Mornin Mates...
Today's Topic = Are things really that dire for our Sun Devils..??
Our friend - Jon Wilner - thinks so, as PAC football rosters are taking shape now that the transfer and recruiting cycle is largely over for the time being...
And, this is the way he sees things shaping up as he looks into his way early crystal ball...
1) Washington - has QB Michael Penix returning and HC Kalen DeBoer is now in his second year so what's not to like...
2) Utah - it looks like QB Cam Rising will be recovered from his leg injury by next season and the Utes have won the past two PAC championships...
3) Oregon - Ducks have QB Bo Nix returning along with a slew of other positional talent so no regression in sight...
4) USC - Trojans have QB Caleb Williams returning and a lot of other talent surrounding him but the defense has some question marks...
Note: From my perspective, these are the top four programs in the PAC right now based primarily on their returning QBs and any one of them could win the PAC next season...
5) Oregon St - the Beavers are maybe an eyelash removed from the top four teams but are a team to be reckoned with for PAC honors...
6) UCLA - Bruins still have talent but no longer have DTR at QB or Zach Charbonnet at RB or an eight game home schedule...
7) Wazzu - there are a lot of question marks up on the Palouse as the Cougars have had to replace both coordinators, etc...
8) Arizona - will the Cats continue to improve under Jeff Fisch and be able to become bowl eligible this upcoming season...
9) Colorado - big things are expected of Prime Time in Boulder but will the Buffs be any good once the season starts...
10) Cal - the Bears are going to an Air Raid offense but will it have a QB and enough talent to get it off the ground...
11) ASU - how can the post-Herm, messed-up Devils, do much when they have a new coach and games against all four of the top 4 teams in the PAC and a questionable QB situation...
12) Stanford - it took Jim Harbaugh three seasons to transform the Cardinal into a good program and it might take new coach - Troy Taylor - a lot longer than that to change the direction of their program...
I see things differently than Wilner since I'm looking at it this from a Maroon and Gold tint...
We have a significant talent deficit (defined as a minimum of 2-3 TDs difference on a neutral field) when talking about opponents like the Trojans, Utes, Ducks and Huskies but we get two of those teams at home which is a plus...
I don't see us having a significant talent deficit (less than a TD either way) when talking about Wazzu, Arizona, Colorado, Cal and even UCLA in the PAC...
We also have more talent than So Utah and do not have a significant talent deficit, either, when talking about Oklahoma St and Fresno St, in my estimation...
And, we get Wazzu, Colorado and Arizona at home (worth anywhere from 3-6 points) along with all of our out-of-conference games so, that alone, adds up to six plausible wins in my book...
Add to this that we have a much better head coach than Herm and much better offensive and defensive coordinators than what we had last season, so I think from a coaching standpoint, we will be much better this coming season than last and that counts for a lot in my book...
Am I letting my Maroon and Gold sunglasses blind me to reality here..??
On another note, reality seems to be setting in once again regarding our BB program under BH...
We seem to be another middle-of-the-PAC program even with a great start to this season...
Probably will be on the outside looking in, once again, come invites to the Big Dance in March...
Changing gears, again, that was really something finding out that the PAC had been dishonest about receiving too much money ($50M) from a media vendor which led to the firing of chief executives, as a result of their behavior and plunged the conference into a big time scandal mode...(I think the executives had been hired by Larry Scott)
Our new commissioner has also decided to stay in the Bay Area where I guess he feels comfortable being around the Silicon Valley...
Well, they do serve up some of the finest wines and cheese around there...
Finishing up, I have these thoughts...will Clayton Smith turn out to be another Kayvon Thibodeaux and will Jaden Rashada put a lot of smiles on Sun Devil fans and boosters everywhere if he commits to being a Sun Devil under Dilly and his staff...
The Devils seem to be moving in the right direction under Dilly but I'm not sure about the PAC's direction these days, as we just may end up in the Big 12 sooner rather than later, if you ask me...
That's it for me this fine winter morning in the desert...
I await your feedback as always...
