Pac–12 Preseason Offensive Rankings

The college football season is just over a month away and Pac-12 fans could not be more happy. Though the conference as a whole struggled last year, many teams have made the necessary improvements to at least make them competitive within college football.

While there remain the powerhouses at the top of the conference (USC, Oregon), there are more middle-of-the-pack teams that could very well give the top dogs a run for their money.

Much of the reason why people can expect to see a more competitive Pac-12 is because of the offensive prowess within the division. Whether it be through more experienced players or new faces, many of the teams should present viable offensive threats to the defenses they face.

Though defensive skills may be an issue within the Pac-12 this season, college football fans can be assured that some of the best offensive performances of the 2012 college football season will come out of the Conference of Champions.

With offensive stars such as DeAnthony Thomas, Matt Barkley, and Isi Sofele, the Pac-12 is ripe with talent and ready to showcase their offensive might.

Here are the Pac-12 offenses ranked in order from worst to best.  

12. Colorado Buffaloes

In their inaugural season as part of the Pac-12, the Colorado Buffaloes did not impress too many of their constituents as they came out of the season with a 3-10 record. Though their defense was one of the main reasons Colorado could not compete well, their offense was equally responsible as they managed to put up just 19.8 points per game.

While this number may be all right in other conferences, in an offensive conference such as the Pac-12 it is necessary that teams score more than 20 points per game to be competitive.

While the Buffaloes should improve at least a little in 2012, their offense looks as though it will remain at the bottom of the Pac-12. In fact, Colorado returns just three starters on the offensive side of the ball and that does not include their starting quarterback from last year. Breaking in a new quarterback alongside a restructured receiving corps will see the Buffalo offense struggling to put together quality performances, especially early on in the season.

11. Arizona Wildcats

Yet another team that will be breaking in a new quarterback will be the Arizona Wildcats. Having a rather disappointing season in 2011 that saw the firing of head coach Mike Stoops, the 2012 Wildcats will be trying to redeem themselves and start a new era in Arizona football.

Despite having fairly decent offensive statistics in 2011, the loss of Nick Foles, a player who produced over 70 percent of Arizona's offense, is huge.

While the Wildcats do return six starters on offense this season, none of them brings any particular spark to the field in terms of skill positions. Besides Foles, Arizona also lost David Douglas, Gino Crump, and Juron Criner—all the top receivers for Arizona last season.

With Arizona relying on the air attack to overcome opposing defenses, it will be difficult for the Wildcat offense to find the same groove they have in past years.

The lack of returners at skill positions will hurt Arizona early and often on their 2012 campaign.

10. Arizona State Sun Devils

Just like their in-state rivals, the Arizona State Sun Devils will be looking to rebuild on the offensive side of the ball.

Last season, Brock Osweiler was the star of a true air attack. Throwing for over 4,000 yards, Osweiler proved he had the tools to succeed at an NFL level and departed ASU to do so.

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, the most experience behind Osweiler was Taylor Kelly with just four attempts for 31 yards. Though it is good to have a backup with at least some experience in place, replacing a quarterback as talented as Osweiler will always be a hard thing to do.

This is not to say that Arizona State will have a tough offensive year.

One of the bright spots for a team that returns just four players on offense will be running back Cameron Marshall. Marshall is a great back who should be able to rush for at least 1,000 yards for yet another season in 2012.

A Doak Walker Award nominee, Marshall should be able to give opposing defenses a hard enough time for Arizona State's next quarterback to adjust to the pass heavy system they run. 

9. Utah Utes

It should be no surprise to anybody that the Utah Utes struggled to throw the ball last year.

After losing their supposed starting quarterback for the entire 2011 season, Utah relied on the legs of John White to perform admirably in the Pac-12 South. After the season was over, White had accumulated 1,519 yards on the ground to go along with his 15 touchdowns.

This year, expect White to do the same as Utah continues to grow in their second season as part of the Pac-12. Helping White along the way will be nine returning starters on offense, including quarterback Jordan Wynn and wide receivers Luke Matthews and Devonte Christopher. This experience along the entire offense should allow them to grow as a unit and develop into a more balanced attack, giving White the opportunity for more open lanes and Wynn the ability to spread the ball around the field when defenses key on White.  

