2010 Pac-10 Football Preview

By Mike Wynn Sports

With Pete Carroll departing for the NFL and USC under bowl suspension the Pac-10 looks to be a bit more wide open then its has been in recent years. USC still has a boat load of talent and will contend but last year’s conference champs Oregon and others will be in the mix. Here are my predictions for 2010 and brief look at all 8 teams in the Pac-10 conference this season.

Even with the all the goings on at USC and Pete Carroll bolting for the NFL, I still think the Trojans are the team to beat in the Pac-10 this season. USC only returns 11 starters but the shelves were well stocked under Carroll and they’ll have no problem filling in the holes. QB Matt Barkley is back with a year under his belt and the back field will be solid with Allen Bradford and CJ Gable running the ball. The receiving corps is flush with talent with Ronald Johnson and Brice Butler the likely starters and the only real question mark on offense is the offensive line which loses 3 starters but new head coach Lane Kiffin has plenty to work with up front. Defensively Lane’s father Monte Kiffin takes over a defense that returns the entire front 7, but it was a unit that was porous all too often last season. The secondary gets an overhaul this season and should be led by Corner Shareece Wright who returns from academic ineligibility. USC has the talent and they get Oregon at home this season which looks to be the game for the Pac-10 title this season.

Oregon Ducks won the Pac-10 title last season and have 18 starters back but they lose their dynamite QB Jeremiah Masoli who is out with suspension after pleading guilty to burglary charges and RB LaMichael James is suspended for the opener after pleading guilty to misdemeanor harassment of his girlfriend. Putting the negatives aside the Ducks have all 5 starters back on the offensive line and they have a couple of options at QB in senior Nate Costa and sophomore Darron Thomas. Defensively Oregon has 8 starters back with a lot of speed and should be solid unit in 2010. Key games for Oregon will be on the road against Tennessee in week 2 and tough road conference dates at USC and rival Oregon St. Oregon will win a lot of games but a loss at USC gives the conference to the Trojans.

The Stanford turn around has been swift and impressive under head coach Jim Harbaugh who begins his 4th season at the helm of the Cardinal football program. Yes Stanford loses an irreplaceable star in RB Toby Gerhart, but they have a star in the making in QB Andrew Luck who already has the attention of pro scouts after his freshmen season. Look for Stanford to lean on the passing game this season and look for Luck to shine with a couple talented receivers to throw to in Ryan Whalen and Chris Owusu. After a dismal 2009 season defensively the Cardinal are making the switch to a 3-4 under new coordinator Vic Fangio. Stanford will be doing a lot of shifting of players with the new alignment but they hope to have a defense that will fare better this season. Stanford has tough schedule in 2010 with trips to Notre Dame, Oregon, and Washington but this team should be good enough to compete and go bowling in the postseason.

Washington Huskies could be poised for a break out season in 2010. Second year coach Steve Sarkisian has 18 returning starters including QB Jake Locker who figures to be an early selection in the next NFL draft. Washington offense has plenty of good young talent including RB Chris Polk and a trio of solid wide outs in Kearse, Aguilar, and Johnson. The offense will be good enough this season but it’s the defense that ranked 9th in the conference last season that will have to improve if the Huskies are going to make the quantum leap many expect this season. The defense loses 3 key starters in the front 7 and defensive coordinator Nick Holt will have to find a way to get pressure on the QB this season. Washington schedule is very tough with dates at BYU, USC, Oregon & Cal along with a tough home game against a Nebraska squad that will be favored to win. Washington should make some noise in the Pac-10 this season but the schedule is just too tough to win a conference title.

Arizona Wildcats are off back to back eight win seasons and 2 straight bowl bids and the heat seems to be off head coach Mike Stoops for the moment. With Arizona’s success comes in the inevitable departures as the Wildcats loses both their offensive and defensive coordinators and will now look to rally around new faces but they’ll have plenty to work with on the offensive side as Arizona has 10 returning starters. QB Nick Foles didn’t start the season as Arizona’s hurler but he came on to start the last 10 games of the season and wound up honorable mention All-Pac-10. Foles is joined in the backfield by a couple of good RB’s in Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin and they’ll have the luxury of 4 returning starters on the offensive line. Defensively Arizona should be OK against the pass with a good secondary and decent pass rush, but the linebacking corps gets a major makeover and rush defense could be a problem. The schedule sets up decently for the Wildcats in 2010 and you can look for them to be bowling again this season.

