By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
(As the college football season approaches, I will be breaking down each of the following conferences: The Big XII, the PAC-10, the Big East and the WAC. This week I tackle the PAC-10. If you haven't already, don't forget to check out past previews of Notre Dame and the Big XII.)
In 2008, Arizona State was supposed to be the team to knock USC off its pedestal. This year, there can be no such conversation made about any team in the PAC-10.
The freight train that is the USC football program will keep rolling. For those of you keeping score, no team has won more PAC-10 titles, shared or outright than USC. The Trojans have reigned as champions or co-champions for each of the last seven seasons, winning the league outright in three of those years. And there's no reason to think that it's nothing more than a matter of time until they capture their eighth-consecutive title.
For all the talk of how the loss of Mark Sanchez is going to hurt the offense, let's not forget that we're talking about a one-year starter on a program that makes a living off producing top-notch college quarterbacks. And the fact remains that while Sanchez is gone, the majority of the offense that was 11th in the nation in total offense is coming back. The quarterback situation will be one to watch as camp opens, but whoever takes the helm should be someone Trojan fans feel comfortable having under center.
The thing USC fans should be more concerned with is the defense. The second-ranked defense in the land last season returns just two members in 2009 - both in the secondary. USC will have to rebuild its entire front seven, so the unit that was the reason the Trojans were so dominant last year instantly becomes a question mark. Still, the offense still can be one of the best in football, so the defense doesn't have to be unstoppable for USC to find success.
Behind USC, there's a huge drop off with a few teams that should be pretty darn decent, but still have plenty of questions to answer and doubters to win over.
Cal could very well be the second-best team in the conference, thanks largely to early Heisman hopeful Jahvid Best. Best is coming off an outstanding 1580-yard season in which he averaged a whopping 8.1 yards per carry. But beyond him, the offense has a ton of uncertainties. The most compelling of those is whether or not Kevin Riley can shore up a quarterback position that was mired by inconsistency in 2008. The only way he and Best can be truly effective is if the offensive line is up to snuff and that unit is missing key pieces from last year's team. The Bears' strength lies in its defense, which returns eight starters, including a very strong and experienced secondary. Cal faces Oregon and USC back-to-back in its fourth and fifth games this season, so we'll know fairly early exactly where the Bears stand.
Oregon, who some believe is actually a better team than Cal and most certainly boasts a better offense, is also in the mix. Their offense is exciting and explosive with double-threat Jeremiah Masoli under center. LeGarrette Blount, who was one of two Duck rushers to top 1,000 yards last season, also returns. Oregon's problem, however, lies in the fact that the program returns the fewest number of starters of any team in the PAC-10 with five on each side of the ball. The defense is also a liability with a very weak secondary that ranked 111th in the nation in passing defense and doesn't figure to be much better this year.
Possibly the most interesting team to watch in the conference this year will be Arizona. They will have to do without Willie Tuitama's 3,000+ yards, 23 touchdowns and 65 percent completion rate and whoever wins the job has some huge shoes to fill. There are some decent weapons on the offense to help out whoever is decided on at QB, but the defense will have to win games. Arizona had a solid unit last year and has a dominating front four that could push the defense over the top and become a premier unit.
The team that will continue to toil is Arizona State. Last year's 5-7 disaster has to be considered the biggest disappointment in the program's history and one of the biggest in the history of the conference. With stars like Rudy Carpenter, Keegan Herring and Michael Jones, the offense still ranked 100th in the league. How well will they do now without those three? Odds are not very well.
Prediction: USC runs away with the conference with an 11-1 regular-season record. You could maybe consider the Trojans for a possible undefeated season, but with a tough week 2 test at Ohio State, followed later by road games against two other PAC-10 programs that want to prove their legitimacy (Cal on Oct. 3, Oregon on Halloween), there's a big chance for a hiccup.
PAC-10 Projected Final Standings
1. USC
2. California
3. Oregon
4. Arizona
5. Oregon State
6. UCLA
7. Arizona State
8. Stanford
9. Washington
10. Washington State
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