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Two years ago, the Pac-10 was a national joke. Last year, three teams tied for the conference title, had big bowl wins and finished in the top 10 nationally. So with expectations raised sky-high for the conference leaders this season, can Oregon, Oregon State and Washington replicate their super seasons? Or will the league be hit with another down cycle? With eight teams returning their starting quarterbacks and a couple of early Heisman candidates in Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington and Oregon State tailback Ken Simonton, this could be the year that establishes the conference back in the nation’s elite. Here are our predictions for the upcoming season. 

1. Oregon 

Q: Can the Ducks live up to the pre-season hype? 

Head coach Mike Bellotti has led the Ducks to a Pac-10-best 49 wins in his first six seasons in Eugene, but has never faced the expectations he will this year. After finishing last season with a 35-30 Holiday Bowl win over Texas and a No. 7 ranking in the AP poll, the hype coming from the Northwest is deafening. Oregon boosters paid $250,000 for a billboard in Times Square promoting Harrington’s Heisman candidacy, and there is an Oregon football billboard just off of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. 

With eight starters back from last year’s high-powered offense, all the pieces seem to be in place. Harrington led the Pac-10 in total offense last year and threw for 20 touchdowns, and four of his top five receivers are back, as is tailback Maurice Morris, a junior-college transfer who ran for 1,106 yards, and four-fifths of the offensive line. 

The Ducks’ defense is a different story. Just one of the front seven return, end Seth McEwen, and questions abound about who will fill the other six spots. The secondary should be solid with All-Pac-10 cornerback Rashad Bauman and safety Rasuli Webster. How the defense holds up will determine whether Oregon will repeat last year’s performance. 

2. UCLA 

Q: Will all of the Bruins’ talent finally produce some wins? 

Head coach Bob Toledo’s squad heads into the 2001 season once again as one of the most athletically talented teams in the country. But a 10-13 record in the last two seasons indicates a disturbing lack of heart in Los Angeles. 

Toledo presents a myriad of options on offense, which Cory Paus will try to stay healthy enough to run. Paus has separated both shoulders, bruised his ribs and broken his collarbone in his first two years with the Bruins, and backup Ryan McCann led the team to wins over Alabama and Michigan last year. But Paus is clearly Toledo’s guy, so his health is of utmost importance. Tailback DeShaun Foster finally lived up to his reputation last season, rushing for 1,037 yards and being named All-Pac-10. With flashy Freddie Mitchell gone the NFL, wideout Brian Poli-Dixon can step into the spotlight. The gigantic (6-foot-5) senior caught 53 balls for 750 yards last season; look for his production to jump as the number-one guy. 

UCLA returns the entire defensive line, backed by Butkus Award nominee Robert Thomas. If the Bruins can find a cornerback to bookend with Ricky Manning, they could have a dominating defense. Their matchup with Oregon on Nov. 10 could decide the Pac-10 title.  

3. Washington 

Q: How do the Huskies replace Marques Tuiasosopo? 

Well, the straightforward answer is with junior Cody Pickett. After sitting behind the remarkable Tuisasosopo for two years, Pickett has beaten out City College of San Francisco transfer Taylor Barton for the opening-day job. But although Pickett is athletic and has a nice arm, there is no way he can step right into his predecessor’s big shoes. 

Luckily, head coach Rick Neuheisel has a twin threat at tailback to take some pressure off of his new quarterback. Senior Willie Hurst and sophomore Rich Alexis both averaged more than six yards per carry last season. Alexis’s emergence has led to junior Paul Arnold moving to wideout, where he joins Todd Elstrom, Chris Juergens and super freshman Reggie Willams to give Pickett a plethora of targets. 

The Huskies’ defense will revolve around tackle Larry Tripplett, who passed up the chance to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft to return for his senior year in Seattle. The team’s leader in sacks and tackles for loss last year, Tripplett may be the most feared defensive player in the conference. He is joined on the line by fellow senior Marcus Roberson, who had six sacks last year. The rest of the defense is a questionmark, with several players vying for time at nearly every position. 

4. Oregon State 

Q: Are the Beavers the Miami of the West? 

Although Oregon State had the best season in school history last year, what with tying for the conference title and blasting Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl, the Beavers pranced and preened around the field against the Irish, racking up five unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. With former Miami head coach Dennis Erickson in charge, some are reminded of the lawless Hurricanes of the early ’90s, rife with drugs, guns and rumored NCAA violations. 

Despite the new image, Erickson has clearly made the Beavers into a national power with speed and aggressiveness. But the two keys to the team’s success are two smallish, understated players. Simonton, who stands just 5-foot-8, is a Heisman candidate, having gained more than 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons, and former walk-on quarterback Jonathan Smith has made himself into a leader despite standing just 5-foot-11 in an era when quarterbacks are supposed to be supersized. 

But no Pac-10 team has to replace more starters than the Beavers’ 14, including seven on offense. The line that cleared the way for Simonton last season returns just two starters, and the top three wideouts are gone. Erickson’s offense depends on speed and timing, so Smith could struggle early as he acquaints himself with his new receivers. 

5. USC 

Q: Can Pete Carroll bring the Trojans back to their former glory? 

Carroll, who was run out of head jobs by the New York Jets and the New England Patriots, is taking his first crack at running a college program. But the laid-back attitude that infuriated NFL fans in the northeast could prove effective at Southern Cal. 

Carroll’s first task will be to turn the Trojans from a track team into a football team. Boasting the fastest group of athletes this side of the Olympics, USC finished dead last in the Pac-10 last year. Carroll must figure out if track athletes necessarily make good football players.  