The Cal Bears have reeled off 8 straight winning seasons and have gone to seven straight bowl games and there should be no reason that the Golden Bears won’t continue both those streaks in 2010. California does lose star RB Jahvid Best but junior Shane Verren is a star in the making and Cal returns 16 starters on a team that was 8-5 last season. QB Kevin Riley could be the key to the Bear’s season. Riley has been inconsistent in his career at Cal and if the senior QB can pull it all together and step up in big games against quality opponents the Bear’s should contend. Defensively the Bears have a new coordinator in NFL veteran Clancy Pendergast and he’s expected to bring a defense that uses more blitzes and stunts. The Cal front seven will be solid and the strength of the defense, but it’s the secondary that ranked 111th against the pass that will have to find 3 new starters and be a whole lot better this season. Cal has favorable schedule this season and without much hype coming into the season, maybe this is the year that Cal surprises and contends.

Oregon St could very well finish higher in the conference then I’m predicting here. Beaver’s head coach Mike Riley annually has his squad overachieving in the tough Pac-10 and this year could be no different. Oregon St has the exciting brother tandem of Jacquizz and James Rodgers back in 2010 but gone is solid QB Sean Canfield. Ryan Katz is the heir apparent in Corvallis and looks to be the starter over the next 3 seasons for Mike Riley. Up front Oregon St has 4 regulars back on the offensive line that could be better than average and if RB Jacquizz Rodgers stays healthy he should have another terrific season. The receiving corps is loaded with playmakers that can rip off big yards in the open field and they’re led by James Rodgers who caught 91 balls last season. Defensively the Beavers should be better than last seasons squad that ranked 105th in sacks and they’ll be led by the secondary and All-American candidate DT Stephen Paea. If Oregon St can get production from the front 7 it’ll go a long way to a successful 2010 season.

UCLA Took a step in the right direction last season finishing above 500 and getting a bowl win over Temple, but head coach Rick Neuheisel will have a tough time continuing the momentum this season. Bruins were a defense heavy team last season and they lose 6 starters on that side of the ball including 4 all-stars to the NFL. UCLA Still has talent on the stop unit and a lot of untested young talent and it remains to be seen if they can be anything like last year’s dynamite group. Offensively the Bruins have been dismal under Neuheisel and it could be another lack luster season. Sophomore QB Kevin Prince should be better this season with a year under his belt and the return of his top two wide receivers from last season but it’s the running attack that needs to pick up their game. UCLA finished 97th in the country in rushing last season partly due to a lack of quality at running back and partly because of an offensive line that was sub par. UCLA schedule is not going to help matters either playing at Texas, Oregon, Cal & Washington and making a bowl will make 2010 a successful season.

Arizona St’s eight wins last season were the most since 1994 and the Sun Devil faithful are wondering if head coach Dennis Erickson has this program headed in the right direction. Last year’s offense was poor ranking 102nd in the country so Erickson has turned the offense over to veteran assistant Noel Mazzone who’s expected to run an up tempo attack. QB’s Brock Osweiler and Steven Threet are both big armed big guys and the Sun Devils will need one of them to step up and carry this offense out of mediocrity. No game breaking talent in the backfield or wide out positions but they should be a serviceable group if the Sun Devils can production out of offensive line that was a sore spot last season. Defensively Arizona St ranked among the best in the Pac-10 last season but with only 5 returning starters back coordinator Craig Bray will have holes to fill. To many things will have to go very well for Arizona St to be in the conference hunt but a bowl bid is an attainable goal for the Sun Devils this season.

Hard to imagine that things can get any worse at Washington St as the Cougars have lost 22 of their last 25 games and the last two years have been the worst in school history. The Cougars do have 35 players back this season that started at least one game last season, but it was mainly due an injury plagued 2009 season. Offensively second-year QB Jeff Tuel needs to emerge as a prolific passer if Washington St is even going to close to mediocrity this season. A lack of playmakers and an offensive line that’ll be average at best will mean another rough season in Pullman. Defensively the Cougars were the worst in the country in total defense and gave up 38 points per contest. A lot of returning lettermen should make this unit better this season but it still looks to be the worst defense in the Pac-10 this season. Don’t think there’ll be any bowl waiting at the end of the season for the Cougars and just getting a win or two in the Pac-10 this season will be considered a victory.