Biggest Storylines Heading into Pac-12 Opening Weekend

The last of the Power Five conferences kicks off this weekend when the Pac-12 begins its seven-game conference-only college football schedule. 

While it will be exceptional to have all of the big boys back in town, there are plenty of question marks. And that is even if you remove COVID-19 concerns from the equation.

Last year, the Pac-12 failed to place a participant in the College Football Playoff, and it hasn't since 2017, when No. 4 Washington lost to Alabama in the semifinal. 

It's been a long, winding road for the conference. The Oregon Ducks have made two coaching changes and surged back to the top of the conference. USC has struggled by its lofty historical standards.

This year, there is so much newness, including unproven coaches and playmakers for the top programs, that it's fair to question whether any team will be in the spotlight.

There are plenty of storylines around all of the member institutions, and in this uncertain climate, it's just good to see football being played. Let's take a look at some of the top things to watch as the Pac-12 kicks off Saturday.          

The Pac-12 is late to the game. While that's understandable amid the pandemic, it does raise the question of whether the College Football Playoff is a reasonable and attainable goal. 

If an unbeaten team emerges from the league, will it draw consideration for the playoff following only seven games? Several things probably need to take place in order for that to be the case.

First, a team would need to not only be undefeated but also be impressive week in and week out. It would also help matters significantly if the Pac-12 is healthy and playing strong games every Saturday.

The conference is walking into a golden opportunity, though. The upheaval that already has occurred in the Big 12 could play to the advantage of an unbeaten Pac-12 team.

That chaos was only compounded Saturday when Oklahoma State lost to Texas in overtime, leaving zero unbeaten Big 12 teams.

The championship picture is wide-open. Sure, a spot could go to a team like Notre Dame if it surprises Clemson and wins the rest of its contests or if a team like Georgia or Florida beats an undefeated Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Perhaps a one-loss Texas A&M team that doesn't have to play in the conference title game can get in.

A playoff spot could also go to Cincinnati or BYU—Group of Five teams looking dominant. But you'd think an undefeated Pac-12 program, even if it just plays seven games, would get a nod.

Oregon and USC are the most discussed possibilities for the playoff, and while the margin for error for anybody in such a short season is small, it's worth watching what criteria the committee values in an unprecedented situation.       

Head coach Mario Cristobal's Ducks have loads of talent, which makes them the favorite to win the conference again. 

But they are far from a slam dunk because of everybody they must replace.

The most obvious hole, of course, is the quarterback position, with Justin Herbert starting for the Los Angeles Chargers as a rookie. 

The favorite for the gig is last year's backup, Tyler Shough, though Cristobal hasn't announced a starter yet. Boston College graduate transfer signal-caller Anthony Brown could factor into the equation before the year is over and provide a different look with some run-pass option packages.

The roster has plenty of other question marks too. 

Several defensive leaders are no longer around. One of those is elite linebacker Troy Dye, who graduated after last year and is now playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Starting safety and Rose Bowl defensive MVP Brady Breeze opted out to focus on the 2021 NFL draft, as did fellow safety Jevon Holland and star cornerback Thomas Graham Jr.

Starting corner Deommodore Lenoir opted back in after originally saying he was going to sit out, which will give Oregon a boost. Of course, defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux should be a household name this year.

The biggest concern is the offensive line, where the Ducks must replace all five starters, including Outland Trophy winner Penei Sewell, who also opted out to focus on the draft.

Even with all those challenges, the Ducks should expect new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead to make a major impact after Marcus Arroyo left to become UNLV's head coach.      

Remember when Pete Carroll's USC Trojans were a threat to win the national title every year?

That was more than a decade ago, and the proud program has been meandering through the wilderness during the tenures of Lane Kiffin, interim coach Ed Orgeron, Steve Sarkisian and Clay Helton.

Not only have the Trojans fallen out of the national title picture, but they also lost out on a number of elite California prospects who left the state. This has all led to the temperature getting turned up on Helton, who desperately needs to have a rebound season to keep his job.