It would also help if quarterback Carson Palmer cut down on an outrageous 18 interceptions last season. Palmer has the size and arm to be one of the top signal-callers in the country, but struggled mightily last year. Carroll is counting on quarterback guru Norm Chow, who earned his reputation at BYU, to turn Palmer around. 

The defense could benefit from two fresh faces, one old and one new. Cornerback Antuan Simmons was an elite player two years ago, but missed last season after having surgery to remove abdominal tumors. If he can play up to his old standard, it will give the Trojans a lift. The new face is defensive end Shaun Cody, the consensus top prep lineman last year. Cody could step right into a starting spot. 

6. Stanford 

Q: Can the Cardinal defense stop anyone? 

Stanford gave up at least 30 points five out of their last six games last season, and has since lost seniors leaders Willie Howard and Riall Johnson. Seven starters return, but is that a good thing? They will struggle to get to the quarterback without Pac-10 sack leader Johnson, and Howard was the backbone of the defense. Linebacker Coy Wire is back to throw his 215-pound body into the fray, and cornerback Ruben Carter was solid last year. But unless true freshman Michael Craven can step into Johnson’s shoes, the Cardinal will have trouble keeping the opposing teams from lighting up the scoreboard. 

Quarterback Randy Fasani has the potential to be an all-conference player, but missed three games with injuries and was forced to leave two others. Backup Chris Lewis is mobile and led the team to a last-minute win over Texas when Fasani was hurt, but is erratic. The tailback position is deep with Kerry Carter and Brian Allen both capable of starting, but neither is a game-breaker. The offensive line should be outstanding, with all five starters back, as well as talented sophomore Kwame Harris pushing for playing time. 

7. California 

Q: Is this Kyle Boller’s breakout year? 

Junior quarterback Boller should be helped greatly by new offensive coordinator Al Borges, lured away from UCLA with the promise of more responsibility. Borges is known for his innovative, multiple-set offense. If Boller can grasp the new looks, and get some touch on his short passes, he could emerge as a premier quarterback. 

A big obstacle in Boller’s improvement is the lack of a game-breaking wide receiver. Lacking a deep threat last year, the Bears often faced defenses with seven or eight men at the line of scrimmage, putting pressure on Boller to make decisions under pressure. If senior Derek Swafford, junior Charon Arnold or sophomore Geoff McArthur can stretch the field, it will give Boller more time, as well as open more holes for tailback Joe Igber. With four starters back on the offensive line, those holes should come more ofter for the diminutive Igber, who ran for 901 yards last year. 

Cal’s defense will have to deal with the loss of linemen Andre Carter and Jacob Waasdorp, two irreplacable players. But defensive coordinator Lyle Sentencich always seems to find new stars, and has a couple of possibilities in linebacker Scott Fujita and cornerback Jemeel Powell, along with as many as 10 linemen to work in and out of games. 

8. Arizona State 

Q: Will the Sun Devils score enough points to win? 

New head coach Dick Koetter brings a reputation for aggressive offense from Boise State, but the Sun Devils don’t have an abundance of talent on that side of the ball. Former walk-on Jeff Krohn was the starter at quarterback last year, but was alternately ineffective and fragile, while junior Matt Cooper and redshirt freshman Andrew Walter were impressive in spring practice. Whoever ends up behind center should have a multitude of receivers to throw to in Koetter’s offensive scheme. The return of tailback Delvon Flowers, who missed last season with a knee injury, should help out. 

On defense, ASU returns seven starters, but lost leader Adam Archuleta to the NFL. Koetter is installing a new defense that includes five defensive backs, so the defensive line will have to get a good push to keep teams from running all over them. End Terrell Suggs, a first-team All-Freshman last year, should be a force.  

9. Arizona 

Q: Will John Mackovic revive the Wildcats? 

The ’Cats were stagnating under former head coach Dick Tomey, but bringing in former Texas head man Mackovic is anything but a sure thing. Not exactly known for his offensive innovation, Mackovic won’t have much to work with in the way of playmakers, as Arizona hasn’t had a banner recruiting class in years. 

The good news is that the Wildcats will bring their always-punishing defense to the field. Larry MacDuff was the original engineer of the Flex-Eagle defense that led Arizona to national prominence in the early ’90s, and has returned to the school after leaving for two years. The defense, led by linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Michael Jolivette, will have to bring back the glory days if the ’Cats are to make a bowl bid. 

10. Washington State 

Q: Can Mike Price engineer an upset this season? 

Price, the Pac-10’s senior head coach, is entering his 13th year at the helm of the Cougars. But since Ryan Leaf led the team to the Rose Bowl in 1997, there has been little joy in Pullman. Price has enjoyed just three conference wins in the last three years, and the feeling is that he’s fighting for his job this season. But with three overtime losses in the conference last year and 17 starters returning, WSU could surprise several teams this year. 

The key to the Cougars’ hopes may depend on who wins the quarterback job. Jason Gesser was the starter for nine games last year until suffering a broken fibula against Oregon. But sophomore Matt Kegel stepped right in and led the team to a win over USC in Los Angeles in his first start. While the mobile Gesser knows the offense well, Kegel is the classic pocket passer Price has had success with in the past (see Drew Bledsoe and Leaf, Kegel’s first cousin). Gesser is the nominal starter as of now, but Price has indicated he may play both quarterbacks during the season. 

The Cougars return nearly their entire offense, with only their receivers gone from last year. The defense returns eight starters, but that might not be good news, considering the unit gave up 4.3 yards per rush last year and had just 23 sacks.