ESPN College Football

On Wednesday, we provided you with our top five Pac-12 BCS moments.

Here's what we wrote (our polls can only included five choices, so if you think Oregon and Stanford both winning BCS bowl games this past year qualifies, go with other):

1. USC drubs Oklahoma for the 2004 national title: The 55-19 victory over unbeaten Oklahoma was the most dominant display of the BCS era. It was also the pinnacle of the Trojans' dynasty under Pete Carroll. It's worth noting that future Pac-12 member Utah also whipped Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl to finish unbeaten that same year.

2. USC wins "real" national title: In 2003, USC was No. 1 in the AP and coaches polls at season's end. If you had eyes and knew anything about football, it was clear the Trojans were the nation's most talented team on both sides of the football, a notion that was reinforced the following season. Two teams picked by computers played in New Orleans -- most folks outside of Louisiana don't even remember who -- and that forced the Trojans to settle for three-fourths of a national title after dominating Michigan 28-14.

3. The year of the Northwest: After the 2000 season, three teams from the Northwest finished ranked in the AP top 7. Washington beat Purdue in the Rose Bowl and finished third. Oregon State drubbed Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and finished fourth. Oregon beat Texas in the Holiday Bowl to finish seventh.

4. Oregon gets left out but finishes No. 2: One of the grand faux paus of the BCS era was Nebraska playing Miami for the 2001 national title. Nebraska was coming off a 62-36 loss to Colorado, but the computers failed to notice, and the Cornhuskers were euthanized by the Hurricanes before halftime. The Ducks would whip that same Colorado team 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl and finish ranked No. 2.

Ah, but as you all know we are not infallible. Not entirely, at least.

So what's your take?

Jesse Scroggins is a guy who should be able to provide some insight into USC's high-profile quarterback competition. After all, he practiced with Cody Kessler and Max Wittek for a year. He's witnessed their strengths and weaknesses and their makeup and leadership skills.

So, what's his take? Does he like the scrappy Kessler or the big-armed Wittek?

"I don't know and I don't care," Scroggins said. "I'll know when I see them on the field. I got NAU first. I'm not really worried about that game."

Scroggins has his own QB battle to think about, only he's now in Tucson, not L.A. He wants to fill Matt Scott's shoes, not Matt Barkley's.

The USC parting wasn't completely amicable. Scroggins, one of the nation's top-rated prep quarterbacks in 2010, had some struggles with off-field distractions that hurt his academics, but he rallied in the classroom only to find out that, nonetheless, he was seen by coaches as the odd-man out due to USC trying to fit its roster under NCAA-mandated scholarship limitations. Essentially, he was pushed out the door.

"Certain things happened that shouldn't have happened but everything happens for the best," Scroggins said.

Scroggins went to El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., and put up middling numbers -- 1,148 yards passing, eight touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games -- and arrived at Arizona with a toe injury. That injury sidelined him for most of spring practices. When he made a surprise appearance in the spring game, his first pass was intercepted.

But then he completed 6 of 16 passes for 44 yards and two touchdowns, understandably showing plenty of rust but also flashing at times the ability that made him such a hot recruit. While senior B.J. Denker, who arrived at Arizona with no recruiting pedigree, emerged from spring leading the QB competition, it's far from over.

"I feel like it's all even from today until fall camp starts," Scroggins said. "It's going to be competition until the first game."

One thing is clear: No quarterback on the Wildcats' roster, including touted incoming freshman Anu Solomon, is Scroggins' equal when it comes to arm strength. The Wildcats thrived throwing the ball downfield last fall with the strong-armed Scott. Things wouldn't change with Scroggins behind center.

While coach Rich Rodriguez's offense is widely seen as a read-option that requires a speedy quarterback, which Scroggins isn't, the reality is Rodriguez adapts his play calling for his available talent. Sure, Scott was a good runner, but he led the Pac-12 in passing last fall with 301.7 yards per game. The Wildcats run-pass ratio was even (544 rush, 538 pass).

"Coach Rodriguez's offense goes around the quarterback, whatever your strengths are, that's the type of thing he's going to go with," Scroggins said. "I can run. I just would rather pass first."

Scroggins, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior, said his toe is about "90 percent" and that he's actively running. He expects to be full-go this summer for "voluntary" summer workouts with his teammates, a time when he can build relationships and inspire confidence in him within the locker room.

He's been around long enough to realize that Arizona's locker room is different than USC's.

"Everybody doesn't think they are the guy," Scroggins said. "Guys just want to play football here. It's not about five stars and four stars here. These aren't those type of guys. They have the ability and the skill but we just want to play football rather than talk about it."

Of course, there are folks on the USC end of things who would say the Scroggins of 2010 viewed himself as "the guy." Adversity may have humbled and matured Scroggins, who eagerly noted he's posted 3.0 GPAs his past two semesters.

He called leaving USC "discouraging," but "probably the best thing for me." After a year in junior college, he picked the Wildcats over Arkansas, Wisconsin, Auburn and U-Mass. He was won over by the Wildcats' wide-open scheme, the honest pitch from co-offensive coordinator Rod Smith and the more laid back environment in Tucson.

"I wanted a family environment, something that reminded me of my family," he said.

As for his old "family," yes, Scroggins is excited about the prospect of sticking it to the Trojans in the Coliseum on Oct. 10.

"Definitely," he said.

Cary Chow and the college football bloggers look ahead and ask the question of what would happen if the season started tomorrow.

I am never known to quail at the fury of a gale. And I'm never, never sick at sea.

• A video tour of Arizona's new facilities, which should be ready for move-in by July.
• Todd Graham is, not once, but twice as prepared to handle the schedule in 2013.
• The Bears picked up a running back commit.
• Rimington candidate Gus Handler is deserving, but still has work to do.
• How Oregon's running game sets up the pass.
• The spring tour of Oregon State opponents continues with Eastern Washington.
• Where does Anthony Wilkerson rank among the Pac-12 running backs? Lostlettermen ranks them.
• SI's Stewart Mandel fields a UCLA question in his mailbag.
• Lots of Trojans on Athlon's list of the top 50 receivers in the BCS era.
• Karl Williams has put in the work at Utah.
• Some Pac-12 questions heading into summer, including whether the Huskies can break out in 2013.
• Charges could result from the Washington State-Idaho donnybrook.

The beauty of the nine-game conference schedule -- at least from a fan’s perspective -- is that almost every week we’re going to see great football. But from a team perspective, that means every week is going to be a grind. And there are those multiple-game stretches that can be brutal. Teams that survive those stretches usually emerge atop the standings. Those who don’t are usually home in December doing some self-scouting. Here’s some of the brutal stretches for the Pac-12 North, which should stake its claim as one of the toughest divisions in all of college football in 2013.

California

The Bears have a very tough schedule, arguably the toughest of all the conference teams based on their opponents' winning percentage in 2012 (93-60, .588). But the way it plays out isn't as brutal as some of their Northern brethren. In most cases, they have (what is perceived to be) a winnable game in between their tough showdowns. Portland State separates Northwestern and Ohio State. Washington State separates Oregon and UCLA. Colorado breaks up USC and Stanford. They do hit a four-game stretch from Oct. 12 to Nov. 2 when they travel to UCLA, are home to Oregon State, at Washington and home to Arizona. That could be the roughest consecutive stretch. Of course, the sum of all the parts still includes potentially three national championship hopefuls, so it might be tough going in Sonny Dykes' first year, regardless of what order the games come in.

Oregon

The Ducks should again blow out of the gates with a soft first five games against opponents that combined for a 14-45 record last year. Then three of their next four should provide much stiffer tests. They visit Washington on Oct. 12, and while the Ducks may very well make it 10 in a row over the Huskies, Washington is expected to push the Ducks harder than it has in recent years. Then a home game against Washington State (a team that gave them a nice 30-minute run last season) stands between back-to-back games against UCLA and at Stanford. Because the Stanford game is on a Thursday night, they get extra time to prep, but it's still back-to-back games against last year's division winners. It's also the first time they'll see the Bruins in the Jim Mora era. If the Ducks get through that stretch, it likely means they are on BCS championship pace heading into the Civil War.

Oregon State

Like their in-state counterparts, the Beavers should jump out to a very good record in the first half of the season. Their first seven opponents were a combined 35-52 last season and only two (FCS Eastern Washington and San Diego State) were on the north side of .500. Then things get nasty. Really nasty. Stanford, USC, Arizona State, Washington and Oregon with one breather after the USC game. If the Beavers are as good as many think, they should start 7-0. But they'll be tagged as paper lions until the strength of schedule ramps up. This might be the toughest stretch in the league. And if Oregon State can weather it with a few wins, it should be positioned nicely for another upper-tier bowl game (if not something bigger).

