Oregon has the most talent in the PAC-12 this year and the best quarterback.
The program is on the rise and recruiting has been taken to a level that this conference hasn't seen since Washington and USC had 100 kids on scholarship and five blue chip tailbacks on the roster (pre-1993).
Trouble is, the Ducks have one of the hardest schedules in the league, and Washington has one of the easiest.
Oregon opens nonconference play with that "neutral site" game against Auburn. They have Nevada and Montana to follow, but still. The Tigers have a new quarterback but talent everywhere, particularly on the defensive line.
Washington opens with home games against Eastern Washington, Cal and Hawaii. They are at BYU in week 4, then return home to face Cal.
The Huskies only difficult road game is October 5th against Stanford. Their three other road tilts come against Arizona, Oregon State and Colorado, teams that finished in the bottom half of the conference. They get the Ducks, USC, Cal, Utah and Washington State all at home.
In conference play Oregon has road games against Stanford, Washington, USC and Arizona State. They miss Utah and UCLA this year.
For a team that struggled on the road last season this is a daunting challenge.
If they can go 3-2 on the road and sweep at home, the Ducks reach 10 wins. It's possible, but it will require that the much-hyped newcomers and culture change are 100% real.
It's luck of the draw, or rather luck of the rotation, but the PAC-12 schedule this season gives the Dawgs a huge leg up on repeating as champions, a huge scheduling advantage over Oregon. It's a big solve for Mario Cristobal and his staff.
