Pac-12 spotlight: Farrell's title pick, bold predictions

Football season is finally upon us and with that it’s time to break down each Power Five conference in different categories as well as make some bold predictions. Today we continue with the Pac-12.

RELATED: Farrell's Big Ten picks and predictions | SEC | ACC

Washington. Stanford will be tough but is a year away from taking back the North while Washington still has all the elements needed to make a run at the College Football Playoff. The regular-season schedule actually looks quite easy aside from Stanford, Utah and Washington State to end the season, but I still think it loses a couple games.

USC. Big things are expected of quarterback Sam Darnold and USC, but the schedule isn’t as easy as it looks. Stanford will be tough, Texas will be improved and Washington State, Utah, Notre Dame, Colorado and even UCLA could present challenges. The Trojans win the South over UCLA (not Utah) but could lose a couple on the way.

USC. The Trojans take the title but miss the playoff if Oklahoma State puts up the year I think it will. If the Big 12 gets left out of the playoff again, the Trojans will be the team.

Jim Mora, UCLA. What? Yep, UCLA rebounds from an awful season to eight wins or so and Mora wins it for the turnaround. Of course this only happens if quarterback Josh Rosen stays healthy.

Todd Graham, Arizona State. He could be gone by the end of the season, especially if the defense doesn’t improve. ASU gave up 40 or more points in eight of 12 games last year and it the Sun Devils don’t cut that in half, watch out.

Oregon. Washington, Stanford and Washington State are predicted to finish higher than the Ducks, who are only ahead of Oregon State and Cal in the North Division. I don’t see Oregon making a push toward the top of the division, but they can perhaps make a bowl game this season, something few expect.

Utah. The Utes are expected to be the biggest competition for USC in their division but they struggle this season with a difficult schedule. They have four Top 25 teams on the schedule, a game against BYU and any additional upset could lead to a seven- or eight-win season instead of nine or 10 most expect.

Washington State. Mike Leach’s team will put up big numbers offensively, he will call out his team at least twice and the defense will let him down once again. Seven or eight wins is possible and it will be fun to watch, but I don’t see WSU taking the next step.

Stanford. The quarterback situation improves greatly next year and the offensive line could be the best in the Pac-12 by 2018 as well. Stanford’s recruiting the last few years has been awesome, quarterback Davis Mills could be special at a young age and the power offensive attack could wear down the conference.

Oregon. The recruiting is off the charts for 2018 and 2019 under Willie Taggart this year hitting Florida, Texas and California among other states. If he can continue to recruit at this level, the Ducks will be back in a couple of years.

Jake Browning, Washington. Browning might not put up as many touchdowns as he did last year with a few key losses on offense, but I fully expect another 3,000-yard year with 35 or so touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions, which should be enough to outduel Darnold.

Cameron Smith, USC. Vita Vea, Iman Marshall and some others are higher ranked in my Farrell50 but I don’t think they will have the stats to surpass Smith if he stays healthy. Vea frees up everyone else and Marshall could be avoided by many offenses while Smith could approach 100 solo tackles.

Sam Darnold, USC. The No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft if he comes out? There’s a good chance of that. Rosen is up here as well but his personality and outspoken nature will allow him to slide a bit more than Darnold.

Jaelan Phillips, UCLA. Phillips is a freaky athlete who is still learning how to be a natural end, but his instincts and length and hustle will allow him to make some amazing plays and be featured more than a few times on SportsCenter.

Bryce Love, Stanford. Love already has 180 yards and a score in his first game this season, and efforts like that should continue as he replaces Christian McCaffrey. He could lead the conference in rushing.

RELATED: Farrell's 10 breakout players for 2017