Stanford

The Beavers have some company for the toughest stretch, however. The Cardinal have a trying schedule top to bottom, but the final five will make or break Stanford's season -- or at the very least, their national championship hopes. The defending conference champs have plenty of early tests, including San Jose State (an 11-win team last year), Arizona State and Washington in the first half of the slate. But the final five includes UCLA, Oregon State, Oregon, USC, Cal and Notre Dame. Cal is the only team in that group that didn't have a winning record last year, but it's still a rivalry game. Of course, the premier matchup of the bunch is the showdown with Oregon, which many feel will determine the North champ. That's two 12-win teams from last season, two nine-win teams, a USC game that has recently been tight and a rivalry game with one break in between for the Thursday night game against Oregon. If the Cardinal repeat, they will have earned it.

Washington

How legit is Washington? We'll find out some when it hosts Boise State in the season opener. But we'll really know what this team is made of from Sept. 28 to Oct. 19. That's a four-game stretch, no byes, that includes Arizona, at Stanford, Oregon and at Arizona State. We know what happened last year against the Wildcats. And then it's back-to-back games against Stanford and Oregon. Washington topped Stanford in 2012, but the last trip to the Farm in 2011 didn't go so well. And then there's the whole Oregon thing. Plus the Huskies pick up with a game in Tempe after a two-year hiatus from the Sun Devils. These four games will likely define Washington in 2013.

Washington State

Like every other team in this post, by virtue of playing in the North, the Cougars have a tough schedule. But it ramps up right in the middle of the season with four of five games against the projected top half of the power rankings. They meet Stanford on Sept. 28 in Seattle, then at Cal before three straight against Oregon State, at Oregon and then a week and a half later they host Arizona State on Thursday night. By the way, the week before Stanford they host bordering Idaho, and we know there's no love lost there. After an inconsistent first season under Mike Leach, the Cougars could certainly shuffle the North standings if they are able to take a game from one of the division's big three.

The beauty of the nine-game conference schedule -- at least from a fan's perspective -- is that almost every week we're going to see great football. But from a team perspective, that means every week is going to be a grind. And there are those multiple-game stretches that can be brutal. Teams that survive those stretches usually emerge atop the rankings. Those who don't are usually home in December doing some self-scouting. Here's some of the brutal stretches for the Pac-12 South -- which figures to be one of the craziest divisions in all of college football where a champ probably won't be decided until after Thanksgiving.

Arizona

The Wildcats' schedule shapes up to be quite interesting. They actually have two critical stretches -- one early, one late -- that could be very telling. It starts on Sept. 28 at Washington and follows with a week and a half off before a Thursday night game at USC on Oct. 10. The extra time off will help, but it's still back-to-back road games; one against a Washington team eager to avenge last year's 52-17 pounding, and the other against a USC squad that hopes to contend for the South. This stretch could boost the Wildcats going into games against Utah, Colorado and Cal. Or they could be playing catch up. The second critical stretch comes with three of the final four games against teams we expect to be in the top 25 -- including UCLA, Oregon and Arizona State (WSU is sandwiched in between). They get the Bruins at home on Nov. 9 and Oregon at home on Nov. 23 before the Territorial Cup to close out the year. What happens against UCLA may set up how the South Division plays out.

Arizona State

The Sun Devils get their big test early with four straight games against Wisconsin, at Stanford, USC and against Notre Dame in Texas. As we discussed in the Most Important Game series for ASU, this is a critical stretch for how the rest of the nation views the Sun Devils. If they go 3-1, or even a competitive 2-2 during that stretch, then we'll know that the preseason hype is justified. But it's a tough draw with four hard games and no bye week in between. That Sept. 21 showdown at Stanford is going to be great, too -- because you've got the league's best offensive line clashing with one of the league's top front sevens. But this stretch won't determine the South champion. That will likely come down to the final two games when the Sun Devils travel to UCLA on Nov. 23 and then host Arizona at home on Nov. 30.

Colorado

Pretty much the end of September through early November is going to be a Ralphie-sized run through the wringer. At Oregon State (Sept. 28), home to Oregon (Oct. 5) at Arizona State (Oct. 12) home to Arizona (Oct. 26) and back-to-back road games at UCLA (Nov. 2) and Washington (Nov. 9). There is a bye week right in the middle to break up the six games. But that's still six straight games against potentially six top-25 teams. We're expecting the first three -- OSU, Oregon, ASU -- to be ranked, and there's a good chance UCLA and Washington will be top-25 teams as well. Arizona might flirt with the rankings -- as it did last season -- if the defense is better and the quarterback spot gets figured out. Welcome to the Pac, Mac.

