USC Trojans

How much can we really learn from spring? Funky scrimmages with backwards scoring systems; depleted depth charts; completely new installs for four teams. Actually, more than you'd think. Here are five things we learned about the Pac-12 during spring.

1. Quarterbacks are still in limbo: Be it Stanford, Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon or Colorado, almost half of the teams still don’t know who is going to be under center when the season starts. Stanford funneled its list of five down to two, Josh Nunes and Brett Nottingham. ASU still has a three-way battle with Michael Eubank, Mike Bercovici and Taylor Kelly -- though coach Todd Graham said they have a better idea than they are probably letting on publicly. The very private competition between Marcus Mariota and Bryan Bennett at Oregon remains in question -- though Mariota was spectacular in the spring game while Bennett faltered. Still, coach Chip Kelly said that one game isn’t going to be his basis for comparison. UCLA coach Jim Mora wanted to name a starter by the end of spring, but no one has “grabbed” it, so we’ll have to wait until August before learning whether Brett Hundley, Kevin Prince or Richard Brehaut gets the gig. And at Colorado, the competition was put on hiatus when Nick Hirschman broke a bone in his foot and couldn’t compete in spring drills. One has to think that was a huge advantage for Connor Wood to get almost all of the reps with the first-team offense.
2. Not everyone has quarterback issues: Teams thought to have quarterback question marks heading into spring seemed to have resolved them. In Utah, Jordan Wynn is completely healthy, and both coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson have declared Wynn their guy. While Mike Leach hasn’t officially declared Jeff Tuel his starter, it’s hard to imagine anyone else winning the job in the fall, short of Tuel suffering a significant injury or amnesia. He had a splendid spring, and appears to be a great fit for Leach’s offense. And at Arizona, Matt Scott seized the job early and left little room for any competition. Coach Rich Rodriguez has been gushing about how quickly Scott has adjusted to the offense. At Cal, Zach Maynard, once thought to be challenged by freshman Zach Kline, appears to not only have held on to the job, but distanced himself from pursuers.
3. Wide receivers aplenty: And there are plenty of those in the conference. USC has probably the best tandem in the country in Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Cal’s Keenan Allen (though he missed spring drills) should continue to put up big numbers, and Washington State’s Marquess Wilson should flourish in the Cougars’ new system with Tuel as his quarterback. Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks could challenge the USC duo statistically if quarterback Sean Mannion continues to develop. There are stars on the rise at Arizona State (Jamal Miles) and Stanford (Ty Montgomery), and a potential star at Washington (James Johnson). Look out Biletnikoff, the Pac-12 is a comin'…
4. The conference of defense? The Pac-12 might never bunk its reputation as an offensive-centric conference (especially when it keeps churning out offensive talent). But there is a surplus of talented defenses and defensive players who were on display this spring. Washington seems to have plugged its leaks with new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. There’s a 3-4 trend sweeping the conference, and with notable playmakers like Star Lotulelei (Utah), John Boyett (Oregon), Dion Jordan (Oregon), Chase Thomas (Stanford), Josh Shirley (Washington), T.J. McDonald (USC) and DeAndre Coleman (Cal), it’s easy to see why some of the Pac-12 defenses will get the same kind of love as the offenses do in 2012.
5. Confidence is at an all-time high: As it should be in the spring. The four new coaches all feel confident about the systems they have installed. Stanford feels as good as it ever has about its running game. USC and Oregon should get lofty preseason rankings, and this is the time of the year when fans go through the schedules game by game and always seem to come up with a minimum of six wins. Sorry to say, there are teams in the conference that won’t make it to a bowl game this season. But when you hear the coaches talk about their teams, you’d think the conference is going to go 12-0 in the postseason. This is a magical time for fans filled with hope and possibility. Enjoy it while it lasts.

LOS ANGELES -- Quick observations on an epic game in Southern California.

How the game was won: First, Stepfan Taylor scored from 2 yards out with 38 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 34-34. Then Taylor plowed in from 5 yards out in the third overtime period and Andrew Luck completed the 2-point conversion to Coby Fleener. USC’s Curtis McNeal fumbled to end the game.

Turning point: USC wide receiver Robert Woods failed to get out of bounds at the Stanford 35 as time expired. Despite two timeouts, USC was unable to get a field-goal attempt because Woods went for the sidelines rather than going down and taking a timeout.

Stat of the game: Two — the number of times Luck was sacked this game after being sacked just twice in the previous seven games. Both came on third down.

Best call: Stanford’s double-reverse, wide-receiver pass out of the wildcat. Running back Tyler Gaffney took the direct snap, handed off to Anthony Wilkerson on an end-around, who flipped it to Luck, who was lined up as a wide receiver. Luck then connected with Ty Montgomery for a 62-yard gain.

Unsung hero of the game: Cardinal linebacker A.J. Tarpley played his best game of the season, notching an interception in the first half and finishing the game with nine tackles. He also recovered McNeal’s fumble on the game’s final play.

Second guessing: With Stanford knocking on the door, trailing 27-24 in the fourth quarter, the Cardinal went back to the wildcat on third-and-8 on the USC 13 with 5:20 remaining. Gaffney took the direct snap and ran for just 2 yards. Eric Whitaker converted the 29-yard field goal to tie the game, but I wasn’t a fan of taking the ball out of Luck’s hands at a crucial point in the game.

What it means: The Cardinal are still in the conversation for a spot in the national championship game.