Aretha Franklin’s voice is echoing throughout the Pacific-10 Conference this year.
“All I’m asking is for a little respect… just a little bit… baby…
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me.”
Obviously, the 1999 season started out disastrous for the league and ended worse with only one of the five Pac-10 bowl teams coming away with a win — Oregon’s Sun Bowl victory over Minnesota. In fact, it was the Pac-10’s worst season in 17 years.
This year we’ve already seen the Pac-10 teams go up against some big-time programs such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, Texas and Penn State.
Now we get to see what they can do against each other.
One of the best parts of the Pac-10 has always been its unpredictably, so expect the unexpected in the ensuing months.
And as for respect? Non-confefence wins are nice. But bowl games taste so much sweeter.
1. USC TROJANS
Last year: 6-6, 3-5 Pac-10, tied for sixth
Head coach: Paul Hackett, third year
Returning starters: 14 (6 offense, 8 defense)
Player to watch: TB Sultan McCullough
Outlook: The USC athletic department was maybe sending the 2000 Trojans a message when it made up its football encyclopedia, er, media guide. Maybe the thinking was that by producing a 370 page history lesson, the Trojans will realize that excellence is expected in this program and that a season without a bowl game (such as last year) is not acceptable.
In any regards, it seems this year’s team is up to the challenge. Obviously the key will be how sophomore quarterback Carson Palmer responds to a full season after missing most of last season due to former Oregon rover Michael Fletcher — who crunched Palmer last fall at Autzen Stadium and broke his collarbone.
The defense is the best in the Pac-10 and a big reason why are Butkus Award Candidates Markus Steele and Zeke Moreno.
It appeared as though the Trojans’ season opening 29-5 win over Penn State on Aug. 29 meant something, but then the next week the Nittany Lions fell on its face at home, losing to Toledo 24-6. So the jury may still be out.
Still, expect Palmer to show off his NFL-esque skills and lead USC to its first Rose Bowl win since its 41-32 victory over Northwestern in 1996.
2. OREGON DUCKS
Last season: 9-3, 6-2 Pac-10, tied for second
Head coach: Mike Bellotti, sixth year
Returning starters: 9 (5 offense, 4 defense)
Player to watch: TB Maurice Morris
Outlook: ESPN says that Oregon could be last year’s Stanford.
Oregon doesn’t mind being compared to the Cardinal as long as it means the Ducks get to play in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 2001.
But in order for the Ducks to even begin thinking about such rosy dreams, they must start the Pac-10 season strong. The schedule makers weren’t exactly kind to Oregon as it must face three of the Pac-10’s best in its first three games.
Luckily for the Ducks, UCLA and Washington must come to Autzen Stadium, but then the Ducks will flock to Los Angeles to face the Trojans in the Coliseum. Oregon must win at least two of those games to stay in the race, and be sure to close out its season with three wins — at Washington State, home against California and at Oregon State for the Civil War.
The biggest question mark for the Ducks was answered emphatically in their season-opening 36-7 whooping over Nevada — their defense. Granted, the Wolfpack aren’t exactly a Pac-10 offense, but holding an opponent to only 103 total offensive yards is impressive. Not to mention that Nevada finished with -3 rushing yards.
If the defense, anchored by seniors Matt Smith at linebacker and Saul Patu at defensive end, can continue to step up, the Ducks should once again be bowling under the nation’s bright lights. Look for them to be in San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 29 for the Holiday Bowl.
3. WASHINGTON HUSKIES
Last season: 7-5, 6-2 Pac-10, tied for second
Head coach: Rick Neuheisal, second year
Returning starters: 13 (6 offense, 7 defense)
Player to watch: QB Marques Tuiasosopo
Outlook: The first year is over. Now the real work begins for head coach Rick Neuheisal.
Husky fans were accepting of the 7-5 mark and the close loss to Kansas State last season in the Holiday Bowl. But this year, especially with all of the pre-season hype, a record of just 7-5 is not going to get it done.
