Pac-12 Football: 5 most important Pac-12 North games of 2017

The 2017 Pac-12 Football season should be another interesting marathon to see which team prevails in the Pac-12 North with the schedule playing a pivotal role.

The North division has been dominated by Oregon and Stanford. In fact, since formally adding a championship game, the North representative has either been Oregon, Stanford or Washington. Stanford won three times, Oregon twice and Washington won last year.

Not surprisingly, Washington is the preseason favorite, but who are the teams seen as Washington’s biggest threat? Two of the three are: you guessed it, Oregon and Stanford. Washington State is another team that is a contender in the North.

Washington returns 13 starters from a 12-2 squad. Stanford has questions, particularly at quarterback with Keller Chryst returning from knee surgery, but David Shaw has posted double-digit win season five of the six years he has been Stanford’s head coach. With that track record, Stanford should be considered a contender until further notice.

Oregon is entering a new era with Willie Taggart at the helm, but Taggart inherits a team full of talent. In 2016 Washington State finished in second place in the North. The Cougars finished 7-2 in conference play with a high-octane offense returning most of the starters for the 2017 season.

Oregon State and California represent potential trap games for the top teams, although neither team is viewed as a serious contender for the division title. New California head coach Justin Wilcox might be able to turn the program around, but he will need time to recruit the right players.

Of course, cross-division games will impact who represents the North in the Pac-12 championship game. For instance, Stanford has to play USC on the road in the second week of the season. However, what are the pure, strictly Pac-12 North games that will play the biggest role in determining who wins the division?

Let’s take a closer look.