There is very little disagreement on this point: USC, Utah, and Oregon are the three best teams in the Pac-12. A few commentators think UCLA can make noise, but most experts would put the Trojans, Utes, and Ducks in the top tier.
ESPN has a feature called a future forecast. The outlet did this last year and is out with its 2022 edition.
Our friends at Ducks Wire picked up on this. There’s a lot to unpack from this forecast, which looks at the next three years, not just the upcoming season.
Let’s simply start with how much these forecasts have changed in the span of one year:
USC’s forecast overview, as laid out by ESPN writer Adam Rittenberg:
2022 Future QB ranking: 2
2022 Future offense ranking: 3
2022 Future defense ranking: Not ranked
2021 Future team ranking: 16
Utah’s forecast overview:
2022 Future QB ranking: 14
2022 Future offense ranking: 23
2022 Future defense ranking: 12
2021 Future team ranking: 25
Oregon’s forecast overview:
2022 Future QB ranking: 19
2022 Future offense ranking: Not ranked
2022 Future defense ranking: 14
2021 Future team ranking: 7
It’s amazing that USC was given a No. 16 “future forecast” ranking with Clay Helton in charge. The Trojans were overvalued at 16 last year. ESPN has the Trojans No. 9 this year, which might undervalue them in a three-year window.
Utah was future forecasted at No. 25 last year. The Utes were obviously undervalued. They won the Pac-12 title and made the Rose Bowl. Utah is No. 14 this year.
Oregon was future forecasted at No. 7 last year. The Ducks underperformed relative to Utah. Oregon is No. 13 this year.
We’ll have a lot more on this story and ESPN’s evaluations of the three Pac-12 powerhouses.
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