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2003 College Football Preview Ranking the Pac 10 August 3, 2003
Every 8 to 10 years the landscape of college football makes a dramatic change to the new powers, the best young coaches lead in the new guard to college football's elite. In 2003 the USC Trojans shifted the power in the Pacific 10 Conference back to the southern schools and this season, the southern hold gets stronger.
1. Arizona State 2. USC 3. Oregon State 4. Washington 5. Oregon 6. UCLA 7. Washington State 8. California 9. Stanford 10. Arizona
Arizona State returns nine starters from an offense that took off last season under record setting quarterback Andrew Walter. Walter returns after a 3,877 yard, 28 touchdown season in which he shattered many conference and school marks including a 536 yard performance in a 45-42 shocker at Oregon.
The question mark for Arizona State is a shoddy defense that returns eight starters, begging the inevitable question, is it a good thing to have eight returnees from a bad defense? The good thing is they play in the Pac 10 where if they want to win the conference they'll have to do it the old-fashioned way, outscore people.
USC would be no shock if they won the conference, seeing that they are most people's favorite anyway, but questions at quarterback and in the secondary leave the door open to Arizona State and their pass-happy attack. USC clobbered the Sun Devils in 2002 but this year they must travel to Tempe for the conference title. Look for this to become the new season to season battle for conference supremacy.
Mike Riley is back in Corvallis, Oregon to guide the Beavers of Oregon State to battle for the conference title they tied for in 2000. The Beavers have a solid quarterback in Derek Anderson and a potential star in running back Steven Jackson who rushed for 1,690 yards in 2002. The Beavers are the third team with a chance to win the conference title, but they are the outsider.
Washington was a definite contender before the Summer debacle of Rick Neuheisel and his eventual departure. There is no possible way that this couldn't affect the team, no matter how much interim head coach Keith Gilbertson claims it doesn't. Washington still has Quarterback Cody Pickett, but anything more than a eight win season with a bowl victory is asking a bit much.
Though it may be hard to believe, Washington is just where the question mark teams begin. Oregon is in year two of the Post-Harrington Era and they don't have anyone close to Joey, UCLA is without their top receiver (Tab Perry, academically ineligible) and new coach Carl Dorrell, Washington State is trying to win without Mike Price or Jason Gesser, California is searching for a QB, Stanford is looking for a new Ty, and Arizona walked out on the very coach that is returning this season.
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