Thank God. That took forever. If only the college football season lasted as long as the hopelessly pathetic and utterly unwatchable NBA. On the other hand, I have aged another year, which, although marginally wiser, indeed I am nearing the big 40...
As I say to you all every year, there is nothing better in sport than college football. Yet, without fail, my favorite past-time disappoints me and leaves a taste in my mouth worse than a night in Vegas downing 14 shots of Patrone Silver and two packs of Camels. The great USC¬LSU debate will end soon, as we seem to forget these things regrettably fast (remember Miami and Oregon). I’ll return to that debate at the end of this.
And, as I say to you all every year, once again, the most overrated football conference in the land will be the Big 9 (plus three bitches). This just might be the year that Texas loses two games and squeaks into the national championship because the national media hyperbole machine continues to reward this most undeserving conference with national championship bids.
But I’m all about the Pac 10, the conference, the one all of you east of Nevada believes to be the weakest of the Big 5 (Sorry Big East, you are no better than the MAC or WAC or Mountain West). You are all wrong, ask Texas, ask Virginia Tech, ask Michigan.
It will be difficult to bring any new insight to Pac 10 football to any of you who truly follow college football. It is hashed and rehashed and then regurgitated on every sports website, so I’ll give you my summarized thoughts on each team and projected finish.
1 - 2004 Pac 10 Champions – USC Trojans. At this point a no brainer. The talent level of this team could compete in the NFL. I’m not saying they would win, but the 2004 USC Trojans might just give the San Diego Chargers a run for their money. The Mike Williams Saga continues at the time of this writing, but I hear from USC insiders that he is out. Add to that losses on the offensive line and secondary and USC might hit some bumps in the road. But don’t count on it. All of the USC naysayers are missing the boat here, USC has been and is recruiting the BEST high school players in the country. Last year’s team will have no less than 15 future NFL players. This year’s will sport just as many, albeit a few new gems that we won’t see playing on Sundays for three or four years. And anyone that has had the pleasure of watching Reggie Bush play football, you know you are watching a faster, quicker version of Marshall Faulk, who isn’t that bad a ball player. Projected Record: 10-1.
2 – Oregon Ducks. I know Cal is the pretty pick here, and some publications seem to think Arizona State will have a bounce-back season. I’m hanging my hat with the Ducks, who finished very strong last year, despite a last-second bowl loss. This team returns a ton, including a huge offensive line. Kellen Clemens and Demetrius Williams are going to have break-out years, and Mike Belotti is a damn fine coach. Oregon upsets Cal to win the race for Pac-10 runner up. Projected Record (9 – 3)
3 – Cal. The best college football coach in the country is arguably Jeff Tedford. What he has done at Cal is nothing short of miraculous. And now he is bringing in some 5-star talent to go with the chump change he was left with from the previous regime. I for one think Cal’s going to have a rough go of it for a couple of reasons. One, they play a brutal schedule, including three straight road games; at Southern Miss, at Oregon State, and at USC. They do finish the season with four straight at home, so look for a strong finish. The other reason is depth. There has been a lot of talk about this being the deepest Cal team ever, but I don’t buy it. Tedford’s recruiting is just starting to bear fruit, which means there is still some fat left over. But, like I said, he is perhaps the best coach in America, and if anyone can turn fat to muscle, it is Tedford. Projected Record (9 – 3)
4 – Oregon State. Why? Because they always finish tied for fourth. This team lost a ton on offense, but still has a senior quarterback that threw for 4,000 years (and 24 pics) and one helluva defense. They also get USC, Oregon, Washington State and Cal at home. Why they chose to go into LSU on September 4 over an easy victory over Temple I have no idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if OSU limped out of Baton Rouge with one or two season-ending injuries. They win the civil war game against Oregon, but lose at least four. Projected Record (7 – 4)
T5 – Washington State. This team also lost a ton but always seems to bounce back strong. I think they have too many holes to fill this year, especially on offense. They do get Oregon, USC, and Washington at home, but it won’t be enough. The only blessing is a fairly soft OOC schedule that includes Colorado, New Mexico, and Idaho. Projected Record (6 – 5)
T5 – Arizona State. The media darlings. Sorry Prophet. This was a pretty bad team last year, and I didn’t see a lot of bright spots to think they are going to make that big a leap. Andrew Walter is a fine quarterback. But he’s not really a quarterback, he’s a punching bag. Last year he was running for his life the second the ball was snapped. The receiving corp was pedestrian, and the defense was awful. Have heard from VERY inside sources that this team is not enamored with coach Dirk Koetter. I don’t even know if they will finish above .500. Count at least three road losses at Oregon, USC, and Cal, and maybe even Arizona. Iowa and Oregon State are two other potential losses and this team is up to 5. Projected Record (6 - 5)
T7 – UCLA. If not for terrible quarterback play, receiving, and coaching, this team would have been pretty good last year. Look for marginally better quarterback play, receiving and coaching, and you have the 7th best team in the Pac 10. Projected Record (4 – 7)
T7 – Arizona. The past five new coaches in the Pac 10 have finished with .500 records or better, so why not Mike Stoops. Well, for starters, the cupboards are pretty bare. But this is a young team and I expect to see a 200% better effort now that the Mackovic abort….is over. Projected Record (4 – 7)
T7 – Washington. Kieth Gilbertson is the opposite of Jeff Tedford, and Washington deserves much better. Thank god they have San Jose State and Stanford on their schedule. Projected Record (4 – 7)
10 – Stanford. This is a bad football team. Baylor bad football team. You’re welcome for the insight. Projected Record (1 – 10)
There ya go. I’ll be back for my weekly Pac-10 play of the week, which was 11-5-1 last year including the bowl games. I’ve got early leans to start the year, and both involve taking 17 points.