UCLA

Like the Arizona and ASU schedules, the Bruins will be looking to the final two weeks -- home to ASU on Nov. 23 and at USC on Nov. 30 -- to see where they land in the final, and most likely muddled South Division standings. But we'll learn a lot about what this team is made of during a killer back-to-back stretch when it travels to Stanford on Oct. 19 and then to Oregon a week later on Oct. 26. It will be UCLA's third time playing Stanford in the last 11 months and Jim Mora's first time facing the Ducks as UCLA's head coach. Both of those teams figure to be ranked in the top 5 and -- should the Bruins win a third straight South Division championship -- there's a strong chance either Oregon or Stanford will be waiting for them again in the Pac-12 championship game. The Bruins can elevate themselves from "very good" to Pac-12 elite with one or two wins on the road.

USC

The old baseball cliche that you can't win a title early in the season, but you can lose one, could certainly apply to the Trojans. No doubt, closing out the year with two of their three final games against Stanford and UCLA will be huge. Stanford, simply for what the Cardinal have done to the Trojans over the past few seasons, and UCLA because, well, it's UCLA. But back-to-back games at Arizona State and home to Arizona (with a bye in between) could very well make or break the Trojans' hopes of taking the South. A victory at ASU -- a division front-runner -- would put them in the driver's seat and then avenging last year's 39-36 loss to the Wildcats would give them a strong foothold on the division.

Utah

Like Colorado, the middle of Utah's schedule is just nasty. From Sept. 14 to Nov. 16, it's going to be a weekly grind. Oregon State figures to be a top-25 team (especially with a preseason ranking and an easier schedule out of the gate). Then the Utes are at BYU -- possibly another top-25 team -- for the always emotionally draining Holy War. Then UCLA, Stanford, at Arizona, at USC, home to ASU and at Oregon. That's potentially seven of eight straight opponents ranked in the top 25 -- including the potential top-5 teams in Stanford and Oregon. And if Arizona bounces back, it could be eight straight games against ranked opponents. We're all expecting bigger things from Utah after last year's disappointing 5-7 season. But this schedule is going to make it awfully tough.

The return of running back Tyler Gaffney provides a big boost to the Stanford backfield.

Oregon decided this week to release its formal notice of allegations from the NCAA concerning the Willie Lyles investigation, which it received Dec. 5.

Yes, the school is notoriously tardy with releasing information to the media.

The notice, released in response to public-records requests and first reported by The Register-Guard, follows reports that Oregon already met with the NCAA Committee on Infractions (COI) on April 20.

Much of what is included mirrors what was in a summary disposition that Oregon submitted to the NCAA last October. In other words, there's not really any new information here because Oregon wouldn't have had a COI hearing if it hadn't previously received a notice of allegations.

A couple of interesting notes from the Register-Guard:

• The notice released today states that “all of the alleged violations set forth in the document attached to this letter are considered to be potential major violations of NCAA legislation, unless designated as secondary.” None is designated as such; Oregon argued in the summary disposition proposal that violations related to the use of scouting services should not be considered major.
• The notice of allegations does note that Oregon is subject to penalties under repeat-violator rules. The most recent allegations began within five years of the Ducks’ most recent major violation, the J.J. Arrington letter of intent scandal, which was resolved in 2004.
• According to the Dec. 5 letter, Oregon was to submit a response to the notice of allegations by Jan. 4, and was invited to appear Feb. 23 at an initial meeting of the Committee on Infractions at which the UO response would be considered

The NCAA, even more opaque and glacially paced than Oregon, will not comment on ongoing investigations. It is not known when a decision might be announced, but the odds are good the NCAA will rule before the 2013 season.

But, as with all things with the NCAA, you never know.

You can read the Register-Guard story and the document itself here.

Quarterbacks come and go for a variety of reasons. Some simply aren't happy in a new state or in another part of the country. Others decide football isn't the sport for them. Many feel their talents are being wasted on the bench. It always seems like the grass is greener. Sometimes the move works out. Sometimes it doesn't.

