I like your list!

USC sure does look to be in the driver’s seat for the Pac-10—possibly even playing January 8th.

The next few spots are really up for grabs, IMO.

Oregon should be able to take care of business in all home games during 2008, but playing Purdue on the road could prove to be a challenge as well as playing USC, Cal, and Arizona St. away from Autzen.

The Ducks need to at least win three of those four road games to finish 2nd in the Pac. If they cannot do that they could easily fall to that third, fourth, or (GASP!) fifth spot.

This team needs to be Road Warriors and pull out the W’s!

Finally a beav that can look at the facts and not throw in his biased opinion. I agree that we need to get 2 of 3 of those critical road conference games to finish second. Home is pretty much locked to win them all. Also if we want any chance of touching a BCS field this year, we gotta beat Purdue and Blow out Boise State, as well as not get blowin out by SC.

A side note I have been reading this blog for about two months now. I have been so jealous of all you that get to go to Games this year, where me being in Missouri am lucky if I catch one on T.V., but due to my recent misforturne as the Air Force sees it, I call it a blessing, I’ll be there to get hammered drunk and watch us walk all over the weaker programs this fall

...but I don’t think I can. Beating the other 3 of the Big 4 of this conference (USC, Oregon, ASU, Cal) will be a serious challenge for all of us, even those pesky Trojans (as others have said I am not entirely sold on their offense. Remember the Sanchez we played against last year?! devilish laughter). We have the worst road schedule of the bunch so logic would say we’re losing 1-2 of those games. And, this may be blasphemous to write but again, you can’t fight the logic of every home team winning for the past decade, we very well might lose Civil War (since we’re trekking over to Burrito Stadium). Logic unfortunately also says a 3 loss team should not be #2 in the PAC. Sooooo here’s to hoping our boys defy the logic!

1. USC- We barely squeaked out a win over the Trojans last season, and we were playing at home with one of our best teams in recent memory. USC is still the king. Their defense freaks me out.

2. Oregon- This is the year the second-half collapse misses out. I see losses at USC and at Cal. Our offense has the potential to be even better than last season. If Chip did that well in one season, imagine how scary they’ll be if they improve on that. The defense is stacked, and the depth is there for a 10-win season.

3. Arizona State- Carpenter will get hit early and often. Georgia will eat this team alive. If you can’t protect your QB in the Pac-10, it’ll be a long a season.

4. Oregon State- Seems like they’re losing a lot, but I’m not convinced Cal is better than 5th, and I think Open Seats is much more sound than UCLA, UW, and Arizona.

5. California- Tedford recruits well, but Cal is perrenially overrated, and that’s the only reason I have them down here instead of the top 3.

6. UCLA- Sure, they have no O-line, no QB, and no offense, and they’re losing a big chunk of their stout defense. But still, it’s Neuheisel. As much as I hate that scumbag, he gets his teams to show up and play with intensity. I say they win one or two games they shouldn’t, and I also say they play us hard in Autzen.

7. Washington- Locker by himself can win a handful of games. I expect the defense to be improved, if only slightly, and I expect the passing game to be much better. They could potentially battle for the #5 spot depending on how good or bad the bottom half of the league turns out to be.

8. Arizona- Stoops backs his way out. For a team whose trademark has been its defense, they’re just not very good this season. Sure, they’ll pass a lot, but the lack of a running game keys opposing defenses to tee off on Tuitama (again).

9. Stanford- Harbaugh is the right man for the job. The talent level just isn’t there to compete every game. However, they’ll once again pull one head-scratching upset in conference play.

10. Washington State- Arrests, scholarship losses, and bad press. They’ll hang with teams at home, but they’re in for a very long year. I hope Wulff has patience.

for no other reason than a hunch, and i could see stanford surprising a few people, but otherwise i totally agree with your list. perhaps i might write it as:

1. USC
2. OreASUCal
3. OSU
4. UCLAZona
5. UWFurdWazzu

I can answer some of your question. Best is back fully recovered. Watch this video to see him break tackles and show that he does have strength. No he won’t drag defenders down like Lynch (and he probably won’t do that killer stiff arm to Patrick Chung that Lynch did :D), and he probably won’t run into the middle 30 times a game like Forsett but he is by no means weak. Neither is Vereen. And if either of these backs see daylight, TD Bears! I’d wager that only Joe McKnight has the speed to catch Best in the open and they won’t meet each other in the same play. DeSean is weaker than Best and we remember his stats last year.

Re: QB. Nate Longshore has pin-point accuracy, and excellent football mind, and a cannon arm IF he is not injured. Riley is dynamic, fleeting and a thrill. I’m not worried about either.

I am worried about the WRs but they seem to be more physical than last year so we’ll see.

That said I agree w/ your list though I’d switch Zona and UCLA

Although I would put Cal up at #2 for obvious reasons, I agree with the general idea here.

I think USC is a clear #1. Cal, ASU, and Oregon seem to be 1 step below as you have them there. Last year, Cal split Oregon/ASU with both games coming on the road.

Now, this year, Cal faces Oregon and ASU both at home. Our road schedule (while including near guaranteed loss USC) has easy teams such as WSU and Arizona.

So, if you are to say that Cal, Oregon, and ASU are basically at the same level, I feel that the schedule as it currently is favors Cal. Of course, given Cal’s recent history, we’ll have an inexplicable and brutal loss to a team that we shouldn’t have lost to (i.e. OSU last year and Arizona the year before).

So, it’s anybody’s ballgame!