Pac-10 Preseason Power Rankings: Volume II

Editor’s Note: As some of you might know, UOSportsDude.com is expanding the site in order to bring to you deeper, more expansive and hopefully better coverage of the Oregon Ducks this coming season and beyond. Please welcome our newest contributor, incoming freshman Matthew Thill, to the mix. Despite growing up in Beaver country, Matt managed to grow up a Duck fan. He was the co-editor of his high school newspaper, but more importantly, Matt brings a brash, youthful exuberance to the blog. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Earlier this week, Jeff Spiegel laid out his Pac-10 power rankings. Now it’s Matt’s turn. See if you can find the common denominator.

Sophomore quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Andrew Luck are the two of the biggest keys in the Pac-10 race.

1. Oregon – Sure the loss of Masoli will hurt temporarily, but in the long run I see LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner and crew picking up the slack and carrying this team. Brandon Bair will clog up the middle and do his part in leading yet another high-octane Duck D. Oh, and for my 2 cents, I think Darron Thomas should get the nod.

2. USC – Aside from all the legal troubles they’re going through, they’ve still got a heck of a football team. The loss of 5* frosh Seantrel Henderson bites, but they have a burgeoning star in Matt Barkley at QB, a stable of highly rated running backs (Dillon Baxter looks special), and Brice Butler at wideout, so they’ll be plenty dangerous. Good, but not quite great; that’s why they’re in my #2 spot.

3. Oregon State – Mike Riley has proven he can win without a top-flight QB,  and the Rodgers brothers remain 5-star threats, but I just don’t see enough overall talent for the Beavers to be Rose Bowl contenders. Look for Quizz to put up huge numbers though.

4. Stanford – With Gerhart gone, their chance of a Rose Bowl berth is nearly nil; however, they do have one hell of a QB in Andrew Luck. The Cardinal will be solid this season, but without the threat of the run game, a top three finish would be considered a good year for Harbaugh and Co. Look out for incoming freshman LB Shayne Skov, though. He’s my pick for breakout player of the year.

5. Washington – Husky fans should be excited to watch Locker this season. Whether or not he lives up to the hype, every time he touches the ball there’s a chance something special will happen. Despite my anti-Husky bias, he is a legitimate candidate for the No. 1 overall pick next year. With Sark starting to settle in, these guys are definitely on the rise.

6. Arizona – The Wildcats always bring a scrappy, competetive team to the table every year. Nick Foles is extremely talented and will turn heads this season – in case you missed on him last year. But with the loss of seven defensive starters and nearly every single assistant coach, expect a drop-off from their impressive third place finish last season. Although they do still have the offensive firepower to pull an upset any given Saturday.

7. UCLA – With Kevin Prince running the offense these guys should be another solid team. With the talent they bring in, UCLA will always be looked at as a program that should contend. Neuheisel is eagerly awaiting the chance to prove his doubters wrong and show people UCLA is legit. Will this finally be the year?

8. Cal – Kevin Riley has had a roller coaster ride of a career as the Golden Bear’s signal caller. Now a senior, can he finally put it all together and deliver a full season of consistent play? Because of all the talent Cal lost – including now Detroit Lions RB Jahvid Best – he will have to if there’s any chance for them to finish in the top half of the conference.

9. Arizona State – Just like Cal, ASU will be doing some rebuilding this year. The Sun Devils are breaking in a new quarterback this season, in an offense that doesn’t exactly return much talent from last season – the unit finished 9th in the conference with 18.1 points per game (thank God for WSU). While not expected to be a factor this year, ASU may be worth watching just because of Vontaze Burfict alone. Only a sophomore, the linebacker was named to the 2010 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List.

10. Washington State – Ahh, finally we get to the Cougs. While they are improving, and moving from “they just suck” to “likable underdog” territory, they are still a long ways off from making noise in the Pac-10. Jeff Tuel is a talented QB and does offer some much needed hope for the future to the depressed WSU faithful.

Pac-10 Preseason Power Rankings: Is Oregon a Lock for Number One?

