2008 Pac-Ten Preview

The Pac-Ten this year is full of questions. Who will quarterback for the California Golden Bears? Can the inexperienced USC offensive line protect Mark Sanchez and help him lead the Trojans to yet another Rose Bowl? Is ASU overhyped? Can Jake Locker lead Washington to its first winning season since 2002? And who will become the next signal-caller under Mike Bellotti at the University of Oregon? And can Jim Harbaugh pull Stanford out of the pile of misery that they have hidden under since 2002? Let's take a general look at the Pac-Ten depth charts, schedules, and issues, going team by team, alphabetically.

Arizona: QB Willie Tuitama comes back to UA for his senior season driving the Wildcat offense. Tuitama is in an absolutely ideal situation for someone who wants to rack up completions: A school that has no running game whatsoever. "Tui" passed for 3683 yards last year, and his receiving core remains solid with All-American Tight End Rob Gronkowski and star WR Mike Thomas returning. However, the defense appears extremely shaky with one 3 returning starters. Every name on the defensive line is unrecognizable, and I just don't see this defense improving on last year's 27 PPG average. The one outstanding bright spot is the special teams: The kicking game is incontrovertibly the Pac-Ten's best with Placekicker Jason Bondzio (21 of 26 on the season) and sophomore punter Keenyn Crier (43.7 YPP). The schedule helps the Wildcats out a bit, with home contests against California, Arizona State, and USC, arguably the Pac-Ten's three strongest teams. However, the Wildcats are forced to go on the road and play at Autzen Stadium, and the Rose Bowl, along with games @Washington State, @New Mexico, and @Stanford.

Arizona State: Like their in-state rival Arizona, the Sun Devils will benefit from the return of an experienced QB in Rudy Carpenter. Dennis Erickson looks to utilize his strong WR core, with returning starters Chris McGaha and Michael Jones. Sun Devil fans should look forward to Carpenter airing the ball out at Sun Devil stadium this year. However, it is doubtful that Carpenter will be able to get much done if the pass protection doesn't improve. ASU's less-than-stellar offensive line allowed a whopping 55 sacks in 2007, and only 2 of the 5 starters return. And unfortunately for the Sun Devils, this years schedule looks to be made by the Devil himself. ASU has California, USC, and Oregon State on the road. Not to mention visits from UNLV, UCLA, and Oregon. And oh yeah, I almost forgot. The first-ranked Georgia Bulldogs stop by on September 20. 

California: Golden Bear fans have a few reasons to be antsy this season: Jeff Tedford has yet to decide on a quarterback, the defensive line is unproven, and they lost arguably the best WR corps in the nation with Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan graduating, and Desean Jackson leaving for the NFL. The biggest question this summer in Berkeley is the QB position. At the beginning of the 2007, Nate Longshore was rated the #1 Junior QB in the country. Now, the majority of Bears fans are clamoring for Kevin Riley to start in Strawberry Canyon. Riley has been forgiven for his bonehead, game-losing mistake against Oregon St., and is now a fan favorite for leading the Bears' comeback against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. If RB Jahvid Best can stay healthy, he should give Joe McKnight a run for his money as the most electrifying back in the conference. Center Alex Mack is arguably the best offensive lineman in the country, and should be leading what is undoubtedly the strongest OL in the Pac-Ten, and one of the best in the country. Jeff Tedford has given up the play-calling responsibilities to OC Frank Cignetti, and the defense has switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4, taking advantage of the Bears' surplus of talented linebackers. The brand-new WRcorps shouldn't be all that bad with highly touted true freshman Michael Calvin accompanying Florida transfer Nyan Boateng. And the new punter, Bryan Anger, was consistently punting the ball 60 yards during spring practice. This years' schedule plays out wonderfully for the Bears. They should be favored in almost every game except when they go on the road to play USC at the LA Coliseum. Michigan State, Arizona State, UCLA, and Oregon all come to Berkeley, and the Golden Bears' road schedule is relatively easy (not counting the USC game), with Maryland, Oregon State, Washington State, and Arizona.

Oregon: The core of the offense is gone in Eugene, with Dennis Dixon and Jonothan Stewart both having left for the draft. Coach Mike Bellotti has some decisions to make; the QB controversy in Eugene might not be at the level of the one in Berkeley, but Nate Costa, Justin Roper, and others will all compete for the starting job at Autzen Stadium. Like California, the Ducks' receiving corps is young, inexperienced, and talented. The defense returns 7 starters but will be playing without Defensive Tackle David Faaeteete. The kicking game in Eugene seems crushingly normal this year, returning the punter Josh Syria (41.7 YPP) and PK Matt Evensen (16 of 20 in 2007) both returning. And all of the Pac-Ten powerhouses are on the road this year; the Ducks take on California, USC, Purdue, Arizona State, and Oregon State away from Eugene. The home schedule looks not to be too much of a problem with Boise State, Utah State, Washington, UCLA, Stanford, and Arizona. And Autzen stadium is apparently where good teams go to die: Both USC and ASU lost at Autzen in 2007, and the Ducks came ever-so-close to beating a California team that was at the time ranked #6 in the country. If the ever-crazy and earsplitting Ducks fans can keep the noise levels at where they where last year, a home sweep is not out of the question.

