Its now time to head out west as we take a look at the Pac 10 Conference.  This conference has been dominated by one team for most of its history, and pretty much the entire decade: Southern Cal.  With 2 national championships and 4 bcs bowl wins since 2001, the Trojans are the cream of the crop in the Pac 10 and that is where the conference championship goes through. 

Where they stood

After USC, this conference is extremely competitive and was the only conference last year to go undefeated in bowl games last year (5-0).  They have a very solid core of players and the high school football on the west coast is as good as Florida and Texas so there is plenty of talent near by that keeps feeding these schools.  This conference isn’t viewed as elite because there is only one legitimate title contender year in and year out, but top to bottom, this has to be the strongest conference in the country.

Where they stand

This conference is usually a strong conference overall, and expect this year to be no different.  With plenty of returning talent around the conference, these teams should be even better than last year.  There are some question marks (Washington, Stanford, Washington State), but not enough to knock this conference’s credibility.

Team by Team Breakdown

Arizona – Mike Stoops has shown life from this program, but it has usually been short lived.    The Wildcats haven’t been able to sustain enough offense to be a true conference contender, but they have shown consistent success year in and year out.  With the departure of Willie Tuitama (QB), look for some growing pains to start the season.  Overall, this team will be about where they were last year.  Prediction: 6-8 wins.

Arizona State – Since the arrival of Dennis Erickson as coach, there has been a buzz at this school.  Look for a bounce back year as Erickson continues to raise this program towards consistent winning.  Look for a stronger running attack Dimitri Nance this year to balance the offense, and look for the defense to be slightly more opportunistic.  Prediction: 6-7 wins.

California – This is the team that boasts Heisman candidate Jahvid Best at RB.  This guy is a burner that can leave defensive players holding their ankles if you’re not careful.  He is the pulse of the team and will lead the team to a great season.  This is the number one challenge to Southern Cal.  Prediction: 8-10 wins.

Oregon – University of Nike has to get Head Coach Chip Kelly’s contract signed before he can get this team back on track.  Mike Belloti left plenty of talent on the field for Kelly, it will just take a year to get his style integrated.  LeGarrette Blount will lead the team on offense with his running ability and the defense will remain consistent.  Prediction: 7-9 wins.

Oregon State – The Beavers came onto the scene last year after their upset over top ranked Southern Cal.  Jacquizz Rodgers showcased his slick running ability to not just running through or around the tackles, but also under since he is like 5′4″ (exagerration, deal with it).  This team returns a bulk of its talent, and will certainly be a great story this year.  Look for OSU to pick up where they left off.  Prediction: 8-9 wins.

Stanford – This is another middle of the pack team that was a play or two away from making a bowl game.  This year could be similar.  The team returns QB Tavita Pritchard on offense (whose claim to fame is beating 40 point favorite USC).  They still have work to do with their offensive line and the defense needs to be a little bit more consistent.  This team will once again come up a game short of making a bowl.  Prediction: 4-6 wins.

UCLA – The Bruins are still making strides under new coach Rick Neuheisel.  He suffered a tough first season in 2008 (4-8).  And this year, probably won’t be much better.  They will flirt with making a bowl game, and if they do, consider it a huge success.  QB Kevin Craft will have to seriously cut down on his interceptions (20 last year, compared to 7 TDs) if this team wants a chance at success.  Prediction: 4-6 wins.

USC – Nothing really needs to be said.  I guess if I need to nitpick at one thing, they need to stop getting upset once a year, otherwise they might have won 6 or 7 titles in the last decade. In the past three years losses to Oregon State, Stanford, and UCLA have kept them from going to a title game (with potential nat’l championship opponents like Ohio State, Ohio State, and Florida, there are good chances at winning all three of those titles).  So that makes 3 potential titles, added to the 2 they won, and convert against Texas on a 4th and 1 with Heisman winner Reggie Bush and USC is looking at 6 straight titles.  That’s why they play the game though right?  OK anyway, I’m not a USC homer though so why do I care, it is just interesting to me how consistently dominant this program has been.  This year, they usher in the next QB in the line of successful QBs.  Look for Matt Barkley to be just as good as the rest of the QBs.  I think they win the conference as usual and maybe, just maybe this year they will win the national championship.  Prediction: 11-13 wins.

Washington – We now take a step from the conference elite to the conference doormat.  Coach Ty Willingham has really left this program in disarray.  Washington paid a lot of money to bring in Steve Sarkisian with the hopes he can take his USC training to the Huskies.  There isn’t much talent on this team, so expect a lot of underclassmen to play.  It will still be another lackluster year for U-Dub.  Forecast of heavy beatings, and teams hanging 50+ of them.  This team has a lot of work to do to even compete.  Prediciton: 1-3 wins.

Washington State – This is another team, like Washington, that has work to do.  They haven’t been very good for a while and are still trying to turn that around.  With losses coming at an average of 31 point deficits, this team needs some serious upgrades.  Maybe start with a passer that can throw more than 1,000 yards in one season, and then hopefully a running back group that can give you that same output.  Until something remotely like this happens, this team will continue to struggle.  Prediction: 2-4 wins.

Overall, this conference is very tough, and has a true national championship contender in Southern Cal, there also exists a Heisman candidate in Cal’s Jahvid Best.  I think Southern Cal will win the conference en rout to an undefeated season and a national title.  I also believe Best will win the Heisman (dark horse pick), he is just that nasty of a running back, and Cal has the big hog maulies up front to really make him look spectacular.

Conference Standings:

1st to Last: USC, Cal, Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona, UCLA, Stanford, Washington State, Washington

Conference Champion – Southern Cal

Related posts:

1. College Football Preview: Big Ten
2. College Football Preview: Big Twelve
3. College Football Preview: ACC
4. College Football Preview: SEC
5. College Football Preview: Big East