National Signing Day 2012: 5 Pac-12 Winners and Losers

National Signing Day 2012 has now come and gone, and while a few stragglers remain that will leave colleges guessing a bit longer, most of the high school standouts across the country have made their intentions known so far as where they will play college football.

It was an exciting, confusing and for some, disappointing day for many schools, with the members of the Pacific-12 conference being no exception. Here's a quick recap of some of the winners or losers from Wednesday's "action."

Winner: UCLA

New head coach Jim Mora came out swinging on his first signing day, and by the time the dust had settled, the Bruins had landed a staggering 28 recruits, good for the 13th-ranked class in the nation, according to Rivals, and headlined by 5-star prospect and top-25 overall defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy (Monrovia (Calif.)).

Mora's biggest problem may be what to do with all his shiny new toys, as all this new talent could put UCLA well over the NCAA's 85 scholarship-limit.

Loser: Cal

This isn't to say that the University of California has had a bad go of it recruiting-wise this year, with the Golden Bears having secured a top-25 recruiting class in the eyes of most college football experts, but things could have been much, much better.

However, the Bears failed to close the deal on several key players, including McCarthy, wide receiver Jordan Payton (Oaks Christian (Calif.)) and safety Shaq Thompson (Grant High (Calif.)), who is viewed as the top prospect at his position in the country and followed departed assistant coach (and ace recruiter) Tosh Lupoi to Washington.

Winner: Stanford

The stringent academic standards at Stanford University and departure of quarterback Andrew Luck to the NFL don't appear to be having a negative impact on the Cardinal's ability to recruit, at least if their top-five 2012 class in Rivals estimation is any indication.

Stanford's class is highlighted by a pair of 5-star offensive linemen in tackle Andrus Peat (Corona Del Sol (Ariz.)), who turned down the opportunity to join his brother at Nebraska, and tackle Kyle Murphy (San Clemente High (Calif.)), who should help form the foundation for a formidable offensive front in Palo Alto for years to come.

Loser: Oregon State

For fans of the Oregon State Beavers looking for some hope after a rocky 3-9 2011 season, National Signing Day was a glimmer of promise.

That glimmer faded as the day ended.

The departure of secondary coach Keith Hayward to Washington devastated recruiting in the Beavers secondary, with no fewer than four recruits decommitting after Hayward left, including 3-star cornerback Cleveland Wallace (Oak Grove (Calif.)), who joined Hayward with the Huskies.

Looks like head coach Mike Riley, as he's been tasked to do often in the past with varying degrees of success, will have to once again try to do more with less in 2012.

Winner and Loser: Southern Cal

On one hand, it's pretty hard to find fault with USC's recruiting class this season, ranked seventh overall by Rivals and featuring three 5-star commitments, including one of the nation's top wide receivers in Nelson Agholor (Berkeley Prep (Fla.)), especially given the scholarship restrictions the Trojans presently face.

However, the tide turned on USC later in the day, as they lost out on Peat and Murphy to Stanford and saw 4-star quarterback Cyler Miles (Mullen High (Colo.)) spurn the Trojans for the University of Washington, who seemed to have made a habit Wednesday of swooping in and snagging recruits from the jaws of other Pac-12 schools.

USC still had a successful signing day, but even head coach Lane Kiffin admitted that his reputation as a closer may have taken a hit Wednesday, deadpanning "(our) bullpen got rocked."