The Pac-10 used to be considered one of the weaker conferences in the nation even up until just a few short years ago. Not to mention that the words Pac-10 and defense were rarely ever used in the same sentence, as well. This is not the case anymore as the top 4 or 5 teams in the conference can probably hang with any powerhouse in the country. USC might just have one of the best defenses in the country and Oregon's secondary is good enough to give any team fits. Team's like Arizona with QB Willie Tuitama and Washington State with WR Brandon Gibson will have enough traditional Pac-10 offensive firepower to hang with the big boys in the conference and make it one of the strongest and deepest in the nation.

Joe Mckight (mnginteractive.com)

1. USC - USC is coming back stronger than ever and reloading once again despite a handful of players headed to the NFL. For the second consecutive season this team's strong point should be their defense. One of the best linebacking duos in the nation is waiting to pound opponents with the combination of Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga. Taylor Mays is also an All-American candidate at safety and is almost as big as a linebacker. On offense, the Trojans are young and many people may not know all of the names, however, they are ridiculously talented. Running back Joe McKnight comes back to attempt improvement on his stellar freshman numbers. Despite all of the other names around him the key to the offense could be a name that no one really knows yet.....Ronald Johnson. Johnson is a 6'1" gamebreaker who was rated by rivals.com as the top-ranked receiver coming out of high school in 2007. He is a superb athlete and return-man and led the Trojans with 25 kickoff returns for 620 yards (24.8 avg.) last season. The only question for the Trojans might well come at the quarterback position as guys like Mark Sanchez and Mitch Mustain are most definitely talented, yet they are unproven up to this point.

2. Oregon - The story for Oregon will be their secondary. If they can play like they are capable then Oregon has a shot a winning the conference this year. Senior Patrick Chung forms a trio with juniors Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond III to form one of the best secondaries in the country. Guys like sophomores Eddie Pleasant and Terrell Ward could also step up as valuable backups. The Ducks should be solid in the trenches as well. Their offensive line is massive and led by All-American candidate Max Unger and the defensive line is also led by an All-American candidate in defensive end Nick Reed. Versatile receivers Derrick Jones and Jaison Williams also return on offense to help out an inexperienced quarterback position, whether it be Justin Roper, Nate Costa, or Cody Kempt. LaGarrette Blount blew up in the spring game at running back and could be Jonathan Stewart's immediate replacement. Don't be surprised to see one of the two new freshman quarterbacks, Darron Thomas or Chris Harper, to step up and get some playing time this season, as well.

3. Arizona State - We all know which player holds the keys to the Sun Devils bandwagon and that's QB Rudy Carpenter. This tenacious slinger of the rock has the attitude and mentality to be great, but needs to improve from a little bit of a sophomore slump last season. He will have options as there are many talented receivers to throw the ball to such as Mike Jones and Kerry Taylor. On defense, Omar Bolden will attempt to lead a secondary that is very young, but very talented.

4. Oregon State - The Beavers may never quite return to prominence and the days of 1999 or 2000 when they had huge seasons with future NFL stars like Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmanzadeh, however, they still seem to pick up and produce some of the most talented players. This year is no different as their team features a number of dynamic weapons including returner/receiver Sammie Stroughter, return-man Anthony Brown, and a virtual Steven Jackson clone in running back Ryan McCants. On defense, the Beavers also have one of the most heralded defensive backs in the nation in Brandon Hughes. With some consistent improvement from their quarterback, Lyle Moevao, the Beavers could find success this season.

5. UCLA - The Bruins are one of the youngest teams in the Pac-10. Can Rick Neuheisel work a miracle and find a quarterback after losing both Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson for the start of the season?

6. California - Cal has seen it's stock fall after a rise in recent years. Nate Longshore hasn't quite lived up to lofty expectations and their lightning rod DeSean Jackson left for the NFL. The Bears do have some things to look forward to, however. Linebacker Zack Follett is an All-American candidate. Also, Jahvid Best and James Montgomery are running backs that are both capable of big plays.

7. Arizona - Arizona will be counting on the pass-catch combination of Willie Tuitama and Mike Thomas to blow up if they want any shot at landing near the top of the conference come season's end.

8. Washington - Jake Locker could be in the NFL one day, but there aren't nearly enough pieces around him yet to help him carry the immense load that will be placed on his shoulders.

9. Washington State - An underrated defense and NFL-caliber receiver Brandon Gibson will help lighten the sting of what looks to be an otherwise painful season ahead.

10. Stanford - I'll admit that the Cardinal could be miles better than this by season's end, however, they just don't have quite enough talent to hang with the big boys on a consistent basis just yet. Harbaugh will have this team competing in a couple of years though. You can count on that.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment