Kirk Herbstreit joined the Pac-12 Hotline to discuss several hot topics and opined on the conference's prospects for placing a team in the College Football Playoff.

ESPN national columnist Adam Rittenberg joined the podcast recently to discuss a range of issues, including what might happen in the next wave of realignment -- or might not happen.

Scott Howard-Cooper, who covers the draft for NBA.com, joins the podcast to discuss the latest buzz and projections for a plethora of Pac-12 products, including Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Lauri Markkanen, Ivan Rabb and others.

Reporter Steve Berkowitz, the primary author of USA Today's oft-referenced coaches salary database, joined the podcast to discuss coaching compensation and much more.

Can Oregon and Washington be elite at the same time? Will Willie Taggart get the Ducks turned around? What's the secret to Chris Petersen's success? We took a deep dive into those topics (and others) with Pac-12 Networks analyst Nigel Burton, who played for UW, coached in the Pac-12 and lives in Portland.

We checked in with Greg Biggins, Scout's National Recruiting Director, to get a sense for offseason Pac-12 developments. The top takeaways: USC is cleaning up, and Oregon has increased its energy level thanks to the new coaching staff. Biggins also offered great perspective on the differences in personality between USC's Sam Darnold and UCLA's Josh Rosen.

The NFL Draft is a few weeks away, and the Pac-12 is loaded with potential first-round picks. Rob Rang, draft analyst for CBSSports.com, examined the top prospects, made note of possible sleepers, and shared his thoughts on injured Washington CB Sidney Jones. We also cast an eye to the Pac-12's stellar quarterback class of 2018.

Roxy Bernstein, play-by-play announcer for ESPN and the Pac-12 Networks, is also a Cal graduate who's passionate about Golden Bear sports. We discussed the state of the athletic program, with particular attention paid to athletic director Mike Williams, the debt and facility issues, football coach Justin Wilcox and basketball coach Wyking Jones.

Matt Muehlebach, the former Arizona guard and current Pac-12 Networks analyst, examines the Pac-12's prospects in the NCAA tournament. We discussed Arizona's path to the Final Four, Oregon's challenge in the wake of Chris Boucher's injury, and UCLA's looming duels with Kentucky and/or North Carolina. Muehlebach thinks the conference will send two teams to the national semifinals.