Your 2008 Pac-10 Preview

Oregon reports to pre-season camp on August 4^th

OREGON STATE BEAVERS:

Oregon State’s program has put up an impressive 19 wins in the past 2 seasons, including a 2006 upset of USC. Their strong defense has been the key to their success of late. The Beavers face a challenge going into this season as they have to completely rebuild the front seven on their D, including S Brian Payton. Payton left the program this summer with no explanation. Beavs and Trojans alike may remember him as the player who had the key interception in the Beavers 2006 upset of Troy. So, good news for Trojans! (Like we need more good news, eh?)

Big things are expected of true freshman WR Jordan Bishop from West Salem (OR) H.S. Ditto to DE and juco transfer Simi Kuli, he is being touted as the key to making the new D-Line gel.

Good news for the OSU Squad: Guard Jeremy Perry is expected to be ready to play by the start of the season. He is one of, if not the best guards in the Pac-10. Perry missed most of 2007 with a broken leg and is recovering from knee surgery this spring.

The Beavers have a tough schedule, not only do they face conference rivals USC, ASU and Oregon; they have a rough non-conference schedule this year as well. I expect the Beavers to finish near the middle of the Pac. (Pun intended)

OSU’s Non Conference Schedule: Penn State, Hawaii, Utah

Oregon State reports to pre-season camp on August 1^st.

STANFORD CARDINAL:

Yes I know. We were 41 point favorites. Yes I know, biggest upset in college football. (but? Really? Michigan-Appalachian State comes to mind as being a bigger upset.) But I point out that John David Booty should have sat out when he broke his finger, not thrown 4 interceptions.

Bygones.

The Cardinal has some questions in this second season under showboating Coach Jim Harbaugh. Sure they return a conference high sixteen starters from last year’s squad, with seven of those on offense, but who is their QB? And let’s not forget that despite their (fluke) upset of Southern California, this is the offense ranked last in its conference in yards and points per game. So yeah, the Cardinal, he has some questions to be answered. Such as will injured starters Allen Smith (OT, kneecap) and Jim Dray (TE, knee) be ready to play at some point this season. Cardinal blogs report that we may not see either of these players in 2008.

Notre Dame transfer Konrad Reuland is expected to take on the Tight End duties this year; Oct 4 should be interesting for him. (Stanford faces the Fighting Irish on this day.)

The QB slot is a three man battle between Tavita Prichard, Jason Forcier and Alex Loukas, but highly touted freshman recruit Andrew Luck could be the man the Cardinal needs at QB.

This program faces an uphill battle with the high academic standards required just to achieve admission to Leland Stanford Junior University. Can Harbaugh bring wins to Palo Alto? Sure he can-but he’ll need several years of recruiting to do it. After all, he’s not just looking for explosive athletes, he’s also looking for exceptional academics as well.

Look for Stanford to finish 7^th

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