Pac 12 Countdown: North 1/2: Stanegon
As should be obvious by now, I love talking about Pac-12 football. I love arguing Matt Barkley v. Nick Foles, I love considering whether Washington could actually be better this year in spite of losing Jake Locker, and I love trying to figure out if this is finally the year Arizona State doesn’t screw everything up.
But when you talk Pac-12 this season, all those questions lie in the shadow of this one: Oregon or Stanford? I enjoyed watching Oregon’s team last year as much as any team in years and with Darron Thomas and LaMichael James returning, it would seem like the Ducks are lined up to make a return to the BCS Championship game.
But writing my Pac 12 previews have required me to look a little deeper and I’ve gone back and forth on the Cardinal/Ducks question so many times, it seems like the only appropriate way to handle it is with a piece by piece breakdown of the Pac’s two best teams:
Oregon averaged an absurd 47 points and 531 yards per game last year and was held under 5 touchdowns only twice, by Cal and Auburn. The Ducks also boasted an opportunistic defense that netted a +13 turnover margin.
Oregon plays it’s home games with perhaps the strongest home field advantage anywhere, but last year, it didn’t matter where they played. They won at Tennessee, and at USC (you can’t hide Lane Kiffin) They won ugly at Cal and won pretty in Corvallis. With All Pac-10 players scattered on both sides of the ball, and an offensive scheme that no one save Auburn (and Cal, if you count faking injuries to slow the game down) seemed prepared for, the Ducks were a juggernaut.
But Stanford’s season was nothing to scoff at. Oregon was the only team to beat Stanford last season and the Cardinal played well enough that the Pac-10 had two representatives in BCS bowls for the 1st time ever. And it was the Cardinal, not the Ducks who got a win in January.
Both teams finished 12-1, both finished in the top 5 and both feel like they’re one step away from a national championship. So who will Finish on top?
COACHING:We’ll start by taking a look at the helm. Jim Harbaugh just completed one of the great turnarounds in modern college football history at a school where there were supposed to be institutional inpedements to winning. And they said you can’t recruit football players to a place where the Co-eds look like Chelsea Clinton.
Now Harbaugh has gone to stick in Pete Carroll’s craw somewhere else and though I knew he was replaced by his longtime offensive coordinator, I didn’t even know the guy’s name. It’s David Shaw and though I’m sure continuity on the staff is the best thing for the program, he can’t yet compare to Chip Kelly.
I love everything about Kelly. His innovative approach, his no-nonsense attitude, his steady demeanor and his up-tempo style, and his(relatively) quick,intense, no wasted steps, practice philosophy.
Kelly has won back-to-back Pac-10 Coach of the Year awards and is one of the great innovators in the game. That means: BIG EDGE: OREGON
QUARTERBACKS: Darron Thomas just had one of the most impressive seasons by a first year starter I’ve ever seen (too bad he ran into the best one ever in the BCS Championship Game). He took over one of the most complex offenses in college football that required him not only to learn all the plays, but to learn all the other defenses well enough to make split second pitch or keep decisions in the speed option. A 12-1 season that saw him roll up 62% passing for 2900 yards, a 30:9 ratio and rush for 5.2 yards per carry later, I’d say he picked up the system rather well.
Unfortunately for Thomas, he’s in the same division with a guy who may just inspire a Durant/Oden NBA lottery style tank-fest in the NFL. Andrew Luck isn’t just the best quarterback in the Pac-12, he’s the best quarterback in college football and in my view, the best the Pac has seen since Aaron Rodgers. He completed 71% of his passes last year with a 32:8 ratio and has a feel for the game that you just don’t see very often. He’s the most physically gifted, will put up the best numbers and his preternatural leadership will smooth the transition from Harbaugh to Shaw. Barring injury, he should win The Pac-12’s Offensive Player of the Year Award for a 2nd straight season. BIG EDGE: STANFORD.
OFFENSIVE LINE: These are two big-time offenses with stars at the skill positions that grab all the headlines, but there is no big star in the backfield without stellar play up front. Both offenses had that last season, and both lost three of five starters to graduation. Stanford lost a 1st Team All-American Center in Chase Beeler and 2nd team All-Pac -10 guard Andrew Phillips. Oregon also lost two linemen that earned All-Pac 10 honors last season.
The Ducks and Cardinal have both recruited very well in recent years and have a nice pool of talent to develop from, but Stanford’s two returning O-Linemen are both 1st Team All-Pac-12: Guard David DeCastro and Tackle Jonathan Martin. Oregon should be good up front again, but right now it’s all just speculation. Unfortunately, speculation doesn’t block LSU Defensive Ends. EDGE: STANFORD.
TOMORROW: Tailbacks, Defense, Special Teams, Schedule and… The Final Verdict