Now, back to last year. Obviously I’m on the “USC would have beat LSU” bandwagon. But, unlike most of you who are pro-LSU, I take nothing away from LSU, which fully deserved to be the BCS national champion. They dominated a good, not great Oklahoma team. I personally think they proved more by beating Georgia twice. But I could say the same thing about USC, because Michigan didn’t show me much. Then again, they were playing the best team in the country.
I love the clowns that say LSU was better because USC lost (in overtime) to Cal on the road. Huh? LSU lost by 12 AT HOME to Florida, and last I checked, Cal finished with an 8-6 record and a bowl win, Florida 8 -5 with a bowl blowout loss. Schedule? I’ll certainly give the edge to LSU, but at least USC had to prepare for every game. I can’t imagine what it was like for LSU’s starters watching game film of UL Monroe and Western Illinois.
But lastly, and I touched on this earlier, while LSU had (and has) some fantastic future NFL players, five years from now USC’s will outnumber LSU’s 2 to 1….maybe 3 to 1. USC simply had more NFL-caliber talent than LSU. USC’s average margin of victory was over 25 points, and that was with the starters pulled in the 3rd Quarter. It was as close to high-school football I have ever seen.
Anyway, thems my thoughts, I’m pulling for all of you (Yeah, even you Richkas) to win big this year.
LATE!!!!!
As I say to you all every year, there is nothing better in sport than college football. Yet, without fail, my favorite past-time disappoints me and leaves a taste in my mouth worse than a night in Vegas downing 14 shots of Patrone Silver and two packs of Camels. The great USC¬LSU debate will end soon, as we seem to forget these things regrettably fast (remember Miami and Oregon). I’ll return to that debate at the end of this.
And, as I say to you all every year, once again, the most overrated football conference in the land will be the Big 9 (plus three bitches). This just might be the year that Texas loses two games and squeaks into the national championship because the national media hyperbole machine continues to reward this most undeserving conference with national championship bids.
But I’m all about the Pac 10, the conference, the one all of you east of Nevada believes to be the weakest of the Big 5 (Sorry Big East, you are no better than the MAC or WAC or Mountain West). You are all wrong, ask Texas, ask Virginia Tech, ask Michigan.
It will be difficult to bring any new insight to Pac 10 football to any of you who truly follow college football. It is hashed and rehashed and then regurgitated on every sports website, so I’ll give you my summarized thoughts on each team and projected finish.
1 - 2004 Pac 10 Champions – USC Trojans. At this point a no brainer. The talent level of this team could compete in the NFL. I’m not saying they would win, but the 2004 USC Trojans might just give the San Diego Chargers a run for their money. The Mike Williams Saga continues at the time of this writing, but I hear from USC insiders that he is out. Add to that losses on the offensive line and secondary and USC might hit some bumps in the road. But don’t count on it. All of the USC naysayers are missing the boat here, USC has been and is recruiting the BEST high school players in the country. Last year’s team will have no less than 15 future NFL players. This year’s will sport just as many, albeit a few new gems that we won’t see playing on Sundays for three or four years. And anyone that has had the pleasure of watching Reggie Bush play football, you know you are watching a faster, quicker version of Marshall Faulk, who isn’t that bad a ball player. Projected Record: 10-1.
