Trojans face serious competition for conference title for first time in years
July 28, 2006
By DAN WEBER
LOS ANGELES - Coach Pete Carroll accepted USC's fourth straight selection as the Pacific-10 Conference football favorite Thursday for the compliment it was. "It shows how much they respect our talent," Carroll said of what he described as the Trojans' unique "culmination of three very big recruiting years." By the same token, the rest of the Pac-10 coaches clearly accepted the consensus that the rest of the conference has gained ground on the Trojans this season. After all, USC's 11 returning starters are the Pac-10's fewest, while the Trojans are the first team to lose two Heisman Trophy winners since Army in 1947. From a unanimous preseason No. 1 in voting by league media the previous two seasons, USC got 18 votes this time to seven for No. 2 Cal, three for No. 3 Oregon and one for No. 4 Arizona State.
"From top to bottom, I think the conference has a chance to be the most competitive it has been," Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. "A tight race, a pretty even league," Washington State's Bill Doba said. But Doba wouldn't go along with those who wondered if USC was a team in transition.
"They look pretty good to me," he said. Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter ticked off some numbers that explain why the contenders may be closing in on USC, however. His Sun Devils, for example, return twice as many offensive starters as USC, 8-4. While ASU is led by a pair of veteran quarterbacks, Sam Keller and Rudy Carpenter, USC has no one with real playing experience to succeed Matt Leinart. Junior John David Booty and redshirt freshman Mark Sanchez are, as Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said, among the group of "new quarterbacks who are highly touted but untested."
"You've got to give USC credit for what they've accomplished the last few years," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said with a look at the Trojans' three Pac-10 titles, two national championships and a runner-up finish. "But ..." Stanford's Walt Harris was excited about the Cardinal's new 50,000-seat stadium, Oregon's Mike Bellotti about returning the conference's No. 1 defense. Cal's Jeff Tedford wasn't all that put off by the pressure of a team likely to start the year in the Top 10 and featuring the conference's leading Heisman Trophy candidate, tailback Marshawn Lynch. Then came UCLA's Karl Dorrell, after a 10-2 season and a Sun Bowl win, who stated what seemed to be a league-wide directive. "All of us have to try to keep gaining ground -- and not just on the team across town," Dorrell said of his Bruins, picked fifth by the media. "This year is no different. We are very capable of taking a big step." UCLA wide receiver Junior Taylor, returning from surgery on a torn ACL, didn't mince words. "The next step for UCLA football is a Pac-10 championship," Taylor said. Carroll acknowledged that if it looks like he's heading into this season with heightened enthusiasm, that would be correct.
"Honestly, I realize that people don't think we can be as good," Carroll said, "and that gets me real fired up."
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