Typically, non-conference games are just a test for an individual team to gauge where it is in preparation for the upcoming conference season.
For the Pacific-10 Conference football teams, however, the non-conference games taking place within the next month or so are all going to be important games to redeem the reputation of their conference.
A conference, which after last season’s opening round of games was termed as the “Pathetic-10 Conference” by many scribes across the nation.
First there was highly acclaimed Arizona falling on its face to Penn State 41-7 in a nationally televised affair, and then there was Arizona State getting pounced at home by New Mexico State 35-7. The Sun Devils then decided to go to South Bend, Ind., where they got hammered 48-17 by the Fighting Irish. California joined the sad-sack party when it was embarrassed 45-0 by Nebraska, and Washington lost its first two games of the season to BYU and Air Force.
And just for good measure, the Pac-10’s Rose Bowl representative, Stanford, opened its season by getting crushed by Texas 69-17 and then couldn’t even beat San Jose State at home a few weeks later.
Making matters worse, four of the five Pac-10 teams that played in a bowl game lost — with the Oregon Ducks’ 24-20 victory over Minnesota in the Sun Bowl being the only consolation.
But this is a whole new year and the always unpredictable Pac-10 has heard its fair share of criticism and is ready to surprise folks with solid play.
“There is no doubt as to the talent level of the teams in this conference,” said Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington, whose Ducks will be in Madison, Wisc., Sept. 9 to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. “I think people will see the real deal this fall from all of the teams.”
And aside from the national scope, the competition between the teams in the conference itself will be just as wild as it ever was. Predicting the Pac-10 race is like guessing the weather in a city where it snows, rains, hails and then shines with sun all in the same day.
After all, who could have forecast last season that Arizona, which entered the season ranked No. 4 in the nation, would finish at a measly 6-6 and not earn a bowl bid?
Or that Stanford would actually be playing on Jan. 1, let alone against Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Hyping up a team never seems to bode well in the Pac-10, but that hasn’t stopped the Washington Huskies and the USC Trojans from receiving most of the early accolades.
The Huskies return 16 starters while the Trojans bring back 15 of their starting corps. Husky head coach Rick Neuheisal is flattered by the attention his team is receiving, but is quick to add that talk is cheap.
“If they are picking you near the top, then that means there are some good things happening,” said Neuheisal, who led the Huskies to the Holiday Bowl in his first season as head coach after moving west from Colorado. “You have to make the team understand that it does not mean they have accomplished anything yet.
“Predictions are just on paper. Winning it, that’s real.”
In order to win it, the Huskies are banking on Marques Tuiasosopo to lead them to the promised land. The senior is coming off a season in which he completed 171-of-295 passes for 2,221 yards and 12 touchdowns, and has emerged as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate.
Neuheisal likes the ball in his quarterback’s hands, and often calls for the option. In fact, a year ago, Tuiasosopo ranked 10th in the Pac-10 in rushing with 541 yards and six touchdowns.
“The sky is the limit for this guy,” Neuheisal said. “I know his teammates look up to him, not only because he is a very talented player, but also because of his work ethic. His experience meter is on the climb and I think that will correlate itself into an even more productive senior year.”
But there are concerns that Neuheisal’s aggressive style of play could get his quarterback injured, which would be devastating considering the Huskies defense is their biggest question mark.
The defensive line is getting a make over, meaning that the importance of the three returning starters in the secondary offering run support is all the more necessary. The key member of that threesome is free safety Hakim Akbar, an outstanding athlete who amazed many when he recorded a 38.5-inch vertical jump, 350-pound bench press and 493-pound squat during the Huskies’ annual off-season testing day.
Overall, Neuheisal is excited about his team, but admits there is a long way to go until thoughts of Pasadena pop into his head.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said. “We have a great schedule ahead of us with a lot of competitive teams. We know who we are. If we set the standard of how we play in the fourth quarter we are going to have an exciting time and be in the race again in November.”
Washington will most likely be vying for the title with strong league contender USC, who will be led by a strong defense that has 10 returning starters in it.