There are reasons to hope in 2020.

With returning star quarterback Kedon Slovis and a second year in coordinator Graham Harrell's offense, the Trojans should be exceptional on that side of the ball.

Playmakers abound, including on the receiving corps. The unit is full of guys who could start for anybody in the nation, with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns on the outside and Drake London in the slot. Redshirt freshman Bru McCoy should factor in too.

But the Trojans have major concerns on the other side of the ball, which ranked 77th out of 130 FBS teams last season. There's a new defensive coordinator in Todd Orlando, and injuries have decimated the linebacking corps. 

So, while there is excitement about the possibility of the Trojans being the top team in the South Division, it feels like they are still a couple of recruiting classes from being a contender with the unevenness on the roster.        

It's already been mentioned that Oregon has a quarterback conundrum on its hands as it tries to replace a first-round NFL draft pick, but the Ducks aren't the only ones looking at changes under center.

Equally important are the races in Utah and Washington, two other programs with high expectations.

With Tyler Huntley gone to the NFL, last year's South Division champions will be replacing him with South Carolina graduate transfer Jake Bentley, Drew Lisk or 2018 3-star recruit Cameron Rising. Head coach Kyle Whittingham likely won't announce a starter until the opening game, though he's told his team.

Regardless of who is under center, Whittingham told the Deseret News' Jeff Call his leash won't be long. 

"I don't see a quick hook, but that being said, we're not going to continue to stick with somebody if we're not getting results," he said. 

With 33 starts in the SEC for South Carolina, Bentley should have an edge. But Rising is too talented to ignore, so it's worth watching.

At Washington, things are a bit more fuzzy. Jacob Sirmon was expected to separate himself from graduate student Kevin Thomson, redshirt freshman Dylan Morris and true freshman Ethan Garbers, but that apparently hasn't happened.

According to Mike Vorel of the Seattle Times, head coach Jimmy Lake is prepared to play multiple quarterbacks if somebody doesn't do enough to claim the role before the season opener. That's a major storyline to watch considering the Huskies have a lot of talent all over the field in the first year of the post-Chris Petersen era.

There were QB battles at Colorado, Washington State and Oregon State, but those were are on smaller scales since none of those programs should be in the title race. While there's no question Arizona's Grant Gunnell and Stanford's Davis Mills will be under center, they weren't full-time starters last year.

That's a lot of new faces in important places.           

By now, everybody has heard of Clay Helton's situation at USC, though nobody is certain whether an unexpected seven-game season could be what sends him packing. 

There are several other Pac-12 coaches who may not be on the hot seat but need their teams to take a step forward in 2020 so they don't start sweating soon.

One of those guys is just across town from Helton in UCLA's Chip Kelly.

Though he was considered a high-profile hire three years ago to replace Jim Mora, he has come nowhere close to replicating the success he experienced at Oregon from 2009 to '12 before leaving for the NFL.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson will need to take a huge leap this season to help UCLA become a better team. A red flag is the fact that Kelly hasn't recruited particularly well. He has the 51st-ranked class for 2021 after finishing 33rd for last year, according to 247Sports.

Kelly needs to make something happen soon, and hitting some milestones in a short season would be big.

Similarly, Kevin Sumlin hasn't wowed anybody with two under-.500 seasons at Arizona. The program he inherited had explosive playmaker Khalil Tate at quarterback, but that was never an ideal marriage with offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone's scheme. Grant Gunnell is the new signal-caller, and the Wildcats need to show a spark.

Neither Kelly nor Sumlin is beginning this season in as much hot water as Helton, and it would be a surprise if either lost his job, considering the 2020 season wasn't certain until recently. Still, they need to begin to show signs of moving in a positive direction.

If they don't, it's a storyline worth monitoring.   

There's always an infatuation with the firing of coaches and the excitement of the searches for their replacements. But what happens when the carousel stops and a new era starts?

A handful of Pac-12 programs are going to be experiencing that this year, including both Apple Cup participants.

