This Pac 12 season featured exactly what college football is all about. Some teams that outperformed and gained national attention in the process. A nobody to begin the year that ended up garnering (no pun intended) Heisman talk and created a culture. And a conference powerhouse that in the end, reigned supreme over everyone else.
Arizona: C
With high expectations in Heisman Hopeful Khalil Tate and a proven coach that knows how to win in Kevin Sumlin, Arizona was some people’s dark horse to win the conference. Then the season happened. The Wildcats stumbled out of the gates dropping their first two games to BYU and Houston and scoring a combined 41 points. They got back up and looked like the team they could be when they won 3 of their next 4, including a (then) Top 25 win against California. Then Arizona struggled again as they would give up more than 30 points in every game except for Oregon the rest of the way. They blew a 2 touchdown lead to rival Arizona State and lost by a point. Arizona would end up 5-7 with turmoil concerning Khalil Tate’s future and a defense that suffocated down the stretch. This season probably won’t define Kevin Sumlin’s time in Arizona, but it definitely won’t be a season to remember for Wildcat fans.
Arizona State: B-
When you look at the way Arizona State played this year and how ridiculously close they were in every game, it’s not completely unrealistic to think ASU could be 10-2, but also that they could be 5-7. All 5 of ASU’s losses were by one score. But 3 of ASU’s wins were by 3 points or less. Offensively, it was a successful year for the Sun Devils with Manny Wilkins playing very well. Eno Benjamin burst onto the scene and is considered by many to be a high draft pick in the 2020 Draft. N’Keal Harry, by many, has been considered a first round pick with as high as #12 overall for the Junior stud. Harry finished with 1,088 yards and 9 touchdowns. the Freshman duo of S Aasheri Crosswell and LB Merin Robertson made a huge impression in the back end defensively as Crosswell had 3 picks as well as a fumble recovery and looks to build for his sophomore year with those impressive stats. Robertson led the team in tackles, for loss, and sacks and also had a interception, forced fumble, as well as recovering it. ASU does lose a playmaker in Harry, but brings back some good experience for 2019 as well as 2 core defensive ballers to play around come next season.
Colorado: C-
After the hot start against lesser competition, Colorado completely fell off a cliff and dropped their final 7 and finished dead last in the Pac 12 South. They did lose a couple of close contests against Arizona and Oregon State. But all in all, the way this season ended really took the sail out of a fan base that had their team in the Top 25 at one point. Sophomore Laviska Shenault Jr. had an amazing start to the year as he was on his way to 1,500 total yards. But a middle of the season injury derailed his momentum as well as the rest of the team. Shenault still finished with 1,011 yards and 11 total touchdowns in a very good Sophomore season. Nate Landman was the captain of the defense with 104 tackles and 15 tackles for loss as well as stud DT with 15.5 TFL’s and team leading, 7.5 sacks. Outside of those two, this defense was pretty underwhelming and gave up 30 or more in each of their last 5 games. With a healthy Shenault and the final year of Steven Montez, the Buffs could rebound in 2019, but it’s too early to tell.
California: B-
Similar to Colorado, Cal started off the season with two solid wins against UNC and BYU. After that the Bears proceeded to lose 4 straight, but was able to make up for the lost damage and did enough to make a bowl game in year 2 under Justin Wilcox after narrowly missing out a year ago. Those wins included one over the Pac 12 Champion Washington Huskies as well as wins over USC and Colorado to keep them out of bowl eligibility while Cal was trying to get in. Cal’s offense doesn’t put up monster numbers, but has a very electric running back in Patrick Laird (1,100 total yards and 12 touchdowns). But Cal has a duo of extremely talented Linebackers in Evan Weaver and Jordan Kunaszyk. The two alone combined for 250 tackles, 18.5 TFL’s, 8.5 sacks, and 9 pass deflections. Cal also has playmakers in the back end with Junior Cornerback Traveon Beck and Jaylinn Hawkins each having 3 interceptions as well as Safety Antione Davis having 4. This offseason will truly dictate how this Cal team will look moving forward. This team would compare nearly exactly to the team they will be playing in the bowl game, TCU. One offensive playmaker with a bunch of talented defensive players that can make plays in the back end and tackling machines.
Oregon: B
Oregon had a tough stretch of 4 Top 25 ranked teams in a row, including a Top 10 battle with #7 Stanford with College Gameday there. Oregon would blow a 3 touchdown lead and lose that game. They would bounce back with back to back wins against Cal and Washington before dropping 2 more to Washington State and Arizona. The Arizona game was a true head scratcher as Arizona put up 44 points and the below average Arizona defense limited Oregon to just 2 touchdowns. The Ducks have a good core around them on offense even with the chance of Herbert declaring for the pros. The RB duo of CJ Verdell and Travis Dye gave teams fits with Verdell going for 975 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, with 312 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Dye finished with 721 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns, as well as a receiving touchdown. Dillon Mitchell essentially made most of the plays for the receiving core. He finished with 1114 yards and 9 touchdowns in what was a first team Pac 12 worthy season. Mitchell is very talented, but should stay for his Senior year in hope that he can improve his draft stock. Troy Dye and Thomas Graham Jr captain the defense as the D was one of the best in the country in turnover differential and made plays in the back end. 2019 should be a special year for the Ducks.
