The Favorite: Despite heavy losses to the NFL, USC remains at the top of the conference. In all, 11 players were drafted, eight were from the defensive side, and five were in the first two rounds. There's no way the defense will be as dominant as last season when it held ten opponents to ten points or less including three shut outs. While no team reloads better than USC, I don't think they can make it through the regular season unscathed. Road games against Ohio State, Cal, Notre Dame, and Oregon could trip them up. I think USC missed out on a great opportunity to go unbeaten last season, and now they face a much tougher path this season.
The Challenger: I can't decide between Oregon and Cal here, so I'll put both of them. Cal is led by running back Jahvid Best, my preseason pick to win the Doak Walker. I like this Cal team, and they are capable of knocking off USC at home, but I don't think they will be able to strong enough week to week to win the conference. Oregon has a questionable defense and a new head coach, but they do get USC and Cal in Eugene. Props to Oregon for playing series with Boise State and Utah. A series with Tennessee starts up next year.
The Sleeper: Stanford isn't a huge sleeper because they've been slowly headed up in the Jim Harbaugh regime. I do they should be mentioned though, since they should make a return to the postseason for the first time since 2001. If the defense can tighten up more, I think they could win eight games.
The Letdown: Arizona State hasn't had consecutive losing seasons since 1946-1947, so nobody would predict that to happen again, right? I'm thinking that's exactly what will happen. I just don't see much on this team I like, especially on offense. They had a senior veteran quarterback, but still averaged fewer than 23 points per game and were mired in a six game losing streak at one point last season. With other middle-tier teams in the conference on the rise, I think the Sun Devils finish at 5-7 again.
Conference Player of the Year: Jahvid Best (RB Cal) on offense, Taylor Mays (FS USC) on defense.
I Wrote What?: In last year's preview, I though Oregon State was going to be way down in a rebuilding year. All they did was finish 9-4 with wins over USC, Cal, and Pitt in the bowl game.
Non-conference Games to Watch:
* USC at Ohio St, Sept 12 - While last year's game at the Coliseum didn't exactly live up to the hype, it should be better this year at the Horseshoe as USC breaks in a new quarterback and most of its defense.
* Oregon at Boise St, Sept 3 - Oregon is looking for revenge from last year, but Boise State hasn't lost a non-bowl game at home since 2001.
* Cincinnati at Oregon St, Sept 19 - I thought this was going to be a great, underrated game when these teams played in 2007. Instead Oregon State turned the ball over seven times in an ugly showing. Both teams are coming off overachieving seasons, and the game should be much better this time around.
* Utah at Oregon, Sept 19 - Utah should be riding a 16-game winning streak when they travel to the unfriendly confines of Autzen stadium.
* UCLA at Tennessee, Sept 12 - I picked Tennessee last year. I'm picking Tennessee this year. Can Neuheisel prove me wrong twice?
Projected Standings:
USC | 11-1 | 8-1
Oregon | 9-3 | 6-3
Cal | 9-3 | 6-3
Arizona | 7-5 | 5-4
Oregon St | 8-4 | 5-4
Stanford | 6-6 | 5-4
UCLA | 6-6 | 4-5
Washington | 4-8 | 3-6
Arizona St | 5-7 | 3-6
Washington St | 1-11 | 0-9
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