Inspired by the move of Wes Lunt to leave Oklahoma State, the Pac-12 blog thought it would be fun to look back fondly at some of the quarterbacks who have left the conference following the 2008 season (a full four-year cycle). A special thanks to the league's sports information directors for helping compile this list and whatever information is available (which isn't the case with some players).

Here's the team-by-team breakdown of some of the recently departed signal callers no longer calling signals in the Pac-12.

Arizona

• Tom Savage: Transferred to Pitt after the 2011 season. Eligible to play in 2013.
• Cam Allerheiligen: Left after the 2011 season. Went on to play baseball at Weatherford College.

Arizona State

• No QB transfers since 2008.

California

• Beau Sweeney: Transferred after the 2010 season to Cornell. Appeared as a quarterback and TE/H-Back.
• Allan Bridgford: Transferred after the 2012 season to Southern Miss.

Colorado

• Matt Ballenger: Transferred after the 2008 season to College of Idaho and went on to be an all-conference basketball player.
• Nick Hirschman: Transferred to Akron following the 2012 season.

Oregon

• Chris Harper: Transferred to Kansas State after the 2008 season and became a wide receiver, leading the Wildcats in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in 2011.
• Justin Roper: Transferred to Montana after the 2008 season, completed 61.5 percent of his throws with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2010.
• Jeremiah Masoli: Transferred to Mississippi after the 2009 season. Is now with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
• Brennan Doty: (Walk-on) transferred to Lamar to play basketball.
• Bryan Bennett: Transferred to Southeastern Louisiana after the 2012 season.

Oregon State

• Justin Engstrom: Transferred to Portland State after the 2008 season. Was a backup.
• Brennan Sim: Transferred to South Alabama after the 2008 season.
• Peter Lalich: Transferred to California University of Pennsylvania after the 2009 season.
• Ryan Katz: Transferred to San Diego State before the 2012 season and was the starter until an injury knocked him out for the year.
• Jack Lomax: Left the team prior to the 2012 season.

Stanford

• L.D. Crow: Transferred to UCF after the 2008 season.
• Nick Ruhl: (Walk-on) transferred to Menlo College after the 2008 season. Returned to Stanford and graduated with two degrees.
• Adam Brzeczek: (Walk-on) transferred to Montana after the 2011 season. Did not attempt a pass in 2012, but appeared in two games and rushed for 33 yards on three carries with a touchdown.
• Brett Nottingham: Transferred to Columbia after the 2012 season.

UCLA

• Chris Forcier: Transferred to Furman after the 2008 season.
• Nick Crissman: Graduated in 2012, but intended to transfer to play one more year

USC

• Aaron Corp: Transferred to Richmond after the 2009 season.
• Jesse Scroggins: Trasnferred to El Camino Junior College after the 2011 season and has since joined Arizona.

Utah

• Corbin Louks: Transferred to Nevada after the 2008 season.
• Griff Robles: Transferred after the 2011 season to Dixie State College. Utah had converted Robles to a linebacker, but he wanted to play quarterback. Appeared in 11 games last year, completing 50.9 percent of his throws with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
• Tyler Shreve: Transferred to Riverside Community College after the 2011 season to play football and baseball.

Washington

• Ronnie Fouch: Transferred to Indiana State after the 2009 season. Went on to start 22 games and posted 38 touchdowns to 15 interceptions with more than 4,300 passing yards in his career.
• Nick Montana: Transferred to to Mt. San Antonio College after the 2011 season and is now at Tulane.

Washington State

• J.T. Levenseller: Transferred to Eastern Washington after the 2008 season.
• Cody Clements: Transferred to Cerritos College following the 2012 season.

Mark your calendars. The 2013-2014 bowl schedule has been announced (of course, participants are pending).

Once again the Pac-12 will kick off the bowl season against a Mountain West team on Sat. Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. ET in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque on ESPN. And settle in for what will be the first of two Pac-12 double-headers this bowl season, because the Pac-12 and Mountain West will meet again the same day in the Las Vegas Bowl at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Here's the complete Pac-12 lineup:

