The Pac-12 is one of two Power Five conferences that play nine conference games and three non-conference games. That puts a special emphasis on the out-of-conference schedule. When you play eight conference games and four OOC games, (like in the SEC, ACC and in recent years the Big Ten), you have more wiggle room scheduling some weaker regional teams, along with one headliner. When you have only three games to “play” with, the regional matchups become less important. There is definitely a movement in the Pac 12 to ramp up the caliber of the OOC games. In coming years, we will see USC vs. Alabama, UCLA vs. LSU, Oregon vs. Ohio State and Stanford vs. TCU. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. There are several great OOC matchups in the 2015 season worth circling on your calendar now.
The Pac-12’s Biggest Non-Conference Games of 2015
Michigan at Utah
Goes without saying, opening night of the season on a Thursday. The beginning of the Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan. Utah beat the Wolverines by 16 in Ann Arbor last year. The Wolverines were 12-13 over the last two years and that was is why Harbaugh is there now. He has offered little insight into what could be ahead for Michigan’s offense.
The quarterback with the most Michigan game experience is junior Shane Morris who has thrown all of 87 passes in two years and is more recognized for the controversial medical treatment his concussion received last year than for anything he did on the field. Michigan is getting former Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock who completed 61 percent of his passes two seasons ago and sat out last year after the transfer.
Running back is just as dicey with Derrick Green and De’Von Smith having had big games only against weaker opponents last season.
Utah had some big offseason changes with both the offensive and defensive coordinators leaving. The defense lost sack leader Nate Orchard to the NFL and the defensive backfield lacks big game experience. The Utes have two senior quarterback options. Travis Wilson possesses the more proficient arm and Kendall Thompson has the sprint out versatility, although he did have off season knee surgery. Either way four out of five starting offensive linemen return, so the help is there.
Washington at Boise State
No one is claiming this will be a classic, but there are still some intriguing storylines. Washington coach Chris Petersen returns to where he coached the Broncos for eight seasons. Last week, he called his return to Boise “a little awkward.”
With Petersen being in only his second season at Washington, many of the Boise State players lining up against his Huskies will be players he recruited. “You feel connected to them, but there is a wall of silence going on now,” Petersen said.
Boise State returns a plethora of talent and experience from last year’s 12-2 team, including the entire offensive line. They will need it because they likely will be starting very inexperienced junior Ryan Finley at quarterback. Washington’s 8-6 overall record and 4-5 Pac 12 mark were a disappointment and year two of the Petersen era will not be any easier. The Huskies lost starting quarterback Cyler Miles to a medical retirement, three All-Americans on defense and will be starting three new offensive linemen.
Arizona State vs. Texas A&M
Another opening weekend highlight game with this one at a neutral site in Houston. Enjoy it. It’s A&M’s only tough non-conference game for the season, and ASU’s only challenging OOC game for three years. The Sun Devils are getting a lot of love in the Pac-12 South with 17 starters returning from a team that went 10-3 in 2014.
New starting quarterback Mike Bercovici gained a lot of experience last season when starter Taylor Kelley was injured. Bercovici lacks mobility, but has big-time arm strength as he showed in wins over USC and Stanford. The receiving corps lost superstar Jaelen Strong to the NFL, but gained former UCLA starter Devin Lucien as a graduate transfer.
The Sun Devils defense is thin on the line but has so much depth in the back seven they will be rotating five linebackers.
Kevin Sumlin enters his third season running Texas A&M football but he is on the hot seat already. Last season the Aggies went 8-5 with a soft overall schedule and 3-5 in the SEC West. They have been dead last in the SEC West in defense for two consecutive years.
Everyone in College Station is going to be watching the quarterback battle though. Kyle Allen was good enough last year as a freshman to chase season starter Kenny Hill into transferring elsewhere. He would be the obvious starter in 2015, but the Aggies now have freshman Kyler Murray who was the Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year. Allen is likely to start the ASU game, but if he falters early, with Sumlin being in the crosshairs of so many, expect him to be nudged out of the huddle by Murray.
Oregon at Michigan State
This is a second weekend primetime rematch of last year’s game in which Oregon scored the last 28 points for a come-from-behind win over the Spartans in Eugene, en route to the national championship game. Oregon’s questions mark seems obvious. How do you replace Heisman winning quarterback Marcus Mariota? The quick answer is Vernon Adams, the graduate transfer from Eastern Washington University. Adams was FCS All-American and beat Pac-12 schools Oregon State and Washington in recent years. His first game will be against his old EWU team so expect his stats to be big going into East Lansing.
“Sparty” has no questions at quarterback with third year starter Connor Cook who will end the season as the school’s winningest quarterback. The Spartans have had a top ten national defense each of the last four years including last season when they led the country in rushing defense. Good Oregon offense. Stingy MSU defense. It’s a can’t-miss game.
Notre Dame
That’s right. Just Notre Dame. Each year the Irish play Pac-12 rivals Stanford and USC and both games are worthy of coverage, so we will create the triumvirate here.
The SC game is in South Bend in its traditional mid-October slot. Southern Cal is feeling great. The NCAA sanctions are gone. The roster is back up to 75 players. They are a consensus top ten team. Senior quarterback Cody Kessler is back, as is all around go-to guy Adoree’ Jackson and defensive star Su’a Cravens. They need offensive balance and will have to be running back by committee following the surprising departure of Buck Allen for the NFL. But the depth and tools are there for the Trojans.
Stanford is a team in flux. They have veteran leadership in four-year starting quarterback Kevin Hogan, but the Cardinal need to develop a running game. Clock control is going to matter because the Cardinal have a significant rebuild job to do on defense.
Notre Dame has the quarterback it wants in Malik Zaire and one of the deepest wide reciever corps in the country, but the running game is a huge question mark. The defense should play big. It returns six linebackers who started at least one game last season. The Irish end the season against Stanford on Thanksgiving weekend.
Check in with Last Word throughout the season as we preview the biggest college football games each week.
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