The financial crisis in the Pac-12 might cause the conference to break up. Can larry Scott fix it? The actual cause of recruits exiting the Pac-12 may be a result of coaches leaving the conference and recruiting budgets than any other reason we have heard. Pac-12 basketball standings look as convoluted as they did if football. If this level of parity continues, who can make the tournament?
The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the Pac-12 conference. They talk about the good, bad, and the ugly about the Pac-12. Join them in becoming a Pac-12 Apostle by subscribing and sharing the podcast. Send your thoughts, comments, and :30 ranks to immad@unafraidshow.com. The best comments and rants will be included in the show.
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Should Larry Scott get a twitter feed? Will it help with messaging for the conference. Which Pac-12 players were involved in the Super Bowl?
There are more coaching changes happening in the conference and there is a new bowl game.
Pac-12 basketball is in full swing. Who are the teams that will finish in the NCAA tournament field?
The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the Pac-12 conference. They talk about the good, bad, and the ugly about the Pac-12. Join them in becoming a Pac-12 Apostle by subscribing and sharing the podcast. Send your thoughts, comments, and :30 ranks to immad@unafraidshow.com. The best comments and rants will be included in the show.
Visit Unafraid Show to read unapologetic articles about the conference and the teams you love.
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The 2020 Senior Bowl presented an opportunity for many Pac-12 players to help their draft stock. In what would be a 34-17 victory for the North team over the South team in Mobile, Alabama, some players were able to take advantage of their opportunity while others struggled.
Justin Herbert started for the South team coached by Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. Herbert went 9-of-12 for 83 yards and threw a touchdown on the game’s opening possession. He also added 22 yards on the ground. Herbert won MVP honors for his performance. Showing poise throughout the first quarter, Herbert was able to put on a performance that should help his case for being a top pick in the first round of April’s NFL Draft.
Justin Herbert made some people rethink that “Joe Burrow is guaranteed to be the #1 pick” talk.
Many expect the Bengals to select LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the first pick of the NFL Draft. However, Herbert and Burrow have similar games, and both can be threats running the football. If Herbert can add to his Senior Bowl performance with a great NFL Combine and Pro Day, he could be picked within the top five-seven picks. The Dolphins, Chargers, and Panthers (picks five, six, and seven) are all expected to strongly consider drafting a quarterback. Herbert separated himself from Jordan Love, another projected first-round pick and starter for the North team, in the Senior Bowl.
UCLA running back Joshua Kelley and Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon were the standout Pac-12 offensive players for the North team. Kelley had 15 carries for 105 yards, and Anthony Gordon had two touchdown passes in the third quarter. When Gordon went in, the game was tied at 10, but after the third quarter, the North was leading 31-10. Gordon could build off his senior bowl performance to possibly be a Day 2 pick at the NFL Draft.
Joshua Kelley was able to show that he can be physical inside, but can be explosive in space. He also could make a case for being a Day 2 or early Day 3 draft pick if he builds off his performance in the Senior Bowl.
Bradlee Anae Steals the Show on Defense in Senior Bowl
Utah defensive end Bradlee Anae had a huge day at the Senior Bowl for the North team. He recorded three sacks on the day, and wreaked havoc against the South offensive line. Anae was the best defensive player on the field in Mobile and made his case to be a Day 2 pick at the draft.
Steven Montez, Calvin Throckmorton Have Uneven Performances in Senior Bowl
Colorado quarterback Steven Montez entered the game to start the second half and had a very uneven performance. Montez finished 3-of-8 for 22 yards and an interception. He took a sack on a 3rd-and-1 as he scrambled back and made a five-yard loss into a 15-yard loss on the sack.
However, Montez and fellow South quarterback Jalen Hurts did not get the protection from their offensive line to be fairly evaluated based on their performances. Calvin Throckmorton, an offensive lineman for Oregon, played for a big portion of the game and had trouble blocking Bradlee Anae on the few occasions they were matched up against each other. None of the tackles for the South fared well against Anae, but Throckmorton’s stock did not go up based on his performance.
Pac-12
Had Some of the Best Performances at 2020 Senior Bowl
The
Pac-12 had a positive 2020 Senior Bowl. Justin Herbert, arguably the premier
player in the conference this past season, was able to win MVP. Bradlee Anae
made a great impression nationally. There is talent in the Pac-12, and future
recruits can see that players that play on the west coast in the Pac-12 can be
successful.
The recruiting dead period is over, and so is your wait for another edition of the Pac-12 Apostles podcast! In this episode, George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden get into “early offers,” discussing the pros and cons of recruiting kids at a younger and younger age.
Washington State hired Hawaii’s Nick Rolovich, while Oregon and USC made important coordinator hires? George and Ralph evaluate the hires and debate whether UCLA was smart to give its newest position coach responsibilities on both sides of the ball.
The Pac-12 released next year’s football schedule- which teams have the most attractive games, and the hardest road? George and Ralph break down some of their favorite out of conference matchups as well.
