You've seen it here first: Stanford is going to win the Pacific 10 Conference.With the league's best coach (1995 Pac-10 coach of the year winner Tyrone Willingham), a strong running game and a veteran defense, only a date with Jan. 1 will make this season a success.
John Robinson's Southern Cal Trojans have a few holes to fill but possess enough talent that they should put up a fight for the cross-town trip back to the Rose Bowl.
Arizona State might finally have the players to make an impact, but the Nov. 23 showdown with Arizona should once again make or break its season.
Below is the predicted order of finish in the conference. Arizona will finish fifth.
Last season Mark Butterfield and Jim Carey battled right down to the season opener for the starting job. Butterfield won and went on the pass for 2,533 yards with 19 touchdowns and second team All-Pac-10 honors. Carey hung out on the sideline and has patiently waited for his turn. Carey does have some experience- one series of downs against Oregon St. in a 24-3 win- but is once again in fight for the starting spot. The other option is redshirt sophomore Chad Hutchinson who spent the spring workouts pitching for the baseball team and being drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Braves. Neither is small, Carey stands at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds and Hutchinson is 6-5, 230.
Second-year coach Willingham now has the decision of experience or potential.
What he doesn't have to decide is his running attack, which is securely led by Anthony Bookman and Mike Mitchell. At fullback Adam Golina and Greg Comella round out one of the best backfields in the nation. Bookman, Mitchell and Comella combined for over 1,700 yards last season.
The line returns two starters along with Brad Badger, who was a second team all-confernce lineman as a sophomore but was injured most of last season. A host of upper-classmen are fighting for the available center and left guard spots.
Stanford led the league in scoring, averaging 30.1 points a game last season and could improve.
Its defense is its strength. Seven starters are returning, including the entire defensive line and leading tackler Chris Draft. Highlighting the line is Cal Hansen, who had eight sacks to go along with his 41 tackles. Draft emerged last season as the leader of the group while making 103 tackles of his own.
Last year the Trojans kicked the slippers right off Northwestern's cinderella season with their 41-32 victory in the Rose Bowl. This year head coach John Robinson no longer has to deal with two quarterbacks at once. Senior Brad Otton finished last season with his first 300-plus yard game. Otton is 10-2-1 as a starter in the last two years and could be the top quarterback of the Pac-10 by mid season. Protecting Otton is the key. With an offensive line that returns only one starter, Robinson might miss the other arm if Otton spends to much time on the turf. Picking up the slack will be the Trojan backfield featuring the tag-team of Delon Washington and Shawn Walters, two potential 1,000-yard rushers. When Otton does drop back to pass his primary targets wil l be wide receivers Larry Parker and Chris Miller. Billy Miller will step into Johnson's spot - if that is possible. Six-foot five-inch tight end John Allred rounds out the offensive arsenal.
The defense is centered around preseason All-American Darrell Russell, the 6-4, 300 pound defensive tackle that is capable of bench-pressing 400 pounds while maintaining a chisled 12 percent bady fat frame.
"Russell might be the best defensive linemen I've ever coached at USC," Robinson said. "Few players have improved as much as he has. He is headed for greatness."
With six starters returning, the defense will have be the backbone of the team until the offense gets rolling, something they are not used to doing. Complementing Russell up front is Matt Keneley - who had 62 tackles of his own, 21 more than Russell - and Willie Lowery at defensive end. Sammy Knight, a converted safety, leads a young linebacking crew.
"Our defense is experienced and it must get off to a fast start as our offense develops," Robinson said.
Prediction-Staying healthy is the key, the offense is capable of big numbers but a depleated line could end any thoughts of roses. Look for the Oct. 19 match-up with Arizona State as the turning point in their season. Also USC ends the season with Notre Dame at home, giving them a chance to enter the national picture.
No one can forget last year's 31-28 Arizona victory in Tempe to knock ASU out of the bowl picture and into another mediocore 6-5 season, especially ASU.
With 10 starters back on offense and nine back on the defense, the Sun Devils are stacked and looking for revenge.
Leading the Sun Devils is All-Pac-10 senior quarterback Jake Plummer, who recorded 2,222 yards with a 57-percent completion percentage and 17 touchdowns last season.
