PAC 12: 2015 Season Predictions

Thank you to USC and UCLA looking like conference championship contenders and possible playoff contender early in the season.

In the Pac-12, five teams are ranked, while four teams look like a contender, and three teams are unbeaten.

UCLA, Utah, USC, and CAL are the top four contenders in the conference right now with Stanford closely behind them. Before the season my predictions for the Pac 12 championship game were CAL vs Utah. I am not changing them.

I  am here to write about all 4 teams doing good four weeks into the season and giving justice to USC and UCLA, who have both been proving me wrong in this first quarter of  the season.

Cal seems to have the easier road to the championship game than Utah.

For example last year in the Pac 12 south division 4 of the 5 teams were competing for the championship game.

This year it seems it will be different and only 3 teams look that they will be competing to win the south.

While in the North division Cal was in 4th last year behind Washington.

This year, with Oregon declining and Washington being average, Cal seems to be rising and Stanford is staying consistent.

For the North, Cal’s only competition to win their division is Stanford and and themselves.

They do face Washington St. this week who seem to be building chemistry and improving every week.

After that if they defeat them, their first real tough division test is against undefeated Utah who has a bye week this week.

Utah, on the other side, has a more difficult road to the Pac-12 championship game.

They have UCLA, USC in their division.

The good news for Utah is they are able to rest, recover, and heal since it is their bye week.

The bad news is they take on Cal next week.

With my preseason predictions it is possible that they can still come true yet even though circumstances have caused changes.

For example Utah now has their backup quarterback starting. Cal’s defense has been improving as well.

Cal’s quarterback Jared Goff has been carrying the team in the passing the game and being the leader Cal needs on offense and on the team.

If Cal can survive this week to stay undefeated when they play Utah that is good news for them.

It means another division win and that if they beat Utah who is ranked 11 Cal can move up  in the rankings and break the top 20 maybe top 15 — and Utah would drop to the top 20, possibly.

This is my guesstimate.

There is a problem with my predictions and for Cal and Utah,  USC has a bye week this week as well. After their loss to Stanford they came out and were resilient against Arizona St. USC looks like playoff team even though they lost to Stanford.

UCLA’s defense may have lost linebacker Myles Jack yet they got back Ishmael Adams, therefore it is like they didn’t even lose anyone.

UCLA’s defense has been carrying them.

Josh Rosen the freshman quarterback has been doing better than my expectations so far.

Utah and Cal are in need, especially early in the season, that the teams in the Pac-12 who are not doing well and are underdogs to defeat the more prominent and winning schools this week.

UCLA,USC, and Stanford look like they are the only other teams at the moment that can give CAL and UTAH some trouble.

I said Stanford because then Cal would would have no competition however Stanford may be inconsistent right now but in the Pac-12 North division they are Cal’s only competition.

If Arizona St. wins this weeks and Cal does as well that means “2 unbeaten teams are left in the Pac 12 Conference.”

One from each division.

This leads up to both those “unbeaten teams” if it comes true playing each other next week.

For me, it would be great if Cal lost to Utah then met them in the Pac-12 championship game — then my predictions would be pretty good.

However, circumstances do alter situations.

Anything can happen.

Cal can defeat Utah and climb the rankings and keep winning.

Then meet Utah again and then defeat them again proving to the committee that the Cal Golden Bears are a legitimate contending team for the conference and to watch out for them next year.

Then again neither team could make the Pac-12 championship game as well.

As I said, anything can happen.

Stanford and UCLA could make the Pac 12 championship game.

Even though I can be wrong and other teams are proving me wrong early in the season in what I said and think about them, I am sticking with my predictions.