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By Ted Miller
We -- you and the Pac-12 blog -- spend most of our analytical energy trying to figure out who's going to win. But let's be negative Nellys for a bit.
Who's going to finish last?
Most folks probably would say 1-4 Colorado is headed for the South Division basement and 0-4 Oregon State seems disposed to finish last in the North. But things can change quickly in college football.
If Arizona is going to mount the second-half turnaround many have projected, it almost certainly must begin Saturday at Oregon State. And if the Beavers are going to salvage their season, it almost certainly must begin against a beleaguered Wildcats defense at home. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Mannion won't have it easier at any point this season.
Fans of the losing team in Corvallis have every right to feel desperate.
Then you have Washington State at UCLA. If the Cougars win, we can officially promote them from the bottom of the conference. At 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play, Coug fans can start thinking about a bowl game. And coach Paul Wulff will have his future to sell in recruiting.
And if UCLA loses, well, it's hard to imagine coach Rick Neuheisel's relentless optimism winning over anyone from then on. Things could get ugly in Westwood.
Colorado's bounce-back date after the dispiriting home loss to Washington State, a game which the Buffs led by 10 in the fourth quarter? A road trip to No. 7 Stanford. That's Andrew Luck versus a hodgepodge secondary. Good luck with that.
If any team could use a bye, it's Colorado. But the Buffs have 13 consecutive weeks of games.
Beyond the obvious contestants for the division cellars, this is at least worth noting: Utah, 0-2 in conference play with No. 22 Arizona State coming to town, has issues without Jordan Wynn at quarterback.
It seems like the Utes have too many good players, are too good on defense and are too well-coached to completely flop. But it's not easy to win in this conference if you can't score, and we have no earthly idea what Jon Hays -- a summer transfer from Nebraska-Omaha -- will bring to the huddle. The official word on Wynn is two to three weeks. It could be longer, though, and that won't be good for the Utes.
So who brings up the rear? We'll certainly have a better idea by Sunday morning.
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Pac-10 Blog
Click here to view the article.
We -- you and the Pac-12 blog -- spend most of our analytical energy trying to figure out who's going to win. But let's be negative Nellys for a bit.Who's going to finish last?
Most folks probably would say 1-4 Colorado is headed for the South Division basement and 0-4 Oregon State seems disposed to finish last in the North. But things can change quickly in college football.
If Arizona is going to mount the second-half turnaround many have projected, it almost certainly must begin Saturday at Oregon State. And if the Beavers are going to salvage their season, it almost certainly must begin against a beleaguered Wildcats defense at home. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Mannion won't have it easier at any point this season.
Fans of the losing team in Corvallis have every right to feel desperate.
Then you have Washington State at UCLA. If the Cougars win, we can officially promote them from the bottom of the conference. At 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play, Coug fans can start thinking about a bowl game. And coach Paul Wulff will have his future to sell in recruiting.
And if UCLA loses, well, it's hard to imagine coach Rick Neuheisel's relentless optimism winning over anyone from then on. Things could get ugly in Westwood.
Colorado's bounce-back date after the dispiriting home loss to Washington State, a game which the Buffs led by 10 in the fourth quarter? A road trip to No. 7 Stanford. That's Andrew Luck versus a hodgepodge secondary. Good luck with that.
If any team could use a bye, it's Colorado. But the Buffs have 13 consecutive weeks of games.
Beyond the obvious contestants for the division cellars, this is at least worth noting: Utah, 0-2 in conference play with No. 22 Arizona State coming to town, has issues without Jordan Wynn at quarterback.
It seems like the Utes have too many good players, are too good on defense and are too well-coached to completely flop. But it's not easy to win in this conference if you can't score, and we have no earthly idea what Jon Hays -- a summer transfer from Nebraska-Omaha -- will bring to the huddle. The official word on Wynn is two to three weeks. It could be longer, though, and that won't be good for the Utes.
So who brings up the rear? We'll certainly have a better idea by Sunday morning.
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Pac-10 Blog
Click here to view the article.
