Predicting who is under the most pressure in the Pac-12 ahead of the 2022 season

With all the noise surrounding the conference all eyes will be on the Pac-12 in 2022

The college football season is finally starting later this month which surely has the fans chomping at the bit to watch their school play again.

The preseason and long wait wasn't without controversy or surprises however, as the sport was flipped upside due to the free agency adjacent transfer portal, coaches taking new jobs in the night, and of course conference realignment by the Pac-12's very own USC and UCLA. What is interesting about each one of those occurrences is the fact that the Pac-12 was the source of just about all the craziness we endured. It was essentially a few months of Pac-12 After Dark all day everyday. 

All of the madness that has taken place has somewhat died down, but now that the dust is pretty much settled for the offseason it is time to start focusing about on the field play. That is why I took it upon myself to predict who is under the most pressure ahead of the 2022 season whether it be a coach or player. 

There is however an honorable mention in Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff, who might be facing the most pressure of them all due to the fact that he is solely responsible for having to try and save the sinking ship of a conference that he was given the keys to. Now let's take a look at which players and coaches are likely under the most pressure this season.

Tanner McKee, QB, Stanford

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Last season was a tale of two Tanners, as he and Stanford got off to a hot start once he was given the reigns going 3-2 with wins over two top 15 teams in the first five games. During this stretch McKee caught the attention of people around the country and even NFL scouts thanks to him completing 65% of his passes on 7.2 yards per attempt, while throwing for 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. He looked as if he had the makings of the next Stanford quarterback that would be an NFL lock, and maybe even turn around the program's misfortunes. That was not the case as he and the rest of the offensive unit got banged up, and would go on to lose the remaining games on their schedule while he would throw just four more touchdowns, seven interceptions, while being sacked 17 times. 

This season is a major prove it year for both McKee and Stanford, as he has a chance to vault himself into the first round next year's NFL Draft while also helping the program get back on track after two sub .500 seasons in the past three years. Stanford's schedule does them no favors as there is a chance that they will play at least five or six ranked opponents. All eyes are on McKee to see if he can make the adjustments from last season, and help return Stanford to the prominence it once showed. 

Utah

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While I could have picked quarterback Cam Rising or even head coach Kyle Whittingham that just didn't seem fair. They both thrived last season and are on track to do so again, but the reason there is some pressure is solely because Utah has Playoff aspirations and there are now growing expectations that they will reach that mark. Of all the teams in the Pac-12, they are likely the most complete team and have a chance to have back to back statement seasons after.

They will be tested along the way playing against teams such as Florida (in Gainesville), San Diego State who beat them last season, USC, and Oregon. Even with the difficult schedule, ESPN's FPI not only predicted them to have the best chance to win the Pac-12, but also gave them a 6.3% chance to make the playoff which is the tenth best in he country. They give the conference as a whole their best shot at crashing the playoff this season, and anything less than a New Year's Six bowl game would be disappointing. That is a high watermark, and could quickly cause an unexpected implosion at some point if they don't focus.

Chip Kelly, UCLA, Head Coach

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After being one of the sport's most transcendent offensive minds before going to the NFL, Chip Kelly has not found as much success at UCLA as many thought he would by now. The Bruins are coming off their first winning season (8-4) in Kelly's four years with the program, and while he did get a contract extension UCLA has a measly 18-25 record under Kelly. 

With the return of fifth-year senior Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback and one of the country's best running backs Zach Charbonnet, there has to be some pressure on Kelly and the Bruins to build off of last season. Their achilles heal was their defense, which held them back all year. Unlike Stanford, the Bruins have a friendly schedule, which ranks as the easiest schedule in the Pac-12 and one of the easiest in the country according to ESPN's FPI, which ranked their strength of schedule at No. 76. It would seem that eight wins has to be the floor for 2022 season, and anything below that is a fireable offense for Kelly, who if he is fired after Dec. 23 of next year, UCLA wouldn’t owe a penny.

Bo Nix, Quarterback, Oregon

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The former five-star quarterback has been playing tribute to former Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace with his weekly roulette game of "good Bo or bad Bo" while at Auburn. His best statistical season was his freshman year at Auburn, in which he was coached by the Ducks' new offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham. With the two reuniting in Eugene, the expectations for Nix to be one of the best signal callers have surfaced again. 

To give Nix some credit, he was on track to have his best season last year before going down with an injury and only being able to play 10 games. The major difference between Auburn and Oregon for Nix is the fact that Auburn was and still somewhat is somewhat of a dumpster fire after the whole Bryan Harsin debacle this offseason. Even with a new coaching staff, Oregon is still expected to contend in the Pac-12 and beyond this season. While Dillingham is familiar with Nix, there likely isn't a sense of having to be loyal to him if he underwhelms. Duck fans have long been waiting to see former highly touted recruit Ty Thompson get a chance, and coach Dan Lanning wasn't willing to name Nix the starter just yet at Pac-12 Media Day. Nix has a lot to prove to his own coaching staff, and if he is able to do that, the whole country. 

Lincoln Riley, USC, Head Coach

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This one is interesting because realistically Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison, and every other transfer that joined the program could be selected. However, Lincoln Riley was the one that caused the biggest ripple effect of the offseason with his decision to leave Oklahoma. Whether he was dodging the SEC, saw there was greener pastures that weren't actual pastures in Los Angeles, or just truly believed it was the right move taking the USC job; it left a sour taste in the mouths of many. 

He quickly became the villain of college football, similar to LeBron James when he left Cleveland for Miami. Oklahoma fans are upset and likely will forever be upset about how and why he left, whilst most of the college football world is upset how he built his roster. There is obviously the pressure stemming from the fact that they have built what is being tabbed as a sort of super team, but there is also pressure to rebuild USC. Something he really didn't have to do at Oklahoma, as he was more tasked with sustaining success rather than finding it (which he did). 

USC is a program that was once the premier program in all of the land and is now fighting to regain its blue blood stature. It helps that they have a mediocre scheduled at best, but every misstep that the Trojans take will be very well documented and scrutinized throughout the year. The expectations for the program in year one have spanned from just making a conference championship appearance, to crashing the College Football Playoff. Whether or not either of those will happen is TBD, but Riley will not be given any sort of grace period.