Oregon vs Auburn(-3.5) at Jerryworld-Justin Herbert and the most experienced offensive line in literally a decade will take on an Auburn team with at worst a top 5 defensive line. Oregon loses quite a bit of production on defense but will be going against true freshmen QB Bo Nix. Strength against strength, weakness against weakness in what should be an entertaining game. Oregon losing could knock the Pac12 out of the playoffs. If Oregon is able to reload on defense they could take advantage of Auburn's offense.
Northwestern @ Stanford(-6.5) While Stanford returns their QB they lose Bryce Love and their top 3 receivers. Former 5 star Hunter Johnson will be NW's QB after sitting out a year following a transfer from Clemson. Northwestern returns 9 starters on defense along with their top rusher and receiver. Both had good years last year finishing 9-4 and are in position for another good year. This game depends mostly on Hunter Johnson. I'm not really sure why Stanford is a touchdown favorite with so many question marks. I don't know what the camp buzz is on Hunter Johnson but if he has an average game Northwestern should be able to cover if not win with so much back from last year. NW winning could be great for OSU's resume.
Utah(-5) @ BYU- The best rivalry in sports most people don't know about. Do yourself a favor and watch this game. Utah won the PAC12 South despite losing both their top QB and RB during the season(take that for what you will), they will both be back this year. Utah shouldnt take a step back on defense and could compete to win the PAC12 this year. BYU returns 17 starters including their starting QB after going 7-6 last year. Them Mormons are gonna be hyped up for this game and Lavelle is gonna be rocking. The last 6 games have been within 8 points and both team have relatively high expectations for this season.
The PAC12 could be eliminated from the playoffs after this week if they lose these games, or atleast rest on the shoulders of Washington who lost everybody. Not a great week 1 slate though. Bama plays Duke, Notre Dame plays Louisville, Clemson plays Georgia Tech, Georgia plays Vandervuilt, and Oklahoma plays Houston. Basically every other game is a huge mismatch. What do the experts from the greatest college football stronghold outside of the south think will happen?
