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The annual Pac-10 Media Day has come and gone, and again we've seen the usual sort of coach talk and player interviews, but I thought it would be interesting to pay particular attention to the preseason poll for how the conference was expected to finish this year.
2009 Pac-10 Media Poll (first-place votes in parenthesis)
1) USC (28) 316
2) California (3) 277
3) Oregon (1) 250
4) Oregon State 216
5) Arizona State 155
6) Stanford 150
7) UCLA 145
8) Arizona 142
9) Washington 74
10) Washington State 35
Sure enough, the Trojans are again picked to finish 1st for an eight consecutive time. It's usually the safe and smart choice. Still, given some of the uncertainty on defense and a hell of a schedule, I was curious to see if the media would be swayed to shy away and grow a set. They didn't take the bait however, as USC received 28 first place votes.
Cal was picked to finish second, making this the fifth time in the last six years where the Golden Bears were expected to nab the conference's silver. It's worth noting that Cal has only actually finished second or better twice in that span (a co-championship in 06 and a second place finish in 04). The second place finishes pretty much falls in line with high preseason expectations for the Bears, who could challenge for the conference title.
Oregon has also been a pretty sexy pick, based on the return of stars Jeremiah Masoli, LeGerrette Blount, and Walter Thurmond. Most remember the whupping the Ducks laid on OSU in the Holiday Bowl, and expectations are riding high. This blogger still thinks the losses on both lines as well as the coaching change will probably make it tough for Oregon to match last year's 10 wins, but then again, it could still be me.
Oregon State seems to be in about the right spot, as it's hard for me to imagine the Beavers doing any worse. Granted, the lost A LOT on defense last year, but if there's one thing I've learned in the past few years, is not to ever doubt Mike Riley. The man can flat out coach. I'm continually amazed at what he's been able to do year in and year out with what he has. Don't be surprised if the Beavs finish even higher, but 4th sounds pretty good for now.
Positions 5-8 pretty much appears to be one giant clusterF right now. You could argue in a lot of directions. Stanford's "toughness," the talent Neuheisel has been assembling at UCLA, Arizona's momentum from last year, ASU's underrated defense, etc...
It's a bit of a toss up, but I'd probably go UCLA, Stanford, ASU, Arizona right now. That could very well change, but I actually think the Bruins will be pretty improve this year, Stanford will unfortunately likely make a bowl game, ASU's defense will put carry them through a few extra games, and that Arizona will suffer from losing a QB who was that familiar with the offense.
Washington and WSU were predictably expected to finish 9th and 10th respectively, and that falls in line from last year's combined 1-23 seasons. Washington obviously has a bit more upside with a healthy Locker and a renewed enthusiasm in the program. Paul Wulff's comments about incorporating a no-huddle offense was pretty intriguing though. A 9th and 10th order finish sounds about right, but neither will finish winless this year. Hell, I can see the Huskies winning at least 4 games even.
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