big 12. However, when facing teams that had the ability to “ground and pound”, the Sooners’ defense got manhandled.   Oklahoma has 4 new starters in their front seven and do not possess an elite pass rusher who could take advantage of USC’s average pass protection.  I expect the Trojans offense to put up 50 points on this Oklahoma defense.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Trojans are more talented than any team Oklahoma will face in the Big 12. USC returns a talented linebacking duo in Porter Gustin and Cameron Smith. Despite losing Adore Jackson in the first round of the NFL draft, the Trojans still return a potential first round talent at corner in Iman Marshall. Marshall is accompanied by other talented corners Isaiah Langley and NFL prospect Marvell Tell.

In this matchup, look for USC to overrun the Oklahoma defense, and expect Baker Mayfield and company to be shocked by a team actually trying to play defense.

Oklahoma State vs Washington

Oklahoma St– Cody Goggin

I would love to actually see an Oklahoma State-Washington game in real life, and who knows, maybe come January we will. In this matchup Oklahoma State would wreck the Huskies though. Washington loses three high-end defensive backs to the NFL draft and Oklahoma State has what may be the best QB/WR combo in the country in Mason Rudolph and James Washington. This duo destroys defenses all around the Big 12 and they certainly wouldn’t mind running over Washington, just as Bama did in the playoffs. The Cowboys also have a good front seven and a solid offensive line to neutralize the strengths of Washington. With the amount of points Rudolph and Co. would put up, I think that the Cowboys would show up and put Washington in a body-bag pretty easily.

Washington– Frank Fanelli

The Huskies’ defense was the main reason for Washington’s rise to power last season, but the ultra-efficient offense had a little bit to do with it as well. The offense was fifth in the nation in passing efficiency and eighth in scoring, doing a great job of capitalizing on just about every opportunity. The O was great at blowing up when they got their shot. QB Jake Browning returns after a breakthrough season, but his main deep weapon, John Ross, is off in the show. Fortunately, Dante Pettis and his 15 touchdown grabs are back, along with almost everyone else in the loaded receiving corps. Myles Gaskin is back after running for almost 1,400 yards with ten scores, along with fantastic backup Lavon Coleman who averaged well over seven yards per pop. The defense was an absolute nightmare for opponents last season as the Huskies finished 12th in the nation in total defense and 8th in scoring defense. No one came up with more than 28 points against this group, holding down Alabama, Oregon, USC, Washington State. They are gonna be back this year, so watch out! Pick these Huskies all the way.

Kansas St vs Stanford

Kansas St– Jacob Allen

The Bill Snyder Fighting Wildcats will surprise some people when conference play arrives. Stanford would be an interesting match-up for K-State. The key is stopping Stanford on defense more than they score. The defense in Manhattan, and in most of the Big 12, is mediocre to weak. The Wildcats control the tempo by running the ball and having good clock management. With Bill Snyder bringing back one of his youngest groups in 2016, Kansas State is now more mature and ready for big time match-ups like a potential Stanford. Stanford likes to run the ball, and averaged 208.9 yards with Christian McCaffrey in the backfield. That would likely change this season with the subtraction of McCaffrey. K-State wasn’t too shabby on the ground themselves, averaging 115.8 rushing yards per game. K-State’s secondary last year was young and gave up a lot of yards in the air. This group should mature and play in the Wildcats’ favor. Controlling the score and the clockare always the two keys for K-State. If they accomplish this, they are a hard team to beat. 

Stanford– Luke Maiers

Stanford is never a bad team. They have been the definition of consistency since Jim Harbaugh came to Palo Alto, and that has held true through the David Shaw era. One thing is guaranteed, and that is the Cardinal will run the ball. They have the ability to bring in great lineman all the time and that is why we see white running backs like McCaffery and Gerhart succeed. K-State plays in the conference with the worst defenses in America, although Kansas State themselves were not horrible last season. I think Stanford would go all Rose Bowl on K-State like they did against Iowa in 2015-16 and destroy the Wildcats. Stanford is the more consistent program and arguably the most important thing to any football team is the offensive line, which Stanford never has problems with.

West Virginia vs Washington St

WVU– Anthony Ventura

WVU is coming off their best year since 2011, the first year of the Dana Holgorson era in Morgantown. They went 10-3 and are hoping to bring momentum to this year. They upgraded at the QB position, going from Skylar Howard to Will Grier. They bring back a lot of their production from the RB position, bring back a few wideouts, and will look to stay hot offensively. They will likely have the best safety tandem in the Big 12 after bringing back Dravon Askew-Henry from injury missing all last year. He was a freshman All American in 2014, and will likely help West Virginia’s attempt to hold down a vaunted passing attack from Washington State. Unfortunately for Washington State, all they have is passing. Their top rusher last year only had 585 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns. WVU won’t have to worry about depth lost at the defensive line position. They did lose some in the secondary, but the safety tandem will help, and DC Tony Gibson is great at coming up with a systems to stop a certain attacks. With WSU only able to do one thing on offense, Gibson should be able to stop, or at least limit, the attack. Advantage: West Virginia.

Washington St– Cody Goggin

Luke Falk is amazing. We could just leave it at that, but if you prefer for me to elaborate further, I will. West Virginia is hardly returning anyone from last year’s squad and will be down by a decent margin. The Mountaineers are one of the most overrated teams in the country coming into this season and Washington State is going nowhere but up. The Cougars have a great offensive line and a defensive that is improving every year. New Mountaineer QB Will Grier has played a total of two good games at the college level, causing West Virginia fans to put him on the same level as Jesus. Dana Holgorson will need a lot more Red Bulls to get through this rebuilding season. I think Wazzu would steamroll this future 6-6 West Virginia team by about 40 points.

TCU vs Oregon

TCU – Austin Brown

Remember the 2015  Alamo Bowl!? These two squared off two years ago in what will be remembered as one of the greatest collapses in college football history. Oregon was up 31-0 at halftime before Gary Patterson scarfed down a couple Whataburgers and gave what must have been the most inspiring halftime speech of the decade. TCU came back to win 47-41 in overtime. The Horned Frogs wouldn’t have as much trouble with Oregon this time around, as the Ducks have gotten worse each year since Chip Kelly’s departure. TCU’s defense is competent enough to stop a homeless man’s version of the Kelly offense. TCU wins this one and it ain’t even close.

Oregon– Braeden Mueller

Oregon would win this matchup because of the need for speed that is prevalent in the PAC-12. Oregon’s offense is tremendous at using their athleticism to their advantage, and when the game becomes a shootout, the PAC-12 takes the advantage. The only way Oregon will win is if the game becomes an offensive showdown because the defense for Oregon is fragile. I don’t believe in the offensive ability of the Horned Frogs. I do believe their defense is significantly better though. Prediction: Oregon 45- TCU 21