PAC 10 Preview

It ain't a party unless we get to Cali, right? Either way, we are headed out west where QBs grow on trees and defense is optional. Let's see what we have waiting for us in the mighty PAC 3...I mean 10. We'll go in my predicted order of finish.


California - Coach Tedford returns 15 starters from last year, including last year’s starter at QB who was lost for the season to injury in game 1. The WRs are solid, and the backfield is absolutely loaded with Marshawn Lynch (1246 yds, 10 TDs) and his back-up Forsett (999 yds, 6 TDs) returning. The O-Line is a little thin, should be solid. The rock solid D-Line from last year returns everyone, the LBs return two of three, and both corners are back as well. I believe that this will be the year that Cal finally emerges as a legitimate challenger to USC in the Pac-10.

USC - The Trojans lost a lot of talent this off-season as 12 starters departed (most to get rich in the NFL). Dwayne Jarrett (1274 rec yds, 16 TDs) and Steve Smith (957 rec yds, 5 TDs) will make the new QB look right at home. The new RB is actually the old RB, Hershel Dennis who started in 2003 and then gave way to Bush and White. The O-Line is thin returning only two blockers, and this could get a little dicey—new line, new QB… With a strong defense, especially at LB, USC should still beat a lot of people, but I am not as sure as everyone else that they are even a lock to win the Pac-10 let alone the National Championship.

Oregon - Oregon returns 13 starters from last years 10-2 squad, and that means that things are looking up for the ducks. Clemons is now in the NFL, but the Ducks have two strong options at QB in Dixon and Leaf who did a great job after Clemons fell to injury last year. The WRs are tall and fast, and two of the four are returning starters. RB by committee is usually a bad thing, but there is enough talent in this offense to hide it, and with all five offensive linemen returning, the Ducks offense should be fine. It is the rebuilt defense that makes the Ducks shaky this year. The line looks decent, and the LBs are solid, but the 5 man secondary is mostly up for grabs. This spells crucial let-downs. With a tough schedule, look for Oregon to be good, but to lose one or two more than they did last year.

Arizona State - ASU uses a two-QB system which can go horribly wrong; however, with this much talent around them on offense, the Sun Devils look like they’ll be just fine. With two of the best TEs in the nation in Miller and Lewis, as well as four returning starters on the O-Line, the RBs and WRs will have plenty of room and time to make big things happen. The defense is much improved; however, being much improved from terrible is not hard. The DL has found some consistent and athletic talent, and the LBs look good. The big question mark here is the inexperienced defensive secondary. With games at USC and Cal, as well as against Oregon and against sleepers Colorado and Nevada, don’t be surprised is ASU can’t stay in the top 25 all year.

UCLA - Coach Karl Dorrell chould have been coach of the year last year, but whaddaryagonnado? He returns 15 starters from last year's 10-2 team. Great WRs and TEs make the prospect of a new QB a little less frightening, but the loss of Maurice Drew to the NFL makes the ground game a bit dicey. Thank god for four returning OL starters. The defense looks okay as last year's regular subs will take over for departed starters, but this defense needs more than a little help to be really good. The bottom line is that this team will not win 10 games this year, but it will win more than it loses.

Arizona - Willie Tuitama is a super sophomore at QB and could pilot this team to some new heights. The WRs are very solid, but their ground game will need to improve to make their offense really serious. Three returning starters give the O-Line stability, as do the three returning DL for the defense. Strong LBs and strong DBs make this team much better than last year, but unless the defense makes drastic improvements, this team is still a pretender.

Oregon State - Turnovers cost the Beavers last year greatly. Last year's turnovers may cost this team this year as they are locked in a QB controversy that may cost two young QBs their confidence. All of the starters from the O-Line and the RBs return and that is good news, but two vacancies at WR make this already questionable passing attack look even more doubtful. The D-Line has to get more pressure on opponent passers, and the LB corps graduated a whole lot of talent and depth, and the DBs...let's just say that OSU needs to head back to the drawing board. The nation's best Kicker, Serna, is not enough to make this team formiddable.

Stanford - Walt Harris' attempts to bring offensive creativity to Stanford will bear the weight of some mighty high expectations this year as the Cardinal return 10 starters on that side of the ball. Trent Edwards is set to have a big year under center throwing to a talented but shallow pool of WRs, and he will have to have a big year to make up for a ground game that returns the crew that averaged 2.4 yards per carry last year behind a returning O-Line that is going to swith things up this year. Switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 might help the defense get better, but an injury prone defense is still injury prone no matter what formation they are in. The secondary was the weakest part last year, and little has been done to make great strides in improving this area. Bottomline: A decent, but not amazing year from Stanford.

Washington State - Returning seven starters to each side of the ball is never a bad thing. Alex brink did a fine job in the QB slot last year, and looks to have a strong WR squad to throw to--led by Jason Hill. Look for Sophomore RB DeMaundray Woolridge to have a breakout year behind three returning blockers. Mkristo Bruce is a stud at DE and heads a decent front seven on the defense. The bad news is that a bad secondary lost most of its "talent." This team will get bruised by the big play this year, and it will cost them.

Washington - Ty Willingham's disciplined approach can't undo several terrible years of recruiting and some NCAA sanctions. UW is in for another tough year. Erratic offensive play plagues this team across the board. Losing big play wideout Craig Chambers to transfer after his workout habits were questioned hurts a lot. Redshirt Freshman J.J. Hasty needs to make a huge splash at RB for this offense to much of anything, but he will be hindered by an almost completely new O-Line. The D-Line looks solid enough, but inexperience at LB will hurt the stop crew. The secondary returns, but this crew allowed opponents to complete 67% of their passes last year!!! Talk about crappy! Good luck UDub.


Well, enough of this west coast stuff, tomorrow we get back to the ground with the Big 10 and the SEC--real football.

God save the Cheese.