The PAC-10 Preview
By Adam Barone Pete Carroll has once again reloaded his bazooka. USC has won the last six
conference titles like it’s the NBA’s Western Conference All-Stars
playing against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference. Everyone but the
Trojans will have significant issues to resolve. UCLA hired Rick Neuheisel to
compete in recruiting with Carroll, but it should take some time before there’s
a real “competition.” Mike Stoops at Arizona and Ty Willingham at
Washington need big seasons in order to keep their jobs.
There’s not much else to say: USC will crush skulls.
Sports handicapping requires research and preparation, so here’s an idea of how Ace sees the Pac-10 shaking out for your NCAA football betting in 2008:
Rising: Stanford, Washington
Falling: Oregon, Oregon State
1. USC: Only 13 starters return for the Trojans, but that
just means that they can give their amazing young players a chance to play.
Blue chip running backs seem to sign with Pete Carroll like he’s paying
them. What? Who said that? Ridiculously enough, he’s probably not.
Joe McKnight, Stafon Johnson, and C.J. Gable anchor a stable of talented backs
lining up behind junior quarterback Mark Sanchez. Sanchez will have experienced
receivers to throw to and a young but talented line in front of him.
There’s fantastic talent on defense, including the linebacker pair of
Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing as well as cornerback Cary Harris. Replacing
nose tackle Sedrick Ellis could be difficult.
2. Arizona State: The Sun Devils will likely be the Trojans
top competition this season, but will have to do a much better job of protecting
quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
Dennis Erickson will see 16 starters return, including seven on each side of
the ball. Rebuilding what was a less than dependable o-line will be the top
priority.
The offense did put up plenty of points in 2007, and tailback Keegan Herring
and staring receivers Chris McGaha and Michael Jones return with Carpenter.
Linebacker and leading tackler Robert James is gone, which could be a big loss.
Junior linebacker Gerald Munns should have a breakout season.
3. Oregon: The Ducks will have to replace quarterback Dennis
Dickson and running back Jonathan Stewart, and have just 15 starters returning
overall—six on offense, seven on defense.
With less experience on offense this season, Oregon will rely on its defense.
Safety Patrick Chung returns for his senior year and will lead the defense.
End Nick Reed led the Pac-10 with 12 sacks last season.
Oregon’s hopes will rest on sophomore quarterback Nate Costa’s ability
to run the spread offense. Quack.
4. California: Jeff Tedford has quarterback Nate Longshore
to run his system for another season, with 13 starters returning. Wide receiver
DeSean Jackson is gone to the NFL, and there’s little experience remaining
at receiver.
Sophomore Jahvid Best is coming back from a hip injury and will take over at
tailback behind senior fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou. Yes, that’s
really his name. Three starters return on what should be a quality o-line.
The defense will be the Golden Bears’ strength, with plenty of experience
and depth. All three starting linebackers are returning for what should be a
solid front seven, though the Bears will switch to a 3-4 on most downs. The
four-man front line will still be used at times.
5. Arizona: Mike Stoops needs to make something happen this
season if he wants to keep receiving checks from the University of Arizona.
The Wildcats haven’t been to a bowl since 1998 and are looking for that
to change in 2008.
Fifteen starters return, including 10 on offense. Senior quarterback Willie
Tuitama has three starting receivers and the starting tight end back from last
year and will be protected by a veteran line. The only new starter on offense
will be senior left tackle James Tretheway.
With only three starters back on defense, Wildcat games are sure to be high
scoring this season. The entire front line is inexperienced and senior linebacker
Ronnie Palmer is the only member of the front seven who’s started before.
The safeties are the only other starters returning aside from the kickers.
6. Washington: Ty Willingham is in the same boat as Mike Stoops,
as Washington is looking to get their first bowl bid since 2002. The Huskies
have 14 starters returning and are very young all around.
The Huskies’ hopes rest on the shoulders of sophomore quarterback Jake
Locker. Three freshmen and a sophomore will make up the receiving core though,
and tailback Brandon Johnson is only a sophomore. That won’t make Locker’s
development any easier.
Like Arizona, there are just three starters returning to their positions on
defense. Three other starters return, but are not likely to regain their positions.
7. UCLA: Rick Neuheisel will get a chance to implement a new
system with just 12 starters returning.
Now seniors, quarterback Ben Olson and running back Kahlil Bell are back to
lead the offense. Bell and backup Raymond Carter are both coming off knee injuries,
but are backed up by some quality freshmen.
Clearing holes for the running backs could be a problem with only one experienced
lineman returning.
The defense will be stout against the run with tackles Brian Price and Brigham
Harwell backed up by middle linebacker Reggie Carter. Only one starter, junior
cornerback Alterraun Verner returns to the secondary.
8. Stanford: Jim Harbaugh seems to be doing a decent job with
the Cardinal, and with 16 starters back they’ll continue to grow this
season.
The receivers are young, but quarterback Tavita Pritchard and running back Anthony
Kimble are both experienced seniors. Pritchard’s ability is in question,
however.
Three starters including left tackle Allen Smith return to what should be a
top notch offensive line, especially if Smith has recovered well from offseason
knee surgery.
There’s adequate experience on a defense that had a lot of holes last
year, but managed plenty of takeaways. Defensive coordinator Scott Shafer, one
of the best in the business, left for Michigan.
Look for the Cardinal to have a respectable season.
9. Oregon State: Mike Riley and the Beavers have lost record
setting running back Yvenson Bernard, and only have 10 total starters returning—
three on defense.
Wide receiver Sammie Stroughter returns for his senior season after a medical
redshirt. Junior Lyle Moevao replaces Sean Canfield at quarterback behind a
line with four seniors.
The defense has no starters returning on the front seven and the d-line has
close to zero experience, which will cause serious problems. Three starters
return in the secondary.
Award winning kicker Alexis Serna is gone and will be replaced by sophomore
Justin Kahut. Bad Beavers.
10. Washington State: Being the low team on the Pac-10 totem
pole doesn’t suggest that you’re as lousy as it may seem to. The
Cougars are nowhere near as bad as Syracuse.
Fifteen starters return for the Cougars, who will sport new and inexperienced
signal caller Gary Rogers—a senior.
Paul Wulff has recruited some quality young receivers for Rogers to throw to.
Sophomores Anthony Houston, Damel Blackledge, and Jeshua Anderson will team
up with senior Brandon Gibson. The o-line only has one new starter.
Most of the running backs have had an injury of some kind.
The linebackers are all seniors and returning starters. There are questions
everywhere that are sure to drag the Cougars down.
Kicker is still in question as well.
Read up on the other conferences that Ace has previewed for 2008!
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