It was a shocker when Washington coach Chris Petersen stepped down following the 2019 season, but there was no drama in who was going to replace him. Huskies defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake stepped right in, and he kept the recruiting class intact. 

Now comes the hard part. Can Lake replicate Petersen's success? U-Dub was the recent front-runner in the conference before Oregon seized that mantle, but the expectations for championship consideration haven't waned. 

On the other side of that rivalry is Nick Rolovich, who left his alma mater of Hawaii for whom he quarterbacked, to take over for Mike Leach. 

Everybody wants to know how Rolovich's offense will translate in the Power Five. Right away, he'll be judged on how he replaces national passing leader Anthony Gordon at quarterback.

Finally, Karl Dorrell is replacing Mel Tucker at Colorado after Tucker left to take over at Michigan State. The Buffaloes weren't expecting to change coaches after just one year, and Dorrell was a surprising hire. 

Can he keep the same momentum Tucker was building?   

As previously mentioned, the conference known for its quarterbacks is seeing a changing of the guard at the position, but the two most likely Pac-12 players to toss their hats into the ring for the Heisman Trophy are signal-callers.

First there's USC quarterback Kedon Slovis, who is entering his sophomore season with every opportunity to have a massive year in Graham Harrell's offense.

Slovis has playmakers up and down the wide receiver depth chart, and if he can average more than 300 passing yards per game and post 25 or more scores in a seven-game season, he would deserve consideration.

There's also the fact that Clemson's Trevor Lawrence is having to miss time after testing positive for COVID-19, and Ohio State's Justin Fields is playing a stunted season too.

While Arizona State doesn't have the same amount of weapons surrounding Jayden Daniels, the sophomore has proved before that he can do it all. His threat as a running QB should serve him well. Yes, losing Brandon Aiyuk and running back Eno Benjamin to the NFL is going to be a major obstacle, making Daniels only an outside threat to win the award. But his name should at least be in consideration.

In Eugene, CJ Verdell is an explosive running back who was a pivotal playmaker a season ago and could carry the offense with the Ducks breaking in another quarterback.

Kayvon Thibodeaux would face an uphill battle for college football's top individual honor as an edge-rusher, but Ohio State's Chase Young proved last year that a player at that position could draw heavy consideration as one of three finalists. If Thibodeaux unleashes fury in his second season, he could gain momentum.

The conference is not short on star power.     

The California Bears lost their three biggest defensive stalwarts in tackle factory Evan Weaver and starting safeties Ashtyn Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins, who were all taken in the NFL draft in April.

But excitement still abounds for Justin Wilcox's program.

Wilcox is a defensive-minded head coach who still has plenty of guys who can step into the spotlight and keep the Bears steady on that side of the ball. With Chase Garbers back under center and running back Christopher Brown Jr. carrying the load, Cal could have a strong offense too.

That would be a flip of the script and could have the Bears (who went 4-5 in conference play last year) challenging Oregon in the North Division.

In the South, the biggest leap candidate is Arizona State, a team nobody should want to play. Yes, USC is deservedly getting a bit of hype, and Utah is always going to be in the mix.

But don't sleep on Herm Edwards' team (4-5 in Pac-12 play in 2019).

The Sun Devils head coach has recruited well enough to help replace guys like Brandon Aiyuk and Eno Benjamin. Frank Darby is the next NFL receiver on campus, and freshmen Johnny Wilson and Elijhah Badger are exciting options. 

Cornerbacks Jack Jones and Chase Lucas and safety Aashari Crosswell should be elite defending the pass.

Then there's the enigma that is Stanford. With cornerback Paulson Adebo and offensive tackle Walker Little not participating to prepare for the NFL, it's difficult to envision the Cardinal rebounding from last year's 3-6 conference record under coach David Shaw.    

But it's worth mentioning them because of how well-coached they'll be and the fact that quarterback Davis Mills has talent around him. They're a rung lower than Cal and Arizona State but could break through.