ASU will avoid a matchup with Stanford for the second straight season, but will still deal with plenty of cross-division competition. The Sun Devils are scheduled to face four Pac-12 North opponents this year: Washington, Washington State, Cal and Oregon. Here's a first look at how the North is shaping up with under two weeks until kickoff.
1) No. 8 Stanford
Last year: 12-2, Pac-12 champion, won Rose Bowl vs. Iowa
Season opener: Kansas State, 6 p.m. Sept. 3 on FS1
There will be quite a few new faces taking snaps from under center in the Pac-12, including junior Keller Chryst after Kevin Hogan rode off into the Pasadena sunset with a Rose Bowl victory over Iowa. Although Hogan is gone, the pieces around him from a season ago are still in place. Redshirt senior wide receiver Michael Rector and senior Francis Owusu, who made one of the most jaw-dropping touchdown catches in college football history, both return for their final collegiate season. Defensively, sophomore cornerback Quenton Meeks will hold down a stout Cardinal secondary. And don't forget that as long as David Shaw is still the head coach and some guy named Christian McCaffrey is back returning punts and doing his thing in the backfield, Stanford will likely remain the class of the conference.
Projection: 11-3, Rose Bowl
2) No. 14 Washington
Last year: 7-6, fifth in Pac-12 North, won Heart of Dallas Bowl vs. Southern Miss
Season opener: Rutgers, 11 a.m. Sept. 3 on Pac-12 Networks
Versus ASU: Nov. 19 in Seattle (lost 27-17 in Tempe in 2015)
The Huskies make their first appearance in the AP Preseason Top 25 since 2003, and their vaunted defense (allowing just 17.8 points per game in 2015) will also be augmented by a more mature sophomore quarterback in Jake Browning and sophomore running back Myles Gaskin leading the charge offensively. Junior wide receiver John Ross could be an X-factor in the return game and provide the Huskies with some versatility.
Projection: 9-4, Alamo Bowl
3) Washington State
Last year: 9-4, third in Pac-12 North, won Sun Bowl vs. Miami
Season opener: Eastern Washington, 5 p.m. Sept. 3 on Pac-12 Networks
Versus ASU: Oct. 22 in Tempe (won in 38-24 in Pullman in 2015)
The Cougars enter 2016 following their best season since upsetting Mack Brown and Texas in the 2003 Holiday Bowl during Bill Doba's first season as head coach. The controversial, yet occasionally hilarious Mike Leach has now gradually turned things around in Pullman. Washington State has junior quarterback Luke Falk coming off a record-shattering season (throwing for more than 4,500 yards) at the helm of an offense featuring senior wideouts Gabe Marks and River Cracraft, among a host of other talented playmakers. They will go as far as Falk's arm can take them, and should burn out plenty of scoreboard light bulbs along the way.
Projection: 8-5, Holiday Bowl
4) No. 24 Oregon
Last year: 9-4, second in Pac-12 North, lost Alamo Bowl vs. TCU
Season opener: UC Davis, 2 p.m. Sept. 3 on Pac-12 Networks
Versus ASU: Oct. 29 in Eugene (Won 61-55 in 3OT in Tempe in 2015)
Fresh off of qualifying for the Olympics as a hurdler, Phoenix native and junior wide receiver Devon Allen will be just one of several electrifying offensive weapons for the Ducks, including Heisman Trophy candidate and junior running back Royce Freeman. The problem? They're likely going to start Montana State transfer Dakota Prukop at quarterback, so all of those dynamic options might not be as effectively utilized as they were under Vernon Adams and Marcus Mariota. That, and the departure of Deforest Buckner to the NFL have made national pundits skeptical of Oregon, which feels strange for a perennial New Year's Six bowl contender that has ranked in the AP Preseason Top 25 every year since 2007.
Projection: 7-6, fourth in Pac-12, Sun Bowl
5) California
Last year: 8-5, fourth in Pac-12 North, won Heart of Dallas Bowl vs. Southern Miss
Season opener: Hawaii 7 p.m. Aug. 26 on ESPN
Versus ASU: Sept. 24 in Tempe (Won 48-46 in Berkeley in 2015)
Sophomore quarterback David Webb will have the monumental task of filling Jared Goff's shoes, but the Golden Bears will lean on the leadership and experience of senior running back Khalfani Muhammad to get them through the transition under center. Cal will be forced to lean on Muhammad's production in a year that it's offense should feature a more balanced attack. A defense that gave up more than 30 points per game in 2015 will benefit from a seasoned linebacking corps of juniors Derron Brown and Devante Downs, and have a stable of young talent in their secondary.
Projection: 4-8, fifth in Pac-12 North
6) Oregon State
Last year: 2-10, sixth in Pac-12 North
Season opener: At Minnesota, 6 p.m. Sept. 1 on Big Ten Network
Gary Andersen is still searching for his first conference win as a Pac-12 coach. A quick glance at the Beavers' schedule suggests that it might not come in 2016 if Oregon State can't take care of business on the road at Colorado, or at home against Cal with Jared Goff now playing his home games at the LA Coliseum, or Utah with Devontae Booker now playing with the Denver Broncos. It won't get any easier for a team that struggled mightily last season, but senior wide receiver Victor Bolden will have a chip on his shoulder and could make things interesting in Corvallis. Sun Devil fans looking forward to seeing Oregon State's eight Arizona natives and a potential showdown between Chandler High School's own freshman Chase Lucas (ASU defensive back) and sophomore Paul Lucas (an Oregon State wide receiver from Mountain Pointe) will have to wait at least another year.
Projection: 3-9, sixth in Pac-12 North
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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