The Saturday Edge 2013 PAC 12 Betting Prospectus is now available. The prospectus consists of two pages per team, jam-packed with some great PAC 12 betting information and team analysis.

Obviously condensing all of this information into just two pages was quite difficult and some good team notes and betting nuggets had to be left out. So like I did a few weeks ago with the PAC 12 North, I wanted to share with you some of the information that didn’t make the final cut for inclusion in the prospectus.

PAC 12 South – Betting Notes and Nuggets 

Arizona

[box] The offensive line will be a strength. Anchored by two pro-sized prospects in tackles Mickey Baucus and Fabbians Ebbele, the offensive line should flourish in Rodriguez’s second season. Guards Chris Putton and Cayman Bundage both have a lot of game experience and there are a handful of solid candidates for the fifth spot.[/box]

We tried not to get too in-depth with the position groups in the prospectus, so I concentrated most of the offensive write-up on the questions at quarterback. But having an experienced OL will certainly help transition whoever ends up winning the QB battle.

Arizona State

[box] In his first season of starting, quarterback Taylor Kelly completed a school-record 67.1 percent of his passes for 3,039 yards and 29 touchdowns. He threw just nine interceptions, all coming in ASU losses. He finished second in the Pac-12 in passing efficiency (159.88) and placed ninth nationally. A dual-threat, Kelly also rushed for 516 yards and a touchdown.

“In the eight games we won last year, Taylor didn’t throw any interceptions,” Graham said.

“And in the five games we lost,” OC Norvell said, “he threw at least one.”[/box]

Even incremental improvement in Kelly’s second season as a starter should place ASU in contention for the PAC 12 South title, especially if the Sun Devils can find a few competent wide receivers to help him out.

Colorado

[box] Quarterback – Incumbent Jordan Webb suffered a non-contact ACL tear in spring, probably ending his college career, though it is being said he could return as early as October. Nick Hirschman, who was listed as a co-starter coming out of spring, announced he was transferring. Which leaves Texas transfer Connor Woods (one career start) as the likely starter, with rising RS freshman Shane Dillon and incoming freshman Sefo Liufau (6-4, 215) battling for the back-up position.[/box]

New HC Mike MacIntyre did a terrific job with the SJSU passing game last year. Of course he had a stud at QB (David Fales). I expect Colorado QB play to be at least marginally better this season, no matter who ends up being the starter, however the position will still not be a strength by any means.

UCLA

[box] The coaches were extremely pleased with the production of the wide receiver corps this spring. Devin Fuller might have had the strongest spring of the group — though returning leader Shaq Evans (60 catches, 877 yards, three touchdowns) and Jordan Payton still figure to be the primary targets. Kenneth Walker, Eldridge Massington and Devin Lucien round out what should be a solid group.[/box]

With Hundley at quarterback and a strong group of receivers, UCLA should have a strong passing game this season.

USC

[box] Player to watch – 2013 could be the year Morgan Breslin hits the national spotlight. He made the 2nd team on the All-Pac-12 list last year with 62 tackles and 13 sacks. He has been the fastest to adjust to Pendergast’s style and was constantly in the backfield during the spring game. He will be up there with ASU’s Will Sutton as one of the top defensive linemen in the conference.[/box]

I make mention of the defensive line and Breslin in particular in the prospectus. With Devin Kennard returning from injury, USC could have a solid 1-2 punch at defensive end in 2013.

Utah

[box] Overall, the offense responded well to the adjustments co-offensive coordinator Dennis Erickson made, leaving Whittingham confident the Utes’ offensive woes might be behind the team.

“We’re going to be better than a lot of people think we are,” Erickson said.[/box]

The offensive struggles over the past few years is attributable to problems under center. Jordan Wynn was injured in 2011 and he wasn’t able to fully recover before trying to comeback last year.

Whittingham says that the Utes are in the best shape at QB that they’ve been in a lot of years. Even marginal improvement by Travis Wilson should go a long ways to improving Utah’s offensive production in 2013. However I still believe that with the talent on hand, an improvement to mediocrity  is the ceiling for this offense.

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