*** The Pac-12 Hotline newsletter is published each Monday-Wednesday-Friday during the college sports season and twice-a-week in the summer. (Sign up here for a free subscription.) This edition, from Jan. 15, has been made available in archived form.
Mirror, Mirror
Top-25 rankings don’t mean much, save for the selection committee’s last edition.
The early top-25 rankings — those published now, for instance — mean even less.
But they aren’t completely devoid of significance.
The rankings and projections that will dominate the next seven months help frame the expectations for teams and coaches — expectations which are then part of the end-of-season judgment.
The Hotline produced our (14th annual) ridiculously early top-25 for next season on Tuesday morning and included four Pac-12 teams: No. 9 Oregon, No. 18 USC, No. 21 Cal and No. 24 Arizona State.
Essentially, we expect more of the same: A conference well stocked with quality teams but lacking a serious playoff contender.
How did the Pac-12 fare in projections from other media outlets?
Here’s a sampling:
• ESPN columnist Mark Schlabach ranks Oregon higher — No. 5 — than any outlet we found: “There will be plenty of work to do on offense heading into the 2020 season, but coach Mario Cristobal has built one of the best defenses in the FBS.” But the Ducks are the only Pac-12 team in Schlabach’s rankings.
• Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde slots Oregon in the 6-hole and includes USC and Arizona State, where “the Herm Edwards hire continues to pay dividends.”
• CBS Sports columnist Dennis Dodd believes “these Ducks could compete favorably in the SEC” and slots them No. 7. The only other Pac-12 team on his list, way down at No. 24, is ASU.
• The Sporting News’ Bill Bender believes Utah deserves inclusion, along with Oregon and ASU. He ranks the Utes 18th and notes: “Incoming South Carolina transfer Jake Bentley will get one more chance at it, and it’s our bet he wins the starting job and keeps the Utes on the outskirts of the Playoff conversation again.”
• The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel places Oregon in his top 10 and has three other teams: Cal, USC and Arizona State. He also mentions Washington in the ‘just missed’ category.
Please note: Next week, the Hotline will publish a multi-part preview series on 2020. We’re waiting for the NFL Draft deadline to pass before taking a deep dive into the depth charts. — Jon Wilner.
Hot off the Hotline
• My final Associated Press top-25 ballot of 2019 was submitted, and published, Monday night. (Each year, I struggle with the amount of weight to place on the bowl results vs. the full season’s body of work.)
• As noted above, our early top-25 for next season was published Tuesday morning. You won’t be surprised by the teams at the top, but it’s difficult to make a case for anyone else.
• Pac-12 officials deserve high marks for their work on the championship game. There were no egregious calls, and they didn’t affect the outcome. That combination alone made it a successful operation.
• Our weekly basketball power ratings, published Wednesday morning, made the case that clarity will emerge this week. Thus far, the picture is muddled once you get past Oregon and Colorado.
• ICYMI: The Monday newsletter focused on the Pac-12 officiating crew for the title game. Previous editions of the newsletter are available in archived form.
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Key Dates
Select men’s basketball games included. (All times Pacific.)
Jan. 13: National championship (ESPN, 5 p.m., New Orleans)
Jan. 16: Utah at No. 24 Arizona (Pac-12 Networks, 5:30 p.m.)
Jan. 16: No. 25 Colorado at Arizona State (ESPN2, 6 p.m.)
Jan. 17-20: NFL Draft decision window
Jan. 25: Senior Bowl (NFL Network, 11:30 a.m.)
Feb. 5: National Signing Day (regular period)
Feb. 23: NFL Combine begins
Huddle Up
Note: The Hotline newsletter includes links to sites that could require a subscription once the number of free views has been reached.)
• We’ll start in Pullman, where Nick Rolovich has officially been named the 33rd head coach in WSU history: The Spokesman-Review’s Theo Lawson provides an exhaustive look at Rolovich with 33 things you might not know about him. (Kudos to Lawson for the momentous level of quality work over the past week.) … Former quarterback Ryan Leaf in on board with the hire … Whatever Rolovich told the players during their first meeting, it was effective … Columnist John Blanchette writes that Cougars AD Pat Chun was unconcerned with social media reaction and instead “relied on his contacts, his judgment and his gut, all indispensable elements in a coaching search that didn’t have a just-gotta-get-this-guy name atop the list.”
• Two pieces of news from Eugene: Four defensive starters announced Monday that they will return for 2020, solidifying a unit that could be one of the best in the country. The group includes cornerbacks Thomas Graham and Deommodore Lenoir … Also, the Ducks are reportedly set to hire Joe Moorhead as their new playcaller — or are they? He struggled as a head coach at Mississippi State but is well respected as a coordinator.
• Not that he was going anywhere, but Arizona State coach Herm Edwards had his contract extended by two years, mostly for recruiting purposes.
• The right hires are more important than the splashy hires. New Washington coach Jimmy Lake definitely didn’t make the latter, which makes no difference if he made the former.
• Could a Pac-12 all-star team have beaten LSU?
• Is an Oregon dynasty upon us? The Denver Post’s Sean Keeler reveals his final Best of the West.
• Cal lost its running backs coach to Cal Poly and gained a running backs coach, Aristotle Thomson, from Cal Poly.
• Oregon State linebacker Addison Gumbs received an extra year of eligibility.