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
Today's Topic = Are things really that dire for our Sun Devils..??
Our friend - Jon Wilner - thinks so, as PAC football rosters are taking shape now that the transfer and recruiting cycle is largely over for the time being...
And, this is the way he sees things shaping up as he looks into his way early crystal ball...
1) Washington - has QB Michael Penix returning and HC Kalen DeBoer is now in his second year so what's not to like...
2) Utah - it looks like QB Cam Rising will be recovered from his leg injury by next season and the Utes have won the past two PAC championships...
3) Oregon - Ducks have QB Bo Nix returning along with a slew of other positional talent so no regression in sight...
4) USC - Trojans have QB Caleb Williams returning and a lot of other talent surrounding him but the defense has some question marks...
Note: From my perspective, these are the top four programs in the PAC right now based primarily on their returning QBs and any one of them could win the PAC next season...
5) Oregon St - the Beavers are maybe an eyelash removed from the top four teams but are a team to be reckoned with for PAC honors...
6) UCLA - Bruins still have talent but no longer have DTR at QB or Zach Charbonnet at RB or an eight game home schedule...
7) Wazzu - there are a lot of question marks up on the Palouse as the Cougars have had to replace both coordinators, etc...
8) Arizona - will the Cats continue to improve under Jeff Fisch and be able to become bowl eligible this upcoming season...
9) Colorado - big things are expected of Prime Time in Boulder but will the Buffs be any good once the season starts...
10) Cal - the Bears are going to an Air Raid offense but will it have a QB and enough talent to get it off the ground...
11) ASU - how can the post-Herm, messed-up Devils, do much when they have a new coach and games against all four of the top 4 teams in the PAC and a questionable QB situation...
12) Stanford - it took Jim Harbaugh three seasons to transform the Cardinal into a good program and it might take new coach - Troy Taylor - a lot longer than that to change the direction of their program...
I see things differently than Wilner since I'm looking at it this from a Maroon and Gold tint...
We have a significant talent deficit (defined as a minimum of 2-3 TDs difference on a neutral field) when talking about opponents like the Trojans, Utes, Ducks and Huskies but we get two of those teams at home which is a plus...
I don't see us having a significant talent deficit (less than a TD either way) when talking about Wazzu, Arizona, Colorado, Cal and even UCLA in the PAC...
We also have more talent than So Utah and do not have a significant talent deficit, either, when talking about Oklahoma St and Fresno St, in my estimation...
And, we get Wazzu, Colorado and Arizona at home (worth anywhere from 3-6 points) along with all of our out-of-conference games so, that alone, adds up to six plausible wins in my book...
Add to this that we have a much better head coach than Herm and much better offensive and defensive coordinators than what we had last season, so I think from a coaching standpoint, we will be much better this coming season than last and that counts for a lot in my book...
Am I letting my Maroon and Gold sunglasses blind me to reality here..??
On another note, reality seems to be setting in once again regarding our BB program under BH...
We seem to be another middle-of-the-PAC program even with a great start to this season...
Probably will be on the outside looking in, once again, come invites to the Big Dance in March...
Changing gears, again, that was really something finding out that the PAC had been dishonest about receiving too much money ($50M) from a media vendor which led to the firing of chief executives, as a result of their behavior and plunged the conference into a big time scandal mode...(I think the executives had been hired by Larry Scott)
Our new commissioner has also decided to stay in the Bay Area where I guess he feels comfortable being around the Silicon Valley...
Well, they do serve up some of the finest wines and cheese around there...
Finishing up, I have these thoughts...will Clayton Smith turn out to be another Kayvon Thibodeaux and will Jaden Rashada put a lot of smiles on Sun Devil fans and boosters everywhere if he commits to being a Sun Devil under Dilly and his staff...
The Devils seem to be moving in the right direction under Dilly but I'm not sure about the PAC's direction these days, as we just may end up in the Big 12 sooner rather than later, if you ask me...
That's it for me this fine winter morning in the desert...
I await your feedback as always...
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