Oregon State: The Beavers finished the season 9-4 in 2007, with wins over Oregon and California (the Bears were ranked #2 in the nation at the time, and the Beavs beat them in Berkeley.) However, they never did manage to climb into the polls at any point during the 2007 season. And star RB Yvenson Bernard is gone, but Ryan McCants looks to be more than ready to step up and fill Bernard's big shoes. Sammie Stroughter, starWR and Kick Returner, is back for the Beavers, and QB Sean Canfield will also return to the backfield at Reser Stadium to feed Stroughter the ball, assuming he wins the job over competitor Lyle Moevao. The defense in Corvallis looks somewhat worrisome to Beavers fans, with the 3 starting LBs and 2 DEs graduating. And unlike the Ducks, theOSU kicking game is completely new, with the PK Justin Kahut looking solid, and a competition brewing at punter between Kyle Harper and Sean Sehnem. The Beavs have one of their best home schedules in a long, long time. Hawaii, USC, California, Arizona State, and Oregon all make visits to Reser Stadium in Corvallis. The Beaver's toughest road game should be at an intimidating Penn State Beaver Stadium on September 6, and they open the season on a Thursday night at an easy Stanford Cardinal team on August 28. Other road contests include Arizona, UCLA, and Utah. 

Stanford: The Cardinal barely deserved to have 4 wins in 2007. Arizona and USC imploded on themselves, and California was already slumping, having lost 5 of the last 6 and coming into Palo Alto with little to no confidence. The few (loyal) Cardinal fans that exist have little to be enthusiastic about in 2008, in fact, the Stanford athletic department has offered to refund season tickets at the end of the year if the football is "unsatisfactory". The Cardinal ticket office is also offering free youth tickets for the Oregon State game, a common practice for other Pac-Ten schools. In women's basketball. Jim Harbaugh should have a pretty intense QB competition going on in August, with sophomore Tavita Pritchard, Jason Forcier, and Alex Loukas all looking to compete for playing time. The only reliable target that the QB will have, however, is Richard Sherman, a junior from Compton, CA. In 2007 he had 39 receptions for 651 yards and 4 touchdowns. And the offensive line will have a new anchor after the departure of Tim Mattran. And the Cardinal sacks leader Clinton Snyder will be back chasing QBs in Palo Alto. The Cardinal schedule doesn't do them any favors, as they take on Arizona State, TCU, Washington, Notre Dame, UCLA, Oregon, and California on the road, and host USC, Arizona, Oregon State, and close in-state rival San Jose St.

UCLA: Offensive geniuses Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow look to turn this UCLA program around after a disappointing 2007 campaign. A key piece is missing in the offensive formula, however. Patrick Cowan is out for the season and Ben Olson will be back just in time for camp in August. He will start for the Bruins provided that he can stay healthy, but staying healthy is not something that Ben Olson is known to do. The Bruins' offense has potential, with the returns of RB Khalil Bell, and WR BrandonBreazell.On defense, the secondary is completely gone, with safeties Chris Horton and Dennis Keyes gone. And of course, talented Placekicker Kai Forbath is back for another year kicking field goals at the Rose Bowl. Chow and Neuheisel didn't exactly get the tools that they needed to completely rebuild the Bruins' offense, and I don't see any dramatic improvements coming until after the 2008 season. The UCLA schedule is tricky, with road games at BYU, Oregon, Cal, Arizona State, and Washington, with two great nonconference home games against Fresno State and Tennessee, along with Stanford, Oregon State, Arizona, Washington State, and USC all coming to the Rose Bowl. 

USC: Pete Carroll looks to take the Trojans to yet another BCS game in 2008, and all the pieces of the puzzle certainly look to be in place to do exactly that. QB Mark Sanchez takes over from John David Booty, along with electrifying tailback Joe McKnight in the USC backfield. The Trojans lose a valuable offensive contributor in TE Fred Davis, but look for WR Patrick Turner to be found often by Sanchez at the Coliseum, and the rest of the receiving core is solid. One of the Trojans biggest doubts is the offensive line- only one starter remains. Carroll has recruited extremely well during his years at USC and the only question is whether the talented OL prospects can learn on the job while still managing to protect Sanchez. The USC Linebackers are among the best in the country, with Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing returning, along with corners Shareece Wright and Cary Harris and monster safeties Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison. The Trojan defense looks to be solid as a rock in 2008. If the offensive line holds, the Trojan Nation should definitely have something big to celebrate sometime around New Years. The Trojan's home schedule should definitely keep the LA Coliseum packed and loud, with Ohio State, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Notre Dame, and Washington all visiting the Coliseum. The Trojans also have road contests at Oregon State, Arizona, Washington State, Stanford, UCLA, and an opening-week nonconference showdown at Virginia. Look for at least another Rose Bowl appearance for Pete Carroll and the Trojans in 2008.

