The Pacific-12 Conference came up one win short of claiming the first national title of the College Football Playoff era. Oregon opens the 2015 season wanting to get back to that stage and take the final step, while the other 11 teams in the conference are out to dethrone the Ducks and take their place in the CFP. Everyone will use the opening slate of games as an early look at whether that goal can be accomplished, headlined by a rare meeting of the Pac-12 and SEC.
No. 15 Arizona State vs. Texas A&M at NRG Stadium (Houston, Texas)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
All of a sudden the Sun Devils have emerged as a trendy pick to not only win the Pac-12 but reach the CFP. To accomplish the latter, coach Todd Graham will have to go into his home state of Texas and secure a win over the enigma that is the Aggies.
With new offensive tackles in junior Evan Goodman on the blind side and Billy McGehee on the right, the biggest concern for Arizona State will be keeping quarterback Mike Bercovici upright. Defensive end Myles Garrett set a SEC freshman record with 11.5 sacks, so a heavy dose of screens and runs will be utilized to keep him in check. When it comes to those obvious passing downs, however, Goodman and McGehee will have to do their part to contain Garrett. Bercovici isn't exactly mobile, so sound pass protection against new defensive coordinator John Chavis will be at a premium.
Chavis has always been known for relying largely on his defensive line to get pressure on the quarterback, the opposite of Graham's blitz-heavy approach. That puts the burden on the Arizona State secondary to make open-field tackles, a significant challenge against Texas A&M's talented wide receivers.
As the only game pitting the Pac-12 South and SEC West against one another this season - barring a high-stakes showdown in the CFP or New Year's Six bowl game - the winning team will stake its division's claim as the best in all of college football.
Michigan at Utah
Thursday, Sept. 3, 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines' return is the overriding storyline to this opening night game, but the Utes have a chance to announce their candidacy in the Pac-12 South.
The passing game has been erratic since moving over from the Mountain West Conference, and whether it can stabilize will determine Utah's ceiling this season. Senior quarterback Travis Wilson has seen plenty of highs and lows, from directing the upset of eventual Pac-12 champion Stanford in 2013 to losing his job to Oklahoma transfer Kendal Thompson last season. With turnover in the receiving corps, Wilson will have to manage the game, avoid turnovers, and let running back Devontae Booker again be the centerpiece of the offense. Booker rushed for 1,512 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and could emerge as a Heisman Trophy candidate behind four returning starters on the offensive line.
Utah should be equally stout on defense, with defensive end Hunter Dimick headlining the six starters back on the line and at linebacker. Dimick had 14.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, second on the team behind second-round pick Nate Orchard. The secondary is breaking in some new faces, but that likely won't be an issue as Harbaugh looks to replicate the punishing ground game that turned around Stanford and the 49ers.
Add in the return of national honors candidates in punter Tom Hackett and kicker Andy Phillips to control field position, this won't be a Pac-12 shootout. Instead, it shapes up to be a slug-fest that Harbaugh's former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler would be proud to preside over.
Eastern Washington at No. 5 Oregon
Saturday, Sept. 5, 8 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
Looks like the job market is pretty good for college graduates. Vernon Adams finally earned his Eastern Washington degree, then ended up becoming the Ducks' starting quarterback two weeks later.
Adams did it all in three seasons starting for the Eagles, throwing for 110 touchdowns and posting the second-best passing efficiency mark in FCS history. He has a live arm, good mobility in the pocket, and is as good as it gets when throwing off balance. All those traits were on display in explosive performances against Oregon State and Washington, and Adams goes from EWU's supporting cast to getting help from running back Royce Freeman and wide receivers Byron Marshall and Charles Nelson.
But EWU has intimate knowledge of Adams' tendencies. If they can bait him into bad throws or pressure him into uncomfortable situations, it could offer Pac-12 opponents the template on how to keep Adams under wraps.
This one shouldn't be particularly close, but the combination of plenty of points and the allure of Adams' Oregon debut will make it an entertaining bit of channel-surfing when the other marquee games in this time slot (Wisconsin-Alabama, Arizona State-Texas A&M, and Texas-Notre Dame) are in commercial breaks. There should be plenty of time to see Adams, perhaps more than three quarters' worth of action to prepare him for the key non-conference challenge at Michigan State next week.
