Onedegree, a free social and professional networking platform exclusively for the University of Southern California, is throwing a huge USC-Ohio State tailgate party at the Coliseum in the Fan Fest area (sandwiched between the Peristyle, the Sports Arena, Figueroa and Science Center parking lot).

In addition to FREE BEER + food — no way do you get that from LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace — there will be a free drawing to win 4 tickets to USC-Oregon on the 50, an autographed Pete Carroll football, and an autographed Matt Leinart jersey.

All you need besides a valid photo ID (for the beer) is a onedegree account!

We'll see you there.

For entertainment purposes only. And if I'm wrong, I'm guessing you'll be entertained.

Oregon State 24, Stanford 20: This smelled like a potential Stanford upset, but then the Cardinal got hit with a couple of injuries on the OL and at WR, so the Beavers get the nod in a game that figures to be low scoring. Oregon State's biggest edge is at the skill positions, and here's a guess that QB Lyle Moevao will be much smoother this season distributing the ball.

Oklahoma State 38, Washington State 24: The Cougars were hit hard by bad news this week with DT Andy Roof being kicked out of school and OT Dan Rowlands retiring due to recurring shoulder problems. The Cougars are thin on both lines. Meanwhile, the Cowboys' offensive line boasts 89 career starts, which makes this a mismatch up front.

USC 42, Virginia 10: The biggest point of interest here is how well USC QB Mark Sanchez plays after his rapid recovery from a dislocated knee. It's also worth watching to see how Pete Carroll distributes the ball among his six tailbacks. And you might want to catch the nation's best defense. Virginia is rebuilding, with just 11 starters back, and the Trojans don't do that. 

California 28, Michigan State 24: This might be the best matchup of the weekend. Kevin Riley surged late to win the Bears QB job over Nate Longshore, but Longshore is expected to see some action. Will TB Jahvid Best put on a show? Speaking of shows, Spartans tailback Javon Ringer and a huge OL will test the Bears' new 3-4 look.

Oregon 35, Washington 24: Justin Roper takes over Oregon's spread-option offense after Nate Costa went down with a knee injury, and his strong performance in the Sun Bowl suggests he is fully capable. He'll get a lot of help from Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount in the backfield and an offensive line that should have its way with the young Huskies front. A Washington upset will require a spectacular performance from QB Jake Locker, which is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Arizona 44, Idaho 20: Arizona needs a fast start and it will get it here. The veteran Wildcats offense should look good out of the gate, even without outstanding TE Rob Gronkowski. Moreover, the young defense probably will build up its confidence against an overmatched Idaho offense.

Arizona State 48, Northern Arizona 17: The Sun Devils get a preseason game. They might want to recall Appalachian State at Michigan a year ago and remember to show up.

Tennessee 27, UCLA 17: New UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel's debut is a tough one, with an SEC power coming to town. The UCLA defense and special teams could keep this one close, but the offense  -- even with guru Norm Chow calling the shots -- figures to struggle mightily against a tough Vols DL.   

Really labored over some of these.

Offense
QB Rudy Carpenter, Sr., Arizona State
RB Jahvid Best, So., California
RB Jeremiah Johnson, Sr., Oregon
TE Rob Gronkowski, So., Arizona
OL Alex Mack, Sr., California
OL Jeff Byers, Sr., USC
OL Juan Garcia, Sr., Washington
OL Max Unger, Sr., Oregon
OL Andy Levitre, Sr., Oregon State
WR Mike Thomas, Sr., Arizona
WR Brandon Gibson, Sr., Washington State
K Thomas Weber, So., Arizona State

Defense
DE Nick Reed, Sr., Oregon
DT Fili Moala, Sr., USC
DT Brian Price, So., UCLA
DE Dexter Davis, Jr., Arizona State
LB Rey Maualuga, Sr., USC
LB Brian Cushing, Sr., USC
LB Zach Follett, Sr., California
CB Jairus Byrd, Jr., Oregon
CB Alterraun Verner, Jr., UCLA
FS Taylor Mays, Jr., USC
SS Patrick Chung, Sr., Oregon
P Keenyn Crier, So., Arizona

KR Ronald Johnson, So., USC
PR Sammie Stroughter, Sr., Oregon State

Of course, you plan to watch every game. But if you had to pick 10, might we suggest...

1. Ohio State at USC, Sept. 13: It's the game of the year, period. The winner is an immediate national title contender and the loser won't be eliminated. No game this season will even approach the defensive talent on the field. Mistakes will be critical in what figures to be a defensive struggle, so whichever QB handles the pressure better figures to be the deciding factor.

