USC picked to win Pac-12

[UOducksTK1]

http://pac-12.com/article/2015/07/30/us ... media-poll

They have Oregon winning the north, and it was very close to even in the Pac-12 championship game.

[lmduck]

not too surprising- it was not an overwhelming pick though. USC got 21 of the 45 votes and UO got 17.

I get it though, USC is the media darling.

[UOducksTK1]

not too surprising- it was not an overwhelming pick though. USC got 21 of the 45 votes and UO got 17.

I get it though, USC is the media darling.

The talent is there, and it helps when you have a seasoned QB who can put up big numbers. Coaching might be their downfall though.

[QuackininBama]

They are assuming of course that the talent level at SC is so much better than Oregon's they win in spite of Sark, which I just don't see. Last year they were in agreement that UCLA was the obvious winner of not only the Pac-12, but a few even picked them to win it all. Picking Oregon is just boring so they have to switch it up.

[UOducksTK1]

They are assuming of course that the talent level at SC is so much better than Oregon's they win in spite of Sark, which I just don't see. Last year they were in agreement that UCLA was the obvious winner of not only the Pac-12, but a few even picked them to win it all. Picking Oregon is just boring so they have to switch it up.

Depends on our defense and QB play. Personally, I think USC will be able to move the ball and put up points on our D. I'm hoping the home field advantage will help us, but that's going to be a shootout IMO.

[GoDucksIn09]

I think the whole thing regarding Sark not being able to win more than 8 games is a little absurd. I am not a USC fan and never will be. I dislike USC as much as most people on this board. I just think are comparing apples to oranges when it comes to UW and USC. At UW he might get one 5 star recruit over a couple years... USC gets 5 star recruits every year. The talent pool that USC gets is so much greater than UW it is laughable that people think based off the years he coached at UW that he can not win more than 8 games when the talent level is so much better at USC. It might turn out that he truly can not win more than 8 games. If that is true at USC then he will only be a coach there a couple years before he gets fired. I do not know if Sark can win more than 8 games... and maybe the people on here who think he can not win more than 8 are right. I hope though before making that assessment they think of the difference in talent level between the two schools. I do think USC wins the Pac 12 this year. I hope I am wrong.

[FlDuckFan]

I think the whole thing regarding Sark not being able to win more than 8 games is a little absurd. I am not a USC fan and never will be. I dislike USC as much as most people on this board. I just think are comparing apples to oranges when it comes to UW and USC. At UW he might get one 5 star recruit over a couple years... USC gets 5 star recruits every year. The talent pool that USC gets is so much greater than UW it is laughable that people think based off the years he coached at UW that he can not win more than 8 games when the talent level is so much better at USC. It might turn out that he truly can not win more than 8 games. If that is true at USC then he will only be a coach there a couple years before he gets fired. I do not know if Sark can win more than 8 games... and maybe the people on here who think he can not win more than 8 are right. I hope though before making that assessment they think of the difference in talent level between the two schools. I do think USC wins the Pac 12 this year. I hope I am wrong.

I think him moving to USC bumps up his average by half a game so 8.5 wins a season is reasonable for Sark.

[cordy02c]

Personally I like that we are not picked to win the league I think it takes a bit of pressure off of us.

[lukeyrid13]

USC has a ton of talent returning and Cody Kessler is a really really good QB that for some reason was completely overlooked last season. I think that will change and we'll get sick of hearing about him by midseason.

[KingofDucks]

I recently ranted and raved about USC and the typical preseason hype they're getting.

Every year there is at least one team that gets hyped during the preseason that falls short of expectations, sometimes miserably. There are usually a handful of these teams each year. UCLA and USC are common schools participating in this trend. They're from LA, so they're the sexy team to hype.

This year, I see a lot of pundits and non-USC fans putting USC in the top 5 and consider them national title contenders. I understand that they have some exciting pieces coming back and are a historical program. But outside of that, they have a lot factors going against them. The interesting thing is that, living in Los Angeles, most USC fans seem to have lower expectations than non-USC fans and pundits have.

USC lost their workhorse RB (Buck Allen), their best receiver (Nelson Agholor), their starting TE (Randall Teller), their best DL and best player in the country (Leonard Williams), and best LB (Hayes Pullard), among others. On top of that, they moved their best safety (Sua Cravens) to LB, they still lack depth due to a lack of scholarships (we saw a lot of 4th quarter problems last year), and they play in one of the toughest divisions in CFB and still have to play Oregon, Stanford, and Notre Dame. As well, Cody Kessler, while having impressive numbers, has yet to show up in big games. And lastly, they have a coach who hasn't proven that he is capable of reaching the level in which people are predicting him to take USC this year.

I feel like people are getting ahead of themselves with USC (wouldn't be a first), but oddly USC fans are not really backing this hype. I understand the upside that they have, but I am having trouble buying into the hype that they will achieve that upside.

[QuackininBama]

USC has a ton of talent returning and Cody Kessler is a really really good QB that for some reason was completely overlooked last season. I think that will change and we'll get sick of hearing about him by midseason.

The only ranked team they beat all season was Stanford. Color me unimpressed. Kessler is overrated, as is the entire team.

[lawduck]

I recently ranted and raved about USC and the typical preseason hype they're getting.

Every year there is at least one team that gets hyped during the preseason that falls short of expectations, sometimes miserably. There are usually a handful of these teams each year. UCLA and USC are common schools participating in this trend. They're from LA, so they're the sexy team to hype.

This year, I see a lot of pundits and non-USC fans putting USC in the top 5 and consider them national title contenders. I understand that they have some exciting pieces coming back and are a historical program. But outside of that, they have a lot factors going against them. The interesting thing is that, living in Los Angeles, most USC fans seem to have lower expectations than non-USC fans and pundits have.

USC lost their workhorse RB (Buck Allen), their best receiver (Nelson Agholor), their starting TE (Randall Teller), their best DL and best player in the country (Leonard Williams), and best LB (Hayes Pullard), among others. On top of that, they moved their best safety (Sua Cravens) to LB, they still lack depth due to a lack of scholarships (we saw a lot of 4th quarter problems last year), and they play in one of the toughest divisions in CFB and still have to play Oregon, Stanford, and Notre Dame. As well, Cody Kessler, while having impressive numbers, has yet to show up in big games. And lastly, they have a coach who hasn't proven that he is capable of reaching the level in which people are predicting him to take USC this year.

I feel like people are getting ahead of themselves with USC (wouldn't be a first), but oddly USC fans are not really backing this hype. I understand the upside that they have, but I am having trouble buying into the hype that they will achieve that upside.

All of this is dead on.

[dthomas=ddixon]

The SC koolaid is strong. It's the same story with all of these traditional powers; most teams have to build up to the hype by putting together a few good seasons in a row and proving that they're legit. Teams like SC just have to win a big game or two the year before, return their QB and they're the best team in the country. If USC strings together a few good seasons together then I'll buy the hype, currently Sark and that squad have done absolutely nothing noteworthy.

[duckfan22]

Let them pick the Trojans... Let them take the pressure. The trojans do have some talent. I just dont
see them playing a full season with out imploding. They cant afford a injury to any of their stars as
they wont have the depth.
I dont see the Stanford thing either. They will be good but they dont have a lot of returners on defense.
I tho can see them not picking Oregon. Lose the Heisman winner and the PAC-12 being a QB league i get that.
I do have faith tho in whoever wins the job. If we didnt have one of the best RB tandems and maybe the best
receiving corps in the country i would be worried.