From CollegeFootballNews.com:
Pac 10 fans will once again be screaming for respect they probably won't receive. The league will be much, much better this year from top to bottom with Arizona and Stanford each having a puncher's chance to beat anyone in the league, and Washington sure to be better under Ty Willingham. Even so, get ready for a season of fans throwing out the "bias" tag when anyone suggests the SEC or Big Ten might be the nation's best conference.
2. USC will be more than just fine without Norm Chow. No offense to the great guru, but the Trojan offense is going to roll thanks to all the outstanding talent. Even if injuries strike, the Trojans have next-level talent waiting in the wings.
3. Stanford's passing attack will scare the heck out of everyone. Cardinal head coach Walt Harris coached several college superstar receivers at Pittsburgh. Mark Bradford, Gerren Crochet, Justin McCullum, and 6-7 Evan Moore aren't household names, but they're good enough to put up huge numbers no matter who's at quarterback.
4. Arizona's defense will scare the heck out of everyone. Mike Stoops has had a full year to work his magic and has eight starters returning. The secondary will be fantastic if safeties Darrell Brooks and Lamon Means and corner Antoine Cason can build on strong seasons.
5. Matt Leinart will win his second Heisman leading the Trojans to the Rose Bowl. Road trips to Oregon and Arizona State will be nightmares, but USC will navigate its way through led by next year's top draft pick. Leinart will win the top college football individual prize going away.
5 non-conference games that Pac 10 teams had better take very, very seriously
1. UCLA at San Diego State, Sept. 3 - In the season opener, the Bruins will have to face Lynell Hamilton and a pumped up Aztec team looking to get off to a big start. If the Bruin run defense hasn't improved from last season, there could be an upset.
2. Northwestern at Arizona State, Sept. 10 - Will the Sun Devils be down after the likely loss at LSU? Northwestern has the offense to make things very interesting.
3. Fresno State at Oregon, Sept. 17 - With the showdown with USC the following week, the Ducks won't be 100% focused on a Bulldog team looking for a big-time win that'll get a ton of national attention.
4. Washington State at Nevada, Sept. 10 - Nevada's new "pistol" offense will be tough at home. At the very least, the Wolf Pack will give the Cougars a great run.
5. Cal at New Mexico State, Sept. 24 - Will the Hal Mumme passing attack really be as scary as expected? The Bears didn't handle the Texas Tech aerial assault well in the Holiday Bowl.
5 best Pac 10 pro prospects
1. USC RB Matt Leinart, Sr. - With his decision to return for a senior season rather than become the first pick in the 2005 NFL draft, Leinart has put himself in a position to be considered the greatest college quarterback of all-time. If USC wins another national title, that'll be three championships under his guidance and he'll be all but assured of being at least a Heisman finalist. The 2004 Heisman winner might not be spectacular, but he's a calm, cool leader who doesn't make the big mistake. He is scary accurate when he gets on a roll and has a good enough arm to make all the deep throws. While not a runner, he's not immobile able to throw well on the run.
2. USC RB Reggie Bush, Jr. - It's easy to focus on the tremendous speed and quickness, but don't forget about the power. Bush is 6-0 and 200 pounds with a game-changing burst in the open field. The Heisman finalist finished second in rushing with 903 yards and six touchdowns averaging 6.3 yards per carry and was second in receiving with 43 catches for 509 yards and seven scores. He averaged 15.7 yards per punt and kickoff returns.
3. UCLA TE Marcedes Lewis, Sr. - The senior was a Mackey Award finalists catching 32 passes for 402 yards and seven touchdowns as Drew Olson's favorite target when a big catch was needed. While still an average-at-best blocker, he provides a nightmare of a matchup problem with his physical play in traffic and the speed to get by most safeties.
4. Oregon DT Haloti Ngata, Jr. - At 6-5 and 338 pounds, Ngata is a giant with tremendous athleticism. He's one of the fastest linemen on the team and has great balance. When he gets leverage, it's over. He could have one of the more dominating years in recent Duck history as an inside pass rusher if he can stay healthy.
5. USC S Darnell Bing, Jr. - One of the nation's best defensive backs and a top pro prospect, the 220-pound junior is one of the fastest players on the defense and should be even better now that the injured shoulder that bothered him all of last year has healed.
5 biggest Pac 10 shoes to fill
1. California RB Marshawn Lynch for J.J. Arrington - Lynch had a tremendous first season backing up J.J. Arrington rushing for 628 yards and eight touchdowns averaging a whopping 8.8 yards per carry. He also showed great hands catching 18 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns. He's a good-sized, 200-pound back with speed and excellent vision. He can stop and start on a dime, and he's devastating when he gets a sliver of daylight. Now he has to prove he can carry the workload like Arrington did rushing 289 times.
2. Arizona State QB Sam Keller for Andrew Walter - Keller was thrown into the mix in the final game of the regular season when Walter went down. All Keller did was rally the Sun Devils to within a dropped catch of beating the Wildcats before coming up with a tremendous performance (370 yards and three touchdowns) and a breathtaking game-winning drive to beat Purdue 27-23 in the Sun Bowl. He's a big quarterback with a strong arm and the attitude that makes the offense believe he can get the job done. He should be able to come close to matching Andrew Walter's 30 touchdown passes.
3. USC LB Oscar Lua for Lofa Tatupu - Lua will be in a battle with Thomas Williams and Ryan Powdrell for the starting spot in the middle. While he doesn't have the talent of the other two, he's a tough run defender who will, at the least, be a regular in the rotation.
4. California QB Joseph Ayoob for Aaron Rodgers - It's hardly a done deal with Nathan Longshore getting every shot at the starting job, but Ayoob appears to have a few more skills and should end up being the starter against Sacramento State. Maybe. The 6-3, 215-pound JUCO transfer isn't just a strong, accurate passer, he can run with tremendous speed rushing for nine touchdowns over the last two years.
5. Oregon State DE Jeff Van Orsow for Bill Swancutt - Expected to be a top pass rusher, Van Orsow has the quickness to get around the edge and the size, at 6-4 and 253 pounds, to be a solid run defender. He'll take over on the right side where he'll see plenty of single blocking with Alvin Smith getting double teamed.
5 Pac 10 breakout players
1. California RB Marshawn Lynch2. California LB Desmond Bishop, Jr. - The star JUCO transfer from City College of San Francisco is 6-2, 240 pounds and more than good enough to earn All-Pac 10 honors in the middle. He's very, very fast heat seeking missile with fantastic closing ability when locked on to a ball carrier. Expect him to be a sideline-to-sideline force right off the bat.
3. USC WR Whitney Lewis, Soph. - Last season was going to be a breakout campaign for Lewis, but he had troubles with the books and was ineligible. He's 6-1, 225 pounds and very, very fast. After spending time early in his career as a running back and fullback, look for him to quickly become the team's number three receiver.
4. Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart, Fr. - The most heralded recruit in Oregon history, the pressure will be on him from the first day of summer practice. Stewart has already said he wants to be 2005's Adrian Peterson, but he has two solid backs in front of him on the depth chart that he'll have to move past. Conditioning could be a problem early, since he rarely played more than a half game in high school even though he finished with 2,301 yards and 32 scores his final year.
5. UCLA FS Chris Horton, Soph. - It'll be Horton's job to take over Ben Emanuel's spot trying to replace his 76 tackles. Horton was a great backup last year and was all over the field against the run and pass in practices. Big things are expected out of him right away.
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