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Ranking the 2014 Pac-12 Football schedules: Stanford has the toughest overall schedule in 2014

Stanford has a difficult path to another Rose Bowl.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

1. Stanford

The Cardinal have road games against what could be the three best teams in the conference in Oregon, UCLA and Washington and have to head to South Bend to take on Notre Dame the week after having to go to Seattle. The Cardinal also avoid Colorado and Arizona in the South, who could be the division's worst teams, and get Arizona State on the road along with a showdown with USC in just the second week of the season.

2. Utah

The Utes get the unfortunate draw of having to play Oregon and Stanford in the North and have to play at Stanford. The Utes also miss Cal, get UCLA, Arizona State and Oregon State on the road and have a strong non-conference slate that includes a game at Michigan and a game against Fresno State.

3. UCLA

The Bruins draw Oregon and Stanford from the North, though they get both at home, and also have to play at Arizona State and Washington. Along with this, they have one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the conference playing Texas in Arlington, Texas and at Virginia.

4. Oregon State

The Beavers get the Ducks at home this year, but play both of the North's other powers in Stanford and Washington on the road. They have a decent draw in the South, avoiding UCLA, but do have to travel to USC and get Arizona State at home.

5. Washington State

The Cougars get Oregon and Washington at home but have to travel to Stanford. They do avoid UCLA in the South, but also miss Colorado and have to play at Arizona State and Utah along with a non-conference showdown with Rutgers in Seattle.

6. Cal

The Bears get Washington, Oregon, Stanford and UCLA at home, but they have to play all of those teams and they have maybe the worst home-field advantage in the conference. They also have to play Arizona, Oregon State and USC on the road along with Northwestern out-of-conference and BYU at home in non-conference.

7. Washington

The Huskies get some good home draws against Arizona, Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA but have Oregon on the road and the Apple Cup in Pullman which is always very tricky. They do avoid USC, but this is a year you would rather miss UCLA and they also miss Utah.

8. USC

The Trojans have to go to Stanford in the second week of the season but score big by avoiding Oregon and Washington. In the South, they have to play at UCLA, but get Arizona State at home and Notre Dame out of conference.

9. Oregon

The Ducks always have the problem that they can't face themselves, weakening their schedule, but overall, other than a road trip to UCLA, they have a good draw, getting Stanford and Washington at home while avoiding Arizona State and USC. The Ducks bolster their schedule though with the toughest single non-conference game any Pac-12 team has on their schedule this year, taking on Michigan State in Eugene.

10. Arizona State

The Sun Devils are another team lucky enough to avoid Oregon and they get Stanford at home, but they also miss Cal. In the South, they get UCLA at home but play at Arizona and USC along with a non-conference showdown with Notre Dame in Tempe.

11. Colorado

The Buffs avoid Stanford, but get Oregon on the road and miss Washington State in the North. In the South, they travel to Arizona and USC but get Arizona State, USC and Utah at home along with a soft homesteaded non-conference schedule with their toughest game being against Colorado State in Denver.

12. Arizona

In the North, the Wildcats avoid Stanford but do have to play Oregon on the road. In the South, they get Arizona State and USC at home and have a basically non-existent non-conference schedule.