A Nod To the Future: Pac-10 Football in 2009

Pros: UCLA loses only two offensive starters–their center Micah Reed and tailback Kahlil Bell. For all the misery they went through last season, the Bruins should be much improved going into 2009 with plenty of experience under the belts of the youngins. Their defense  loses more, but they should be solid, depending on who they hire to replace DeWayne Walker.

Cons: Uh…quarterback play (am I sensing a trend here?). Craft murdered them in several of their losses. If he can just tone down the interceptions they could be a dark horse pick to challenge for the Pac-10 crown (their home schedule is favorable with Cal and Oregon coming to town).

Conclusions: If we have good quarterback play, we will end our miserable road record in Los Angeles. If we have bad quarterback play, we probably don’t.

Oregon

What is it with the Ducks? Almost every season they find a way to mirror our exact struggles the season before. The Ducks went 10-2 but were denied a BCS berth and sunk in the Holiday Bowl in 2005 the season after Cal got jobbed and did the same. Oregon collapsed in 2006 after our matchup, we collapsed in 2007 after our matchup. Now in 2009, they face the same issues Cal did in 2008 by losing a ton of senior talent. And I mean a ton.

The good: Oregon’s got three exciting quarterbacks competing for the starting position. Although Masoli played very well in 2008 and starred in the Holiday Bowl, you can expect him to compete again with Justin Roper and the sophomore Darron Thomas. Why can’t we have a positive QB controversy like that?

Also, that monster LaGarrette Blount is taking over for Jeremiah Johnson, so the spread attack should be just as potent as it always is. Also returning are the cornerbacks Thurmond and Byrd, and Byrd seems to be coming on for the Ducks.

The bad: Oregon’s two centers are graduating, including Max Unger (heralded to be just as good as Alex Mack). Three guards and the starting tackles are also gone. Terrence Scott and Jaison Williams are on his way out with Jeremiah Johnson. They also lose six defensive starters (including Chung and Boyd), but I never know if that’s a bad thing for a team like the Ducks that never seems to get it together on that side of the ball.

Peachy.

Conclusion: If this game were at home Cal would probably win handily, but since this is an Autzen it’ll be our second or third toughest game on the schedule, depending on how you view the next two opponents. The Ducks are never an easy out though, and their O-lines never seem to drop off, so we’ll have to see how their team adjusts to their new trenchmen.

Oregon State

I hate playing these guys, and I’m sure Tedford does too. The Bears have losing records against two Pac-10 teams since he arrived, and against Oregon State he’s a grand 2-5. They’re a well-coached team that keeps on spitting out upset after upset. And their defensive coordinator doesn’t get hired anywhere for no apparent reason. Drives me nuts. It’s looking like we’ll have to deal with him again this season.

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