Editor’s Note: As some of you might know, UOSportsDude.com is expanding the site in order to bring to you deeper, more expansive and hopefully better coverage of the Oregon Ducks this coming season and beyond. Please welcome our newest writer, recent University of Oregon grad,  Jeff Spiegel, to the mix. He also writes for bumcitybloggers.wordpress.com and scoutingthesports.com. You can follow him on Twitter here.

The official Pac-10 preseason Media Poll comes out this week. That said, we thought it’d be a good time for our writers over here at UOSportsDude.com to give our individual predictions for the conference as well. Up first: Mr. Spiegel.

Make sure to leave your thoughts below in the comments!

As someone who made the trip to Palo Alto last November, I can tell you first hand that Andrew Luck is LEGIT.

1) Oregon – When the defending champion returns 17 starters, nine of whom were part of the best offense in the conference last year, they deserve to remain at the top. The loss of Jeremiah Masoli hurts the Ducks, but with a defense that will continue to improve, and the best running back corps in the conference (and maybe nation aside from ‘Bama), I don’t expect the Ducks to miss a beat this season.

2) USC – While many people are picking them to finish near the top, I think USC remains one of the biggest wildcards in the conference. Based on talent alone, they definitely deserve this ranking. However, it remains to be seen how motivated they will be without the possibility of a postseason, and how well Lane Kiffin can handle the pressure that comes with being the head coach at USC.

3) Stanford – While the Cardinal will severely miss Toby Gearhart this season, Andrew Luck is a dark horse candidate for conference player of the year.  While everyone is busy hyping up Jake Locker, many seem to forget how good Luck is. And with arguably the best coach in the conference in Jim Harbaugh, I’m predicting a big season in Palo Alto.

4) Oregon State – The biggest question mark this season will be who plays quarterback for the Beavers. Although whoever ends up under center will have some serious help in James and Jaquizz Rodgers. While the Beavers need both of these guys to stay healthy in order to remain successful, Mike Riley always seems to make things happen in Corvallis, and I don’t think this season will be any different.

5) Washington – Even though I mentioned earlier that I thought the Jake Locker hype machine was a little excessive, I must also add that it isn’t without reason. This guy has all of the tools you look for in a quarterback, and now in his second season in the Sark system, Locker could make the jump into the elite group of quarterbacks in conference history. Combine all that with the emergence of Chris Polk, and the Huskies know that their success hinge solely on whether or not their inexperienced defense can rise to the occasion.

6) California – The Golden Bears remain an interesting team to predict, given the history of quarterback Kevin Riley. No player in the conference has experienced such highs and lows over their career, and yet, here he stands as the starting quarterback for his senior year.  While I don’t think he has the tools to consistently lead an elite college program, the Bears have plenty of talent overall, and should remain in the middle of the pack this season.

On the other side of the Bay, Kevin Riley is no Andrew Luck.

7) UCLA – Call me an optimist, but I think this is the year that UCLA finally emerges under Rick Neuheisel as a serious competitor (Eds note: Since when did 7^th place become seriously competitive?).  With the return of quarterback Kevin Prince, and a new offensive scheme, I think UCLA is poised to compete, as long as their defense can maintain their high level of play.  That said, this is a defense that loses Brian Price and Alterraun Verner – which is why I have them finishing seventh.

8) Arizona – Not much to say here other than that I’m not expecting much from the Wildcats this season. The offense does have some playmakers, but overall this team just doesn’t jump out at me. I have a hard time believing they’ll be anything other than bystanders in the conference race.  A player to watch this season, however, is quarterback Nick Foles, who quietly put together a very impressive rookie season last year, and emerged last season as the conference’s best kept secret.

9) Arizona State – Unfortunately for ASU, the quarterback competition between Threet and Osweiler – not exactly Rudy Carpenter vs. Sam Keller – may be the most exciting and talked about storyline for the program this season. The team lost seven players on each side of the ball, and with a new quarterback and a new system, folks shouldn’t be expecting much come fall.

10) Washington State – The Cougars will be much, much, much better this season, and may even sneak out of the cellar. However, it’d be a miracle for the Cougs to finish outside the bottom three. The Cougars are a young team with some nice pieces, but in the tough Pac-10, they’re still a long way from being relevant again.  Jeff Tuel has a chance to become a good college quarterback, but it remains to be seen if he has enough help around him to make a difference.