Without tearing the Duck schedule apart too much, let’s look at the info. Just in case the drop down menu wasn’t enough. After that, we’ll rundown the PAC schedule and how it relates to the Ducks and the rest of the PAC 12. First here is a quick rundown of the Duck 2021 schedule:
Fresno State
SEP 4 (SAT) TBD
FRESNO STATE
EUGENE, ORE.
Ohio State University
SEP 11 (SAT) TBD
OHIO STATE
COLUMBUS, OHIo
Stony Brook University
SEP 18 (SAT) TBD
STONY BROOK
EUGENE, ORE.
Arizona
SEP 25 (SAT) TBD
ARIZONA
EUGENE, ORE.
Stanford
OCT 2 (SAT) TBD
STANFORD
STANFORD, CALIF.
OCT 9TH BYE PRIOR TO FRIDAY GAME
Cal
OCT 15 (FRI) TBD
CALIFORNIA
EUGENE, ORE
UCLA
OCT 23 (SAT) TBD
UCLA
PASADENA, CALIF.
Colorado
OCT 30 (SAT) TBD
COLORADO
EUGENE, ORE.
Washington
NOV 6 (SAT) TBD
WASHINGTON
SEATTLE, WASH.
Washington State
NOV 13 (SAT) TBD
WASHINGTON STATE
EUGENE, ORE.
Utah
NOV 20 (SAT) TBD
UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
Oregon State
NOV 27 (SAT) TBD
OREGON STATE
EUGENE, ORE.
PAC-12 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
DEC 3RD (fri) TBD
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
TV: ABC/ESPN
So we dodge USC and Arizona State this year but play Colorado and Utah, unlike last years schedule that got thrown out. Our bye comes mid season after a tough Stanford game and before a Friday game against Cal (hate playin those guys) but it is a well placed Bye to catch a breath. Not seeing USC in the regular season in 2021 is a break but Washington doesn’t see USC either. Hell, Washington does not see Arizona State either. Hummmmmm! Curious right?
Now that the 2021 Pac-12 football schedule has been released, let’s assess those schedules.
The short conclusion is that Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Cal will determine the perception of Pac-12 football , based on tough early-season nonconference games, as we shall explain later, but Oregon and USC have the easiest Pac-12 schedules, which we will address first.
To begin, we need to note that Oregon, Washington, USC and Arizona State are expected to be the best Pac-12 teams in 2021, since those four Pac-12 teams are included in the early 2021 top-25 rankings. That can change but we work with early perceptions. If teams get through some tough schedules with good records such as Arizona, Oregon State, Cal or Stanford for instance, they will get noticed and rise through the top-25 rankings. That will take cannibalizing of the PAC 12, however. Let’s not go there (I digress).
Since each Pac-12 team always plays the other five teams in its division, the focal point of the nine-game conference schedule is the two teams from the other division that each team does not face.
Not only will Oregon and USC probably be the favorites in their respective divisions, they will have the easiest paths to the Pac-12 championship game, which will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Friday, Dec. 3.
Washington’s schedule looks favorable too. The Huskies don’t face USC, and their two presumed toughest games — against Oregon and Arizona State — will both be played in Seattle. The fact that those games will be played in consecutive weeks might make the Huskies’ chore a little more difficult, but let’s not get too far too complicated. Moving on.
Arizona State avoids Oregon, which will boost the Sun Devils’ chances, but ASU as well as USC.
Cal does not have to play Arizona State this season, and that’s fortunate since the Sun Devils should be a contender in the South and has not lost to Cal since 2015. However, the Bears face both Oregon and Washington on the road, and they do play USC. In fact they will never avoid the Trojans, with last season’s weird circumstances being the exception. When the conference was expanded to 12 teams and separated into two divisions, it was stipulated that Cal and Stanford would play USC and UCLA every year, to continue those instate rivalries and ensure that Cal and Stanford would have one home game each season against the team that typically attracts the most fans. Cal hosts the Trojans on Nov. 13 next fall.
Stanford probably has the toughest schedule among Pac-12 teams, since it plays USC, Oregon, Washington and Arizona State as well as Utah, which is probably the third-best team in the South. The Cardinal also faces a Notre Dame team that is likely to be ranked in the top 10.
That brings us to USC, which does not face either of the North favorites but does face Arizona State is on the road, although the latter is of minor significance compared with the two North foes it avoids.
USC will have some influence on how the country views the Pac-12, whose football reputation has been sliding into oblivion in recent years. The Trojans’ Oct. 23 road game against Notre Dame might change some minds about West Coast football. But by then, most opinions will already be formed. You know, East coast bias and later games and such. Only the pre-season can make a difference there but if the west coast does make a great showing, pre-season jitters will be attributed to an Ohio State loss (for instance). Of greater importance will be the results of four games on Sept. 11, when Oregon plays Ohio State, Washington faces Michigan, Colorado meets Texas A&M and Cal goes up against TCU in a quartet of nonconference games.
The big one is Oregon-Ohio State. The Buckeyes played in the national championship game last year and are sure to be a top-10 team in 2021. If the Ducks could somehow win that game on the road, presto, the Pac-12 image improves 10 fold. If the Ducks stay close, the perception of the Pac-12 might improve. Of course, if Oregon gets blown out, the Pac-12 will be dismissed as a feeble conference for the rest of the season.
That is unless Washington gets past Michigan in Ann Arbor the same day. The Wolverines are not expected to be as strong as they usually are, and they may not even be ranked in the preseason top 25. But the Michigan name still carries weight, and if the Huskies beat Michigan at the Big House, it can only help the Pac-12’s reputation.
Texas A&M will probably be a top-10 team to start the 2021 season, and if Colorado can recapture the magic it had last season and beat the Aggies — or even play them close — in that game to be played in Denver, folks in the East might take the Pac-12 a little more seriously.
Cal also will play a role in developing the conference’s football image, because the Bears play a road game that day against TCU, which could sneak into the top-25 by the time that game is played.
The perception created that day will determine whether teams like Oregon and USC can take advantage of their favorable Pac-12 schedules and get to the College Football Playoff.
Hey, we’re only six months away from the first game, assuming college football normalcy will be restored by then. FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO DUCKS
