Your Views...Blog 'em
Got a Photo...Share it
Record it? Upload Video
Daily Email
Subscribe
We are just 17 days away from the start of college football season, and honestly, I can’t wait anymore. I’ve played the season out in my head and on paper, and I’ve come to the conclusion, that much like last year, the Pac-10 is a conference with one incredibly strong team, and a bunch of other teams that will beat up on each other. Here’s my fearless Pac-10 predictions for 2008.
| Marotta’s Pac-10 Predictions 2008 | ||||||
| Rank | Team | Overall Record | Pac-10 Record | |||
| 1. | USC | 11-1 | 9-0 | |||
| 2. | Arizona State | 9-3 | 7-2 | |||
| 3. | Oregon | 8-4 | 6-3 | |||
| 4. | Oregon State | 6-6 | 5-4 | |||
| 5. | California | 8-4 | 5-4 | |||
| 6. | UCLA | 5-7 | 4-5 | |||
| 7. | Arizona | 5-7 | 3-6 | |||
| 8. | Washington | 4-8 | 3-6 | |||
| 9. | Washington State | 3-9 | 2-7 | |||
| 10. | Stanford | 2-10 | 1-8 | |||
Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year: Jake Locker, QB, Washington - He’s the leading returning rusher in the Pac-10, and he can only improve on his completion rate of 47%. Last year vs. Arizona, he threw for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns, and ran for 157 yards and 2 scores, becoming only the second UW quarterback to run for 100 yards and pass for 300 in the same game.
Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year: Rey Maualuga, LB, USC - Had 79 tackles to lead the Trojans a year ago. And now with his partner in crime from ‘07, Keith Rivers, patrolling NFL gridirons, that tackle total will only go up for Maualuga in ‘08.
Pac-10 Coach of the Year: Pete Carroll, USC, - It’s hard to argue with a perfect 9-0 conference record isn’t it?
I know people want this to be the year that the Pac-10 becomes a little deeper at the top, with some intrigue about who the best team is. This isn’t the year that will happen. USC is clearly the best team, again, and should wrap up their seventh Pac-10 title in a row. USC naysayers will point to the fact that John David Booty is gone at quarterback, and that Mark Sanchez, the starter-in-waiting, has an injured knee. Carroll has the luxury to call upon sophomore Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain, who just happens to be one of the most highly recruited players in the history of college football. Yeah, it’s all good in Southern California.
Other notes on Pac-10 teams:
USC - The Trojans only loss will be to Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a great defense themselves, and have the advantage of a more-experienced offensive backfield with quarterback Todd Boeckman and Beanie Wells returning.
Arizona State - As in past years, the Sun Devils will beat most of the teams they should, and will suffer losses to Georgia and USC. But this year, the Devils will lose a tough one at Oregon State.
Oregon State - Lyle Moevao was 4-0 as a starting QB a year ago, and WR Sammie Stroughter is back 100% healthy and in a good frame of mind. The defense that ranked #1 against the run a year ago is revamped, but should produce again.
Oregon - QB Dennis Dixon is gone, but offensive coordinator Chip Kelly can scheme with the best of them. Defense is a key for the Ducks. Oregon will also continue to wear the ugliest uniforms in the history of organized sports.
California - Questions at QB between Longshore and Riley, and the Bears lost a ton of talent at receiver. The Bears do return 9 starters on defense.
Washington - Expect Jake Locker to do amazing things this year in Seattle, but the Huskies’ supporting cast isn’t quite there yet.
UCLA- New coach in Rick Neuheisel, but the same problem as last year…injuries to quarterbacks. The Bruins haven’t played a game yet and are already down to #3 on their QB depth chart. That can’t be good.
Arizona - This team intrigues me. The Wildcats obviously grasped Sonny Dykes’ offense a lot better as the year went on in ‘07. They will score points in bunches. The question is, can they stop anyone? The New Mexico game will be the game that determines whether or not the ‘Cats go to a bowl game for the first time since 1998.
Washington State - The defense will be decent, with 9 starters back. WR Brandon Gibson is a stud. But senior QB Gary Rogers has big shoes to fill with the departure of 3-year starter Alex Brink. Could be a long year in Pullman for new coach Paul Wulff.
Stanford - The rebuilding continues in Palo Alto for Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh. My bet is Stanford will lead the Pac-10…in GPA.
Join the discussion at The Fanster Forums. Arizona Sports 24/7.
Comments
3 Responses to “Fearless Pac-10 Predictions”
Feel free to leave a comment...And if you want a pic to show with your comment, register to become a Fanster!
RSS Feeds
As a Buckeye fan and, therefore, not a Pac 10 fan, I have to disagree with you on one point. I think Arizona State will take advantage of Georgia’s O-line inexperience and youth and the rarity of an SEC team leaving its own backyard and take out the bulldogs. For that game, I’m a Pac 10 fan.
USC will be the team to beat, but 9-0 in pac10 isn’t likely. USC should beat most of the pro-form teams, but the oregon, arizona spreads and the ASU 5WR sets should get some points on the board.
I’d like to think the Golden Bears have the offense to put the points up, but Cignetti’s 2-back run-first history has Cal running into USC’s strength. If Cal can pull out a win at ‘SC, it would be a bit of a surprise.
As a life long Duck fan it pains for me to say it but…the Ducks are 2 years away from competing for a pac ten title or even being worthy of being picked in the top tier of the P-10.
Looking back at the history tells you that you need a senior QB or you have to be SC to win the title. The defense for the quackers is just a little too undersized to deal, and the offense will not be able to bail them out this year. The season will shake out, SC, ASU, Cal, OSU (I am puking as I write this)UW, UO, UCLA, UA, Stanford, WSU.