• Another day, another UCLA player in the transfer portal.
Cleanup on Figueroa
Tough times at USC …
• New athletic director Mike Bohn dismissed three members of his senior staff on Tuesday, including longtime COO Steve Lopes. The L.A. Times’ Bil Plaschke wonders if it’s “the first stage of a remodeling that could eventually reach the football team … Call this the housecleaning before the housecleaning. People familiar with USC’s thinking believe that’s the plan, anyway.”
• Meanwhile, the Daily News’ Mark Whicker writes that USC fans “howl at the moon” over Ed Orgeron, who was passed over as head coach (in favor of Steve Sarkisian) but won a national title with LSU.
• One of those fans is Brian Kennedy, a major USC donor who recently called the football program “dog—-” and believes Orgeron was “double-crossed” by the Trojans.
Legal Affairs
• Cal freshman safety Isaiah Humphries, who transferred from Penn State, has filed a lawsuit against his former school for hazing. The allegations include players saying, “I am going to Sandusky you.” However, this is important for context: “University police conducted an investigation and turned over their results to the local district attorney, who declined to prosecute, Penn State said in a statement. The university said it conducted extensive interviews but found nothing to substantiate claims against Franklin or to indicate that anyone had been hazed.”
On the Hardwood
• Seniors, seniors, seniors. Oregon has a good one, and so does Oregon State, writes the Daily Star’s Greg Hansen. (And so does Colorado.)
• The Buffaloes venture out of Boulder for the first time in conference play to play a conference opponent for the second time.
• Balance will be the key for USC building a resume worthy of the NCAA Tournament. Put another way: The more the Trojans lean on Onyeka Okongwu, the less likely they are to collect a bid.
• UCLA is on pace for the worst 3-point shooting season in program history. (What must Reggie Miller think?)
• Washington needs its veterans to carry more of the load without point guard Quade Green, who is academically ineligible for the remainder of the regular season.
• The Pac-12 has four teams in ESPN’s latest bracketology, with Oregon as a No. 3 seed. Washington and USC are in the ‘first four out’ category.
• Finally: Steph’s joining Klay in Pullman this weekend.
Media Landscape
• Oregon’s spring scrimmage will be the Pac-12 Networks’ “only traditionally produced, fully-staffed, on-site broadcast event on the (spring) schedule,” reports the Oregonian’s John Canzano. The move is clearly designed to cut costs, writes Canzano. “There’s great public interest in the health of the conference network given the number of publicly funded universities vested in it. I’m interested in just how lean the network will run and whether conference leadership believes it should still own and operate its own television network.” It’s more evidence the conference is playing the waiting game until the current media contracts expire in 2024.
On the Hardwood II
The Hotline newsletter’s expanded mid-week coverage of Pac-12 women’s basketball …
POW news: Arizona State senior forward Ja’Tavia Tapley swept the conference and national (espnW) awards this week after averaging 15 points and six rebounds in the Sun Devils’ sweep of the Oregon schools. According to the Pac-12, ASU is the first unranked team in NCAA Division I history to defeat AP top-five opponents in consecutive games.
Poll positions: The conference occupies six spots in this week’s AP top-25 poll. Stanford is the highest-ranked team, No. 3, and three others are in the top 10.
Honor roll: The Wooden Award midseason list features seven Pac-12 players. That’s seven out of 25.
Standing Alone: UCLA is the only unbeaten team in the country. By our count, there are 11 with one loss.
By the numbers: The Pac-12 is 9-8 against ranked non-conference opponents and 16-12 against the other Power Five leagues.
Bracketology: The Pac-12 has seven teams in the NCAAs in the latest bracketology projections by ESPN. While there are no No. 1 seeds, the conference has four No. 2s. Also, Colorado is a ‘last four in’ and Washington State is a ‘next four out’ … In the RealTimeRPI version, UCLA and Oregon State are No. 1 seeds.
• Links: A scouting report on Sabrina Ionescu from espnW features input from two of the best guards in the sport’s history, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi … Arizona freshman Tara Manumaleuga has her mind on the wildfires back home and FaceTimes with her parents each day … The Arizona Republic’s Greg Moore expresses “indignation, frustration and plain ol’-fashioned rage” over Arizona State’s No. 18 ranking … We somehow missed this: Oregon State’s all-decade team, courtesy of the Gazette-Times … ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne appeared on the Inside Pac-12 Women’s Basketball podcast this week.
• Key games:
Thursday
6 p.m.: No. 3 Stanford at No. 6 Oregon (ESPN)
Sunday
12 p.m.: No. 3 Stanford at No. 8 Oregon State (Pac-12 Networks)
Looking Ahead
What’s coming on the Pac-12 Hotline:
• Rolovich will be introduce by WSU on Thursday afternoon. We already addressed the Cougars’ search but will have more on Rolovich and the state of the program following the news conference. I’m curious to hear AD Pat Chun’s remarks.
• The NFL Draft deadline is Friday, but players have several days to reconsider. Once we’re set with the returnings-and-goings, the Hotline will embark on a one-two-three-four-FIVE part series that looks ahead to Pac-12 football race in 2020.
• Loads more is planned for the next five-to-seven days, but the publication schedule hasn’t been set.
The next newsletter is scheduled for Friday. Enjoy it? Please forward this email to friends (sign up here). If you don’t, or have other feedback, let me know: pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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