Football Preview 2017

Washington, USC Favorites in Tough Pac-12

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Pac-12 divisional races will be short on drama if preseason projections actually translate into regular-season results on the West Coast. Washington and Southern California are major favorites to earn a showdown in the conference title game in Santa Clara in December, and both are considered national title contenders. In a conference crowded with untested young teams and perennial powers in search of bounce-back seasons, the Huskies and Trojans are built around talented starting quarterbacks who have already shown the mettle to win big games. Defending Pac-12 ...

Alabama, SEC Trying to Climb Back to Summit

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer Alabama and the Southeastern Conference are trying to climb back atop the college football mountain. The SEC was toppled— at least temporarily — from that summit by the Atlantic Coast Conference last season. A powerhouse Crimson Tide team has a much shorter climb back after a down-to-the-last-breath loss to the ACC’s Clemson in the national championship game . ‘Bama has won 17 consecutive SEC games by an average of 21 points but coach Nick Saban insists “there’s a lot of parity in our league.” Despite Saban’s perspective, there’s ...