And if you thought the Pac-12 Apostles Podcast was only a football show, you were dead wrong. George and Ralph discuss the state of the conference’s basketball teams on both the men’s and women’s side of things, including showing some praise for Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu.
The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the conference. Join us by becoming a Pac-12 Apostle. Subscribe and share the podcast.
Please leave a review of our podcast on iTunes if you can! We record a podcast once a week during the off-season for football and then from the months of August to January we record two podcasts per week. Our podcasts are always heavy on Pac-12 football but we make it a point to also try and cover the other notable Men’s and Women’s Pac-12 sports. We cover recruiting and any other major storyline in the Pac-12 universe.
George Wrighster is a former Pac-12 and long-time NFL tight end. As a television/radio host, opinionist, and analyst, who is UNAFRAID to speak the truth. Contrary to industry norms he uses, facts, stats, and common sense to win an argument. He has covered college football, basketball, NFL, NBA, MLB since 2014. Through years of playing college football, covering bowl games, coaching changes, and scandals, he has a great pulse for the conference and national perspective.
Ralph Amsden is a Wyoming-born sportswriter and podcaster who spends his days tweeting through the misadventures that come with shuttling four kids around the Arizona desert. Ralph is the publisher of Rivals’ ArizonaVarsity.com, the founder of ArizonaSportsCast.com, and was previously the managing editor of the Arizona State Rivals affiliate, DevilsDigest.com. He is also a professional hater of all things pineapple. Whether you’re talking food, movies, music, parenting, politics, sports, television, religion, or zoological factoids, Ralph has questions for you. He might be sub-.500 in spousal disputes and schoolyard fights, but he’s always UNAFRAID to square up.
What would the score be if every Pac-12 team played the 2019 LSU Tigers? Styles make fights so some teams would fare better than others. George and Ralph respond to a writer who made a ridiculous comment saying a Pac-12 All-Star team couldn’t beat LSU.
The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the Pac-12 conference. They talk about the good, bad, and the ugly about the Pac-12. Join them in becoming a Pac-12 Apostle by subscribing and sharing the podcast. Send your thoughts, comments, and :30 ranks to immad@unafraidshow.com. The best comments and rants will be included in the show.
Visit Unafraid Show to read unapologetic articles about the conference and the teams you love.
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pac-12-conference/message
George and Ralph grade each Pac-12 team in relevance, stability, recruiting, and future outlook on a 100 point system with each category being worth 25 points. The XFL starts soon and may be another path for college football players to get paid while preparing for the NFL draft. Arizona State offensive analyst, Marvin Lewis was a token minority candidate interview (Rooney Rule) by the Dallas Cowboys.
The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the Pac-12 conference. They talk about the good, bad, and the ugly about the Pac-12. Join them in becoming a Pac-12 Apostle by subscribing and sharing the podcast. Send your thoughts, comments, and :30 ranks to immad@unafraidshow.com. The best comments and rants will be included in the show.
Visit Unafraid Show to read unapologetic articles about the conference and the teams you love.
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pac-12-conference/message
George and Ralph Draft their Pac-12 All-Decade team from 2010-19 at (43:00). No player can be picked more than once. Who picked the winning team? There was a very good user email about Clay Helton and USC. Targeting and Catch/No Catch were a source of controversy in the College Football Playoff Semifinal.
The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the Pac-12 conference. They talk about the good, bad, and the ugly about the Pac-12. Join them in becoming a Pac-12 Apostle by subscribing and sharing the podcast. Send your thoughts, comments, and :30 ranks to immad@unafraidshow.com. The best comments and rants will be included in the show.
Visit Unafraid Show to read unapologetic articles about the conference and the teams you love.
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pac-12-conference/message
Should you Back the PAC-12 in bowl games even if that means rooting for your rival? What does success look like for the conference during bowl season? There were numerous Early National Signing day surprises that the Apostles break down. Washington, Oregon, and Cal are all fighting for the exact same offensive coordinators. Assistant coaches have more power in college football than they ever have.
The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the Pac-12 conference. They talk about the good, bad, and the ugly about the Pac-12. Join them in becoming a Pac-12 Apostle by subscribing and sharing the podcast. Send your thoughts, comments, and :30 ranks to immad@unafraidshow.com. The best comments and rants will be included in the show.
Visit Unafraid Show to read unapologetic articles about the conference and the teams you love.
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pac-12-conference/message
It is vitally important for the Pac-12 to put together a good bowl season. The conference has not had a winning bowl season since 2015 and has not sent a team to the College Football Playoff since 2016. The Pac-12 went 3-3 in 2016, 1-8 in 2017, and 3-4 in 2018. Having a good bowl season will help elevate the league’s perception to start the 2020 season.
The Pac-12 is sending seven teams to bowl games in College Football 2019. These teams are USC, Arizona State, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Washington State, and California.
