Pacific 10 football coaches will be pressed for answers Arizona and Arizona State's chances, the quarterback controversy at UCLA and USC's embarrassment of riches are among the topics open for discussion. By Mike Hiserman, Times Staff Writer 7:29 PM PDT, July 25, 2007 Pacific 10 footballFootball coaches from the Pacific 10 Conference are gathering before media outlets in Los Angeles this morning to discuss the upcoming season. Here's a who, what, when, where, why and how look at some of the questions they might face:Who ... might finally emerge from the desert as a serious championship contender? Either (or both) Arizona and Arizona State seem to annually generate optimistic expectations ... then fall short. Coach Mike Stoops was celebrated when he came to Arizona from Oklahoma, but this will be his fourth season in Tucson, and Wildcats fans are getting impatient. Stoops hired pass-happy coordinator Sonny Dykes away from Texas Tech, so expect Arizona's fate to rest with quarterback Willie Tuitama. He ascended from the lower rungs of the depth chart to wow observers as a freshman, but since then he's been hampered by injuries. Over in Tempe, the-man-who-might-have-been-USC's-coach takes over. Dennis Erickson's NFL performance was less than stellar but he has a proven track record in college and an experienced quarterback in former Westlake High star Rudy Carpenter. What ... in the world was new Louisiana State Coach Les Miles thinking when he bagged on the competition in the Pac-10? The Mouth of the South has been popping off about the potential of a USC-LSU matchup in the BCS national championship game, saying the Trojans have a "much easier road to travel" than his Tigers, who play "much stiffer competition" in the SEC. Miles is right, of course. Those Arkansas and Auburn teams USC has beaten up in recent years were real stiffs. When ... will the latest, greatest UCLA quarterback controversy explode? OK, so maybe Coach Karl Dorrell has more pressing concerns right now — one of his coaches was arrested Tuesday — but sooner or later the focus is bound to turn to whether the Bruins are better with Ben Olson or Patrick Cowan at quarterback. Heading into the start of practice Aug. 6, Dorrell says Olson is his starter. However, Dorrell also said that the knee injury that sidelined the left-hander for most of last season would not preclude him from re-claiming his starting job when he was healthy. But it apparently did. Cowan, who guided the Bruins as the starter in their last seven regular-season games, also got the call in the Emerald Bowl even though Olson was ready to play. Then again, we all know how that turned out. Stay tuned. Where ... might a conference championship come from if not from midtown L.A.? How about Corvallis, Oregon? Oregon State won eight of its last nine games last season after opening 2-3, and the Beavers have four of five starters — all of them all-conference players — back on the offensive line and a returning starting corps of linebackers to anchor the defense. Why ... is California receiver DeSean Jackson not only the college game's most exciting player, but maybe its most valuable? Let us count (a few of) the ways: He's a touchdown-maker, with 21 touchdowns in 24 games over two college seasons. He shortens the field for the Golden Bears offense. As a sophomore last season, the former Long Beach Poly High star led the nation with a 18.2-yards punt return average. (And sometimes hereally shortens it — he took back a Pac-10 season record four punts for touchdowns.) He has been Cal's leading receiver the last two seasons and last year had four 100-yard receiving games and 28 plays in which he gained 20 yards or more. And finally ... How ... (and this is a compound question) does Pete Carroll plan to keep such a huge and talented corps of running backs happy (?) ... with a Heisman Trophy candidate playing quarterback? The Trojans have 10 tailbacks on scholarship. And oh, the guy in the backfield Carroll really likes? That would be fullback Stanley Havili.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL It's unanimous: USC favored in Pac-10 Stanford coach says the Trojans "may be the best team in the history of college football." UCLA is picked third. By Eric Sondheimer, Times Staff Writer 2:22 PM PDT, July 26, 2007 Favorites click to enlargeEither the football coaches in the Pacific 10 Conference are trying to inflate USC Coach Pete Carroll's ego or they are truly in awe based on their near universal praise of the Trojans' talent at the Pacific 10 Conference football media day on Thursday in Los Angeles. Jim Harbaugh, the rookie coach at Stanford who attracted national attention earlier this year by saying he had "heard" that Carroll would be around only one more year, offered the most blunt — and some might say over-the-top — assessment. "They may be the best team in the history of college football," he said. That caused Carroll to quip, "I love Jim, don't you? I'm glad he thinks that. We're just a bunch of guys trying to put together a terrific team. Thanks, Jim." Then there was first-year Arizona State Coach Dennis Erickson, who said, "You want my evaluation of USC? They should be in the league I was really successful in, the National Football League." It wasn't only coaches expressing confidence in USC's chances this fall. The Trojans were the unanimous pick to win the Pac-10 title in a poll of West Coast media members. It's only the third time in 46 years of the poll that a team has received a unanimous verdict. California was picked to finish second, followed by UCLA, Arizona State, Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona, Washington State, Washington and Stanford. All the Pac-10 coaches were present Thursday except for Mike Riley of Oregon State, who was attending a memorial service after the death of athletic administrator Jim Gilstrap. Among the impressions: Washington: Coach Tyrone Willingham is trying to prepare his team and fans for a difficult five-game stretch opening the season — Syracuse, Boise State, Ohio State, UCLA and USC. "The conference plays one of the most demanding schedules, and I think we have all of them on our schedule," Willingham said. Gone is quarterback Isaiah Stanback, but there's lots of confidence in redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker, who ASU's Erickson said, "coming out of high school was as good as I've seen." Stanford: Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback, insists his strategy to turn around a Cardinal program that went 1-11 last season is through defense. "We are putting as much talent as we can on the defensive side of the ball," he said. Among the players switching positions is former Rolling Hills Estate Peninsula tight end Erik Lorig, who will become a defensive end. Harbaugh is counting on the Udofia brothers to lift the defense. Ekom is a 6-foot-2, 310-pound defensive lineman and Udeme is a 6-4, 240-pound linebacker who's switching to defensive end. Harbaugh was asked, "Any update on the future of Pete Carroll?" — a reference to controversial comments he made about this being the coach's last season at USC. "That ground has been plowed," Harbaugh said. Washington State: Coach Bill Doba will take over defensive coordinator duties after he lost assistant Robb Akey to Idaho. Doba expressed concern about his team's offensive line. Much of the offense will revolve around quarterback Alex Brink, who's on the verge of breaking numerous school passing records. As for USC, Doba said, "Yes, they are ahead of a lot of people. I think SC has to beat themselves. They are something defensively and offensively."
hmm <t>I am really starting to enjoy the coaching lineup in the Pac10. They're all arseholes with the exception of Riley, Doba and Ty... "Willie" is a non-factor all the way around, I think Riley and Doba are real good guys.<br/> <br/> <br/> The rest... sheesh. They will make this entertaining.<br/> <br/> With all that, talk.. there must be blood in the water somewhere. How is USC at the tackle position?</t>
Yes, the Pac10 is just one, big, happy circle-jerk. You've gotta love a conference where rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh goads Pete Carroll and Dennis Erickson is consulted as an elder statesman. Then there's UCLA, which acted surprised when their assisstant coach was arrested, despite admitting that they knew he was a three-time convicted criminal when they hired him. Its a circus...