Plummer has started 28 consecutive games and could be in the Heisman picture if the team excells. Stand-out receiver Keith Poole will be his primary target. The line is led by Juan Roque, an Outland Trophy candidate, and massive at 6-8, 319 poounds. Roque is considered one of the nation's top linemen combining size and quickness to protect Plummer's backside.
Not a single fumble was lost last season from the running back crew and Steve Bush caught 26 passes at tight-end.
The key to a winning season comes down to the defense. Finishing last against the run, pass and in total defense last season is head coach Bruce Snyder's top concern.
"Defensively, I think that's where we need to make our most progress. Our defense understands that. Our defensive staff understands that," Snyder said.
Returning nine starters doesn't hurt, but the team lacks a stand-out leader. Inside linebacker Scott Van der Ahe and free safety Mitchell Freedman hope to fill the void. Van der Ahe recorded 92 tackles last season, tops on the team, and Mitchell was secon d with 80. Both are aggresive players known for their hitting.
Head coach Mike Bellotti quitely guided the Ducks in his rookie year to a 9-3 record, challenged USC for the Pac-10 title and earned a berth to the Cotton Bowl. Not to shabby, but the core of the team from last year and what was still around from 1994 Ros e Bowl team is gone.
Fortunately for Bellotti, he does have a quarterback in senior Tony Graziani who threw for nearly 2,600 yards last season with 13 touchdown while completing 55 percent of his passes. The offensive line is in good shape with only the left guard position no t returning. Standout tight-end Josh Wilcox solidifies the line with his 6-3, 247-pound frame and soft hands. The problem is replacing Ricky Whittle, Oregon's do-it-all back for the past two seasons. Sophomore Kevin Parker seems the most likely candidate. Fullback A.J. Jelks will also have to provide lead blocking as well as catching passes out of the backfield.
"The tailback and receiver positions are two areas of grave concern," Bellotti said.
Graduation hurt the defense with seven starters not returning, five of them played in the secondary. The lone starting returnee is junior Kenny Wheaton, a safety turned cornerback that has shown signs of greatness but is injury prone. All three starting down-linemen return but the linebacking crew has to replace Jeremy Asher and Rich Ruhl, last year's leading tacklers. Derrick Barnes played outside and recorded seven sacks, tying for team-high honors. Reggie Jordan, Jeff Branson and Ryan Klaason will tak e up the three other linebacker positions. Jordan is another sack threat, he also had seven last season.
Free safety LuShawn Brown, a transfer from Long Beach City College, could add an immediate impact to the depleted secondary.
Last season the Huskies were one point from going to the Rose Bowl, a 21-21 tie with Southern Cal put them into a tie for first place. With one less overall win than USC, they had to settle with the Sun Bowl where they got trounced 38-18 by Iowa.
Gone is the Huskies all-time leading passer Damon Huard (5,692 yards), taking his place is junior Shane Fortney a big, (6-3, 220 pounds) athletic quarterback with little playing experience. The running back duties will be filled by Rashaan Shehee, who ste pped in last season when Leon Neal was injured, and set a Husky single-season record with 15 touchdowns. The receiving corps is also deep with Dave Janoski, Fred Coleman, Andre DeSaussure and Jerome Pathon all returning. Janoski and Coleman combined for 7 2 catches and six touchdowns a year ago.
"The nice thing is that we return so many on offense and have some big-time players, such as Rashaan Shehee and the wide receivers," head coach Jim Lambright said.
The heart and soul of the defense lies in inside linebacker Ink Aleaga, an All-Pac-10 performer that is relentless on the field. The linebacking positions are solid as well as the defensive line, led by senior David Richie. The secondary is Lambright's co ncern. All-American Lawyer Milloy, the team's top tackler the last two seasons is gone. The top two replacements, Nigel Burton and Alex Hallowell, are both in their first year at UW. Burton comes from Pacific and Hallowell is a junior college transfer.
When Terry Donahue bolted for a CBS commentator job after last season, the spot was filled with Bob Toledo. Soon after, sophomore stand-out Karim Abdul-Jabbar, who rushed 1,571 yards and 12 touchdowns, entered himself in the NFL draft.
Jonathon Ogden, the Outland Trophy winner, follwed suit. The Bruins have just 10 starters back and a schedule that is one of the toughest in the nation.
Bob Toledo, welcome to the program.
