True-Freshman Jayden Daniels is the Future of Pac-12 Football

Arizona State University Recruits Jayden Daniels

On December 13th, 2018, Arizona State’s Christmas present came early. Jayden Daniels, ASU’s highest-rated recruit in 247sports history, committed. The four-star recruit out of San Bernardino was their future.

But, this August, Daniels didn’t wait to impress. As a true freshman, he won the starting job. Herm Edwards put his confidence in Daniels and he hasn’t disappointed. Jayden Daniels is impressive.

Jayden Daniels’ Dual-Threat Ability

After committing to ASU, fans quickly realized that Jayden Daniels was dangerous. In his senior year at Cajon High School, Daniels averaged:

  • 322.5 passing yards-per-game
  • 4.3 passing touchdowns-per-game
  • 109.7 rushing yards-per-game
  • 1.14 rushing touchdowns-per-game

Once he hit the Pac-12, he quickly displayed his elusive abilities. Right away, he was dodging collegiate defenders and taking the ball himself.

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As every NFL fan knows, Lamar Jackson is the NFL-MVP front-runner. Due to his elite rushing ability, he’s on a historic run. Intelligently, John Harbaugh and the Ravens leaned into Jackson’s dual-threat ability. Which is so smart. It maximized their chance to win. If Daniels continues to progress, he can hope for a Jackson-like career arch.

Willingness to Throw Downfield

Remember, Jayden Daniels is a true-freshman. Even so, Daniels is playing aggressive and confident football. His 8.9 Yards-Per-Attempt ranks 13th in the nation. Stunningly, his 9.7 Adjusted-Yards-Per-Attempt ranks 10th. The only Pac-12 quarterback to best him in both is Tyler Huntley, who is still playing like the best quarterback in the conference.

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Protecting the Football

In the 2019 season, Jayden Daniels threw the ball 310 times. Though he’s been aggressive, Daniels only has two interceptions this season. He’s taken care of the ball. How many young quarterbacks can’t say the same? His 153.5 (No. 19 in the nation) Passing Efficiency Rating displays his secure, yet effective passing style.

Jayden Daniels Upsets Oregon to Show Ceiling

Somehow, against the No.6-ranked Oregon Ducks, Jayden Daniels led the Sun Devils to a win. He threw for 408 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, he hit Brandon Aiyuk for an 81-yard bomb to seal the victory.

Against Oregon, Daniels showed up in a big way. And Oregon’s defense is great. His Sun Devils put up 31 points. Additionally, Daniels didn’t throw a single interception. Oregon also only sacked him twice. His 206.8 Passing Efficiency Rating against Oregon shows Daniels’ massive upside. Not only did he beat Oregon, he destroyed their playoff hopes. That dagger to Aiyuk was fantastic for him. But, it was devastating to the Ducks.

As an 18-year-old, he’s already proved himself. Very few players bring his raw talent. In future years, get ready for an explosive campaign from Daniels.

Who’s Still In and Who’s Out: The 2019 Pac-12 Football Championship

Arizona State vs Stanford Football 2019

As we predicted earlier in the season, the PAC-12 is doing an excellent job of eating each other alive – a tradition unlike any other in the conference of champions.

Cal and Washington State both cost themselves spots in the top-25 with losses to Arizona State and Utah, respectively, leaving the conference with no undefeated teams.

At this point, because so many teams are lumped together, it’s hard to pick a clear favorite for the PAC-12 championship.

Here are the schools who still have a realistic chance of winning the PAC-12, with a look at their remaining schedule:

Pac-12 Power Rankings Week 5

No. 13 Oregon Ducks (3-1)

Oregon’s loss to Auburn hurts, especially since it was a winnable game, but ultimately they are still the team best positioned to win the PAC-12 Championship, and possibly the only team who has a real chance at playing in the College Football Playoff this season.

That doesn’t mean it will be an easy road however, as they have true road games against Washington, Arizona State and USC, as well as a home date with the Cougars of Washington State.

Led by quarterback Justin Herbert, the Ducks should be playing meaningful football into the early part of 2020, but they still have some work to do to get there.

Washington Huskies Rose Bowl

No. 15 Washington Huskies (4-1)

A pounding by the Huskies of the Trojans on Montlake went a long way for this team, who is still rebounding from a tough, weather-aided loss to Cal at home a few weeks ago.

