Odds to win the 2014 Pac-12 Conference Title
The following is a brief preview of a few of the top contenders to win the Pac- 12 this season as well as the betting odds for the rest of the teams in the conference as provided by Bovada.
Oregon Ducks
- Odds to win the Pac-12 North Division 1/2
- Odds to win the Pac-12 Championship 11/10
- Odds to win a National Championship 8/1
Oregon has been a perennial favorite to win this conference going back to the days of Chip Kelly as head coach and Mark Helfrich enters his second season at the helm with the expectation level as high as ever. The Ducks stumbled against Stanford and got hammered by Arizona State during the regular season last year to end their run to a conference title after winning the Pac-12 three of the previous four seasons under Kelly.
Oregon remains loaded on offense with nine starters back, but there are a few holes to fill on defense that returns just five starters from a year ago. The biggest reason for such a high level of optimism is the return of Heisman hopeful quarterback Marcus Mariota. He threw for 3,665 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2013 while completing 63.5 percent of his 386 attempts. The 6-foot-4, 215 lb. gunslinger also added 715 yards and nine scores on the ground for an average of 7.4 yards a carry.
UCLA Bruins
- Odds to win the Pac-12 South Division 3/2
- Odds to win the Pac-12 Championship 3/1
- Odds to win a National Championship 14/1
UCLA has won the Pac-12 16 times in their storied history in this conference, but the last time it played in the Rose Bowl was all the way back in 1998. The program suffered through a major decline from 2003 to 2011 with just three winning seasons, but head coach Jim Mora has things back on track with 19 wins in the last two years and a 16th-place ranking in last year's final AP poll. The key to taking the next step to actually win the conference lies in the continued development of a balanced offense that was ranked 21st in the nation in scoring last year with 36.9 points a game.
A big part of this year's success has been placed on the shoulders of another Heisman hopeful at quarterback, Brett Hundley. He is a legitimate pro prospect at 6-foot-3, 227 lbs. who knows how to move the ball downfield with both his arm and his legs. Hundley threw for 3,071 yards and 24 touchdowns last season and he added another 748 yards and 11 scores on the ground. The Bruins return seven starters on defense including All-American linebacker Myles Jack and their entire starting secondary from last year.
USC Trojans
- Odds to win the Pac-12 South Division 2/1
- Odds to win the Pac-12 Championship 5/1
- Odds to win a National Championship 25/1
The Trojans are another fabled Pac-12 program that had fallen into disarray the past few seasons since winning the conference title in 2008. Gone is Lane Kiffin and the task of turning things around now belongs to Steve Sarkisian. The biggest positive heading into his first season as head coach is the return of quite a few starters from a team that rallied around interim coach Ed Orgeron last year to post a 7-2 finish after a shaky 3-2 start with Kiffin still running the show.
USC's biggest strength remains on the defensive side of the ball with the return of All-American defensive end Leonard Williams and linebacker Hayes Pullard. This unit finished the 2013 season ranked 16th in the nation in points allowed (21.2). Cody Kessler is expected to get the start at quarterback after throwing for 2,968 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, but keep an eye on red-shirt freshman Max Browne, who could easily find his way into the starting lineup sometime this season.
The Rest of the Pac-12
The second-favorite to win the North Division behind the Ducks is Stanford at 3/1. The Cardinal's odds to win the conference have been set at 6/1.
- Last season's South Division winner Arizona State is the fifth-favorite to win the Pac-12 at 12/1. Next on the list is Washington at 14/1 followed by Arizona at 25/1. The odds to win for Washington State and Oregon State are set at 33/1 and they only get longer from there with Utah listed at 66/1 and both California and Colorado rounding things out at 200/1