• Dec. 21, Gildan New Mexico Bowl, 2 p.m. Pac-12 vs. MWC, ESPN
• Dec. 21, Las Vegas Bowl, 3:30 p.m. Pac-12 vs. MWC. ABC
• Dec. 27, Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, 9:30 p.m. Pac-12 vs. BYU (if bowl eligible), ESPN
• Dec. 30, Valero Alamo Bowl, 6:45 p.m. Pac-12 vs. Big 12, ESPN
• Dec. 30, Holiday Bowl, 10:15 p.m. Pac-12 vs. Big 12, ESPN
• Dec. 31, Hyundai Sun Bowl, 2 p.m., Pac-12 vs. ACC, CBS
• Jan. 1, Rose Bowl Game Presented by VIZIO, 5 p.m., ESPN
• Jan. 6, VIZIO BCS National Championship (at the Rose Bowl), 8:30 p.m., BCS 1 vs. BCS 2, ESPN

Last year, the Pac-12 bowls were a little more spread out and there is an extra six days between the start of the 2013 bowl season (last year's New Mexico Bowl was on Dec. 15). There was only one double-header last year with the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.

This year, Dec. 21 and Dec. 30 should make for some fun Pac-12 viewing parties. (And probably a healthy dose of trolling between the Pac-12 and Big 12 blogs).

If anyone needs a refresher course on how their team did in last year's bowl games, you can see all our bowl coverage from last season here.

Here's the speedy version -- Arizona: Are you kidding me?; Washington: What, no measurement?; UCLA: Ouch; Arizona State: Explosive; Oregon State: (Insert Cody Vaz just got sacked joke of your choosing here); USC: Yucky; Stanford: Defense, nasty; Oregon: Hey K-State, shhhhhh.

You can see the complete 2013-2014 bowl schedule here.

Not sure if anyone else is, but I'm a big Adam Carolla fan and listen to his podcast every day.

He regularly has a sports element to the show, and dedicated listeners know of Bald Bryan's love of all things USC football.

Tuesday Carolla was joined by UCLA coach Jim Mora from his charity golf tournament.

It's a good 20-plus-minute talk and Mora hits on a number of interesting topics, including his relationship with his father, his time as a coach in the NFL and what he looks for when he's recruiting.

I think the most important thing is you evaluate [a player] with your own eyes. You watch the film. You get to know the kid. You get to know the parents. And you make your own decisions. And certainly you take input from others that have been around him for a long time. Typically what we do is we're checking character references when we're doing that. We can see the athlete. We can see the work ethic. We can see the skill set. But we want to know the character of the kid ... we don't want the guy that's going to infect the locker room.

Carolla keeps it clean (mostly) and it's a very entertaining conversation. You can hear the complete interview here .

Other guests on Tuesday's podcast were Kevin Nealon and Pat O'Brien. So -- if you're able to -- settle in with a glass of Mangria and have a listen.

Wake up to find out
that you are the eyes of the World
but the heart has its beaches
its homeland and thoughts of its own.

• Still more on Daniel Jenkins return to Arizona after a very short transfer to Washington State.
• Arizona State LB Carl Bradford is a freak. And here is the entire list of "Freaks" from CBS' Bruce Feldman.
• California AD Sandy Barbour chats about Memorial Stadium.
• Former Colorado O-lineman David Bakhtiari might get in the mix with the Green Bay Packers.
• A former Oregon WR will get a chance with Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Former Oregon State CB Jordan Poyer talks about the NFL.
• Who is better: Andrew Luck or Colin Kaepernick?
• Might Eddie Vanderdoes end up at UCLA after all?
• Matt Barkley already has a good feel for the Eagles offense.
• Apparently Utah's Worst Case Scenario came (fairly) true in 2012.
• The Seattle Times explains why it doesn't have a Washington beat writer at present.
• Washington State has lost a starting offensive lineman.

You may have noticed this story Monday from Mackenzie Kraemer of ESPN Stats & Info. It's a nice breakdown of how the 2013 class of quarterbacks across college football might be one of the best ever. Kraemer offers five reasons why:

1. The best teams of 2012 return their quarterbacks
2. The best passers are returning
3. A diverse array of NFL talent
4. Little QB turnover in SEC
5. Award winners back on campus

We're going to take this and, point-by-point, give it a Pac-12 rinse.

The best teams of 2012 (in the Pac-12) return their quarterbacks: Yep. Stanford (12-2), yes. Oregon (12-1), yes. Oregon State (9-4), yes (and yes). UCLA (9-5), yes. Arizona State (8-5), yes. It should come as no surprise that the top six teams in our post-spring power rankings all have their quarterback coming back. In fact, there were only four teams last year that started the same quarterback in every game (Arizona State, Oregon, UCLA, Washington) and those are four of our top five teams in the rankings.