8. UCLA Bruins

Perhaps one of the bigger surprises of the 2011 Pac-12 football season was the fact that the UCLA Bruins made an appearance in the 2012 Pac-12 Championship Game. After finishing 6-6 in the regular season, the Bruins won the right games to propel them into the Pac-12 Championship Game because of the sanctions still imposed on USC.

Averaging 376.6 yards per game in 2011, the 2012 Bruins should improve upon their prior numbers due to key personnel returnings on the offensive side of the ball. With seven players returning on offense, the Bruins should be primed for pretty good offensive statistics.

Leading the charge for the Bruins on offense will be Johnathan Franklin. Franklin will be looking to make his last season his best. Yet another Doak Walker Award nominee, Franklin will be relied upon heavily to shoulder the load for the Bruins after Derrick Coleman left for the NFL.

Expect Franklin to showcase his tough mentality throughout the season on way to the best statistical year of his career. And Franklin is not the only weapon the Bruins have on offense. Kevin Prince, a player that continued to grow throughout the 2011 season, will be back in 2012 looking to bring the Bruins back into national prominence under new head coach Jim Mora.

Although Mora focuses more on the run game, expect Prince to have a good year as many underestimate his offensive prowess.

7. Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State is another team that returns a lot of starters from last year, which should contribute significantly on the offensive side of the ball. Part of the eight returning starters on offense for the Beavers are quarterback Sean Mannion, running-back Malcolm Agnew, and wide receiver Markus Wheaton.

Though these players are just a small portion of those that will be involved with the 2012 Beaver offense, they illustrate just how young and talented the Beavers are. Returning for yet another season, Mannion will likely have grown and matured to become one of the better quarterbacks in the Pac-12.

Last season Mannion threw for over 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns. While he could work on improving his touchdown to interception ratio, the Beavers have more than enough talent to help him spread out the ball more.

With an improved offense expect the Beavers to be competitive in most of their games this season and one of the more potent offenses in the Pac-12.

6. Washington State Cougars

Needless to say, the Washington State Cougars have been the bottom-feeders of the Pac-12 as of late. With a less than stellar offense and awful defense, the Cougars have not been able to scratch together many wins throughout the past few years.

Despite all of the struggles the Cougars have had as of late, they should have one of the top offenses in the Pac-12 this season. Washington State returns six offensive starters to go along with a bevy of talent coming in to fill positional needs.

One of the more standout players on the Cougar offense will be Marquess Wilson. Wilson was absolutely phenomenal in 2011 as he caught 82 passes for 1,388 yards. With new head coach Mike Leach in place for the Cougars, expect Wilson's numbers to only grow even more as everybody knows about the Leach air attack.

Also figuring to be a significant part of Leach's offense will be quarterback Jeff Tuel. After having an admirable sophomore season for the Cougars, Tuel was hampered by injuries throughout a 2011 season that saw his production drop significantly. Healthy and ready to prove himself to NFL scouts, Tuel should be able to at least match the production he put up in 2010 due to the way Leach relies so much on his quarterbacks.

5. Stanford Cardinal

Despite losing Andrew Luck to the NFL the Cardinal should still be one of the top offensive powerhouses in a Pac-12 division loaded with offensive strength. Much of the reason for this is that the Cardinal return their running back Stepfan Taylor. Taylor, another running back up for the Doak Walker Award, has the ability to lead the Cardinal just as Andrew Luck did.

In fact, it was because of Taylor's running ability that Andrew Luck became the prominent passer that he was for Stanford. Using his strength and hard-nosed mentality, Taylor will take the licks up the middle in order to open up the offensive attack for the Cardinal.

While the loss of Andrew Luck is fairly significant, Stanford can feel confident in the fact that either Brett Nottingham or Josh Nunes will have the capability to fill those big shoes. Though quarterback production may be down for the Cardinal next season, expect them to still be one of the top offenses in the Pac-12 as they return six players on the offensive side of the ball. 