Preseason Rankings and Not Winning Big Games Have Hurt the Pac-12
Preseason rankings play a role in how the final standings play out. The Pac-12 has only been represented in the College Football Playoff twice in the six years of the tournament. Going into the 2019 season, the Pac-12 did not have a single team in the top 10 in either the Associated Press or USA Today Coaches Poll. Oregon was the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in both preseason polls (No. 11 in AP Poll). However, they lost their first game to Auburn in College Football Week 1. This loss put the Pac-12 behind the 8-ball right away as far as their hopes to make the College Football Playoff.
In the last three seasons, the Pac-12 champion has lost their bowl game (Washington twice and USC once). The last time the Pac-12 champion won their bowl game was when Stanford beat Iowa 45-16 in the Rose Bowl to end the 2015 season. Washington lost in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Peach Bowl to Alabama 24-7 in 2016. USC only scored once and got beat around by the Ohio State Buckeyes 24-7 in the Cotton Bowl to end the 2017 season. In the 2018 Rose Bowl, the Washington Huskies’ rally from down 28-3 against the Buckeyes and fell short, losing 28-23.
Pac-12 Can Gain a Lot If Oregon Beats Wisconsin
If Oregon, the newly minted Pac-12 champion, can beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2020, it would help Oregon’s and the Pac-12’s standing heading into 2020. Their champion would win a game on the national stage on New Year’s Day, and the conference could feed off showing that their champion could have been competitive in the College Football Playoff. As a conference, the Pac-12 needs to get a team into the playoff. The conference is not spoken of in the same breath as the SEC or Big Ten. Winning the Rose Bowl would help the Pac-12’s cause.
Pac-12 Could Take Image Hit If Utah Loses to Texas
However,
the Pac-12 has a lot to lose from bowl season also. The Utah Utes are currently
ranked 11th in the country. They are playing the Texas Longhorns in
the Alamo Bowl. If the Pac-12 runner-up loses to the team that finished tied
for third in the Big 12 conference it would be devastating. Utah has been the
better team all year, but some may give the Longhorns a slight edge because they
simply have better recruits.
If Utah loses this game, an outsider who may not follow the Pac-12 conference may think, “Wow, one of the best two Pac-12 teams is not as good as a team that finished 7-5 in the Big 12”. People will tune into this game nationally because of Texas’ brand. Utah needs to show the nation that they are deserving of their ranking. They need to take care of business against an unranked Longhorns team.
USC Needs Bowl Win to Help Embattled Head Coach Clay Helton
Another bowl game that will generate interest within the Pac-12 and nationally because of “the brand” is the Holiday Bowl, which features the USC Trojans against the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten. USC hired new athletic director Mike Bohn in early November, and he has endorsed head coach Clay Helton. Many believed Helton was coaching for his job at numerous points throughout the season.
Beating Iowa in the Holiday Bowl would cool all the seats Clay Helton will be sitting in during the offseason, whether that is on an airplane during the recruiting cycle or in his office after spring practice. There is still the pipeline dream that Urban Meyer may eventually take over at USC, but for now, it is Helton’s team. USC simply gets better recruits than Iowa. On paper, USC should beat Iowa. It would help with recruiting because it would show the nation that Clay Helton can beat an equal opponent. After a 5-7 season in 2018, many thought Clay Helton could have been gone. With the new athletic director, Clay Helton could have been gone. He needs this game so there is more certainty around the program entering 2020.
Pac-12 Needs Winning Bowl Season
The Pac-12 needs to go a minimum of 4-3 in their bowl games this bowl season. As a conference, they are suffering in terms of national image because of their inability to get their champion to the College Football Playoff. The conference can show that their teams are able to compete with the best programs. Going 4-3 would be decent, but the conference should be hoping for at least a 5-2 mark this bowl season. Also, Utah needs to absolutely win for the Pac-12 to look positively on this bowl season.
Oregon had Auburn on the ropes in College Football Week 1, and it hurt the conference that the Ducks were unable to finish the job. However, Oregon’s loss to Arizona State and Utah’s loss to Oregon were the main reasons the Pac-12 did not get a team into the College Football Playoff. The Ducks have a huge non-conference game against Ohio State next season.
Other schools have also scheduled tough non-conference games in 2020, such as the Colorado Buffaloes scheduling the Texas A&M Aggies. Many will choose Oregon and CU to lose these games. However, maybe a few pundits will have more confidence if the conference can have a positive end to a decade where more was expected for the conference.
How do the Pac-12 classes stack up for early signing day (December. 18 – 20)? Recruiting is in full swing and there are flips, decommitments, and surprise signings that will happen. Which players will have an immediate impact? Is there a class that may change the future of the program?
The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the Pac-12 conference. They talk about the good, bad, and the ugly about the Pac-12. Join them in becoming a Pac-12 Apostle by subscribing and sharing the podcast. Send your thoughts, comments, and :30 ranks to immad@unafraidshow.com. The best comments and rants will be included in the show.
Visit Unafraid Show to read unapologetic articles about the conference and the teams you love.
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pac-12-conference/message