2. Oregon at USC, Oct. 4: Can the Ducks win two in a row vs. the Trojans and jump to the top of the Pac-10? It won't be easy on the road. But Oregon figures to offer USC a legitimate challenge. And, as we've mentioned before, it's sort of fun how Pete Carroll and Mike Bellotti appear to have a prickly relationship.

3. Oregon at Arizona State, Oct. 25: This one could be for the Holiday Bowl berth. Or perhaps, if USC plays for the national title, a Rose Bowl. Basically, the Ducks visit to Tempe likely decides who plays second fiddle to USC. The Sun Devils will be looking for revenge after last year's 12-point loss in Eugene, their first defeat in 2007 after an 8-0 start.

4. Georgia at Arizona State, Sept. 20: This is more a test for Georgia, which is the preseason No. 1 in both polls. The Bulldogs haven't traveled outside the Southeast in decades for a non-conference game, but it's worth noting they have been an outstanding road team in the SEC under coach Mark Richt. If the Sun Devils win, it would be a landmark victory announcing the program as a team headed for the elite.

5. Oregon at California, Nov. 1: These two played one of the best games of the 2007 season, and it again figures to have significant conference implications. When Cal won 31-24 at Oregon a year ago -- having already overwhelmed Tennessee -- the Bears looked like national title contenders. Then they lost six of their next seven. This time, the game is much later in the season.

6. UCLA at Washington, Nov. 15: It's unlikely this game will have any relevance in terms of who wins the Pac-10, but when Rick Neuheisel makes his first trip to Washington as UCLA's coach, it will be national news. Neuheisel was fired at Washington before the 2003 season and later settled for a $4.5 million payout from a lawsuit he filed against the school and NCAA. Many Huskies fans still blame Neuheisel for the tailspin the program has been in ever since.

7. Arizona State at California, Oct. 4: Arizona State's biggest win of 2007 in terms of perception was over California, and that shows the lack of big wins among the Sun Devils 10 victories because the Bears were at the time riding a two-game losing streak (it turned out the biggest win was a stunning comeback victory over Oregon State in the Pac-10 opener, but that's not the point here). It's possible that the loser here will fall out of the race for second place.

8. Notre Dame at Washington, Oct. 25: This game will register more away from the West Coast and with national Notre Dame fans. Still, the symbolism is clear. Willingham was controversially fired at Notre Dame. His replacement, Charlie Weis, was hailed early as a genius, given a huge contract and then led the Fighting Irish into their worst season in ages. Both coaches are on the hot seat, and Willingham probably needs to win this game in order to return in 2009 just because it's one of the weakest team the Huskies face.

9. USC at UCLA, Dec. 6: The first meeting between new UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel and the man he wants to challenge for LA supremacy, Pete Carroll. It looks like a mismatch on paper, but then again it also did in 2006 when the Bruins knocked the Trojans out of the national title hunt with a shocking 13-9 win.

10. Oregon State at Penn State, Sept. 6: The Beavers, who've won the third most games among Pac-10 teams over the past six years, don't think they get enough respect. Penn State and their fans probably aren't going to give them much, either. But if the Beavers go into Happy Valley and win, well, it will be hard not to immediately register them as a Pac-10 contender.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Oregon running back Jeremiah Johnson said he owns a "massive stiff-arm," and he didn't hesitate to use it when a reporter asked for some gossip on the condition of quarterback Nate Costa's newly -- and vaguely -- injured knee.

"I'm not really sure what's going on with that," he said. "I don't know anything about that yet."

Johnson, who's coming back from his own knee injury, isn't so resistant to talking about what he views as a changing of the guard at the top of the Pac-10.

The Los Angeles native said he and the Ducks aren't playing for second place behind USC in 2008.

"We're playing for first place and nothing less," the 5-foot-9, 205-pound senior said. "It's time for a new face to be the Pac-10 champions. I'm tired of seeing the Trojans be that champion."

That might sound like a dubious boast -- unseat the Trojans, please -- but recall that Oregon was on its way to doing just that last fall before quarterback Dennis Dixon crumbled to the ground against Arizona.

Dixon's injury received all the publicity -- and for good reason; he was a leading Heisman Trophy candidate -- but Johnson's going down after six games significantly damaged the depth and versatility of the Ducks' backfield, even with Jonathan Stewart as the dominant first option.

Johnson is an elusive runner who also is an outstanding receiver. He's scored 18 touchdowns over the past three seasons -- paydirt every 11.6 touches -- and his running instincts are superior to Stewart's.

He also doesn't lack confidence. He said his goals are to break records and score touchdowns, and his team aspirations aren't modest either.

"My main worry is to just win games, be undefeated in the Pac-10 and hopefully win a national championship," he said.

