Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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It’s another familiar refrain out West:  USC and everybody else.  The Trojans are once again one of the most talented teams in the country, and are a national title favorite.  Combine that with a down year throughout the rest of the conference and Pete Carroll and company are even bigger favorites in conference than usual.  Still, the Trojans lost twice in conference last season including a stunner to Stanford at home.  They lost twice to conference foes in 2006 as well so they can be beaten.  Because of the familiarity there is less of an intimidation factor playing USC than there is for out of conference opponents.  The nine teams chasing the Trojans are bunched up together in neat groups.  Arizona State and Oregon are expected to be top-25 caliber teams with Cal remaining a talented but enigmatic squad with holes to fill.  Every team in the conference is not without questions that need to be answered, and there will be a battle for bowl positions all season long.

Favorite:  USC
The main concern out in downtown Los Angeles is the status of Mark Sanchez’s knee.  The quarterback suffered a non-contact injury early on in training camp, and while initially there was concern that it was serious it is not expected to keep him out for long.  Sanchez should be ready to start in the September showdown against Ohio State, but in the meantime Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain and the mobile Aaron Corp are fighting it out to possibly start the season opener against Virginia.  No matter who is under center, whether it be Sanchez, Mustain, or Corp, he will have plenty of weapons on offense.  Running back is again ridiculously deep with Joe McKnight emerging as the big playmaker there.  The receivers are plenty talented just needing one player to seize the mantle and be the go-to target.  The defense is big and fast, and should battle the Buckeyes for title of best in the country.  Linebackers Rey Mauluga and Brian Cushing are two of the best in the nation and safety Taylor Mays is a physical freak of nature.  USC will be heavily favored to go undefeated in conference which should give the team an excellent shot at reaching the title game.  The season may hinge on the play of the offensive line which is inexperienced and has suffered several injuries and position changes.

Contenders:  Oregon, Arizona State
The Ducks, and not preseason media darling Arizona State, has the best chance of unseating the Trojan dynasty albeit a very remote one.  Quarterback Nate Costa has been getting rave reviews, and he should thrive in offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s innovative spread offense.  He is inexperienced and is by no means a sure thing, but many forget that before last season Dennis Dixon was regarded as just a good athlete unable to handle the rigors of the quarterback position.  An athletic ball-hawking secondary led by Patrick Chung will lead the defense.  Arizona State will have a tough time challenging USC let alone Georgia when the Bull Dogs visit Tempe in September.  The main reason is a questionable offensive line which will feature four new starters this fall.  It’s not entirely certain is that is a good or a bad thing considering the line gave up 55 sacks a year ago.  The team is fairly set every where else so depending on the blocking, Arizona State could be looking at a 10-win season or four-to-five losses.

Teams on the Rise:  Stanford, UCLA
Jim Harbaugh has injected plenty of energy into the Stanford program and has taken their recruiting to another level.  Watch out for the Cardinal as Harbaugh continues to upgrade the talent and change the culture in Palo Alto building off that monumental upset of USC a season ago.  UCLA is likely to be down this year, but the coaching staff appears light years better than at any point in Karl Dorrell’s tenure.  Rick Neusheisel retained defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker and lured Norm Chow to fix the offense.  A strong recruiting class will lay the foundation for a different era in Bruin football.

The Hot Seats:  Washington, Arizona
Both squads have enough talent to reach a bowl game, and both coaches will need to do that just that or else they will quickly find themselves among the unemployed.  Tyrone Willingham has not been able to win consistently in Seattle, and the alums are getting restless.  Notre Dame and UCLA will both visit the Huskies in a pair of games with serious intrigue.  Mike Stoops is just 17-29 in four seasons with the Wildcats and has yet to have a season over .500.  He will be heavily reliant on an offense that returns 10 starters to outscore opponents.  The early season schedule is extremely soft which should lead to an early 3-0 record.  Stoops will have no excuse not to reach a bowl game this year.

Bottom Feeder:  Washington State
The Cougs are undergoing some serious changes under new coach Paul Wulff.  The team will be switching to a no-huddle spread offense and to a 4-3 alignment on defense.  Combine that with the fact that the team lost more than a quarter of the entire roster to graduation and attrition you get the very definition of “rebuilding year.” 

Analyst Power Ranking:
1. USC
2. Oregon
3. Arizona State
4. Oregon State
5. California
6. Arizona
7. UCLA
8. Washington
9. Stanford
10. Washington State