What is expected of this team is its first Rose Bowl berth since the 1993 season, nothing less. The Huskies do have as good a shot as any to get there with some key returnees and one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Tuiasosopo. But some weaknesses that could prevent such success are a thin defensive line, a lack of a deep threat at the wide receiver position and a shortage of depth behind Tuiasosopo.
Neuheisal makes no secret about his love for his starting quarterback, even saying last year that Tuiasosopo is the type of person he wished his daughter would bring home some day. But some fear that Neuheisal’s aggressive style of using Tuiasosopo in the option could get his quarterback injured. The senior is coming off a season in which he ranked 10th in the Pac-10 in rushing with 541 yards and six touchdowns.
And in the first game of the season, Tuiasosopo went at it again with 15 carries due to the lack of production in the backfield. Washington starting running back Paul Arnold must be a consistent threat and help keep his quarterback away from opposing defenses’ tackles. Because if Tuiasosopo goes down, so do the Huskies in the Pac-10.
4. UCLA BRUINS
Last season: 4-7, 2-6 in Pac-10, ninth
Head coach: Bob Toledo, fifth year
Returning starters: 13 (6 offense, 7 defense)
Player to watch: RB DeShaun Foster
Outlook: No team best illustrated the 1999 demise of the Pac-10 better than the UCLA Bruins. After back-to-back 10-2 seasons in ’97-’98, the Bruins finished an embarrassing 2-6 in league play.
“The camaraderie was bad and the chemistry was horrible because of that,” head coach Bob Toledo said. “There were no leaders.”
The Bruins were eager to erase the memory of last year, and did so, with a convincing 35-24 win over then-No. 3 ranked Alabama. The victory came at a cost, however, as sophomore starting quarterback Cory Paus was forced to leave the game early with a separated throwing shoulder. Paus is hopeful to be back for the Pac-10 home opener this Saturday against Oregon, but if not, the quarterback duties will belong to sophomore Ryan McCann.
Luckily, the Bruins won’t rely on their quarterbacks as much this year due to the healthy return of running back DeShaun Foster, who missed most of last year with an ankle sprain. In two seasons, Foster has piled up 1,048 yards with 16 touchdowns, and expect those totals to improve dramatically, as well as the Bruin win total.
5. ARIZONA WILDCATS
Last season: 6-6, 3-5 Pac-10, tied for sixth
Head coach: Dick Tomey, 14th year
Returning starters: 11 (7 offense, 4 defense)
Player to watch: QB Ortege Jenkins
Outlook: Arizona was on a high after it finished the 1998 season with a big Holiday Bowl win over Nebraska and a 12-1 record.
Then came the No. 3 preseason ranking in ’99, immediately followed by its deflating 41-7 drubbing by Penn State to open the season. The Wildcats would never recover and didn’t even reach a bowl game.
A whole new year is here and already they are being written off by the media, who picked them eighth in the Pac-1
0 in its preseason poll. Starting quarterback Ortege Jenkins, for one, relishes the underdog role.
“We’re going to be the guys out headhunting and nobody’s going to be headhunting for us,” Jenkins said. “It takes a lot of pressure off.”
But the pressure to win is squarely on the senior’s shoulders now that former QB Keith Smith is gone and the two-quarterback system has vanished.
Helping out the Wildcat attack is its experienced line on both sides of the ball and the potential star in sophomore wide receiver Bobby Wade.
This is the most intriguing team in the league. The Cats could finish as high as third, or as low as ninth.
6. OREGON STATE BEAVERS
Last season: 7-5, 4-4 Pac-10, fifth
Head coach: Dennis Erickson
Returning starters: 13 (6 offense, 7 defense)
Player to watch: TB Ken Simonton
Outlook: Head coach Dennis Erickson signed a new contract. Many Beaver fans sprinted to the ticket booth over the off-season to gobble up season tickets. And quarterback Jonathan Smith and tailback Ken Simonton return with that winning taste still in their mouths.
