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Power 5 Questions: Which Pac-12 teams could be playoff contenders?

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theScore completes its tour of the major college football conferences with this five-question preview of the Pac-12, a conference looking to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2016:

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Can Jacob Eason prosper for Washington?

Three years ago, Jacob Eason was Georgia's future.

A five-star recruit out of Lake Stevens, Wash., Eason began his college career on the other side of the country. He threw 16 touchdowns as Georgia's starter in Kirby Smart's first season.

But after Eason injured his knee in the 2017 season opener, Jake Fromm took over the Bulldogs' offense. Eason's time in Athens, Ga., ended shortly thereafter.

He sat out the 2018 season and now takes over a Huskies offense that has the playmakers to take Washington to another Pac-12 title.

The question is whether Eason can be the one to guide them there.

With four returning starters, including massive left tackle Trey Adams, the offensive line is reliable. Aaron Fuller (58 receptions, 874 yards) and Ty Jones (31 receptions, 491 yards) will be Eason's top receiving targets. Veteran running back Myles Gaskin graduated, but Salvon Ahmed averaged 5.9 yards per rush on over 100 carries in 2018.

Though the Huskies must replace nine starters on defense, their opponents have averaged fewer than 20 points per game for four consecutive seasons; Chris Petersen's program deserves the benefit of the doubt on that side of the ball.

If Eason provides consistency at quarterback, Washington defends its title.

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What makes Utah a trendy pick?

Utah played for its first Pac-12 championship last season. But without starting quarterback Tyler Huntley and running back Zack Moss, the Utes managed just 188 yards of offense in a 10-3 loss to Washington.

In 2019, Utah is a popular pick to not only get back to the conference championship but to win it.

Why?

The Utes enter the campaign with 14 returning starters. Huntley is back from the broken collarbone that ended his season, and Moss should be dangerous once again after running for 1,096 yards in nine games in 2018.

But it's the defense that can make this year special.

Utah's strength is its defensive line, which returns in full. Tackle Leki Fotu (three sacks) and end Bradlee Anae (51 tackles, eight sacks) were both first-team All-Pac-12 picks. Tackle John Penisini (seven tackles for loss) was a second-team selection.

The Utes are also strong in the secondary, led by corner Jaylon Johnson (four interceptions).

And, of course, the team is bolstered by one of college football's most consistent coaches in Kyle Whittingham. Utah has reached a bowl game in 12 of 14 seasons under its veteran head coach, and this year represents one the program's best chances to get over the hump and claim a Pac-12 crown.

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With the quarterback and the experience, can Oregon get back to a playoff?

Five years after Marcus Mariota took Oregon to the national championship game, it looks like the Ducks could gear up for another run.

In terms of ceiling, Oregon might be the team most likely to snap the Pac-12's College Football Playoff drought, and it has an opportunity to showcase its potential Aug. 31 against Auburn in Arlington, Texas.

The Ducks have 10 returning starters on offense, including potential first-round pick Justin Herbert at quarterback.

Herbert should benefit from the addition of Penn State graduate transfer Juwan Johnson at receiver, and Jacob Breeland is one of the better tight ends in college football.

The defense, meanwhile, adds highly hyped freshman defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux. Linebacker Troy Dye recorded 107 tackles in 2018.

But there are still reasons for concern.

Oregon - and Herbert - showed inconsistencies last year. The Ducks followed up a win over Washington with consecutive double-digit losses at Washington State and Arizona.

Then, there's Oregon's biggest obstacle of all: The schedule. In addition to a neutral-site game against Auburn, Oregon must go to Stanford, Washington, and USC.

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Can Clay Helton turn it around at USC?

For the first time since 2001, USC will likely enter the season unranked. Following the first losing season in 18 years, the pressure is on for Clay Helton and the Trojans.

After briefly employing Kliff Kingsbury, USC brings in Graham Harrell as offensive coordinator. Harrell coached one of the country's best Group of 5 offenses at North Texas.

He gets to work with JT Daniels, who had an uneven freshman year with 14 passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions. As a team, USC finished minus-10 in turnover ratio.

Daniels should be better under Harrell, and the USC receivers should be happy, too; Michael Pittman Jr. (758 yards), Amon-Ra St. Brown (750), and Tyler Vaughns (674) all return.

The defense was an issue last season, and there's no guarantee it will be fixed in 2019. USC intercepted four passes and forced 10 total turnovers last season. In all of FBS, only Oregon State had fewer interceptions and total takeaways.

With three new starters in the secondary, it's hard to tell if the Trojans will be more opportunistic. But they'll get an early chance to reveal themselves against Stanford on Sept. 7.

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Will Khalil Tate return to his 2017 form?

Year one of the Kevin Sumlin-Khalil Tate marriage was bumpy.

Tate entered 2018 as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate after running for 1,411 yards in 2017, including three games of 200-plus yards.

But last year, he didn't run. Arizona tried to make Tate a passer, and an ankle injury didn't help either.

He finished his junior campaign with 224 total rushing yards. He eclipsed that mark twice in single performances against Colorado and UCLA a year prior. And though Tate threw 26 touchdowns, his completion percentage fell from 62 to 56.3.

Tate appears to be healthy entering fall camp, and the Wildcats play what could be a soft September schedule against Hawaii, Northern Arizona, Texas Tech, and UCLA.

So which Tate will we get in 2019?

More in this series:

Mark Cooper is theScore's NCAA writer. You can find him on Twitter @mark_cooperjr.

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