If the Pac-12 is going to bounce back from a couple of bad years, it looks like Washington will be one team that will lead the way. Since coming to Seattle, Mike Hopkins has quickly revitalized the program and has landed some big-time talent, while building a winning culture. And now, their hopes got a nice boost on Friday.
The Huskies lost four starters off last season’s team, so they aren’t projected to be pretty good because of experience and continuity. It’s talent, and of the incoming variety. They already have big-time talents entering in Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, and they knew they would have Quade Green, who transferred from Kentucky. Initially, Green was supposed to sit the first semester, but he has received a waiver to be eligible right away. That helps more than in the obvious fashion.
Certainly, getting Green eligible right away means the Huskies will have a better chance to win a few early games. With neutral site matchups on tap against the likes of Baylor and Tennessee, as well as visits from Big Sky favorites Montana and Eastern Washington as well as Gonzaga, it’s not a cakewalk. Having Green run the show from the outset certainly helps there.
More than that, though, it means he gets to play with continuity. Rather than coming into the lineup in mid-stream in December, he’s there from the outset. There won’t be a disruption to the lineup with him being eligible, and the chemistry will have built up by the time he would otherwise have been eligible. By the time Pac-12 play rolls around, he will have played with his teammates for more games.
The Pac-12 needs more than just Washington, to be sure. It needs Oregon to play up to its immense talent, even with a slew of newcomers as has often been the case in recent years. It needs Colorado to look like the contender they could be with McKinley Wright and Tyler Bey leading the way. It needs Arizona and USC to play to their potential, as well as Arizona State to surprise some people as they appear capable of since few are talking about Remy Martin & Co. Oregon State has Tres Tinkle back and could likewise surprise some people. And it wouldn’t hurt if UCLA exceeded expectations in Mick Cronin’s first season at the helm or if teams like Cal and Washington State were a little better.
But Washington looks like as good a pick as any to win the conference this year. Arizona has great talent as well, but even before Brandon Williams’ injury, the Huskies might have been at least as good a pick for the top spot. With Green able to play right from the outset, the Huskies will be in a better place all season, and thus will be primed to lead a potential resurgence of a conference that has had a couple of seasons to forget.
Side Dishes
There is no surprise in the Ohio Valley Conference in that Belmont and Murray State lead the contenders once again. Both are well-run programs with a big history of winning in the conference. But don’t sleep on Jacksonville State, who quietly went 3-0 against those two last year and has won 20 or more games three years in a row, as well as Austin Peay, who is winning consistently again under Matt Figger and has a strong Player of the Year candidate in Terry Taylor.
The top two teams in the Patriot League a year ago lead the contenders this time around as defending champion Colgate and Bucknell are the favorites. Colgate returns most of their star power from a year ago, while Bucknell returns a lot but did watch Nate Sestina transfer to Kentucky. Still, these two should be able to fend off the likes of American (who features Player of the Year candidate Sa’eed Nelson), Boston University and Loyola (Md.)
The SEC is again led by Kentucky and Florida, both of whom have national title potential, but there is certainly more here. The only question is what order it will take, as there appears to be a lot of evenness after those two with teams like Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, among others. Also, it will be interesting to see how Georgia improves in year two under Tom Crean and with Anthony Edwards in town.
Tonight’s Menu
A full day of college football is ahead, and at some schools, a top recruit or two will check out the game. We’ll look ahead to the season a little more tomorrow.