4. Washington Huskies

One of the hidden gems in terms of offense in 2012 will be the Washington Huskies. Still predicted to finish behind Oregon and Stanford in the Pac-12 North, the Huskies will make all of their games more than competitive as they boast some of the more talented players in the conference.

Led by do-it-all quarterback Keith Price, the 2012 Huskies will be returning a total of six starters on offense. Although they lost a great back in Chris Polk, Washington has more than enough talent at the position to replace the production of Polk with so much attention being focused on Price.

Figuring to carry the load for the Huskies will be Jessie Callier. Though he only had a total of 260 yards on the ground last season, Callier averaged an impressive 5.5 yards per carry while other backup Bishop Sankey averaged 6.7 yards per carry.

Assisting the Huskies through the air will be Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Kasen Williams. These two players are more than reliable options at receivers (Seferian-Jenkins will play tight end) and will give the Huskies the space to operate a magnificent offense.  

3. California Golden Bears

The California Golden Bears are one of the dark horse teams within the Pac-12 this season because of their excellent balance of stars on the defensive and offensive sides of the ball. Though he has been criticized at times for his play, Zach Maynard will be looking to have his final season at Cal be his best.

Throwing for just under 3,000 yards last year, Maynard still has the talent around him to become an excellent quarterback and put up stellar numbers.

One of the key pieces that will help Maynard develop into a better quarterback is Keenan Allen. Heralded as one of the top players in the Pac-12, Allen uses his speed and great hands to put up some of the best production numbers in all of college football.

Another weapon in California's arsenal will be relatively unheralded running back Isi Sofele. Last season Sofele rushed for 1,322 yards and ten touchdowns. Expect him to exceed those numbers as he continues to develop into another great California running back.

With six starters returning for Cal in 2012, many of them playing at key skill positions, expect the Bears to be one of the more potent offenses in the Pac-12 and surprise many with just how productive they are.

2. Oregon Ducks

There is not one person who has watched college football in the past few years who does not know about the prolific Oregon offensive attack. Engineered by offensive guru Chip Kelly, the Ducks will be one of the premier offenses in all of college football once again in 2012.

Although they lost LaMichael James and Darron Thomas, the backups in place are more than capable of filling the void left by these players. Behind James, Kenjon Barner has always been a reliable back and has even flashed his own skills every so often when called upon.

Assisting Barner in the backfield will be do-it-all athlete DeAnthony Thomas. Figuring to be a replica of the James-Barner duo, the Barner-Thomas duo should be able to keep up with the same pace of past Oregon offenses.

In total, the Ducks return five starters on offense, many of them coming from the offensive line and wide receiver positions. Connecting with the receivers figures to be either Bryan Bennett or Marcus Mariota.

Though both of them don't have much experience (Bennett has more with a start under his belt), both are rumored to possess better passing and running abilities than Darron Thomas. While these are still just projections, early analysis has shown that these players have the skills to flourish in the Oregon offense.

Look for the Ducks to continue to dominate opposing defenses as they quest toward a fourth straight Pac-12 Title. 

1. USC Trojans

Though it will be interesting to see whether the Oregon Ducks or Trojans come out on top in the Pac-12 at the end of the season, the Trojans can be assured that they have a better offense than the Ducks because of the many proven players they have heading into the season.

The Trojans have arguably the best skill players in the Pac-12 while also having some of the best in the nation as well. Led by Heisman contender Matt Barkley, the Trojan offensive attack will be geared around the passing game. Assisting Barkley through the air will be standout receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee.

Although the Trojans air attack will be quite the show, don't underestimate their running game and Curtis McNeal. After suffering his fair share of injuries, McNeal had an outstanding season in 2011 as he rushed for over 1,000 yards. Expect his production to go up even more this year as he will be the primary carrier for the Trojans instead of sharing carries with Marc Tyler.

While the Ducks have the speed and quickness to make up for mistakes along the road, the Trojan offense is the most well-rounded attack in the Pac-12. In fact, the only weakness the Trojans really have is a depth-related issue due to NCAA sanctions that have limited the recruiting abilities of USC.