Pac-12: Most Fun Conference in 2012

[Eric]

With Washington bound to keep scoring next season (Keith Price is a sophomore), these offenses are going to be ridiculous in a couple years. We have Mike Leach in Pullman, Rich Rod in Arizona, Todd Graham running a no-huddle spread at Arizona State (it's a shame this job didn't go to June Jones ), combined with Oregon's point-a-minute hurry-up, combined with USC bound to be great next year and Stanford not losing a whole lot of steam, and this is going to be a very competitive and interesting conference.

Thoughts?

[Spence]

I just wish one of them will hire a defensive coordinator.

[donovan]

A defensive coordinator would be good....

And....what about the deal with the Big Ten and the Pac 77 that has every school playing a inter conference game. I think this was a good move. Not over kill, makes it so expansion can be done and allow the SEC to self destruct, which I think in the minds of most people outside of the South already think it has...or maybe that is just me.

[GoBoilers]

I agree. Offense rules for excitement. I understand the guys wanting defense. However, if your offense is so good that you score every time-no defense can stop you. Think Baylor! That being said-the old cliche "defense wins championships has some validity".

[billybud]

It does this year...the two teams playing for it are #1 and #2 in Scoring Defense....Six of the teams in BCS Bowls are Top Ten in Scoring Defense.

Four of the Top Ten Scoring Offense teams will also be in the BCS bowls...you can do it either way.

But, if you are LSU..and you are #1 in scoring defense and #12 in scoring offense, you look pretty good on either side of the ball.

[Eric]

It does this year...the two teams playing for it are #1 and #2 in Scoring Defense....Six of the teams in BCS Bowls are Top Ten in Scoring Defense.

Four of the Top Ten Scoring Offense teams will also be in the BCS bowls...you can do it either way.

But, if you are LSU..and you are #1 in scoring defense and #12 in scoring offense, you look pretty good on either side of the ball.

I've always thought that the "defense wins championships" cliche has been overblown. You need to be a relatively complete team on both sides of the ball. Illinois has a great defense this year, but during their 6 game losing streak, the offense has been atrocious and that is what has cost them games. The reverse would apply to Texas Tech from the early 2000s where they didn't have a defense to complement Leach's offense and the result was never competing with Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

[RazorHawk]

I agree. Offense rules for excitement. I understand the guys wanting defense. However, if your offense is so good that you score every time-no defense can stop you. Think Baylor! That being said-the old cliche "defense wins championships has some validity".

Very seldom, do I agree with you, but I think you are correct. I don't see how the SEC is self destructing, as Donovan stated, but I don't live out West.

[Spence]

A defensive coordinator would be good....

And....what about the deal with the Big Ten and the Pac 77 that has every school playing a inter conference game. I think this was a good move. Not over kill, makes it so expansion can be done and allow the SEC to self destruct, which I think in the minds of most people outside of the South already think it has...or maybe that is just me.

I like the renewing of an old partnership. I'm not sure I like (what I think) the reason for the partnership. I think that this is the first step toward creating a 28-32 team superconference. The P-10 and B-10 coming together to form one conference with four 7-8 team divisions. I think the SEC and B-12 will also come together the same way. I think there will be three total, the third made up of what remains of the ACC, B-East, and Notre Dame.

The B-10 PAC10 could have the conference championship game at the Rose Bowl, preserving that bowl as part of the original tradition of the conferences and part of the second round of an NCAA sanctioned 12 team playoff. Playing a couple games with the west coast side of the conference would leave the B-10 a couple games left to schedule with the other conferences every year.

This isn't something that has been announced, but it is something I thought was in the works ever since the PAC10 turned decided not to go the Oklahoma=Texas direction. I also think that Slive is going to combine the SEC and B-12 marketing the two divisions as SEC and SWC. It may sound far-fetched, but every move the conferences make seem to jive with this end.

[Spence]

I agree. Offense rules for excitement. I understand the guys wanting defense. However, if your offense is so good that you score every time-no defense can stop you. Think Baylor! That being said-the old cliche "defense wins championships has some validity".

I think the reason that having a great defense is more important is that the likely hood of scoring on every possession isn't good. Offense committ turnovers and defenses force turnovers and benefit from them. Defenses do win championships. You can win a championship with a mediocre defense, but it is almost impossible to win a championship with a medicre defense and a good offense. Besides is it lost easier to have a good defense. Not as many skill players are required on defense.

[billybud]

I'd rather have a great defense and a good offense than a great offense and a good defense.

As Mickey used to say...they have to score to beat you.

[Spence]

I'd rather have a great defense and a good offense than a great offense and a good defense.

As Mickey used to say...they have to score to beat you.

I agree completely and Mickey Andrews was the best, IMO, the best ever.

[donovan]

A defensive coordinator would be good....

And....what about the deal with the Big Ten and the Pac 77 that has every school playing a inter conference game. I think this was a good move. Not over kill, makes it so expansion can be done and allow the SEC to self destruct, which I think in the minds of most people outside of the South already think it has...or maybe that is just me.

I like the renewing of an old partnership. I'm not sure I like (what I think) the reason for the partnership. I think that this is the first step toward creating a 28-32 team superconference. The P-10 and B-10 coming together to form one conference with four 7-8 team divisions. I think the SEC and B-12 will also come together the same way. I think there will be three total, the third made up of what remains of the ACC, B-East, and Notre Dame.

The B-10 PAC10 could have the conference championship game at the Rose Bowl, preserving that bowl as part of the original tradition of the conferences and part of the second round of an NCAA sanctioned 12 team playoff. Playing a couple games with the west coast side of the conference would leave the B-10 a couple games left to schedule with the other conferences every year.

all of this stuff can go South...so to speak...but I kind of like the idea of keeping that conference competition alive. I suspect it will be so screwed up that the baby may need to go out with the bath water.

This isn't something that has been announced, but it is something I thought was in the works ever since the PAC10 turned decided not to go the Oklahoma=Texas direction. I also think that Slive is going to combine the SEC and B-12 marketing the two divisions as SEC and SWC. It may sound far-fetched, but every move the conferences make seem to jive with this end.

[RazorHawk]

Maybe, I am not reading all this as an attempt to combine the conferences any more than the Big Ten/ACC challenge in basketball.

I think it sounds great to maybe add a quality non-conference football game to the regular season schedule.

[Spence]

That was good and I agree.

Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, Joe Morgan, George Foster, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion, and Cesar Geronimo. That may have been the best one through eight lineup in the history of baseball. Murderer's row in NY would have given them competition for the best six, but no one matched the best one through eight ever and these guys could play defense as well. Good memories for me. Me and my dad had season tickets and those days at the ballpark were some of my best memories. I hope my kids have something like this to look back on so fondly.

[Spence]

Maybe, I am not reading all this as an attempt to combine the conferences any more than the Big Ten/ACC challenge in basketball.

I think it sounds great to maybe add a quality non-conference football game to the regular season schedule.

Most of the B-10 does that now. I hope the super conferences never happen, but if the powers that be want playoffs, and it seems that they do now, that is how it has to happen. The big boys aren't going to let the mid major conferences have an automatic bid, the only way to keep that from happening is to swallow up middies- or most of them - and then start the playoffs with a divisional and a conference championship and go from there. I think there will be three super conferences and a twelve game playoff with the top two seeds getting a buy in the first round of the conference championships. Games would be over the week before Christmas with one game - the national championship taking place on New Years. I will miss the bowls, but I think it is just a matter of time now, before it happens.