A few years ago, the SEC was regarded by many as the best conference in college football, and it wasn't close. They had better players, coaches, and were just tougher as a group. Those reasons are why the conference won seven national championships in a row from 2006-2012. Simply put, SEC teams bullied teams from other conferences in the trenches, at the skill positions, and everywhere else in between.
They might not have had the most complex schemes, the most outlandish uniforms, or the most grace on the field, but they won. Because they were the big, bad SEC. They were supposed to win, they knew it, as did the opponent.
But now, the power is slowly but surely shifting out west. The Pac-12 was down for a number of years, but after nearly a decade of rebuilding, it has some of the most dynamic offenses and best coaching staffs.
Marcus Mariota and Brett Hundley headline the group, as they are both legitimate preseason Heisman Trophy candidates. They both play in highly effective offensive systems that score points in bunches, and are the type of dual-threat quarterbacks that have NFL scouts drooling.
Mariota and Hundley are going into their third years of leading Oregon and UCLA, respectively. They have both been stellar in their first two years, and are projected to each have breakout seasons in 2014.
However, the reason that this year is different than in the past is because of the depth among the QB class. The Pac-12 returns 10 of its 12 starting QBs from last season, and that 83.33 return percentage leads all Power Five conferences, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The Big 10 comes in second with a 64% return rate.
Washington State's Connor Halliday was second in the nation in pass completions last year, and will be even better after another offseason of getting accustomed to Mike Leach's Air Raid offense.
Oregon State's Sean Mannion was one of the most prolific passers in the country in 2013, finishing second in the NCAA in passing yards, third in completions, and fourth in touchdown scores. His numbers will likely be slightly worse this year because of the abscence of Brandin Cooks, who declared early for the NFL Draft after last year.
Cal's Jared Goff had a terrific season, but that might have been a product of the Golden Bears being forced to throw the ball because their porous defense would have had trouble stopping a high school team last year. Arizona State's Taylor Kelly is one of the most efficient signal callers in the nation, and has a slew of weapons around him to be successful. USC's Cody Kessler mainly handed the ball off when he obtained the starting job midway through 2013, but he should have an expanded role throwing the football with new coach Steve Sarkisian. And don't forget about Stanford's Kevin Hogan, who usually is overshadowed by the conference's other gunslingers. He is an excellent game manager and doesn't make mistakes. He is the perfect person to run the Cardinal run-heavy offense, and he also has a knack for defeating ranked opponents.
In addition to these quarterbacks' phenomenal athleticism and passing prowess, the coaches leading the charge are also a big part of the success. In this author's opinion, four of the best coaches in all of college football reside in the Pac-12.
David Shaw (Stanford), Jim Mora Jr. (UCLA), Chris Petersen (Washington), and Steve Sarkisian (USC) have entrenched themselves as terrific leaders of their respective programs. Sarkisian led a miraculous rebuilding effort at Washington, and now he is on to rebuild Troy at Southern California. And after one of the most successful runs in non-AQ history where Petersen amassed an unheard-of 92-12 record at Boise State, he moves to Seattle to build on Sarkisian's success.
Some might say that coaches are fungible, that it's all about the talent on the field. This writer disagrees strongly because those coaches have to recruit as well as put the necessary schemes together to give the players the highest chance of succeeding.
Mike Leach has also done an outstanding job of resurrecting a Washington State program that was basically dormant for years. The Cougars made a bowl game last year, a feat that seemed impossible when Leach took over, and a big reason has been Leach's exciting and potent passing attack.
So talk all you want about the SEC's dominance. The past cannot be refuted, the SEC had a brilliant run. But as the days get closer for the new season to begin, it's the Pac-12's time to shine. They have the quarterbacks and the coaches necessary to put together a string of greatness, and the new playoff system might be what college football needed to turn the tide.