Here are the Week One games for the Pac-10:
Going into this year marks the first time other than USC that a team is favored to win the Pac-10 (Oregon). USC was placed on probation and scholarships were taken away. The program will not allowed to play in a bowl game for 2 seasons. It's a wide open conference this year that 5-6 teams could potentially win. After USC finishes it's probation, will they go back to their elite status as a program? Will USC suffer any long term consequences of their action? Pete Carroll built the program to new heights and left abruptly for the NFL (ironically...). Now it's up to Lane Kiffin to keep USC stable.
Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Locker likely would have been a Top 10 NFL pick had he opted to go pro this year. However, he returned for his senior season and has his sights set on the Heisman Trophy. Fellow Pac-10 quarterback Andrew Luck of Stanford has been rising up on the NFL draft boards for next season and has those same goals for a Heisman Trophy. If either player were to win the coveted Heisman, there respected teams would have to be in contention for the BCS National Championship or at least a BSC Bowl bid. It will be interesting to see if either quarterback can capture the Heisman Trophy.
Here is the Rivals.com Preseason All-Pac 10 Defensive Team for 2010:
Here is the Rivals.com Preseason All-Conference Offensive Team for the 2010 Pac-10 season.:
To say USC has had a rough offseason may not do it justice. To add to the sanctions earlier this year, it was reported two USC players had engaged in a fight that required sugery for one of the players. Fullback Stanley Havili and teammate T.J. Bryant reportedly got in a fight last week during the final players-only conditioning practices. After a shoving match, Stanley Havili struck T.J. Bryant in the face which required surgery to fix his broken left cheekbone. After a quick ban, both players are allowed back at practices. Lane Kiffin will have his work cut out for him to turn the program back to elite status.
Last week, the Pac-10 Preseason Media Poll was released. The poll was the projected Pac-10 standings in 2010. The number in the parentheses is the first place votes. Here were the results:
Last week, the Pac-10 Coaches and Commissioner Larry Scott met in New York City to promote the conference and try to raise the awareness of the conference. Located on the West Coast, the Pac-10 realizes it is easier to go under the radar since the TV markets feed off of the east coast and central time zones. Conferences like the Big 10, Big 12, SEC, and ACC tend to get a lot of the TV and media time. The Commissioner Larry Scott hopes for increased exposure to the conference and for more games on the TV schedule. The Pac-10 hopes the BCS will view the conference as competitive as the other major conferences in the nation.
