Well, it's finally here. Less than one week and all of our waiting; all of our anticipation will be realized. No more practice, no more speculation... We will finally begin to get all of the answers to the questions we have. Is USC going to be as good as advertised? Will Oregon put it together for a full season? How much of a drop off will Cal have now that Marshawn Lynch is gone? Is Jake Locker going to be Jake The Great", or Jake "The Mistake"? Can Washington State's defense stop anyone enough for their great offense to keep them in games?...you get the idea.

Quickly, I thought I might lend my humble opinion as to how this season will play out, who will be bowl eligible, who will not and where we might find a few suprises along the way.

DM14's projected pac 10 finish

1. Southern cal

USC should be able to go 6-0 to start the season. The real test will be in their final six games when they play six consecutive bowl teams from last season. The only question is whether or not they can run through the second half of their schedule en route to another National Championship appearance. If USC finishes 12-0, there will be no doubt who is the number one team in the land is, considering their strength of schedule and their difficult second half.


I originally had Oregon State second and Cal third but with Straughter going out at OSU, I think Cal might be slightly better. Cal is going to have a very good running game behind a huge offensive line. they also have an experienced Quarterback making their offense seem "Juggernautish" from time to time. Their defense is equally tough as I believe the entire nation is going to see next week when they play Tennessee. This Cal team is good enough that if USC faulters just a bit, Cal might find themselves in a BCS bowl game.


OSU is going to have a phenomenal running game, but they will need it with the youth at Quarterback, and now, a lack of leadership at wide receiver. OSU will also have a strong defense, but their defense won't need to be on the calibre of USC or Cal because their ball control offense will keep the defense off the field and more fresh. OSU is going to have a few knocks, but overall, I look to them to continually improve throughout the season.


I had these two teams tied because they will be so similar and couldn't decide who to put on top. Oregon is likely to boast one of the best running attacks in the country and having a quarterback with an arm won't hurt. They will also have a very strong defense, particularly against the run. The only thing I believe they will lack is a solid pass defense, which will cost them a couple games in the pass-happy Pacific 10 conference.

As for UCLA, they will also boast a strong running game, but it's their passing offense that will make the biggest impact. This team has developed a very good short passing game that is indefensable. The only thing a defense can do is hit the receiver and prevent the add-on yardage. This will help their defense, which is already strong, to stay fresh, in much the same way as Oregon State. The challenge that UCLA will have is that defensively, like Oregon, they are going to give up some big plays as they are one of the few teams that still typically plays man-to-man on the receivers. Inconsistency will be the only challenge that Oregon and UCLA will have to fight with.


Yes, I put UW a bit higher than many would think. I did this because if one looks logically, they can see how much this team has improved over the past couple of years, and Willingham was doing this with Gilby's players. Now, most of the players are his recruits and they have bought into the system. The most important member to a team is its Quarterback, and with Jake Locker aboard, I think he will prove to be the real deal. I have a firm belief that you can predict a teams success by looking at how their Quarterback did in high school. Stanback, for instance, played his highschool ball at Garfield, and although he was talented, his teams won a total of SEVEN games in three years. that trend continued at UW. Now, with Locker, he played his high school ball at ferndale, who only lost five games in three years. Simply put, Locker doesn't know how to lose. The only question is whether or not it will become evident this year or next. I'm betting on this year. Remember, UW could lose all four non-conference games and it has no bearing on their placement in the Pac 10. In the end, All Pac 10 teams have the same strength of schedule after factoring out the non conference schedule. It's going to be interesting as to whether or not UW qualifies for a bowl. With a thirteen game schedule, they will need to have a final record of 7-6 or better. I look for UW to be either 7-6 or 6-7, but sinceI have only predicted five other teams for bowls, I think adding a sixth is accurate given the tough conference, and realistically, it could be UW, ASU, or WSU... any of them have the ability to play better than I am predicting.

ASU is going to be an interesting team to watch. I think that they will have a phenomenal offense, led by Rudy Carpenter,, but once again, can their defense stop anyone.? Typically, ASU defenses have started off well, but have been easy to figure out and exploit. That has also been true for Dennis Erickson teams, so I thing that this defense will be solid but will have their challenges too. The offense will be great but will make a lot of mistakes, as can be expected in the first year of a new offense. The mistakes should cost them at least three Pac 10 games including games against Washington AND Washington State.



Arizona will have a solid defense but their offense is going to continue to be a mess. They have some senior leadership and a solid quarterback, but they have neglected to recruit the best friend for any quarterback... a weak side offensive lineman. this means that Titama is going end up on his butt a lot of he is going to be throwing on the run a lot, either way, it is not a good situation as Tuitama is very marginal when it comes to throwing on the run.

Stanford may have a bit of talent but have you every heard of not giving poster board material to your opponent. Apparently Jim Harbaugh, the ego-centric, ex NFL, new head coach for Stanford, hasn't and I thing every team is going to make his team pay for his mouth. Aside from that, Stanford resembles more of an Ivy League football team than they do a Pac 10 team. Add to that, they lost their only good player last year (Trent Edwards) and I see a team destined for zero wins in the Pac 10 for 2007 (unless they beat UW again :)).


Top Quarterback..... Nate Longshore (Cal)
Top Runningback..... Jonathan Stewart (Oregon)
Top Wide receiver.... Jaison Williams (Oregon)
Top Freshman (offense)... Jake Locker (Washington)
Top freshman (defense)...Everson Griffen (USC)

Pac 10 Player of the Year... Nate Longshore

Bowl Teams... LOCKS...USC, Cal, Oregon State, Oregon, UCLA

Plus one... Either UW, Arizona State, or Washington State

Let's get ready to RUMBLE!!!

DM14

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