Sean Higgs

VegasTopDogs

Pac 10 Conference

1 USC ---- HC Pete Carroll. This guy doesn't rebuild, he reloads! No surprise teams in the Pac 10 this year to get in Trojans way so they should cruise their 7th straight Pac 10 Title. Their test will be against Ohio State when they show up in September. USC has my #2 rated defense overall and if they take that game vs the Buckeyes, they will cruise to the National Championship Game.

2 Oregon --- Ducks have a tough schedule with road games at USC, Cal and Arizona State. They do have the 2nd best offense in the Pac 10. Their loaded secondary and strong front should line should be good enough to give USC a run in their match-up Oct 4.

3 California --- The Golden Bears could easily flip flop with Oregon for #2 bragging rights, since they get some of their tougher match-ups at home. I like Nate Longshore at QB but injuries really dragged him down late last season. Sophomore Kevin Riley may push the senior for looks. HC Jeff Tedford is bringing in a new OC but that won't slow down the QBs or a deep RB corp led by Jahvid Best. The defense is solid with 8 returning starters.

4 Arizona State -- Sun Devils will look to build off last seasons success. A tough schedule with a game vs Georgia, and road games at Cal and USC leads me to believe they won't reach the 10 win plateau this year. QB Rudy Carpenter is the best in the conference and with RB Keegan Herring in the backfield, points shouldn't be a problem in Tempe.

5 UCLA --- I am looking at UCLA to have a surprise year. Lots of injuries last season. They have what I feel is the best special teams in the conference. If Ben Olsen returns, then they may pull out a few wins and get more than 6 wins. New HC Rick Neuheisal has his work cut out for him on defense where the Bruins were ranked dead last in '07. 6 Oregon State ----Beavers lost the meat of their D, as in their front 7 but HC Mike Riley will try to work a miracle. The offense returns 7 and Riley is a good coach, but there is no way they get to 9 wins this season.

7 Arizona --- The Wildcats have HC Mike Stoops on the hot seat and anything less than a bowl will spell his end. QB Willie Tuitama heads the list of 10 offensive starters back so the offense should be more than potent. The defense with 3 starters remaining will be the critical spot on this team. They should top last seasons 5 wins and end their bowl-less drought.

8 Stanford --- HC Jim Harbaugh has 16 starters back for his second year with the Cardinal. Stanford should top last seasons 3 conference wins, but might be a year away from the big jump to the top of the league. The defense is solid and experienced. They open early Aug 28 vs Oregon State and should set a tone that they won't be walked over at home.

9 Washington --- HC Ty Willingham must find a way to win some games in Seattle. He has 13 starters back and QB Jake Locker must take a huge step from freshman starter, to sophomore phenom for this team to have a chance.

10 Washington State ----New HC Paul Wulff is bringing with him a high-flying no huddle, 5 wide out set from East Washington. Well, this is the Pac 10, not the Big Sky. It will take some time to get his players and system in order.

Sean Higgs will be previewing the SEC Conference next
 

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