Some folks might wonder how the Ducks could do that without Dixon and Stewart, but Johnson believes the Ducks spread offense and talent depth means it's just plug-and-play.

"We're all-around good," he said. "People may say that we're not going to be the same but we are. It's just different names in the backfield."

He's not going to name a favorite quarterback between Costa and Justin Roper, who's made a late challenge for the job, even before Costa hurt his surgically repaired knee Wednesday.

What's the difference between the two? "One [Roper] is taller," he said, laughing.

"Nate is a go-getter. He reads well. Roper, he is a tall, lanky guy who is smart," he said. "I can't really tell them apart because both are great quarterbacks. And like I've told every other reporter: If one goes down, I'd be comfortable with the next. Our offense can put any quarterback on the map. All the quarterback has to do is read the right coverages and make the right throws."

Hmm... some quarterbacks might wonder if that's a bit harder than Johnson makes it sound.

There are multiple options at running back, too. If Johnson is lightning, then many expect 229-pound JC transfer LeGarrette Blount -- the star of spring practices -- to provide the thunder. And Andre Crenshaw isn't exactly chopped liver.

Johnson said he has no problem sharing the ball.

"I'm not a selfish guy," he said. "I've been in two-back situations since high school."

He also thinks the Ducks defense is going to be formidable this season. He calls the touted troika in the secondary -- cornerbacks Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond III and rover Patrick Chung -- the "Three-Headed Duck" and lauded the hitting ability of speedy linebacker Jerome Boyd ("He's the one guy I try to avoid," Johnson said).

"A lot of offenses are going to have a lot of trouble with our defense," he said.

As for opposing defenses, Johnson's stiff-arm is more than a rhetorical device. Johnson's notorious shake-and-bake should prove he's 100 percent back from his knee injury, and his stiff-arm figures to drive the point home.

"That keeps them on their toes because they don't know when I'm going to throw it," he said.

From the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA):

The USC Trojans are the top-ranked team in the Football Writers Association of America's preseason Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll. The Trojans nipped second-ranked Georgia, although both schools picked up five first-place votes. It's the fourth time in five years USC has been picked No. 1 by the FWAA in the preseason.

The only other Pac-10 team in the poll is Arizona State, tied with BYU for 16th. The Big 12 placed five teams in the top 16 and the SEC had four. California and Oregon also received votes.

1. Oklahoma– The Sooners feature the nation’s pass efficiency leader, an excellent group of skill players, the best offensive line in the country and two elite interior defensive tackles.  To me, that’s a good formula for a No. 1 team.

2. Florida– The Gators should have the best offense in the country. If the defense improves–and I think it will–who’s going to beat them?

3. Ohio State– This is Jim Tressel’s best team yet on paper.  If the Buckeyes get by USC early, they should run the table.

4. Georgia– The best team in the country at the end of last season.  If Matt Stafford puts it all together, it could be the best at the end of this season, too.

5. Missouri– While Tim Tebow may be the best player in the country, Chase Daniel isn’t far behind.  This is an explosive team that has a lot of confidence.  The schedule is favorable, as well.

6. Clemson– Are the Tigers finally for real?  Talent abounds at all the key spots, but the offensive line is a question mark.  Tommy Bowden will have to really muck things up for this team not to win the ACC.

7. West Virginia– I think Bill Stewart can keep it going.  Doesn’t hurt to have Pat White and Noel Devine to fall back on.  They could be the most exciting duo in the country.

8. LSU– If the Tigers can find a quarterback, they should be pretty good.  Keiland Williams should emerge as one of the top backs in the country.

9. USC– Supremely talented team with a bunch of question marks at quarterback, receiver and offensive line.  Will get better as season goes on, but early games could be trouble.

10. Oregon– OC Chip Kelly should be able to plug ‘n play enough guys on offense to make up for the loss of Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart.   The secondary is one of the best in the country.

On the cusp: Auburn, Brigham Young, Texas Tech, Alabama, Texas.

You hear it a lot.  Way too much, in fact.

Now, here’s the thing.  The SEC is currently the top conference.  It was amazingly good last year and will be amazingly good this year.

But it is not set in stone that the SEC is the default top conference every year, or at least it shouldn’t be.  Yet, that seems to be the prevailing opinion among the college football media, year-in, year-out.

To refute this notion, I present to you… the data provided by the indispensable CollegeFootballDataWarehouse.

The CFBDW has a ranking of teams and conferences based on (1) Winning Percentage Points (2) Schedule Points (3) National Championship Points and (4) Big 4 Bowl Points.