At least Toledo won't have to find a quarterback, sophomore Cade McNown has a year under his belt and is set to go. Filling in for Abdul-Jabbar will be Skip Hicks, an untested runner with only 16 carries under his belt.
"Skip Hicks has the potential to be a sensational runner and we are going to do everything within our power to enable him to perform at his highest level," Toledo said.
Buying time for McNown will be priority for UCLA. Only one lineman returns, right guard Chad Overhauser. Redshirt freshman Kris Farris should start at left tackle. But he's not exactly Ogden.
The Bruin secondary will carry the defense, safeties Abdul MCullough and Shawn Williams are back, as well as cornerback Paul Guidry. Being able to provide man-to-man coverage will allow defensive ends Phillip Ward and Danjuan Magee to pursue the quarterba ck relentlessly.
"We feel that Abdul (McCullough) and Shawn Williams can develop into one of the top safety tandems in the league, if not the West Coast," Toledo said.
The last quarterback project Steve Mariucci had was Brett Favre, he turned into the NFL MVP. This year's project is Pat Barnes, a 6-4, senior, who threw for 2,685 yards last season. Mariucci is back with Cal after his four-year stint with the Green Bay Pa ckers. When he left, the Bears were No. 7 in the nation and playing on New Year's Day.
"There were very, very few college head jobs that I would even think about, but Cal is a special place," Mariucci said.
Turning a 3-8 season last year around is his top priority. With nine starters back on offense, he has a veteran, cohesive unit to install the "west coast" offense he wants to run. Barnes' top receiving targets will be Na'il Benjamin and Bobby Shaw. Tarik Smith had 74 carries for 391 yards a season ago, but will be the number one guy this fall. The running game finished ninth in the Pac-10 last season and will have to improve to turn things around.
The defense has serious problems in the secondary, with only senior Kevin Devine returning. Marlon McWilson has been turned into a safety from his linebacker spot and will be an imposing figure, but lack of depth at the other safety and corner positions c ould be a problem. Defensive end Andy Jacobs will have to pick up the slack now that Regan Upshaw and All-American Duane Clemons are in the NFL.
"On defense, it doesn't matter what style you play. It's not so much the scheme, it's personnel and it's the belief and it's how hard they play," Mariucci said.
In the past Washington State used a good defense to stay in the game, trying to pull it out in the end. This season's offensive line is big enough that opposing defenses will be the ones having to stand their ground. Left tackle Scott Sanderson is 6-7, 29 0-plus pounds, Jason McEndoo is 6-6, 297 pounds at left guard, right tackle Ryan McShane is 6-7, 306, Mike Sage is 6-2, 320 pounds at right guard and the runt Cory Withrow at center weighs in at only 260 with his 6-4 frame.
The line should be improved from last year's that surrendered 35 sacks for minus 239 yards. The biggest improvement should be sophomore quarterback Ryan Leaf.
Head coach Mike Price just needs a running back to emerge. Miguel Meriweather played well in the last two games, rushing for 148 yards and a 4.9 average.
Defensively the team returns seven players, including free safety Derek Henderson, strong safety Duane Stewart and right corner Shad Hinchen.
"Defensively, I think that the seconary could be a real strength for us," Price said.
James Darling, a second-team All-Pac-10 defender, leads the linebackers with Gary Holmes and Shane Doyle returning on the defensive line.
"James Darling is one of the best linebackers in the conference and he is definitely our team leader on defense," Price said.
At least they can't go backwards. Head coach Jerrry Pettibone not satisfied with last season, decided to make a few changes. In comes Bronco Mendehall as the new defensive coordinator and Denny Schuler, by way of California, as the offensive coordinator. Add two other new assistants on offense, and Pettibone has installed his "new" approach.
The Beaver's offense produced just 12.5 points a game last season and with only four starters returning, it could take some time to get to that point.
Getting out of the Pac-10 basement, means solidifying a starting quarterback. Sophomore Tim Alexander, Don Shanklin and Rahim Muhammed all started last season and return. Alexander should fill the role, he led the team in rushing (439) and passing (400) y ards last season.
The offensive line returns three. The Beavers' strength has been their defense, which was third last season in the Pac-10.
Inoke Breckterfield started the last six games at nose tackle, recording 11 tackles for a loss and 28 solo tackles. Outside linebacker Brian Rodgers leds a young linebacking crew and strong safety Larry Bumpus led the team with four interceptions a year a go.
