Who won the 7-game schedule matchups?
The Pac-12 Hotline went waist deep into the scheduling waters last week, not once but twice. Let’s take one more plunge — specifically, into the 2020 schedule.
Our general view is that home field won’t carry the same advantage without fans, but we’re hardly prepared to ignore location — to view all games as neutral site matchups. That said, here are the winners and losers from the sevengame schedule, based on our highly-subjective view:
WINNlR >> Stanford. The Cardinal drew Colorado for the North-South crossover game and visits two of the toughest venues (Oregon and Washington) when they will be fan-free. Also, half of Stanford’s opponents — the Washington schools and Colorado — have new head coaches, new playcallers, new quarterbacks and did not conduct any spring practice because of the shutdown. Two of the other three, Oregon State and Oregon, have new quarterbacks.
LOSlR >> Oregon State. The crossover is at altitude (Salt Lake City) in December, when it’s nice and balmy. Also, the Beavers have a rugged four-game stretch in the middle of their lineup ( Washington, Cal, Oregon and Utah). If they don’t win the opener against WSU, the forecast could quickly turn gloomy.
WINNlR >> Oregon. The Ducks were originally supposed to face USC, but the framework of the revised schedule didn’t allow for that showdown. Instead, the Ducks get UCLA at home. They couldn’t have asked for a wider path to pursue an unlikely playoff berth.
LOSlR >> UCLA. Not only did the Bruins draw Oregon on the road as their crossover, it’s the second half of back-to-back Friday night games and follows the always-taxing matchup with Utah.
Week One (Colorado) and Week Four (Arizona) are whatever’s more urgent than must-win games. WINNER >> USC. Instead of visiting Oregon, the Trojans play Washington State at home as their crossover. Their toughest intra- division test, Arizona State, is also at home. If they can get to 3- 0, they should get to 6- 0.
LOSER >> Arizona. No team has a tougher first three games than the Wildcats,
who open at Utah, host USC, then head to Husky Stadium. And from a financial standpoint, this is a bad year for Arizona to miss ticket and concession sales from home dates with USC and Arizona State.
WINNER >> Washington. Both rivalry games (Oregon and the Apple Cup) are on the road in a fanless year, which means the Huskies are not losing out on the ticket sales that would come with playing those games at home. LOSER >> Washington State. Let us count the ways ... 1) The Cougars have Oregon and UW at home but can’t sell tickets. 2) For the crossover, they visit USC — on a Friday night, no less. 3) The Apple Cup is on a Friday, with WSU playing on the road the previous week and Washington playing at home. We’re not sure any team drew a shorter straw with the schedule. Oh, and did we mention WSU has a new coach, new playcaller and new quarterback and missed all of spring ball? Oh, Cougs.
Mark your calendar
Nov. 7: Pac-12 football opening day
Nov. 18: NBA Draft (New York City)
Nov. 25: NCAA basketball season begins
Dec. 16-18: NCAA earlysigning period (football)
Dec. 18: Pac-12 championship game (on campus)
Dec. 19: Pac-12 champ weekend matchups
Dec. 20: College Football Playoff/ bowl selections
Some roundball
• The Pac-12 confirmed Thursday that the men’s schedule will include 20 conference games -- for the first time -- while the women will play 22.
• Washington has suspended senior Nahziah Carter, its top returning scorer, for a violation of the team’s code of conduct. No word on the duration of his absence.
• The Huskies and Gonzaga reportedly have canceled their mid-December affair in Spokane.
• In contrast, Utah and BYU is a go.
• Oregon’s priority: Replacing Payton Pritchard -- not his production so much as his leadership.
• Even though Cal has eight players returing from last season, sloppy practices are unavoidable
because of offseason restrictions. “Will we be able to catch all the way up? Well, that’s our plan,” says coach Mark Fox.
• Colorado guard McKinley Wright is confident. “We’ll be dancing,” he says.
Heads up
• “Saturday Night Five” — five thoughts coming out of the day’s action in college football — is posted on our website every Saturday night before the clock strikes 12.
• My AP Top 25 ballot is published every Sunday morning and is on Page 2.