Mandel's not great when it comes to predictions, but. . .
http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...s-oregon-ducks-pac-12-gauntlet-mailbag-060315
In a division with five preseason top-25 teams, it's not like any one towers over the others. Throw in Oregon and Stanford in the North and the league could have seven ranked teams, leaving me only five possibilities for the dark horse question.
I'll go with Cal. The Bears were indisputably better in coach Sonny Dykes' second season, improving from 1-11 to 5-7 overall and from 0-9 to 3-6 in the conference while narrowly losing to UCLA 36-34 and by one score to USC and BYU. Quarterback Jared Goff, who posted a 35-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio, enters his third season as starter, and the Bears should finally have a competent D. I won't go so far as to say they'll win their division, a la 2014 Arizona, simply because Oregon is in their way, but perhaps Cal could enjoy a similar jump in wins. The North should be pretty soft after Oregon and Stanford.
http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...s-oregon-ducks-pac-12-gauntlet-mailbag-060315
In a division with five preseason top-25 teams, it's not like any one towers over the others. Throw in Oregon and Stanford in the North and the league could have seven ranked teams, leaving me only five possibilities for the dark horse question.
I'll go with Cal. The Bears were indisputably better in coach Sonny Dykes' second season, improving from 1-11 to 5-7 overall and from 0-9 to 3-6 in the conference while narrowly losing to UCLA 36-34 and by one score to USC and BYU. Quarterback Jared Goff, who posted a 35-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio, enters his third season as starter, and the Bears should finally have a competent D. I won't go so far as to say they'll win their division, a la 2014 Arizona, simply because Oregon is in their way, but perhaps Cal could enjoy a similar jump in wins. The North should be pretty soft after Oregon and Stanford.
