College Football

Pac-12 Preview: Oregon's recruiting provides edge over USC, rest of field

Updated Aug. 27, 2021 10:02 a.m. ET

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By RJ Young
FOX Sports College Football Writer

Editor's Note: The story of the 2021 college football season, like several of the seasons before it, is David vs. Goliath. In each of the Power 5 conferences, there is a very familiar prohibitive favorite and defending champion. As he previews the five conferences this week, RJ Young breaks down the behemoth in each league and identifies the potential Davids who could shake up the College Football Playoff race this fall. RJ started with the Big Ten and Big 12. Now, he previews the Pac-12.

Since the conference's expansion from 10 to 12 members in 2011, no team has won the Pac-12 Championship Game more than the Oregon Ducks.

The Ducks have won four, including the past two. While that's a neat trick, winning the 2020 Pac-12 title without first winning the North Division (Washington won the division but had to drop out of the title game because of a COVID outbreak) was an act fit for a Vegas nightclub.

Like Oregon, the Stanford Cardinal have appeared in four Pac-12 title games. But that tree fell in their last appearance against USC in 2017, and we all heard it.

Since he first arrived at Oregon in 2017, Mario Cristobal has done nothing but win while picking up two Pac-12 Championships and the 2019 AP Pac-12 Coach of the Year Award. He developed first-round talent Justin Herbert and could boast the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft if defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux continues to play to his billing.

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Thibodeaux is far and away the Pac-12’s biggest star, and his name, image and likeness deals have only bolstered his standing. Last week, Thibodeaux signed an NIL deal with a major airline.

With linebacker Noah Sewell, cornerback Mykael Wright and running back CJ Verdell back, Oregon should do more than contend for the Pac-12 title. But Oregon's path to the throne is not a forgone conclusion, like it seems to be for behemoths in other Power 5 conferences.

That's mainly because there’s still concern at quarterback. Anthony Brown, though, has done enough to prove that he’s capable of leading the Ducks to a conference title. 

Just ask Tyler Shough. He began last season as Oregon’s starter, led the Ducks to the Pac-12 title game and helped them beat USC 31-24. Shough is now playing for Texas Tech. 

While there’s hope that vaunted freshman Ty Thompson could be ready to quarterback the team, Brown demonstrated his ability in spurts last season and for two years as the starter at Boston College.

PAC-12 CONTENDERS:

USC

If Ducks offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead can’t turn Brown into the kind of dual-threat he had when Trace McSorley quarterbacked Penn State, this USC team is talented enough to overtake Oregon and finish what the Trojans couldn’t in 2020.

Clay Helton’s program bounced back from an abysmal recruiting-class ranking in 2020 — 64th nationally and dead last in the conference — to secure not just the No. 7-ranked class in the 2021 cycle but also the No. 1 overall player in defensive end Korey Foreman.

Alongside potential first-round talents Drake Jackson and Chris Steele, Foreman figures to be a pivotal piece for defensive coordinator Todd Orlando’s defense. 

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Helton also surrounded quarterback Kedon Slovis with even more talent via the transfer portal quite simply by raiding Orlando’s former employer, the University of Texas.

From the Longhorns' roster, Helton coaxed running back Keaontay Ingram, tight end Malcolm Epps and 2019 National Gatorade Player of the Year WR Jake Smith — along with defensive back Xavion Alford — to fortify a Trojan team that expects to do more than just represent the Pac-12 South in the title game for the third time in five years.

ARIZONA STATE

Arizona State has the experience and talent to force a game out of USC like it did in 2020. Problem is, the Sun Devils are contending in a Pac-12 South that features not only a more talented Trojans program but also a Utah squad that got better through the transfer portal and returns every starter on defense.

ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels will have to prove that he is capable of more than taking care of the ball. He’ll have to force it downfield into tight windows for the Sun Devils to end the season as Pac-12 South Division champs.

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UTAH

The same is true for the Utes, who addressed their QB concern by securing former Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer through the portal. He holds the National Federation of High Schools record for completion percentage in a season (77.4) and led the Bears to a Sugar Bowl berth in 2019.

Brewer was joined in transferring to Utah by former LSU and national-title-winning running back Chris Curry, former Oklahoma running back T.J. Pledger, former Oklahoma and UCLA wide receiver Theo Howard and former Texas quarterback Ja’Quinden Jackson.

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Along with linebacker Devin Lloyd, the Utes hope this core of experienced and talented players can return them to the Pac-12 title game for the third time in four years.

WASHINGTON

The Huskies will be the Ducks’ most formidable challengers in the North Division. 

Coach Jimmy Lake, however, will have to do without the man with whom he co-coordinated the defense in Pete Kwiatkowski, who left to be Texas' DC. The Huskies also have a new defensive line coach in Rip Rowan, with Ikaika Malloe moving to coach linebackers.

On the other side of the ball, the Huskies failed to secure the kind of offensive players who can help them win a shootout. However, it has been quite some time since the Huskies have played a shootout.

A Washington defense hasn’t allowed more than 35 points in a game since 2014 — a 44-30 loss to UCLA — the year Lake arrived in Seattle as defensive backs coach.

While employing their trademark ball-control offense, the Huskies will continue to rely on a defense led by cornerback Trent McDuffie. The D has also been buoyed through the transfer portal by former Oklahoma defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles.

For more up-to-date news on all things Washington, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

Pick: Oregon

Cristobal has been recruiting in Eugene like an SEC West program, and his Ducks are beginning to play like one. Oregon finished No. 1 in Pac-12 recruiting in the 2021 cycle and No. 6 nationally, which would’ve been nearly unthinkable 20 years ago.

Now Oregon has to play like an SEC West program in the Pac-12, and that means the Ducks have to dominate it.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young, and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube. He is not on a StepMill.

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Oregon Ducks

USC Trojans

Arizona State Sun Devils

Utah Utes

Washington Huskies

Kayvon Thibodeaux

Charlie Brewer

Brendan Radley-Hiles

RJ Young

The No. 1 College Football Show with RJ Young