For the period 2000-2007, the BCS conferences are ranked as follows (total points is the first bit of data, followed left to right by the previously mentioned totals):

As you can see, the SEC is on top in this decade (941 total points), but it’s not a slam dunk.  And, the real reason for the top ranking is due to the SEC having 12 teams to accumulate its points vs. 10 teams for the Pac-10.  The Pac-10 (923 points) gets to No. 2 largely on the strength of its schedule, while the SEC is dragged down somewhat by playing the fourth-toughest schedule among the six major conferences.  Averaging the total points per team per conference, the Pac-10 averages 92.3 and the SEC averages 78.4.

If you look at the top 25 programs for 2000-2007, another interesting piece of data is revealed:

Defensive End

1st Team–Everson Griffen, USC; Greg Middleton, Indiana

Middleton was a 2007 HP All-American and should have another great year. Griffen is a physical phenom who is ready to explode on the college scene.

2nd Team–Greg Hardy, Ole Miss; George Selvie, USF

3rd Team–Nick Reed, Oregon; Ricky Sapp, Clemson

Defensive Tackle

1st Team–Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma; Ricky Jean-Francois, LSU

McCoy will key the interior of the Sooner defense, while Jean-Francois is a unique jumbo athlete who should finally put it all together on the field (just like he did in the BCS Title Game) for a whole season.

2nd Team–Fili Moala, USC; Geno Atkins, Georgia

3rd Team–Brian Price, UCLA; Marvin Austin, North Carolina

Outside Linebacker

1st Team–Brian Toal, Boston College; Marcus Freeman, Ohio State

Seems like Toal has been making tackles forever. Freeman is underrated playing in the shadow of Laurinaitis.

2nd Team–Brian Cushing, USC; Rico McCoy, Tennessee

3rd Team–Clinton Snyder, Stanford; Ryan Reynolds, Oklahoma

Middle Linebacker

1st Team–Brandon Spikes, Florida

Spikes did it all for the Gators last year, accumulating 131 tackles, including 14.5 for losses.

2nd Team–Rey Maualuga, USC

3rd Team–James Laurinaitis, Ohio State

Cornerback

1st Team–Walter Thurmond, Oregon; Vontae Davis, Illinois

Thurmond had 103 tackles, 8 TFL, 18 deflections and 5 interceptions. Vontae Davis is a future first-rounder who was a shut-down corner for the Illini.

2nd Team–Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State; Victor Harris, Virginia Tech

3rd Team–Syd’Quan Thompson, Cal; Tony Carter, Florida State

Strong Safety

1st Team–Patrick Chung, Oregon

Chung had 117 tackles and 7.5 TFL last year.

2nd Team–Chad Jones, LSU

3rd Team–Kevin Ellison, USC

Free Safety

1st Team–Taylor Mays, USC

Mays is a physical freak who will probably be the first safety taken in the next draft.

2nd Team–William Moore, Missouri

3rd Team–Rashad Johnson, Alabama

Sorry, no punters or kickers or return guys on this team.

Arizona State and Oregon make the Top 25.

2008 Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll [USATODAY.com]

You'd think -- considering Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Virginia all rank in top 15 schools for spending on recruiting athletes in all sports. In 2006-07, Tennessee led the nation at $2 million. The Irish were second at about $1.75 million, the Buckeyes 10th at $1,236,800, and the Cavs 15th at $1,112,000.

With most of the costs going to travel, the median Division 1 program spent $632,600 on sports recruiting in 2006-07. Twenty one schools spent over $1 million. The findings are published in a report from the Chronicle of Higher Education which is dated August 1, 2008.

USC spent $903,799 on recruiting in that same period, of which $268,449 was spent on women's recruiting.

Some other familiar football opponents made the top-20 in spending, including Auburn, Nebraska, Arkansas, Illinois, Texas, and Oklahoma.

Of the six BCS conferences, the Pac-10 spent the 5th most on recruiting, $834,700,000 -- an increase of 80% from ten years before. Oregon led the league at $1,077,300, 19th highest in the country.

It looks like there were some interesting moments that went on at media day today so lets get to it.

Officiating was front and center right out of the gate. It appeared early on that a number of the new rule changes and how they would be enforced did not inspire a lot of confidence particularly with Pete Carroll.

More specific and no longer allowed:

• No Horse Collar tackles - it will be called as a penalty every time this year.
• A face mask is a face mask - 15 yard penalty no matter what
• Field Goals can and will be reviewed by the replay officials
• Targeting a player could earn the offending player an ejection

That last one caused a lot discussion as it is clear that it could be interpreted differently from crew to crew. Dan Weber gives us the rundown.

Officiating Coordinator Cutaia shows a vicious hit, but clearly not dirty, of a punt receiver.