Washington: The Huskies certainly have a talented offense for the 2008 season, but it's inexperience could end up bringing the Huskies down. Sophomore star QB Jake Locker is back and looking better than ever, but his two top targets, Anthony Russo and Marcel Reese, are gone. Locker's backfield help is gone too, with Louis Rankin having played his final game at Husky Stadium. There don't seem to be too many chinks in the armor when it comes to the offensive line, but RB Brandon Johnson will have to make some serious improvements to his game to match the season that Rankin had in '07. D'Andre Goodwin, Curtis Shaw, Devin Aguilar, Chris Polk, and Anthony Boyles all have limited experience, but all have shown significant potential in workouts and the spring game. The defense returns only 6 starters, and Husky fans are glad to see the defense being revamped; The Huskies allowed 32 PPG in 2007, a number that obviously has to come down if the fans in Seattle are going to see anything close to a bowl game in '08. The Special Teams look shaky like they always do in Seattle, with Erik Folk and Ryan Perkins will either split or fight for the placekicking responsibilities, and the punter will be Jared Bailman. The Huskies open their schedule on the road at intimidating Autzen Stadium, with the other tough road games are the contests at Arizona, California, and USC. The teams coming to Husky Stadium this year are BYU, Oklahoma, Stanford, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Arizona State, and UCLA. If the Huskies want to fill Husky Stadium up this year, they'll have to show Seattle that this team is more than just Jake Locker.

Washington State: Paul Wulff is the new coach in Pullman, and looks to deliver this year for the ever-patient cougar fans. Gary Rogers should be starting at QB, and he has a star target in Brandon Gibson. Like their in-state rival Washington, the Cougs gave up an average of 32 point per game in 2007. Like the Huskies, to be successful in 2008, that number will need to come down. The tailback situation is a little murky, with Joe Campbell, Dwight Tardy, and Chris Ivory all in the mix to play in the backfield at Martin Stadium. The Punter, Reid Forrest, is back, but the special teams don't look anywhere near solid without a reliable kick returner and placekicker. The Cougs open the season in Seattle, playing the Oklahoma St. Cowboys at Qwest Field. The home contests include USC, California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona, and the Cougs go on the road against Hawaii, Arizona State, UCLA, and Baylor.

Overall Predictions, Schedule By Schedule.

                                  Arizona

 Idaho-W

Toledo-W

@New Mexico-W

@UCLA-L

Washington-W

@Stanford-W

California-L

USC-L

@Washington St.-W

@Oregon-L

Oregon St.-W

Arizona State-L

 

Arizona St.

 North Arizona-W

Stanford-W

UNLV-W

Georgia-L

@Cal-L

@USC-L

Oregon-W

@Oregon St.-W

@Washington-W

Washington St.-W

UCLA-W

@Arizona-W

 

California

 Michigan St.-W

@Washington St.-W

@Maryland-W

Colorado St.-W

Arizona St.-W

@Arizona-W

UCLA-W

Oregon-W

@Oregon St.-L

@USC-L

Stanford-W

Washington-W

 

Oregon

Washington-W

Utah St.-W

@Purdue-L

Boise St.-W

@Washington St.-W

@USC-L

UCLA-W

@ASU-L

@California-L

Stanford-W

Arizona-W

@Oregon St.-W

 

Oregon St.

@Stanford-W

@Penn St.-L

Hawaii-L

USC-L

@Utah-W

Washington St.-W

@Washington-L

Arizona St.-L

@UCLA-L

California-W

@Arizona-W

Oregon-L

Stanford

Oregon St.-L

@Arizona St.-L

@TCU-L

San Jose St.-W

@Washington-L

@Notre Dame-L

Arizona-L

@UCLA-L

Washington St.-W

@Oregon-L

USC-L

@California-L

UCLA

Tennessee-L

@BYU-W

Fresno St.-W

Arizona-W

Washington St.-W

@Oregon-L

Stanford-W

@California-L

Oregon St.-W

@Washington-W

@ASU-L

USC-L

 

USC

Virginia-W

Ohio St.-L

@Oregon St.-W

Oregon-W

ASU-W

@Washington St.-W

@Arizona-W

Washington-W

California-W

@Stanford-W

Notre Dame-W

@UCLA-W

 

Washington

@Oregon-L

BYU-W

Oklahoma-L

Stanford-W

@Arizona-L

Oregon St.-W

Notre Dame-L

@USC-L

ASU-L

UCLA-L

@Washington St.-L

@California-L

 

Washington St.

Oklahoma St.-L

California-L

@Baylor-L

Portland St.-W

Oregon-L

@UCLA-L

@Oregon St.-L

USC-L

@Stanford-L

Arizona-L

@Arizona St.-L

Washington-W

@Hawaii-L

 

Final Standings:

1. USC 11-1 (9-0)

2. Arizona State 10-2 (8-1)

3. California 10-2 (7-2)

4. Oregon 8-4 (6-3)

5. UCLA 6-6 (5-4)

6.  Arizona 7-5 (4-5)

7. Oregon St. 5-7 (4-5)

8. Washington 3-9 (2-7)

9. Stanford 1-11 (1-8)

10. Washington St. 1-11 (1-8)