Graphics will explode. CGI fireworks will fly. Oh, and Larry Scott will speak.

Expect another Hollywood-produced over the top presentation when the Pac-12 kicks off its media days Thursday in ... Hollywood. (Hard to believe, right?)

The league has been long on flash since Scott took over as commissioner in 2010. It's almost hard to remember Oregon played for the national championship less than two years ago.

But the stigma remains: The league's last national championship was 2004, which marks the longest drought of any Power Five conference.

The Pac-12 gets its crack at the media -- or vice versa -- Thursday and Friday. Here are five things to watch.

1. Encore: As in, what does Stanford's Christian McCaffrey do as a follow-up to his record-setting 2015? Coach David Shaw says he'll lean on the resilient McCaffrey for even more all-purpose explosiveness. Coming off a Heisman runner-up season, that means McCaffrey could almost single-handedly keep the Cardinal in the Pac-12 -- and perhaps CFP -- race. Ask Iowa, which is still seeking treatment from the beating it took from McCaffrey in the Rose Bowl.

2. West Coast's Next Top Model: All Washington needs is Tyra Banks to hype its season. Everyone else has bought in this preseason, or so it seems.

The Huskies finished a middling 7-6 in Chris Petersen's first campaign. But with only 10 seniors playing in the bowl game, there is plenty of upside. Thirty-five players in the two-deep against Southern Miss in the Heart of Dallas Bowl were either true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores.

Ignoring a 17-12 win over USC last season, the Huskies won their other six by an average of 34 points. It looks like Pete has gotten it turned around in a hurry at U-Dub.

3. The Rosen One: At times, UCLA coach Jim Mora Jr. has made out his star quarterback to be a combination of (the current) Johnny Manziel and (the current) Aaron Rodgers. Mora has warned Rosen about his conduct. He also added that Rosen "would have been the best QB" in the 2016 draft.

Which is it, Jim? Maybe both. Hey, freshmen are freshmen. In this case, UCLA's rising sophomore might just be the tip of the spear in leading the Bruins to the Pac-12 title.

4. Nervous twitch: The Pac-12 will struggle to have a team in the top 10 at the beginning of the season. That's another way of saying there are no dominant teams in the conference.

That's another another way of saying the Pac-12 could be the first Power Five conference to be left out of the College Football Playoff in consecutive seasons.

For all the "it" team love heaped on Washington and continuing success of Stanford, it's a national consensus early on: The Pac-12 doesn't have a top four team. Oregon is down. Clay Helton is in his first full season at USC. When Washington State is your dark horse in the Pac-12 North, well, that's not a good thing for anyone except for the Cougars.

The Big 12 freaked out when it got left out the first year (2014). What will be the reaction if the Pac-12 is left out two years in a row?

5. The Pirate is back: Since a painful and controversial firing at Texas Tech six-plus years ago, Mike Leach has reinvented himself. He took time off, put a football perspective on Geronimo and is close to resurrecting Washington State. Wait, what?

The program most left for dead in the Pac-12 won nine for the first time since 2003 last season. If not for an errant field goal against Stanford, Wazzu could have reached double-digit wins.

Luke Falk is one of the most underrated passers in the country. Leach is one of the fathers of the Air Raid offense. He's proving it still can dominate.

The Cougs get Oregon, UCLA and Washington at home. You better believe the Ducks, Bruins and Huskies are nervous. If everything falls right, Leach might take the Cougars to New Year's Six bowl in his sixth season.

Leach's transcript alone from the Pac-12 Media Days will be worth the price of admission.