Washington actually has a somewhat favorable schedule going forward, as their two toughest opponents – Oregon and Utah – are both at home along with this year’s Apple Cup against Washington State.

Oregon is still the favorite, but the Huskies are also in good shape to make a push for a Rose Bowl berth if they can win out this season.

Utah Football Helmet
Sleeping on the Utes in 2019? Not a good idea.

No. 17 Utah Utes (4-1)

As I predicted, the Utes fell for the trap game against the USC Trojans down in California, wish dampened their hopes this season quite a bit.

They did bounce back with a commanding victory over Washington State, 38-13, but they’ll probably need to be perfect (or close to it) if they want to win the PAC-12 championship and play in either the Rose Bowl or the college football championship.

A date with the No. 15 Huskies in Montlake will be the biggest challenge they face, although back to back home bouts with Arizona State and Cal won’t be easy either.

Pac-12 Football Power Rankings Week 3

No. 20 Arizona State (4-1)

Arizona State is the biggest wildcard out of this group, but they did beat Michigan State earlier this season and just defeated Cal on the road, making them 4-1 with only a three-point loss to Colorado standing in their way.

They also have a favorable home schedule as well, with only Utah remaining as a tough conference game on the road.

They’ll have to defend their home turf against Oregon, Washington State, USC and rival Arizona, but they are a team to keep an eye on in the hyper-competitive PAC-12 conference this year.

Pac-12 Football Week 7: Everything You Need to Know Before the Games

Pac-12 Football Week 7

Pac-12 Football Week 7: Everything You Need to Know Before the Games is literally everything you need to know about Pac-12 football compiled in one spot. I have included the schedule, standings, power rankings, and most important offensive and defensive stats. Next week it will be even more aesthetically pleasing.

Schedule

There are two very important games in the Pac-12 this week. Both Washington vs. Oregon and Colorado vs USC could have an impact on the College Football Playoffs. If Colorado can remain undefeated and Oregon or Washington have one loss until the Pac-12 Championship game, the winner could earn a seat in the top four.

Bye – Arizona State, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State

Pac-12 Standings Week 7

Washington, Washington State, and Stanford all control their own destiny in the Pac-12 North. If they win all the rest of their games, they will win the division. Oregon needs to win the rest of their games and have Stanford lose one more conference game.

 

NORTH DIVISION
Team Conf Overall PF PA Home Away Streak
Washington 3-0 5-1 175 82 2-0 2-1 Won 5
Washington State 2-1 5-1 25` 143 3-0 1-1 Won 2
Stanford 2-1 4-2 154 132 3-1 1-3 Lost 2
Oregon 1-1 4-1 228 122 3-1 1-0 Won 1
California 0-2 3-2 131 124 2-1 1-1 Lost 2
Oregon State 0-3 1-5 189  282 1-1 0-3 Lost 3

Colorado and USC are the only teams that control their own destiny in the Pac-12 South.

SOUTH DIVISION
Team Conf Overall PF PA Home Away Streak
Colorado 2-0 5-0 189 92 3-0 2-0 Won 5
USC 2-1 3-2 123 131 2-0 1-2 Won 2
Arizona 2-1 3-3 182 159 1-2 1-1 Won 1
Utah 1-2 3-2 129 86 1-1 2-1 Won 1
Arizona State 1-2 3-3 179  127 3-0 0-3 Lost 1
UCLA

USA Today Pac-12 Bowl Projections

Rose Bowl—Oregon vs Penn State

Fiesta Bowl—Washington vs Wisconsin

Holiday Bowl—Stanford vs Michigan

San Francisco Bowl—Washington State vs Nevada

Sun Bowl—Arizona State vs Florida State

Alamo Bowl—Colorado vs Texas

Cheez-It Bowl—Utah vs Iowa State

First Responders Bowl—Cal vs Wake Forest

Las Vegas Bowl—USC vs San Diego State

Unafraid Show Pac-12 Power Ranking

  1. Washington
  2. Oregon
  3. Colorado
  4. USC
  5. Washington State
  6. Utah
  7. Stanford
  8. Arizona State
  9. Arizona
  10. Cal
  11. UCLA
  12. Oregon State

See full rankings

Pac-12 Football Week 7: Offensive Stats

 

Pac-12 Football Week 7: Defensive Stats