2 – Oregon Ducks. I know Cal is the pretty pick here, and some publications seem to think Arizona State will have a bounce-back season. I’m hanging my hat with the Ducks, who finished very strong last year, despite a last-second bowl loss. This team returns a ton, including a huge offensive line. Kellen Clemens and Demetrius Williams are going to have break-out years, and Mike Belotti is a damn fine coach. Oregon upsets Cal to win the race for Pac-10 runner up. Projected Record (9 – 3)
3 – Cal. The best college football coach in the country is arguably Jeff Tedford. What he has done at Cal is nothing short of miraculous. And now he is bringing in some 5-star talent to go with the chump change he was left with from the previous regime. I for one think Cal’s going to have a rough go of it for a couple of reasons. One, they play a brutal schedule, including three straight road games; at Southern Miss, at Oregon State, and at USC. They do finish the season with four straight at home, so look for a strong finish. The other reason is depth. There has been a lot of talk about this being the deepest Cal team ever, but I don’t buy it. Tedford’s recruiting is just starting to bear fruit, which means there is still some fat left over. But, like I said, he is perhaps the best coach in America, and if anyone can turn fat to muscle, it is Tedford. Projected Record (9 – 3)
4 – Oregon State. Why? Because they always finish tied for fourth. This team lost a ton on offense, but still has a senior quarterback that threw for 4,000 years (and 24 pics) and one helluva defense. They also get USC, Oregon, Washington State and Cal at home. Why they chose to go into LSU on September 4 over an easy victory over Temple I have no idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if OSU limped out of Baton Rouge with one or two season-ending injuries. They win the civil war game against Oregon, but lose at least four. Projected Record (7 – 4)
T5 – Washington State. This team also lost a ton but always seems to bounce back strong. I think they have too many holes to fill this year, especially on offense. They do get Oregon, USC, and Washington at home, but it won’t be enough. The only blessing is a fairly soft OOC schedule that includes Colorado, New Mexico, and Idaho. Projected Record (6 – 5)
T5 – Arizona State. The media darlings. Sorry Prophet. This was a pretty bad team last year, and I didn’t see a lot of bright spots to think they are going to make that big a leap. Andrew Walter is a fine quarterback. But he’s not really a quarterback, he’s a punching bag. Last year he was running for his life the second the ball was snapped. The receiving corp was pedestrian, and the defense was awful. Have heard from VERY inside sources that this team is not enamored with coach Dirk Koetter. I don’t even know if they will finish above .500. Count at least three road losses at Oregon, USC, and Cal, and maybe even Arizona. Iowa and Oregon State are two other potential losses and this team is up to 5. Projected Record (6 - 5)
T7 – UCLA. If not for terrible quarterback play, receiving, and coaching, this team would have been pretty good last year. Look for marginally better quarterback play, receiving and coaching, and you have the 7th best team in the Pac 10. Projected Record (4 – 7)
T7 – Arizona. The past five new coaches in the Pac 10 have finished with .500 records or better, so why not Mike Stoops. Well, for starters, the cupboards are pretty bare. But this is a young team and I expect to see a 200% better effort now that the Mackovic abort….is over. Projected Record (4 – 7)
T7 – Washington. Kieth Gilbertson is the opposite of Jeff Tedford, and Washington deserves much better. Thank god they have San Jose State and Stanford on their schedule. Projected Record (4 – 7)
10 – Stanford. This is a bad football team. Baylor bad football team. You’re welcome for the insight. Projected Record (1 – 10)
There ya go. I’ll be back for my weekly Pac-10 play of the week, which was 11-5-1 last year including the bowl games. I’ve got early leans to start the year, and both involve taking 17 points.
Now, back to last year. Obviously I’m on the “USC would have beat LSU” bandwagon. But, unlike most of you who are pro-LSU, I take nothing away from LSU, which fully deserved to be the BCS national champion. They dominated a good, not great Oklahoma team. I personally think they proved more by beating Georgia twice. But I could say the same thing about USC, because Michigan didn’t show me much. Then again, they were playing the best team in the country.
I love the clowns that say LSU was better because USC lost (in overtime) to Cal on the road. Huh? LSU lost by 12 AT HOME to Florida, and last I checked, Cal finished with an 8-6 record and a bowl win, Florida 8 -5 with a bowl blowout loss. Schedule? I’ll certainly give the edge to LSU, but at least USC had to prepare for every game. I can’t imagine what it was like for LSU’s starters watching game film of UL Monroe and Western Illinois.
But lastly, and I touched on this earlier, while LSU had (and has) some fantastic future NFL players, five years from now USC’s will outnumber LSU’s 2 to 1….maybe 3 to 1. USC simply had more NFL-caliber talent than LSU. USC’s average margin of victory was over 25 points, and that was with the starters pulled in the 3rd Quarter. It was as close to high-school football I have ever seen.
Anyway, thems my thoughts, I’m pulling for all of you (Yeah, even you Richkas) to win big this year.
LATE!!!!!