He says the clip shows a play where the officials could consider "ejection.''

Pete Carroll nearly is ejected from his seat at how unfair that would be to the player. A majority, maybe all nine other Pac-10 coaches, seem to agree.

Cutaia does not. This rule will cause more problems than it will solve if Thursday's discussion is any guide.

"This stuff just happens,'' Carroll said. "There was no intent . . . This is not an ejectable event. You guys just don't understand.''

And they don't agree.

Carroll really is unhappy that the connection between "ejection'' and "targeting'' has been made.

And you don't have to hit the ball-carrier with your helmet to target him. An elbow, shoulder, whatever, will do.

I can see why Pete Carroll is not happy, USC defenders have been hitting opposing players hard and they have gotten a lot of attention over it. Be it Maualuga's hit on Cowan or Wright's hit on Locker SC defenders have been known for punishing hits. The subjective nature of these and other calls also came up in discussions and Pete Carroll once again asked what gives?

Pete Carroll had just asked Officiating Coordinator David Cutaia the question: "How can we lead the league for the fourth straight year in opponents' fewest yards penalized?

Cutaia shook his head. No answer.

"You ask him,'' Carroll said.

So we did.

"All I can tell you is we look at every play in every game, including USC's, '' Cutaia said. "And we think they're mostly called correctly.''

And yes, Cutaia said, "We have had this discussion before (with USC).''

And "We have no explanation.''

Why am I not surprised...these guys still haven't learned from the Oregon/Oklahoma debacle a couple of years ago. The Pac-10 will continue to be the laughing stock when it comes to officiating until they are more accountable for their actions on the field.

Speaking of rules the antiquated rules regarding home jerseys will once again prevent USC and ucla from having the visiting team wear their their home jersey's because the visiting team lose a time out in BOTH halves.

Had it just been in the first half, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said he would have called a time-out immediately to even the playing field. But losing one in the second half is too risky, he said, although he wishes the schools could get an exemption so there could be a red vs. blue game.

"My guess is it will be turned down," Neuheisel said. "But it should be that way."

It's too bad that the powers that be can't see how something so simple could do so much for this rivalry.

As for who said what well lets take a look.

Mike Bellotti opened his remarks with a tribute to recently passed Oregon Player Tood Doxey.

“It’s exciting to be back for the 2008 football season, despite the fact that we are mourning Todd Doxey. He will be forever with us in our hearts. Our players are committed to honoring his memory. With that said, we are excited about opening our season against Washington because it’s a Pac-10 game, it gets our team’s attention, it’s on TV and we have three weeks to prepare for Jake Locker, one of the best players in the Conference.

Dennis Erickson had some interesting comments about gaining national prominence.

On Georgia coming to Tempe:

"If we want to get national prominence we've got to play games like that. I'd like to play a game like that once a year -- all at home. To me, it puts you on a national stage against a great conference. Obviously, they are one of the better teams in the conference. It's a huge game in Tempe.

Of course everyone wanted to see what Jim Harbaugh said after last years comments about USC an pete Crroll especially after their upste of SC but he wouldn't take the bait.

Last year, Jim Harbaugh made a splash as Stanford's new coach when he proclaimed USC to be perhaps the best team in college history. Asked if he had any more bulletin board material for this year, Harbaugh said: ``Have I had any bulletin board fodder? I didn't know I was a bulletin board guy.''

I will address Slick Rick and Pete Carroll's day at the podium in separate posts later.

The Pac-10 Media poll goes as follows:

1. USC (38)
2. Arizona State
3. Oregon
4. California (1)
5. UCLA
6. Oregon State
7. Arizona
8. Washington
9. Stanford
10. Washington State

Follow the jump for Trojan DePo's predictions, including projected conference records.

To kick things off, here's this year's pre-season media poll. Remember that the LA Times does not participate, but we do report ...

1. USC (38) - 389
2. Arizona State - 330
3. Oregon - 295
4. California (1) - 274
5. UCLA - 204
6. Oregon State - 192
7. Arizona - 185
8. Washington - 139
9. Stanford - 76
10. Washington State - 61

First place votes are in parenthesis, total votes are listed after the dash.

According to the league, the poll has picked the champs 25 of 47 years and the past 8 seasons in a row (a few of those were ties, of course). USC has been on top for six years in a row, the longest streak since an 18-year run from 1965-1982.

Here's the poll with total points
1. USC (38) 389
2. ASU 330
3. Oregon 295
4. Cal (1) 274
5. UCLA 204
6. Oregon State 192
7. Arizona 185
8. Washington 139
9. Stanford 76
10. Washington State 61