Pac-12 Football: Season preview and final standings predictions

Pac-12 Champion – USC (10 first place votes)

Also receiving votes – Washington (5), Stanford (1)

Southern Cal has had some rough seasons by Trojan standards since the departure of Pete Carroll in 2009. The Lane Kiffin experiment didn’t work out and Steve Sarkisian had problems of his own. New head man Clay Helton has held this team together and now they’re finally ready to take the next step.

There might not be a more hyped up team in the country than the Trojans. USC has plenty of reasons to keep their expectations high. Their offense is going to be electric and their division is arguably one of the easier groupings in college football. They’ve already “been there and done that” against the Washington Huskies. Why not the Trojans?

More: Projecting the 2-deep depth chart for the USC Trojans in 2017

For one, Sam Darnold hasn’t proven he can survive the grind of a full season. The young quarterback stunned the college football world a year ago, but guys like Jake Browning have gone through the highs and the lows and come out on the other side stronger. How will Darnold handle adversity?

Stanford garnered one first place vote, but Washington is the team that feels the most slighted. They don’t have the brand name cache’ that the Trojans do. So, despite being the reigning conference champions, they’ll be playing from behind until the Trojans stumble.

Next: Top 50 CFB breakout candidates in 2017

What do you think? Are the Trojans a lock or will a more experienced quarterback guide his team to the top of the Pac-12? If someone new will emerge, who do you think that will be? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter.