Pac 10: Changing of The Guard

A lot of college football betting fans have been talking about a changing of the guard in the Pac 10 and it's coming. It's just not the teams that you think.

We'll start at the top: USC is still the best and there is no real competition for them for the top spot. Maybe for one year, one of the other Pac 10 teams can rent the spot but the way USC reloads, there is no question that this is the premier school of the conference.

The real changing of the guard is going to happen below USC. As evidenced on Thursday night, a team like Oregon has no business being in the Top 10 and betting fans know that this Oregon squad won't be contending for a Pac 10 title for a little while. Not only did they blow the chances that Boise State gave them to not only get back into this game, but to win, but they also showed that they are simply not the same offensive juggernaut they were last year.

Other teams on the decline are Oregon State, who have shown that they can beat anyone in the conference but have also shown that they aren't elite. They don't have a lot to get excited about this year. You can throw in Arizona State and Arizona, both of whom are slipping down the Pac 10 slope.

The teams that are on the rise - and the teams that might finish second and third in this conference - are Stanford and UCLA.

Both teams have good head coaches, which is where it all starts. 

The Bruins won't be down very long with Rick Neuheisel running the show and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Bruins that were truly the Trojans biggest competitor over the next decade.

Meanwhile, Stanford has markedly improved but who knows if Jim Harbaugh is in it for the long haul or whether he'll leave if a big program comes calling.

Regardless, UCLA and Stanford are on the up-and-up while Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona and Arizona State are on the down-and-down.

That leaves California, which some people feel is USC's best competition. Maybe so this year, but who has faith in Kevin Riley? The Jeff Tedford is like the Jon Gruden of college football: he did quite a bit when he got on the scene but a lot of people are wondering what's happening because of his team's lackadaisical production over the recent years.

Cal is still a few bricks short of a load.

There is a changing for the guards in the Pac 10 but for the most part, it's still the same conference.