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Reaction to Pac-12 developments connected and disconnected the tract …
1. The Jimmy Cruddy Bowl
Let’s statesman astatine the extremity of the week, with an abysmal show by Oregon State successful the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl.
The Beavers were favored by a touchdown implicit Utah State, scored connected their archetypal possession and caught an aboriginal interruption erstwhile the Aggies’ starting quarterback, Logan Bonner, near with an injury.
His replacement, Cooper Legas, was the 3rd stringer for astir of the play and had ne'er attempted a pass, truthful things were looking rather favorable for the favorites.
But past Legas dropped backmost and fto alert his archetypal propulsion arsenic a collegian. The 62-yard touchdown onslaught tied the score, changed the crippled and sent the Beavers connected their mode to an atrocious loss.
Oregon State’s violative line, 1 of the champion successful the Pac-12 each season, couldn’t grip the Utah State antiaircraft front.
Oregon State’s defence was a tick amended than it has been successful erstwhile games distant from Corvallis, but it wasn’t astir bully enough.
Also, the Beavers committed 13 penalties and didn’t play with astir the passionateness Utah State displayed.
OSU finished 2021 with a 7-6 grounds — a palmy season, sure, but not astir what it erstwhile seemed. After all, the Beavers were 5-2 and successful the hunt for the North part rubric aft a rousing late-October triumph implicit Utah.
But they mislaid 4 of their last six, played peculiarly poorly connected the road, fired their antiaircraft coordinator (Tim Tibesar) and ended the play with a implicit clunker.
Overall, the Beavers person made important advancement nether manager Jonathan Smith. The programme is airy years up of its presumption conscionable 3 seasons ago.
But clearly, they person loads much crushed to cover, particularly connected the antiaircraft side, earlier we tin envision them winning a part title.
2. Out with a whimper
Mercifully for america all, the Pac-12 has played its last crippled of the play against teams from the Mountain West oregon Brigham Young.
The ledger is ugly, incomprehensibly ugly, and the Pac-12 has cipher to blasted but itself.
The league finished with a 5-6 people against the MW and was 0-5 against BYU.
You tin bash the mathematics connected those 16 games. We won’t bother.
The results see 0-2 records against each of the Mountain West part winners.
Washington State and Oregon State mislaid to Mountain part champ Utah State.
Utah and Arizona mislaid to West part champ San Diego State.
There are a plethora of reasons for the Pac-12’s season-long struggles against its neighbors, and immoderate of them are rather credible.
But the bottommost enactment is simple: The league doesn’t triumph astir capable games against teams it should bushed based connected the caliber of rosters and the level of resources.
Forget the College Football Playoff drought oregon the predominant struggles against Power Five opponents.
Any sustained betterment for the Pac-12 indispensable statesman with the basics. It cannot suffer much games than it wins against the Mountain West.
That can’t happen.
And yet it did.
3. One down, 5 to go
We’re often asked whether vessel games matter, and the Hotline’s reply is ever the same: Yes, they matter.
They assistance signifier the conference’s reputation; successful definite situations, they interaction recruiting; they supply other signifier time; and they tin make further momentum, pursuing a palmy regular season, that carries into the ensuing year.
The Pac-12 definite could usage a palmy vessel season, but the likelihood of reputation-shifting period plunged with Oregon State’s loss.
The league has 5 games remaining and is an underdog successful each five.
UCLA is simply a constrictive canine against N.C. State; aforesaid with Washington State against Miami. Meanwhile, Oregon isn’t expected to bushed Oklahoma, and Arizona State and Utah are sizable underdogs against Wisconsin and Ohio State, respectively.
In different words, the Pac-12 was favored to triumph conscionable 1 of six vessel games — and it mislaid that 1 decisively.
We don’t expect an 0-for-6 performance, not by immoderate means. But it’s hard to ideate the league winning 4 of the last five, which is required to ascent onto the precocious broadside of .500.
4. Speaking of (potential) betterment …
Oregon State’s look works ended a five-day agelong of indisputably affirmative developments for the league — developments that supply glimmers of anticipation for 2022 and beyond.
One involves the formed of quarterbacks we tin expect to spot adjacent season. Three teams improved their options substantially this week.
— Tuesday brought quality that Indiana backmost Michael Penix is transferring to Washington, a determination that makes immense consciousness for some sides:
Penix was 1 of the apical quarterbacks successful the state successful 2019, erstwhile helium worked with Indiana violative coordinator Kalen DeBoer.
Yes, the precise aforesaid Kalen DeBoer who was precocious appointed caput manager connected Montlake.
Penix was not the aforesaid subordinate successful 2020-21, partially due to the fact that of injuries and partially due to the fact that DeBoer near Bloomington to instrumentality implicit Fresno State.
If helium stays steadfast — and that’s hardly a harmless stake — past Penix volition upgrade UW’s backmost play, either arsenic the starter oregon arsenic the seasoned barroom that Dylan Morris oregon Sam Huard is capable to clear.
— Two days later, a 2nd established backmost emerged from the transportation portal connected a Pac-12 campus:
Dillon Gabriel, who threw 70 touchdowns and lone 14 interceptions astatine UCF, announced helium volition decorativeness his vocation astatine UCLA.
Granted, Dorian Thompson-Robinson hasn’t confirmed (at slightest successful a nationalist manner) that he’s leaving schoolhouse for the NFL Draft. But it’s harmless to presume Gabriel wouldn’t beryllium heading to Westwood if helium suspected a three-year starter was returning for Year Four.
That seemingly leaves Gabriel to vie with Ethan Garbers for the starting job. The concern could beryllium overmuch worse for the Bruins. Much worse.
— One time later, connected Friday, came reports that a 3rd seasoned passer would articulation the Pac-12:
Purdue’s Jack Plummer is headed to Cal, wherever helium instantly becomes the overwhelming favourite to regenerate the departed Chase Garbers.
Now, Plummer’s vocation hasn’t been an unequivocal occurrence with the Boilermakers. He has missed clip due to the fact that of injuries and was pulled connected aggregate occasions for ineffective play.
Nonetheless, the Bears present person a Big Ten starter with 500 vocation attempts connected the roster to vie with freshman Kai Millner for the No. 1 job.
5. The aboriginal QB outlook
The barrage of transfers into the league supply a morsel of clarity into the backmost competitions that volition play retired this outpouring and possibly done grooming camp.
As of this moment, we spot the pursuing starters for each squad (returning starters successful italics):
Arizona: Jordan McCloud
Arizona State: Jayden Daniels
Cal: Jack Plummer oregon Kai Millner
Colorado: Brendon Lewis
Oregon: Ty Thompson
Oregon State: Chance Nolan
Stanford: Tanner McKee
UCLA: Dillon Gabriel oregon Ethan Garbers
USC: Jaxson Dart
Utah: Cameron Rising
Washington: Michael Penix oregon Sam Huard
Washington State: Jayden de Laura
That’s 8 returning starters, positive 3 starters (potentially) from different leagues, positive a five-star enlistee (Thompson).
At this extraordinarily aboriginal signifier of the 2021-22 offseason cycle, the Pac-12 is successful amended signifier astatine backmost than it was a twelvemonth ago.
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