Arizona, Stanford, Oregon, or USC: Which 4-0 Pac-10 Team Is Most Overrated?
With the college football season just beginning to bloom, the talk is turning to dominant conferences and power teams that reside in them.
Already, the Pac-10 conference is flexing its muscle with four undefeated teams in the AP Top 25. Along the way, even those teams in the conference not expected to contend for the conference title, such as UCLA, have shown the nation that top to bottom, this is a conference to be reckoned with.
But which of these unbeaten teams, USC, Arizona, Stanford, or Oregon, are simply pretenders? Or will all of them (with the exception of USC who is on probation) vie for the title of Pac-10 champion?
The following slide show will take a look at these teams and make a case for and against each team’s inclusion as the most overrated undefeated team in the conference.
USC: Why they are overrated
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The No. 18 ranked team in the AP poll features a bevy of great players and many consider them the most talented team in the conference.
But who have the Trojans played?
In compiling their 4-0 record, USC has fattened up on a slew of also-rans who combined, have a 6-9 record overall.
Of these teams, only Virginia, with a 2-1 record, is on the right side of a .500 record and those two victories came against Richmond and Virginia Military Institute.
Meanwhile, Washington State, Hawaii, and Minnesota are 4-8 and only Hawaii, whose passing attack is No. 1 in the country, has shown the kind of talent that would give opponents reason to worry.
USC: Why they aren’t overrated
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As stated in the prior slide, the Trojans are very talented.
At the skill positions, the Trojans feature probably the best true sophomore quarterback in the nation in Matt Barkley.
To complement Barkley, the Trojans offer true freshman Robert Woods and Ronald “Rojo” Johnson, both burners and possessors of some of the finest hands in the conference.
To take the heat off of the passing game, the Trojans will run Marc Tyler, Allen Bradford, and true freshman Dillon Baxter, all of whom could start for 90 percent of the teams in the country.
In addition, USC features a defense that is getting better by the game. Though the class of competition hasn’t given the Trojans much of a measuring stick (again, with the exception of Hawaii), the improvement in all facets have been demonstrative.
With the teeth of the Pac-10 conference beginning this week against a talented, yet inconsistent Washington team, just how, if at all, overrated the Trojans are should be made apparent soon.
Arizona: Why they are overrated
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In what will be a recurring theme, the Wildcats, thus far, haven’t played much of a schedule.
And the schedule that they do play includes five of the first seven at home and the two they play on the road are against juggernauts Toledo (which they won) and Washington State, where they just have to show up to claim a “W.”
With the exception of a nice home win against then No. 9 Iowa, Arizona has beaten a pair of cupcakes (Citadel and Toledo) and struggled at home against a suspect Cal team that had just been blown out by Nevada.
In addition, the Wildcats feature the 90th ranked rushing offense in the country, which makes quarterback Nick Foles a target against the more balanced defenses in the conference.
Until Arizona finds a more potent running game, there will be questions about their overall game, and unless the Wildcats find an answer soon, they will be exposed by the upper-tier conference teams.
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Arizona: Why they aren’t overrated
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Although the Wildcats have benefited from a relatively easy early schedule, Arizona’s defense appears to be for real.
Ranked third in the nation overall in points scored against, Arizona features a hard hitting core that makes opponents work for everything they get.
Also, Nick Foles, perhaps the most underrated quarterback in the country, leads a pass offense that is ranked No. 12 in the nation, averaging just a tad over 300 yards a game.
If the Wildcats can beat a talented, yet underachieving, Oregon State team on October 9 at home, they could very well be 7-0 heading into Los Angeles to play a suddenly revived UCLA team the following Saturday.
Stanford: Why they are overrated
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So far, the Cardinal has not given much of reason for people to think they are overrated.
If there is a knock on Stanford, it is that they have only played two teams worthy of mention and they may or may not be mentioned as “good.”
UCLA, despite impressive wins over Texas and Houston, both ranked in the top 25 at the time the Bruins played them, laid a total egg at home against Stanford, losing 35-0.
Also, the No. 21 (at the time) Houston team the Bruins beat at home appears to be woefully overrated as well.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame appears to be continuing their nasty habit of losing to ranked teams under Brian Kelly.
This makes the Cardinal’s win at South Bend questionable for the time being.
That leaves Sacramento State and Wake Forest as the other two wins for Stanford, and that, my friend, isn’t much of a resume.
That can all be changed with a road win against No. 4 Oregon this Saturday.
Stanford: Why they aren’t overrated
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With impressive wins on the road against Notre Dame and a much-better-than-originally-thought-of UCLA, Stanford has not missed a beat since its breakout season of 2009.
The surprising thing is that Stanford’s offense, which was thought to rotate around all-everything quarterback Andrew Luck, has actually been even better in the running game, despite losing Toby Gerhart to the NFL.
Led by Stepfan Taylor, the Cardinal rushing attack is rated the 19th best in the country while Luck leads a passing attack that is only ranked 46th overall in yards for.
Added to this is scoring offense that averages 48 points per game, which is ranked fourth in the nation.
On the other side of the ball, the Stanford defense has been no slouch either, as evidenced by their No. 12 ranking in points allowed.
Oregon: Why they are overrated
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As promised, an easy early schedule continues to be a theme for why Oregon may be overrated.
Despite the fact that you can only play who is in front of you, two of those teams in front of Oregon in its first four games were Portland State and New Mexico, whom the Ducks beat by a combined 141-0.
It must also be noted that in the Ducks' last game, against a decent Arizona State team, Oregon gave up 31 points.
In that game, it took seven turnovers by the Sun Devils in order for the Ducks to ensure a 42-31 victory on the road and with that, the questions arise as to the quality of Oregon’s defense.
Oregon: Why They Aren’t Overrated
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The Ducks offense is simply prolific.
Leading the nation in scoring at almost a 58 points per game clip, combined with the third leading rushing offense, the Ducks appear to be almost unstoppable.
And, despite reservations about the defense that gave up 31 points to Arizona State, the defense is still ranked third in the nation in scoring defense, where they are averaging giving up 11 points a game.
All in all, this Oregon team, despite (and because of as well) having to break in a new quarterback in Darron Thomas, has the potential to be very special.
And they will have to be because this is the deepest, most talented Pac-10 in years.
Conclusion
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So who is the most overrated of the undefeated Pac-10 teams so far in 2010?
As you can see, each of these teams have suspected flaws and easy early schedules may have hidden problems that could be exposed now that Pac-10 play is getting serious.
To be sure, at least one of these teams (Oregon or Stanford) will drop from the ranks of the unbeaten as the Cardinal visits Eugene to play the Ducks this Saturday.
Although this list will certainly change, at this point, in order, the following teams should be considered the most overrated at this point in the season:
1. USC
2. Arizona
3. Stanford
4. Oregon
With each undefeated team profiled here having the opportunity of losing this week (with the exception of Arizona, who has a bye), there will be a shakeup sooner rather than later but for now, let the “overrated” moniker hangs upon the Trojans neck.
There will be plenty of time to remove it later.
That is, indeed, if they truly aren’t overrated.
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