Thus, it's not by chance that the five of the bottom six in the power rankings have an ongoing quarterback competition. That's not to say that a school like USC, which has too much talent to be sitting in the bottom half of the rankings, can't quickly make a jump to the top once their quarterback situation is resolved.

And the same goes for No. 6 Oregon State -- which is fortunate to have two capable starters competing. I don't know who first opined that if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one. I don't buy it. Ask any coach in the bottom half of the power rankings if they'd prefer zero quarterbacks who have won games or two. I think we all know the answer.

The best passers are returning: Yep. Marcus Mariota led the Pac-12 in efficiency and Taylor Kelly wasn't far behind. Matt Barkley was third, Brett Hundley was fourth and Sean Mannion was fifth. However, it's worth noting that Kevin Hogan's efficiency would have ranked him slightly above Hundley had he appeared in more games in 2012 (the cutoff was appearing in 75 percent of the games, Hogan was at 71). That means five of the top six quarterbacks in efficiency are back.


A diverse array of NFL talent: Yep. Anyone who thinks Mariota is just a running quarterback failed to witness his 32 touchdown passes and league-best 68.5 completion percentage. He will fit nicely into any NFL offense.

Same for Kelly (29 touchdowns, 67.1 completion percentage) and Hundley (29, 66.5). Hogan should be well-versed in the pro-style attack (and NFL scouts love quarterbacks who know the pro-style/West Coast coming out of college) and if Mannion (if he wins the job) bounces back, he's got the prototypical NFL pro-style frame.

And let's not forget Keith Price, who we're expecting to have a nice bounce-back year. He was extremely efficient in 2011 (33, 66.9) so the potential and athleticism is obviously there.

Little QB turnover in the league: Well, the Pac-12 can't make that claim with six starting jobs still in doubt and potentially five schools starting a fresh-faced QB.

Award winners back on campus: Yep. Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year (Mariota). First-team quarterback (Mariota). Kelly, Hogan and Hundley were honorable mention.

While it's true that this might shape up as one of the greatest years in college football history for quarterbacks, it's equally true that the Pac-12 might have its best crop of quarterbacks in league history.

The Pac-12 has sent at least one quarterback to the NFL since 1995 and at least one has gone in the first round in nine of the past 16 drafts. There was 2003 when Carson Palmer (USC) and Kyle Boller (Cal) both went in the first round. 1999 was a strong year with Akili Smith (Oregon) and Cade McNown (UCLA) going in the first round and Brock Huard (Washington) going in the third. Three times the Pac-12 has had four quarterbacks go in the draft (2005, 1991 and 1989).

2004 comes to mind as a pretty darn good collection with Aaron Rodgers (Cal), Matt Leinart (USC), Derek Anderson (Oregon State), Andrew Walter (ASU), Kellen Clemens (Oregon), Trent Edwards (Stanford), Drew Olson (UCLA) and Alex Brink (Washington State).

It's a little too early to start speculating about who is going to go and who is going to stay. But based on what we've seen from this crop in the past nine months, it's possible the 2013 class will be right up there in the conversation as one of the best collection of quarterbacks ever in the league.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News has been a busy bee this week, yet we somehow missed his update on the Pac-12's progress with its new bowl game negotiations, which included Wilner projecting a potential future lineup.

It's an interesting article because it's clear Pac-12 administrators are trying to improve the configuration and selection process.

Wilner reported the likely addition of an eighth bowl game -- the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl -- which is run by the Fiesta Bowl and played in Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. It's likely to feature a Big 12 foe.

He also projects the ascension of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl as it moves into the San Francisco 49ers' new home, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. That will be another Pac-12-Big Ten matchup.

And, no, it doesn't appear there will be any Pac-12-SEC games, which many of you are clamoring for. I'm sure any of the Pac-12's bowl games would love to entice an SEC team to come on board but the SEC has a very strong lineup of bowls games, particularly at the top, and those games are played close to home.

Here's how Wilner projects the future lineup, which will begin in 2014, same season as the first four-team College Football Playoff.

1. Rose/playoff

2. Alamo

3. Holiday

4. Kraft Fight Hunger (Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara)

5. Sun

6. Las Vegas

7. Buffalo Wild Wings

8. New Mexico

That's a full lineup. Consider that some years you could have multiple Pac-12 teams in the playoff and even then have a team play in the Rose Bowl, though that might be a long shot.

The Bruins are developing wide receiver depth, which will benefit second-year starting quarterback Brett Hundley.