The Pac-12 released the 2016 schedule last week, and Stanford's 2015 conference championship obviously didn't earn it any preferential treatment from commissioner Larry Scott and his minions.
The first reaction has to be that the home schedule in even years is terribly boring. Aside from USC on September 17th, there isn't a single home game that quickens the pulse. There's no one really to blame for this, obviously. A few years ago, during the first season of Levi's Stadium, there was a preliminary agreement between Stanford and Cal to play the 2014 Big Game at Levi's and push what would've been Cal's home game to 2015. This would've helped Stanford's home schedule issue tremendously, putting two of its marquee opponents, Notre Dame and Cal, on an opposite rotation.
But the Bears backed out, so Stanford is stuck with Oregon, Notre Dame, and Cal in the odd years, and USC in the even years. Games with those teams will always be high interest, but everything else is cyclical. Twenty years ago, who would've thought anyone on either side would be interested in Stanford vs. Oregon? It just happens that right now the rest of the schools on the even-year home slate are kind of vanilla.
My next thought is that weeks three through seven will be more than difficult, one of the tougher stretches in the conference, I'm sure.
Anyway, here's a quick review of the schedule with some preliminary thoughts on each team.
Friday, September 2nd vs. Kansas State
First of all, I'm not a fan of Friday night games, especially not in the season opener, but I like that Stanford is playing Kansas State. In 2014 the Wildcats were 9-3 in the regular season, with their only losses coming to #5 Auburn, #6 TCU, and #6 Baylor. They lost to #14 UCLA in the Alamo Bowl, but it was their fifth straight season ending in a bowl game, and the program seemed strong. Then came 2015, a disappointing 6-6 season that was a big dip but will still end in the Liberty Bowl against Arkansas. Stanford paid dearly for this season's opening loss to the Northwestern Wildcats, and I'm sure they'll be reminded of that when they square off against these Wildcats to start 2016.
September 10th -- BYE
Having a bye week this early in the season is a huge disadvantage, and not just because a bye later in the season would help players recover from wear and tear and nagging injuries. In this case, it would be nice for Keller Chryst to have another game of experience before beginning conference play.
September 17th vs. USC
People complain that we always play USC early in the even years, but let me tell you why this is a GREAT thing in 2016. Perhaps no team in the conference boasts the young talent of the Trojans, and they'll be returning ten starters on the offensive side of the ball. The one starter who isn't coming back, of course, is quarterback Cody Kessler. My guess is that by the end of the season, teams won't want to play the Trojans. Quarterback Max Browne, the presumed starter, has been highly touted, but it'll be nice to face him with only two starts under his belt.
September 24th at UCLA
Quarterback Josh Rosen (who really, really wants to beat Stanford) and running back Paul Perkins return along with seventeen other starters on offense and defense, so the Bruins will be the favorites to with the Pac-12 South, and probably to win the entire conference. (The media has never picked Stanford to win, and I can't imagine they will start next year.)
Friday, September 30th at Washington
It isn't usually until the third year of a new coach's tenure that we can fairly judge a team, and so it will be with 2016's Washington Huskies. Chris Petersen will have 15 starters returning, including quarterback Jake Browning. The Stanford game will be the first true test for these Huskies, and I guarantee that it's already circled on their schedule.
October 8th vs. Washington State
Quarterback Luke Falk will be back, so we can expect Mike Leach and his high octane offense to look the same. The team made huge strides this year, but one question will always remain -- can Leach get out of his own way when necessary and allow his team to reach its peak? When you're always swinging your sword, sometimes you accidentally slit your own throat.
October 15th at Notre Dame
Look at how this series has gone recently. In 2012 there was Stepfan Taylor's touchdown that wasn't (both of them) in overtime, in 2014 it was a Notre Dame touchdown in the final minute to clinch the win, and this year Kevin Hogan needed just 25 seconds to drive his team into range for Conrad Ukropina's last-second field goal. Could we possibly see another great finish like those? The Irish promise to be national championship contenders again, and I'm already looking forward to this game.
October 22nd vs. Colorado
There's nothing much to say about this game except that it's on Reunion Weekend. Get your tickets now.
October 29th at Arizona
Will 2016 be the year that quarterback Anu Solomon makes the leap to national prominence? Let's hope not.
November 5th vs. Oregon State
The Oregon State program is kind of a mess right now. They aren't worth thinking about until November 4th.
November 12th at Oregon
Once again Oregon is trolling the bargain bin looking for a quarterback. It certainly worked well this year, when they picked up Vernon Adams from Eastern Washington, and in 2016 they'll debut Dakota Prukop, who chose Oregon over Alabama a few days ago. Prukop threw for more than three thousand yards this season and rushed for 790, so he appears to have the talent to fit into the Ducks' scheme. The advantage he'll have over Adams is that he'll likely be on campus next month, meaning he'll be able to work with the Oregon players and coaches for eight months before making his debut in September. By the time Stanford sees him November, the Oregon offense could be running on all cylinders. Yikes.
November 19th at Cal
Here's how it works. We take the Axe to Berkeley as a formality, we crush the Bears, we take the Axe back home. That's it.
November 26th vs. Rice
There's no reason not to play Rice, I suppose, I just wish this game were scheduled earlier in the season. (Rice comes to Stanford on September 2, 2017, which makes more sense.) As scheduled in 2016, however, this game will serve as nothing more than an opportunity for Christian McCaffrey to pad his stats on his way to another second place finish in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
Friday, December 2nd -- Pac-12 Championship Game
I know it's 50 weeks away, but here's an incredibly early prediction: Stanford beats UCLA for the tenth time in a row, 31-24, and heads to the Rose Bowl. You know. Because that's what we do.
