The Pac-12 Hotline newsletter is published each Monday-Wednesday-Friday during the college sports season (and twice-a-week in the summer). This edition, from Sept. 25, has been made available in archived form.
Utah Ups Its (non-conference) Game
The Hotline has been a frequent critic of Utah’s football schedule. The program years ago reached the point that it should schedule A-level non-conference games on a regular basis.
Well, itap time to give credit where itap due: The Utes have indeed lined up an A-lister in the form of a home-and-home series with Florida, which will host Utah in 2022 and visit Rice-Eccles in 2023.
Second-year athletic director Mark Harlan made good on his commitment to upgrade the schedule. (To make it work, he deferred two games against BYU.)
The Gators are a terrific home-and-home opponent for the Utes (and the Pac-12) given the strength-of-schedule boost they provide, the resume lift that would accompany a Utah victory and the recruiting benefits that come with a trip to the Sunshine State. (Florida has been an important piece of the Utes’ pipeline.)
Well done, Utes.
For those interested, here are the Pac-12’s home-and-home series with the SEC through 2030 (per Hotline research, published reports and the website fbschedules.com):
Arizona
2022: vs. Mississippi State
2023: at Mississippi State
Arizona State
2024: vs. Mississippi State
2025: at Mississippi State
2026: at Texas A&M
2027: vs. Texas A&M
2029: at LSU
2030: vs. LSU
Cal
2023: vs. Auburn
2024: at Auburn
Colorado
2020: at Texas A&M
2021: vs. Texas A&M
2025: vs. Missouri
2028: at Florida
2029: vs. Florida
2030: at Missouri
Oregon
2022: vs Georgia (neutral)
Stanford
2021: at Vanderbilt
2024: vs. Vanderbilt
2025: at Vanderbilt
2027: vs. Vanderbilt
UCLA
2021: vs. LSU
2024: at LSU
2025: vs. Georgia
2026: at Georgia
2027: vs. Auburn
2028: at Auburn
USC
2020: vs. Alabama (neutral)
Utah
2022: at Florida
2023: vs. Florida
2026: vs. Arkansas
2028: at Arkansas
The Hotline published for the Pac-12 in the spring. A few series have been added since that point. — Jon Wilner
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Hot off the Hotline
• The latest bowl projections examine Stanford’s surprising predicament: Lose Saturday in Corvallis, and the Cardinal’s postseason math becomes exceedingly difficult. Coach David Shaw thinks his team has been evenly matched. We see a team that has been overmatched.
• Tuesday marked the 25th anniversary of Colorado’s ‘Miracle at Michigan’ – the Hail Mary from Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook. On the occasion, the Hotline published our list of the No. 1 ‘miracle’ plays for each team in the conference. And we have video of each, from The Play to The Catch to The Snow Bowl, from 55-yard field goals to 106-yard interceptions.
• UCLA needs an athletic director, and the Pac-12 needs UCLA to make a smart hire. We took a deep dive into Dan Guerrero’s legacy, the pros and cons of the job, the search dynamics — could chancellor Gene Block appoint an interim? — and a possible candidate pool.
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State of Affairs
Perspective on the conference from beyond its borders …
• The latest CBS Sports ‘Bottom 25’ has a new member — a first-time member, in fact: in the ranking authored by Tom Fornelli: “The 17-7 win over Northwestern to open the season looked unseemly at the time, but it turns out thatap essentially the full extent of Stanford’s capabilities. The Cardinal have been outscored 111-53 (I did the math in my head to seem smarter) in three games since.”
• Yahoo columnist Pat Forde gives Chip Kelly a D+ and Herm Edwards a B+ in his assessment of .
Huddle Up
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• Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley injured his foot at USC but against Washington State in a must-win game for both teams.
• Freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis isn’t the only key USC player in concussion protocol. (Matt Fink is expected to start in Seattle, by the way.) Star safety this week, as well.
• Herm Edwards : He was a defensive back for Cal in the 1970s. “The first time I went to that campus, I thought, ‘What is this place?’ You saw all these different people … That kind of drew me in.”
• Back from suspension, UCLA linebacker Keisean Lucier-South at the most opportune time for the Bruins.
• Will it be shorts or slacks in Boulder?
• Will it be in Eugene?
• There’s a “” for Oregon State’s passing game this week, according to receiver Isaiah Hodgins: Stanford has been vulnerable in the secondary.
• USC carved up the Utah’s back line, particularly in man-to-man coverage. Might Washington State ?
• Cal is undefeated and ranked 15th and plays Friday night in Memorial Stadium. ?
Recruiting Trail
• USC picked up a quarterback shortly after losing Bryce Young to Alabama, except is in the class of 2021. (Thatap a long time for the Trojans to hold on.)
• Longtime Southern California-based recruiting analyst Greg Biggins on : “Itap almost like sharks smell blood in the water. They’re seeing a down USC with some coaching stability issues. UCLA still hasn’t won in a long, long time and now everyone’s swarming out here.” (For additional context, consider .)
• An update on , a Seattle-area prospect who’s only the No. 1 defensive tackle recruit in the class of 2021. The Pac-12 cannot lose him, but might.
On the Hardwood
• New UCLA coach Mick Cronin has regarding their on-court philosophy (No. 1 on the list: no uncontested layups), but each rule gets back to the same thing: Toughness.
• Jemarl Baker, who transferred from Kentucky to Arizona, has filed a waiver with the NCAA in Tucson. If itap approved, Baker would bolster the Wildcats’ perimeter unit depleted by Brandon Williams’ injury.
• The Pac-12 title race might hinge on how quickly , including several freshmen, coalesce.
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