Oregon State: D
Oregon State had a huge upset over Colorado on the road, but outside of that as a team was about as expected. One player that came from out of nowhere was RB Jermar Jefferson. The Freshman had an All-American season with 1,380 yards and 12 touchdowns as he looks to be the future of this Oregon State offense. Other players like Wide Receivers Isiah Hodgins and Trevon Bradford showed out late with over 600 receiving yards and more than 5 TD’s a piece. The defense was very bad and only forced 6 turnovers all year long and no player had more than 3 sacks. Safety Jalen Moore has been a for sure tackles as he did collect 101 tackles. The offense has some playmakers for the future, but the defense is way behind and needs a lot of improvement before Oregon State can sniff bowl eligibility.
Stanford: B
Stanford started out the season 4-0, including a win over then #17 USC. Things looked well until they traveled to South Bend and dropped a 38-17 contest to Notre Dame. Stanford would start falling as they proceeded to lose 3 of their next 4. Stanford would bounce back and win their last 3, including wins over UCLA, Oregon State, and Cal. KJ finished with nearly 3,500 passing yards and had the luxury of playing with 3 receivers over 6’4. JJ Arcega-Whiteside finished 2018 with 969 yards and 14 touchdowns. Others like Kaden Smith (635 yards and 2 touchdowns) and Colby Parkinson (476 yards and 7 touchdowns). Bryce Love hit the sophomore slump hard with just 739 yards and 6 touchdowns. Paulson Adebo put up very impressive numbers with 4 interceptions and 17 pass deflections (2nd in the nation). Stanford has all around an average defense in just about every category. Although the season didn’t pan out like most fans would’ve expected, it still results in a postseason and a chance to get to 9 wins against Pitt.
UCLA: D+
People expected UCLA to take a step back after losing Josh Rosen, but not many expected a 3-9 finish for the Bruins. They were surprisingly close against Washington and Stanford (lost by 7). And defeated Cal, Arizona, and USC. The uncertainty and inexperience in the system that DTR and Wilton Speight had wasn’t a good gel. 2 surprises on offense was First Team All-PFF HB Joshua Kelly (1243 yards and 12 touchdowns) and WR Caleb Wilson (965 yards and 4 touchdowns). S Adarius Pickett was a star on a rather bad defense. 123 tackles and 2 interceptions garners him some postseason recognition. UCLA as a whole was very young in 2018 and showed hope for what 2019 can provide.
USC: C
Similar to UCLA, USC knew they were losing a generational talent in Sam Darnold and had a 18 year old true freshman trying to replace him. USC got battle tested early with 2 losses to Stanford and Texas, both on the road. USC would bounce back and win 3 straight before dropping a couple more. USC lost 3 straight to end the year and endeavely, staying home in December. USC played extremely close to Notre Dame and nearly ruined their rivals chance of being in the CFP. The 3 headed monster of Pittman, St. Brown, and Vaughns makes for a deadly 2019 receiving core with JT Daniels returning and Aca’Cedric Ware only getting better. Porter Gustin will be missed in the linebacking core as the senior finished with 10 TFL and team leading 7.5 sacks. But fellow LB Cameron Smith showed out, leading the team with 81 tackles and 7.5 for loss. Iman Marshall has turned into a lockdown corner, but the main problem for USC on defense was the lack of forcing turnovers.
Utah: B+
After a tough slate to begin conference play with the 2 Washington teams up first, Utah would turn it on and get red hot. Utah would go 7-1 in the last 8 games and reach the Pac 12 Championship game and was a couple of plays away from winning it and being in a NY6 game. Offensively, Utah was one-dimensional with HB Zack Moss being a forced to be wrecked with (1,092 yards and 11 touchdowns). Tyler Huntley was able to make plays with his legs, but passing the ball was an issue at some points. Utah’s defense however, is extremely stout and feasts in the backfield, leading the conference and Top 10 in the nation in Tackles for Loss. First Team All-Pac 12, Chase Hansen was everywhere. 114 tackles, 22 TFL’s and 2 interceptions, including a Pick 6. Utah has a chance to cap off a great year with a win in the Holiday Bowl against Northwestern.
Washington: A-
Washington is once again back on top after winning their 2nd Pac 12 Title in the past 3 years. It wasn’t the cleanest of seasons with a couple of bad losses against Cal and Auburn, but in the end, when they needed it, Washington stepped up and got big wins against Washington State and Utah. Myles Gaskin had the quietest 1,147 yards and 10 touchdowns I’ve ever seen before, but was very productive nonetheless. Aaron Fuller and Ty Jones were Jake Browning’s main targets on an offense that is all in all, average. The defense is what makes Washington such a juggernaut in 2018. Ben Burr-Kirven is a Top 15 pick in my eyes after posting 165 tackles (leads NCAA), forcing 4 fumbles and grabbing 2 interceptions. Byron Murphy is also expected to be the next great DB out of UW with 4 interceptions and 13 pass deflections on the year (similar to Oregon’s Thomas Graham Jr.) Safety Taylor Rapp also was a heat seeking missal on defense with 3 fumble recoveries and a couple picks. Washington plays in the Rose Bowl and it will be very interesting and entertaining to watch Ohio State’s offense vs. Washington’s defense.
Washington State: B+
To say that Washington State ended up with the Alamo Bowl is a bit underwhelming. But to also say that 4 loss Texas made the Sugar bowl is a bit of a slap in the face to the Coogs that had an amazing season. Enough has been discussed about Minshew, but 4,477 yards and 36 touchdowns cannot be ignored and got him the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Washington State also had two players with 8 touchdowns with Davontavean Martin and Easop Winston. Washington State all in all was rather average-below average on defense, but the Cougars did just enough with LB Peyton Pelluer and Jahad Woods. Washington State faces Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl and hopes to end with one of its best seasons in a decade.
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