The Trojans were an extreme disappointment last season when they started out 3-6, but managed to win their last three games to somewhat salvage the season. It wasn’t good enough to keep quiet speculation on a coaching change, as Paul Hackett knows that this year is a make or break year for him.
One of the major reasons USC is considered a Pac-10 favorite — being ranked as high as ninth in the nation by the Sporting News — is the health of quarterback Carson Palmer.
Palmer has fully healed from a broken collarbone that forced him to miss nine games a season ago. His season ended at Autzen Stadium in Eugene last year when he dropped back to pass, found no receiver open and scrambled — directly into Oregon rover Michael Fletcher, who crunched him.
Months later, Palmer is back and Hackett plans to employ the shotgun offense, which should lead to some high passing yardage.
“Carson is one of the best young quarterbacks in the country,” Hackett said. “His pure passing ability sets him apart. He is 100 percent healthy now and there is no reason that he can’t be ahead of where he was last year by the time the 2000 season starts.”
Even with a healthy Palmer, the biggest question mark that the Trojans have is their running game. Chad Morton is gone, which leaves three candidates to fill his hole. Most likely, the job will belong to sophomore Sultan McCullough, whose brother Saladin was a running back at Oregon just a few years back.
Powerful junior Malaefou MacKenzie will also get his fair share of carries, with true freshman Chris Howard probably being the best true running back on the team.
“Sultan is a real blazer and creates problems when he gets through a hole or around the corner,” Hackett said. “We’ll utilize all of our tailbacks this season. I really like our mixture of power and speed.”
Funny how Hackett adores his running backs, but during this past off-season he expended a lot of effort in trying to recruit tailback Maurice Morris, the top junior-college prospect in the nation.
Morris declined the Trojans, and chose instead to go up north to play for the Ducks, who with Morris on the roster, should be a contender for the conference title.
Oregon is spearheaded by its two-headed quarterback monster in Harrington and A.J. Feeley, who combined for more than 3,000 yards passing last year.
Another Pac-10 team that should contend is UCLA , which is anxious to get on the field and erase memories of last season’s disastrous 4-7 record.
The only problem is that there is still no clear cut starting quarterback for the Bruins. Sophomore Cory Paus was not able to participate in the spring while he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, but he still seems to have the inside track at the starting gig over 6-foot-4 Ryan McMann, who got about 75 percent of the snaps during spring drills. Also, third-string QB Scott McEwan could provide competition at that position.
But the need for a Cade McNown-type gun slinger isn’t as necessary
due to the fact that running back DeShaun Foster heads the backfield. Foster will be running behind a monstrous offensive line that should provide him with enough holes to get back the form that he had in 1998 when he was the team’s leading rusher as a freshman. He missed most of last season due to an ankle injury.
The Bruins defense should hold up well and it is likely that the Bruins will be the most improved team in the league, but whether that will be good enough to earn a bowl bid remains to be seen.
The wild card team is Oregon State, which has been re-energized by second-year coach Dennis Erickson.
Last season, Erickson led the Beavers to a 7-5 season, which was — get this — their first winning season since 1970.
It was good enough to earn them an invite to the Oahu Bowl, which marked their first bowl berth since 1964. But now Erickson must prove that last season was no fluke, and he showed he’s committed to the city of Corvallis when he signed a new five-year guaranteed contract for more than $480,000 a year.
In order for the Beavers to stay above the .500 mark for a second straight year, quarterback Jonathan Smith must keep improving and learn to control his touch and accuracy.
“He is the leader of this offense and I look for him to have a great fall,” Erickson said. “He worked extremely hard in the winter and in the spring.”
Other concerns for Oregon State are the kicking game and the ability of the defensive line to rush the passer, but Erickson says that all problems will be resolved.
“This football team has a chance to be as good as we were a year ago, it just depends on how we develop.”
The rest of the five Pac-10 teams — Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, California and Washington State — can’t be overlooked as the unpredictability of the conference will most likely turn a few heads as the season progresses.
But as for the conference as a whole, it is looking to come out smoking against non-conference foes such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, Texas and Penn State.
And help shift that “Pathetic” notion of the past into a “Powerful” one.