But will it be enough to record another winning season after eclipsing the .500 mark for the first time since 1970?
The key will be the passing game because Simonton can’t continue to receive 40 carries per game — as he did in the Beavers shaky season-opening 21-19 win over Eastern Washington on Sept. 2.
A big difference this year will be that teams will not overlook Oregon State, making Erickson’s encore season all the more tougher.
 
7. STANFORD CARDINAL
Last season: 8-4, 7-1 Pac-10, first
Head coach: Tyrone Willingham, sixth year
Returning starters: 12 (7 offense, 5 defense)
Player to watch: WR DeRonnie Pitts
Outlook: Once again, the Stanford Cardinal head into a Pac-10 season with everything to gain and nothing to lose. Nothing these guys do should surprise anybody after last year’s shocking campaign that was capped with them playing in the “Granddaddy of them all,” the Rose Bowl.
This year the quarterback duties belong to Randy Fasani, who has waited three long years to take over the helm of the team. Last year’s back-up, Joe Borchard, was the apparent starter, but was wooed away by baseball’s Chicago White Sox. So, Borchard got $5 million dollars richer and Fasani got the starting job for a Pac-10 team. Not a bad trade off.
Fasani will have some help on the offense with the Pac-10’s best returning receiver in DeRonnie Pitts and the explosive running attack of Kerry Carter. But with its poor defense, the Cardinal could be heading for a reality check this season.
Then again, they could win it all. Who knows?
8. ARIZONA STATE
SUN DEVILS
Last season: 6-6, 5-3 Pac-10, fourth
Head coach: Bruce Snyder, ninth year
Returning starters: 12 (7 offense, 5 defense)
Player to watch: TE Todd Heap
Outlook: Senior quarterback Ryan Kealy missed the spring while rehabilitating his torn anterior cruciate ligament, and then got arrested for driving under the influence a couple months later. Head coach Bruce Snyder suspended his quarterback indefinitely.
At least the Sun Devils return one of the nation’s best tight ends in Todd Heap and top running back Delvon Flowers. Oh wait, Flowers was knocked out for the entire season back on Aug. 17 when he suffered a torn ACL in a morning scrimmage.
It’s going to be a long, dry season down there in Tempe.
9.WASHINGTON STATE COUGERS
Last season: 3-9, 1-7 Pac-10, 10th
Head coach: Mike Price, 12th year
Returning starters: 11 (6 offense, 5 defense)
Player to watch: FS Lamont Thompson
Outlook: Head coach Mike Price looked around at the new locker rooms in his stadium, the new omni turf on the field and the new uniforms on his players.
“Wow, it feels like a Pac-10 team,” he joked.
Coach, the problem is that no matter how new everything is, winning is what never gets old. But losing sure does.
And already, the newly appointed starting quarterback, Jason Gesser, is having problems with it. Gesser entered the season 29-0 as a starter (28-0 in high school, 1-0 last season), but soon tasted defeat in the Cougars first game of the year against Stanford on Sept. 2.
“I’ve never lost a game my whole life,” Gesser said. “I’m not used to this stuff.”
Don’t worry Jason, you will be soon.
10. CALIFORNIA BEARS
Last season: 4-7, 3-5 Pac-10, tied for sixth
Head coach: Tom Holmoe, fourth year
Returning Starters: 12 (8 offense, 4 defense)
Player to watch: DE Andre Carter
Outlook: Not too pretty.
Head coach Tom Holmoe is again counting on hyped-up sophomore quarterback Kyle Boller to be the real deal. But don’t count on it. Last year Boller only completed 38.6 percent of his passes — the worst mark by a Cal starter since the 1947 season.
While the defense will continue to be the team’s strength, it lost some key players from last year and will be counting heavily on defensive end Andre Carter and cornerback Chidi Iwuoma to lead the way.
Hey at least they’ll be strong in one aspect this year: They’ll be holding up the rest of the Pac-10.