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The headlines didn’t match the product last year out West. A sky-is-falling vibe was unavoidable following the announcement that USC and UCLA would be joining the Big Ten in 2024, leaving the Pac-12 unmoored and scrambling. But just as the Big 12 did in 2021 following its own announced departures (of Oklahoma and Texas), the conference put on a show.

Six Pac-12 teams won at least nine games and finished 22nd or better in SP+, and several first-year coaches, from USC‘s Lincoln Riley to Washington‘s Kalen DeBoer, obliterated expectations. USC’s dismal defense prevented it from becoming the league’s first College Football Playoff team since 2016, but this was an utterly delightful conference to watch.

That should be the case again in 2023. The headlines aren’t particularly happy now either, but the product should please the eye.

USC, Oregon, Washington and two-time defending champ Utah all enter the season as contenders, with UCLA and Oregon State potentially not far off the pace. I can’t decide who I like the most — I talked myself into both USC and Utah at some point while writing last week’s preview of the former South division teams, and I’m very much talking myself into both Oregon and Washington now — but that’s pretty exciting in itself. So is the fact that the scoreboard operators will be busy. The top five projected offenses in this conference, per SP+, rank first, fourth, eighth, 12th and 13th in the country with three others in the top 50. (The top defense is projected 26th.) The West has rarely lacked entertaining ball, and it certainly won’t this fall.

The future is uncertain (again), but damned if the present isn’t thrilling (again). Let’s preview the former Pac-12 North!

Every week through the offseason, Bill Connelly will preview another division from the Group of 5 and Power 5 exclusively for ESPN+, ultimately including all 133 FBS teams. The previews will include 2022 breakdowns, 2023 previews and burning questions for each team.

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Cards’ Contreras out with foot contusion after HBP

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Cards' Contreras out with foot contusion after HBP

ST. LOUIS — Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras was not in the lineup Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies a day after he was hit in the foot by a pitch and broke his bat in frustration.

Contreras, listed as day-to-day with a right foot contusion, was hit by Rockies starter Kyle Freeland‘s sweeper in the fourth inning. He then slammed his bat into the dirt and snapped it over his knee.

As he walked toward first base, the 33-year-old threw the two pieces of the broken bat toward the Cardinals’ dugout.

He remained in the game until the sixth inning, when he was replaced by Nolan Gorman.

The Cardinals said X-rays did not reveal any structural damage in Contreras’ foot.

Contreras has been hit by a National League-leading 18 pitches this season, trailing only Randy Arozarena and Ty France.

Contreras leads the Cardinals with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.

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Rangers’ struggling García to IL with ankle injury

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Rangers' struggling García to IL with ankle injury

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers put struggling slugger Adolis García on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle and activated outfielder Evan Carter.

Texas, which is chasing an American League wild-card berth, made the moves their series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Another outfielder, Wyatt Langford, was held out of the lineup because of forearm stiffness, but manager Bruce Bochy said he could be available to pinch-hit.

García is hitting .224 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 116 games. He hit .176 (6 for 34) during the nine-game homestand that ended with Wednesday’s game.

Carter, who turns 23 later this month, missed 10 games because of back spasms. He was in a 4-for-34 slump when he was placed on the IL on Aug. 2. He hit .238 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 55 games before then.

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D-backs’ DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

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D-backs' DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Arizona Diamondbacks placed right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list Wednesday because of right thumb inflammation after he made three starts.

DeSclafani (1-2, 4.36 ERA) has been primarily a reliever for the Diamondbacks but made the starts this month after Merrill Kelly was traded to the Texas Rangers at the deadline on July 31.

Arizona made the move with DeSclafani before the series finale at Texas, when Kelly was starting for the Rangers. The Diamondbacks recalled right-hander Casey Kelly from Triple-A Reno.

“We’re hoping for the minimal time. He’s going to get some imaging just to make sure that everything’s OK,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “This is something that popped up a couple days ago. We all felt that he was going to be able to take the baseball and go out there and compete, which he did. We saw the stuff in the first couple of innings, and we decided it was time to take him off the field.”

In the three starts this month, DeSclafani is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA, allowing six runs in 9⅔ innings. He threw three innings Tuesday night, allowing two runs in a game Arizona won 3-2 on a homer by Ketel Marte in the ninth.

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