Pac-12 Football: 3 biggest storylines heading into spring 2020

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TEMPE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 09: Wide receiver Drake London #15 of the USC Trojans makes a reception over safety Aashari Crosswell #16 of the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half of the NCAAF game at Sun Devil Stadium on November 09, 2019, in Tempe, Arizona. The Trojans defeated the Sun Devils 31-26. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

2. Is Pac-12 South a two-team race?

This section could very easily have been titled, “Is USC a serious contender this season?” The truth is, the college football landscape is better when a Pac-12 program is nationally relevant, and USC is the marquee program on the West Coast.

This season, the Trojans will be in year two of the air-raid offense under Graham Harrell and they brought in Todd Orlando to run the defense. This season there are teams on the rise, but no clear power in the Pac-12 South. Despite losses to USC and Oregon, Utah was the best team in the South most of the 2019 season. They lost so many players either to graduation, the NFL draft or both it will be interesting to see what they look like this season.

It will be interesting to see if Jayden Daniels takes another step in his growth and maturation in his second season as the Arizona State quarterback. The defense will be good again in Tempe; the Sun Devils return nine defensive starters next season. Does that make them the front runners in the South division?

Even with Michael Pittman leaving for the NFL, the Trojans are super loaded on offense with Ammon-Ra St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns and a returning Markese Stepp on offense. Whether it’s JT Daniels or Kedon Slovis, the USC offense will light up the scoreboard next season.

It seems like a two-team race in the South and those two teams are Arizona State and USC.

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