Andersen knew exactly where he was going and what he was doing.

It’s not because the Big Ten is declining, he said. The Pac-12 is on the rise, and it just might be the peak of college football this fall.

”I absolutely have felt a huge swing in the last two years, and that’s me being in the Midwest for two years, that the Pac-12 has gained a ton of respect nationally,” said Andersen, the league’s only new coach this year. ”The Pac-12 has gotten better and better and better.”

Indeed, the West Coast’s premier conference is stacked with elite talent in wealthy programs committed to contending for national championships as it celebrates the 100-year anniversary of its official formation this fall.

Andersen couldn’t resist the chance to move back out West, even though he’ll have to compete with the archrival Oregon Ducks, who reached the national title game last season behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota.

But almost nobody gets an easy ride these days in the Pac-12, which has a wealth of amazing players and no clear-cut title favorite. While comparisons among leagues are inexact at best, every coach is publicly confident the Pac-12 is the equal of the SEC and anybody else.

”A lot of the talent that’s been out West that maybe had left the western part of the country, going somewhere else, is now staying out here,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. ”We’re one of them, but the other schools in our division and in our league are doing it. So I think the Pac-12 South is probably going to be better this year than it’s ever been. The Pac-12 will be better than it’s ever been, and I think it’s going to stay that way into the future.”

Some things to watch in the Pac-12 this season:

FEAR THE SOUTH: The Pac-12 South might be the most loaded division in college football, with Southern California, UCLA, Arizona State, Utah and defending champion Arizona all harboring title contention hopes and College Football Playoff dreams. USC is favored in its first year free of NCAA sanctions, but the Trojans must contend with the crosstown Bruins, who have beaten them three straight times, along with two loaded rivals from the Grand Canyon State and the Utes, who have 18 returning starters.

AFTER MARIOTA: Oregon has its usual stacked roster, but a big hole in the middle after falling short in the title game against Ohio State. Coach Mark Helfrich wants his Ducks to ”simultaneously learn from and flush the end of (last season).” Mariota’s successor could be Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams, but he can’t officially join the team until later this week. The Ducks have work to do, but they’ve handled it before.

SO MUCH SPEED: The Pac-12 has a reputation for high-octane, trailblazing offensive football, and that’s likely to continue this year. The biggest difference between this league and the rest, according to coaches, is the speed. This season’s top burners include USC two-way star Adoree Jackson, Stanford receiver Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Cal running back Khalfani Muhammad, Oregon receiver Devon Allen and Arizona receiver Tyrell Johnson. ”This league has what we like to call juice,” Andersen said. ”It is fast. There are a lot of guys that make one mistake, and you’re going to pay the price quickly.”

NEW CHAMP?: For all of its parity and league-wide growth, the Pac-12 has had only two champions since 2008. Oregon won its fourth title in six years last fall, ending the two-year reign of Stanford, which slipped to 8-5 last season. USC hasn’t won the league since Pete Carroll’s penultimate season, while half of the conference’s 12 schools haven’t even shared the title in the 21st century.

LEACH’S TIME?: Mike Leach has won 12 games in his first three seasons at Washington State, and some observers see little reason to expect a breakthrough this fall on the Palouse. Yet the famously unconventional coach is increasingly confident about the future after the school opened its 75,000-square-foot Cougar Football Complex in June. Leach’s charisma and smarts make him an important national figure, but he’s eager to back up that reputation.

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Predicted order of finish:

NORTH – Oregon, Stanford, Cal, Washington, Washington State, Oregon State

SOUTH – USC, Arizona State, UCLA, Arizona, Utah, Colorado

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Gary Andersen is looking at a daunting start to his first year as Oregon State’s coach.

It all gets underway on Saturday, when the Beavers open fall practice.

”Everything’s new. In Year One every single day through the first year of a program is a brand new day and a brand new experience,” Andersen said Friday at the Beavers’ football media day at Reser Stadium. ”We’re very excited about the process of learning but we’re also anxious. There’s a lot of emotions that come with this time of year, but the key is to settle in and grind through it.”

Andersen was lured to Oregon State in December after just two seasons at Wisconsin. He replaced longtime coach Mike Riley, who unexpectedly left the Beavers to fill the opening at Nebraska.

The Badgers went 10-3 and to the Big Ten championship game under Andersen last season. He left for Corvallis before the team’s victory over Auburn in the Outback Bowl.

Andersen is tasked with rebuilding the Beavers, who finished last season 5-7 – 2-7 in the Pac-12 – and out of the postseason picture. The team lost prolific quarterback Sean Mannion, who set the all-time conference record for career passing yards with 13,600 and a school record for touchdown passes with 83.

The front-runner to replace Mannion appears to be true freshman Seth Collins, who generated buzz in spring practice and threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 74 yards in the spring game.

Collins verbally committed in January after switching from San Jose State and enrolled in school early. As a senior at Granite Hills High School in San Diego, he passed for 1,013 yards and 12 touchdowns while running for 988 yards and 17 scores.

The media got its first chance to speak to Collins on Friday. He was poised as he spoke about the prospect of becoming a starter in the Pac-12.

”You have to take a step on the field, whether you’re a freshman, sophomore or a junior, you have to take that first step on the field,” Collins said. ”Taking my first step on the field in the first game of the year? It doesn’t bother me. I’m ready to go. It doesn’t scare me.”

Redshirt freshmen Nick Mitchell and Marcus McMaryion will also compete to start at quarterback.

It’s likely Andersen will lean on senior running back Storm Barrs-Woods to help out with carries. The coach is looking for some 20 to 25 carries per game from him.

Barrs-Woods, who this season also recognizes his mother, Faith Barrs, on the back of his jersey, has rushed for 2,250 yards and 24 touchdowns over his career at Oregon State.

He is among the 10 starters who return on offense – including wide receiver Victor Bolden. Oregon State can also count on having five starters back on the offensive line, and Issac Seumalo is finally healthy after missing all of 2014 with a foot injury.

Seumalo started 27 games in his first two seasons at Oregon State, living up to his billing as one of the nation’s top prep linemen, and he could play any position on the line.

Besides the starting quarterback, most of the questions surrounding the Beavers involve the defense. Andersen is known as a defensive coach, but Oregon State returns just two seniors on that side of the ball. Cornerback Larry Scott is the only senior to start all 12 games last season.

The team is switching to a 3-4 base defense under Andersen and new defensive coordinator Kelani Sitake.

The Beavers also were hit with the dismissal of linebacker Darrell Songy. Oregon State’s student newspaper, The Daily Barometer, first reported that Songy did not meet additional behavioral requirements following his suspension in 2014 for violating athletic department policy.

Songy, who had performed well in the spring game and won praise from Andersen, was not listed on the updated roster distributed earlier in the week.

Andersen confirmed Songy had left the program on Friday.

”He had a set of parameters that he had to follow, and he didn’t follow the standards that were set for him,” Andersen said, adding that Songy continued to have the team’s support.

The Beavers were selected to finish last in the Pac-12 North in the league’s annual preseason media poll. Oregon State opens the season at home against Weber State on Sept. 4.

”Preseason polls?” Andersen asked. ”I told the kids the same thing, I told them the last time I looked they don’t give out bowl invitations, they don’t give out championship rings, they don’t give out all-conference certificates or plaques for the preseason.”

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