Since the start it has looked like the Pac-12 will have a big year. Currently five Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 25. The two biggest games of week two were both played out west. USC beat Stanford 13-10 on the road. and Oregon beat Big Ten opponent 46-27 at home. It is almost impossible for the Pac-12 to not have a representative in the playoffs. Depending on what happens a Pac-12 team could end up being a favorite going in to the inaugural final four.
Both USC and Stanford looked very good throughout their game in Paulo Alto. Both defenses looked like they will be among the best in the country this year. While, both offenses tried to depend on power running games instead of passing. USC ran on 3rd down with 6 or more yards to go four different times. Showing that, first year starting QB Cody Kessler clearly isn’t fully trusted right now. Against the strong USC defense Stanford’s offense struggled. Third year starter Kevin Hogan looked like he hasn’t improved since year one despites the team’s necessity for his improvement. The run game took a step back from last year because of the graduation of Stephan Taylor. Stanford was clearly looking for Hogan and the passing game to take a step forward from safe game management to the cornerstone of the offense. . Both Stanford and USC are going to be physical defensive running teams modeled after the Stanford teams of the past few seasons and the Notre Dame team that lost the championship game two years ago. Right now USC looks like a better version of that team than Stanford does. If they way to take the Pac-12 title away from Oregon is with a defensive team then USC has the better shot.
The Pac-12 has for many years been known for its great offenses. Its teams would play up tempo and could score 60 points in any game. Michigan State experienced this firsthand when they went to Eugene to play Oregon in week two. But Michigan State was not blown away early. The Spartan’s forced a 3 and out on the opening series and slowed Oregon’s vaunted offense throughout the game. Michigan State had a 9 point lead with less than 20 minutes to go in the game before Oregon finally broke through. After Oregon’s offense had struggled the first two and a half quarters they returned to form and scored four unanswered touchdowns to close out the game. It was clear on Saturday that Michigan State’s defense can’t carry them in games against title contenders. Oregon’s defense isn’t even close to top 10 in the country, but it isn’t terrible either. Michigan State was held to just 3 points in the second half. If Oregon is going to win the title this year, then their defense will have to play well against some of the best offenses in the country. Michigan State’s offense is not on that level, but this game was a big test on a big stage for this defense and they played well.
Stanford or Oregon has won the Pac-12 every year since 2009 when it was called the Pac 10. The Stanford Oregon game each of the last two years has had huge national title implications, and Stanford has won both meetings. Oregon has always been built the same way over the course of their recent run of success. They run an up tempo offense, score a ton of points, and tire the opponent out with the pace of the game. The past two years Stanford has beat Oregon because its defense has been good enough to shut down the legendary Oregon offense. This has called in to question whether the offense is good enough to win a title. USC and Stanford both have great defenses and both will test Oregon. Oregon might not have a game where they play much better than they did on Saturday. If USC and Stanford can improve their QB play they could have great shots at beating Oregon and winning the Pac-12 with defense again. Once again, the Pac-12 Championship could come down to a game between Oregon’s high scoring offense and a great defense.
By Noah Gould
