Weekly Answers, Pt. 7
Check out the latest batch of weekly answers...
1) Do you think Neuheisel is worried that Prince might be injury-prone? Do you think Richard Brehaut is ready for bigtime college football? - Legalsean
Yes and yes. I think you have to be worried about Prince at this point, but that doesn't mean you abandon ship. If Prince is healthy, he's the guy. But Brehaut got a whole lot closer.
2) By season's end will we be saying the pistol ran wild or our squirt gun shot more blanks? And Why? - Eric T
Probably somewhere in between, leaning toward ran wild. There is a lot of young offensive talent, and I think Norm Chow knows he can mix and match a lot more than last year. There are the potential for some wild packages - imagine a goal-line offense of 6-5 Nelson Rosario, 6-3 Taylor Embree, 6-7 Joseph Fauria, 6-5 Cory Harkey and 6-5 Anthony Barr - and if the line can hold up, which I think it can, then there can be at least some form of consistency on the ground. Now, temper those expectations by the realization that it is a new system with many inexperienced players. There will be bumps.
3) Is Oregon that good to be such heavy favorites to win the Pac-10 and ranked #11? I think No Masoli = no way - Eric T
Agree completely. I think USC should be favorites, then Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Arizona, Washington, Cal, UCLA, Arizona State and Washington State.
4) Is Washington over-rated or bowl bound? I like Locker but i think they'll lose like 6-8 games this year. - Eric T
They are both overrated AND bowl-bound. Six wins is my guess.
5) Does Houston leave LA with a victory? - Eric T
I really think that's the toughest game to call on the schedule. UCLA has a great defensive secondary, but I need to see the defensive line to gauge the pressure. If Case Keenum can run - or throw, that is - wild, then the Bruins will have a tough time winning a shootout.
USC? I guess that 5-4 record in Pac 10 play last year really had you convicned?
This season is the last hurrah for the Trogans. The hinges are off the door, the wheels have fallen off the cart, and the frost on the pumpkin has turned to frozen nitrogen. Under Lame, $UC may still be able to wriggle around the NCAA monitors currently embedded in its program, but a national championship, or even a top 5 finish in the Pac-12, will be a distant memory. After 2010...well, to paraphrase Monty Python: 'This parrot has died and joined the choir invisible, it is no more, this is an EX-parrot.'
I don't see Washington and Cal finishing ahead of us. You can make reasonable cases for the others.
The trojans didn't look like Pac 10 champs against a marginally talented Hawaii last night. The offense played well against an under-sized Front Seven. But the vaunted Tampa 2 is a work in progress.