2011 Preview: PAC-12

State of the Conference:
The PAC-10 is now the PAC-12, and the conference appears to be better for it. The addition of the championship game (albeit at a host school, which strikes me as odd) will significantly help the conference's profile. The 9-game conference schedule continues to dog the league down, as it ensures that half the teams have an additional loss. But the Big Ten seems to be going that way, and the Big 12 is already there as well, so the effect in the future of that extra game may not be so great.

2010 Champion: Oregon

2011 Championship Prediction: Oregon over Arizona State

Predicted finishes:
North:
1. Oregon (12-0, 9-0 Pac12)
2. Stanford (9-3, 6-3 Pac12)
3. Washington (7-5, 6-3 Pac12)
4. California (6-6, 3-6 Pac12)
5. Oregon State (5-7, 3-6 Pac 12)
6. Washington State (2-10, 0-9 Pac 12)
South:
1. Arizona State (9-3, 7-2 Pac12)
2. Utah (10-2, 7-2 Pac12)
3. USC (8-4, 6-3 Pac12)
4. Arizona (7-5, 5-4 Pac12)
5. UCLA (3-9, 2-7 Pac12)
6. Colorado (2-10, 1-8 Pac12)

Surprise Team: UCLA
... in that it will be surpisingly bad. The Bruins just haven't made improvement year to year, not to the extent that they need to, to compete in the conference. The Rick Neuheisel experiment will end after the year, to the general relief of all.

Upset Alert: Arizona over Stanford
Arizona has a potent offense, and the Cardinal will be very young on D this year... early in the year, the Wildcat attack will be humming, and Stanford just won't be able to stop it. Too bad Andrew Luck only plays offense. The Wildcats win a shootout, something like 45-41.