SnoTap College Football Preview: Pac-12 North

Finally, the college football previews are beginning on SnoTap. We are trying something new looking at divisions/conferences as a whole versus breaking down every team. We look at the power six conferences, Notre Dame and independents and mid-majors. 

People do not talk enough about the Pac-12. For my money, it is the second or third-best conference in college football behind the SEC and in a good year, the Big 12. It is truly because some of their best games do not start until 10:30 pm Eastern time, but God bless em for those games. Nothing is better than a good Pac-12 game at the bar to avoid all social interaction.

We start in the North where they are all battling to be the King.  Good thing there is no such thing as the Red Wedding.


FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH
QB Kevin Hogan (Stanford) - The best move that could have happened to the Cardinal was Hogan taking over at quarterback.  He went 5-0 with four wins against Top 25 teams.  This will be a tougher campaign for the young quarterback as he loses all of his talented receivers and backfield from last year. I could see a little struggle from him early on as the new pieces begin to fit into the puzzle. If everything works right for Hogan, he might be a fringe Heisman contender this year.

RB DeAnthony Thomas (Oregon) - I REALLY SHOULD WRITE THIS PARAGRAPH IN ALL CAPS GIVEN THOMAS' USE OF CAPS LOCK THROUGH HIS WHOLE TWITTER FEED.  But I will not because I love you guys. Thomas is a Swiss army knife. While his rushing numbers went down last season, he stayed consistent in terms of catching the football.  He also had two special teams touchdowns, one of each. Thomas needs to be a little more productive running the football but make no mistake he is a complete game changer.

RB Bishop Sankey (Washington) - Maybe it is because I live in the Midwest or Washington being an average team, but people do not talk enough about Bishop Sankey. He had a monster 2012 campaign rushing for over 1,400 yards with 16 touchdowns. He is a bruiser that can wear the best teams down throughout a full four quarters.  My one worry with him going forward might be his carries. Sankey had 289 last season which is a ton for a sophomore running back. If Keith Price can figure it out his senior year, Sankey and him could lead the charge to an impressive season.

LB Shayne Skov (Stanford) - A first-team member for the Van Wilder team for sure. Skov seems like he played at Stanford since Sean Parker was hooking up with chicks there. Even if we joke about Skov's time at Palo Alto, he is a monster and the anchor to the impressive Stanford defense.  Skov had a season-ending knee injury in early September of 2011, but he battled back nicely last season. It appeared Skov got stronger as the season went on. I expect a great year from him.

WR Brandon Cooks (Oregon State)  - Oregon State seems to be home to wide receivers more so than people would imagine.  They had Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the past, and while he did not make an impact in the NFL, James Rodgers was pretty damn good. Crooks is the next in line. He had over 1,100 yards receiving last year and can stretch the field with the best of em'.  Now he just needs the Beavers to pick a quarterback to throw him the ball.

FIVE GAMES TO WATCH
\Saturday October 12th - Oregon at Washington - Possible upset alert here? The Ducks travel to the new Husky Stadium which looks like it could be a house of horrors for opposing teams.  The only problem is the Ducks have won nine straight in convincing fashion. Maybe it will be the new stadium that does the trick for the Huskies.

Saturday October 19th - UCLA at Stanford - Kevin Hogan found a way to beat this team twice last season. Once in the regular season and then again in the Pac-12 Championship. UCLA is the favorite in the Pac-12 South and they will be looking for revenge. This is one of the best Pac-12 games on the schedule.

Thursday November 7th - Oregon at Stanford - Another deserving of that title is a battle between the supposed top two teams in the division. They play on a Thursday night adding more intrigue to this game. The Ducks lost last year in Autzen to the Goofy Tree as Oregon took over the top spot in the polls only to lose in overtime at home. One of the best games of the year last season.

Saturday November 23rd- Washington at Oregon State - Sure, it is not as exciting as some of the other games mentioned, but it still has a chance to be important when it comes to placing in the Pac-12 North. The last time the Huskies won in Corvallis was 2003.

Saturday November 30th - Notre Dame at Stanford - Another game that was right up there when talking about the best of the year.  Josh Nunes still played quarterback for Stanford and they were this close from beating the Irish in South Bend. The rematch at Palo Alto with both teams fighting for a BCS spot should be an awesome sight.

FIVE QUESTIONS TO PONDER
How legit is Stanford's Chances at competing for the Crystal Ball? - Pretty good honestly. At the end of the year, I could definitely see it being Stanford-Alabama which would make for a hell of a football game. The Cardinal play all their tough games at home this season and USC/Oregon State are probably the only two that pose threats on the road.  The toughest stretch for Stanford will be facing UCLA, Oregon State, Oregon and USC all in a row.

How much pressure is on new Oregon coach Mark Helfrich? - I would say minimal this year and maybe more so next year. I do not expect him to be the next Chip Kelly nor should you. He does have the pieces to return the Ducks to a BCS bowl game though with nine starters back on offense and seven on defense.

Washington, the school with the most pressure this season? - Maybe that's a little intense of a statement, but the Huskies should feel some pressure. They have not been the team that I think everyone expected when Steve Sarkisian took over the program in 2006.  In the last three years, the Huskies have had three straight 7-6 season basically making them the Milwaukee Bucks of the Pac-12.  I do not know if this year will be any different so I have to wonder if the natives will get restless.

Will the Bear Raid spark any upsets? - When I say new California head coach will be going with a true freshman at quarterback, I chalked up a win for Ohio State in Week 2 as the Buckeyes travel to Berekley. But as the year goes on and Dykes system gets implemented, Cal might be a dangerous team in the final five weeks of the season.  They host Arizona and USC in November and they travel to Stanford to finish the year.  I feel like they are a year or two away but lurking in the woods.

Will David Shaw bolt to the NFL if the Cardinal have another good year? - I feel like he is the next college coach to be offered big money to leave the college game. Shaw has nine years of NFL experience as a scout and could definitely make the leap if a team, say the Dallas Cowboys, has a job opening up.

PROJECTED FINISH
1.) Stanford
2.) Oregon
3.) Washington
4.) Oregon State
5.) California
6.) Washington State

Goofy Tree has a good schedule and seasoned coach. The Huskies will finish 7-6 again and we can call them the Bucks of the College Football!

Charlie.

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