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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Petersen and Mike MacIntyre engineered two of the biggest breakthroughs in college football last season when they got Washington and Colorado into a Pac-12 title game matchup that absolutely nobody saw coming. Both coaches are going back to work this summer knowing they've lost the element of surprise. The next step for the Huskies and Buffaloes will be even more challenging than the dazzling runs that sent them past the conference's usual powers last year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Pac-12 will shorten halftime and reduce the number of commercial breaks during its non-conference schedule this season as part of a trial program to reduce the length of its football games. Halftime will be 15 minutes long, cut down from the usual 20-minute break. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott says the number of commercial breaks will be reduced and they will be shorter in length.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California and Washington have been picked to win their divisions in a preseason poll of Pac-12 football media. USC got 28 of 52 first-place votes to emerge as the preseason pick for conference champion. The Trojans won their final nine games last season behind quarterback Sam Darnold, culminating in a thrilling Rose Bowl victory over Penn State.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jim Mora had his first losing season at UCLA last year, and so did Rich Rodriguez at Arizona. The veteran coaches enter 2017 looking to engineer significant and perhaps job-saving turnarounds in their sixth seasons.
UNDATED (AP) — The traditional two-a-day football practices of yesteryear are a thing of the past. The NCAA approved a plan this year that prevents teams from holding multiple practices with contact in a single day. Officials are hoping the rule change reduces the head injuries that had become all too common this time of year.
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Ryan Nall leads an inspired group of running backs at Oregon State, including former Oregon Duck Thomas Tyner. Nall finished last season with 951 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns on the ground. Overall, the Beavers showed improvement last year and are more confident heading into this season.
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