FanHouse Pac Ten Football Preview 2007

The California Golden Bears enter the 2007 season with two objectives: exact revenge on Tennessee and remind people that they were Pac Ten Conference co-champions in 2006. A returning combo of Nate Longshore and DeSean Jackson makes this all the more possible, and here's how we break down Cal's Golden Bears this year...

WHY THEY'LL WIN

The University of California brings what some experts are calling the best Special Teams unit in the country to the 2007 season. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson has returned nearly one in five punts back for a touchdown in his career, giving the Golden Bears an "X-Factor" advantage when evenly matched up against teams offensively and defensively. Against most of the Pac Ten, the Bears display superior talent and a coaching genius named Jeff Tedford--so special teams may not even be a factor. But if they need the edge, it is there.

WHY THEY'LL LOSE

Much has been talked about the "rivalry" between Cal's Jeff Tedford and USC's Pete Carroll, but ever since Cal out-played the Trojans five seasons ago, it seems more like the Trojans own the Bears, with four straight wins. Some of the mystique of the overtime win back in 'Ought Three is wearing off. Cal will have to prove early on that it is a contender for anything more than the Holiday Bowl when Tennessee brings their Southern values to the Bay Area over Labor Day weekend. Last year, the Bears were embarrassed on Rocky Top dropping them from a Top-Ten team to borderline Top 20. What's more, Cal somehow lost to Arizona last year--which doesn't take a genius to figure out that something was awry in the coaching which won't go away this season.

All of a sudden it seems like Los Angeles has become the Capitol City of College Football. Six years ago, the local papers asked whether the local title of "football school" had shifted to Westwood as UCLA competed for conference titles and challenged for a potential national championship. The USC Trojans have come back from the brink and have claimed five straight Pac Ten Titles and now the Bruins are looking for one of their own.

Oh, and P.S., we know that we're a Trojan fan at heart, so no need to remind us of the potential risks that poses for analyzing our school's second-biggest rival...

WHY THEY'LL WIN

UCLA has one of the best defenses in the country. Coached by DeWayne Walker, the Bruin Defense has done what no school had in five years--hold the USC offense to less than ten points in an upset victory last year. The Bruin offense brings under-rated running-back Chris Markey to the table and will sport a duo of experienced quarterbacks in Ben Olson and Pat Cowan with big-game experience. The pressure is off Head Coach Karl Dorrell after beating USC in 2006 and now the Bruins can focus on winning again, week in and week out.

WHY THEY'LL LOSE

UCLA is still a "basketball school" no matter what the Sons of Westwood may tell you. Unless you slept through the month of December--or like most UCLA fans were already focused on College Basketball--you missed the San Francisco Emerald Nuts Bowl, where Florida State--who had combined for three total rushing yards earlier in the season with Miami--ran roughshod over the Bruin defense. The Bruins will have to figure out how to bring their "A" game week in and week out if they want to win in the Pac Ten. Practice reports show that the Bruin offense is struggling to learn the West Coast offense. UCLA also has to travel to the Coliseum this year, where no team has won in more than half a decade.

With perennial BCS contender USC at the top of the Pac Ten, it is hard to draw the line between "contenders" and "pretenders"... In 2006, the Pac Ten faced the very real possibility of having five teams tied for fourth place in the conference--and 2007 looks like there could be eight bowl-eligible schools fighting for six mediocre bowls.

While these schools aren't quite worthy of being grouped in with Stanford among the conference "dregs" you won't see any of them traveling to Pasadena in January, either.

Oregon Ducks

Last year: 7-6 overall, 4-5 Pac Ten WHY THEY'LL WIN: The Oregon Ducks have consistently been "contenders" for the Pac Ten crown but have consistently come up short in recent years. They have brought the spread-option to the Pac Ten and will continue with QB Dennis Dixon at the helm in 2007. Rivals' eyes are still adjusting to those wacky uniforms. The Ducks get conference favorites USC at home the week after the Trojans travel to South Bend for what could be a trap game. WHY THEY WON'T: Oregon has consistently challenged for the Pac Ten crown but have consistently failed to pull it out. The Pac Ten has allegedly improved the quality of their referees this year, which won't give the Ducks that little something extra that propelled them ahead of Oklahoma in 2006. PROGNOSIS: Oregon may not even be the best team in their own State, let alone their own conference. They should be able to hang with the Conference contenders, but on paper there are just too many schools that seem better than them.

It seems that any week of the season, just about any Pac Ten team can beat any other, unless the former is named Stanford--and after surprise upsets in 2006 by Arizona over California and UCLA and Oregon State over Southern California the axiom proved true--setting up some good revenge matches for 2007 in addition to a quality out-of conference schedule

5. Oregon State at Southern California, November 3

In 2006, Southern California traveled to a packed house in Corvallis, gave the ball up four times and dug itself into a 23-point deficit, before scoring 21 unanswered poins only to lose on a tipped ball two-point conversion. Homecoming will have extra meaning for the Trojans this year.

Beaver running back Yvenson Bernard will be making a run at two Trojans' places in the record books, as he chases Marcus Allen and Charles White on the all-time rushing yards list.

4. Notre Dame at UCLA, October 6

Only last-second heroics by Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija could save the Fighting Irish from the jaws of defeat at the hands of Pat Cowan and the rag-tag bunch of Bruins.

In 2007, Jimmy Clausen will have to fill the big shoes of Quinn as he makes his first trip back to Southern California in the Blue and Gold. Expect no sympathy for his spurning USC's advances from an aggressive Bruin defense.