I'm back from vacation and I'm ready to blog!

Pac-10 Media Day always means the revealing of the conference preseason media poll. So, without any further ado, here's what the media members think:

1) USC
2) Arizona State
3) Oregon
4) California
5) UCLA
6) Oregon State
7) Arizona
8) Washington
9) Stanford
10) Washington State

The Trojans picked up 38 of 39 first place votes (California got the other vote) to top the poll for the sixth consecutive season (that's the longest streak by any school since the Trojans topped the poll for 18 straight seasons from 1965-1982). USC has won or shared the last five Pac-10 titles and has two National Championships and a national runner-up finish in the last five years.

The media members usually know what they're talking about (no surprise to this sports guy). They selected the conference champion in 25 of the previous 47 polls (shooting better than %50) and have pegged the winner for the last eight years.

As for Washington State...I'm not sure I expected anything different.

That doesn't mean I expect the Cougars to finish last in the Pac-10, but I wouldn't expect media members from other markets to give Wazzu much respect. All they've heard in the recent past are horror stories (a bit of an exaggeration...I just couldn't think of another way to put it): The recruiting numbers are down (thanks Bill Doba), we hired a guy named Paul Wulff (locally we know what he is capable of...they don't have any clue), and our players are misfits (reference the Seattle Times article from my blog Times Article Attacks Wazzu Football). So, yes, I assumed the Cougs would be nailed as cellar dwellers in 2008.

Let me pose the question to myself...where do I think they'll actually finish?

That's a good question, Tim. I was getting ready to golf at Hangman Valley at the end of the spring and a random guy asked me about the Cougs (specifically how well they'll do in the Pac-10). I didn't really have time to think about it (it's rare that anyone recognizes me and asks me about sports), so I said they'd finish mid-Pac (I'm pretty sure I said sixth or seventh). Even though I wasn't prepared to answer the question then...I am now...and I'm sticking to my prognostication (whoever turns their back on a prediction is a chicken).

I might be naive, but the Cougars don't look all that bad (even though they lack depth). Gary Rogers is unproven, but I think he's capable of some pretty good things. Look at his receivers: Brandon Gibson (named to the
Maxwell Award watch list), Jeshua Anderson (won the Pac-10, National, and World Junior Championship in the 400m hurdles), Daniel Blackledge (people couldn't stop talking about him during spring ball), and much more. Plus, he'll have Devin Frischknecht at tight end (a big target who caught two touchdown passes in the Apple Cup).

The running game won't hurt the Cougs either. Dwight Tardy, who messed up his knee last year against UCLA, is getting healthy. He ran for 676 yards before he got hurt (84.5 yards per game) in 2007. Christopher Ivory made grades and should finally contribute the way everyone always thought he could (when he was a freshman I was told Ivory was the best athlete on the team he just needed to learn how to become a running back).

There's no doubt the Cougars will score points (look at Paul Wulff's track record at Eastern)...it's the defense you should probably worry about.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to get into the defense right now, but I will soon...stay tuned!

I'm always curious to hear what you think. Feel free to leave me a comment below.

1 Comments

Chief Enevold said:

Tim, I agree with you 100% that the Cougs will be Mid-Pac. This season will be a nice change of pace for the team and upset wins always seem to be more rewarding anyways. Keep up the good work and Go Cougs!

July 29, 2008 12:56 PM

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