1. Whether Arizona will take the next step under Mike Stoops. It took five years, but the Wildcats finally broke through and ended the Pac-10’s longest bowl drought. With that Stoops earned some well-earned job security…for now. His sixth season is a time of change, as the face of the program for the past four years, quarterback Willie Tuitama, has exhausted his eligibility. While the program is in no danger of descending into the chaos of the reign of John Mackovic (who is currently the coach of the U.S. national football team), it may be inevitable that they will struggle to earn a bowl berth in 2009. For the good of the program, it may just be a hiccup on the way to the program’s first ever Rose Bowl in the next few years.
2. Which Arizona State team will return in 2009: 2007 or 2008. Dennis Erickson’s first season with Sun Devils was a resounding success, as the vagabond coach parlayed an 8-0 start into a berth in the Holiday Bowl. However, the big start only resulted in greater disappointment in the second year as the Sun Devils endured a six-game losing streak. They managed to right the ship against the carrion of the Pac-10, but then got stomped by rival Arizona to stay at home for the holidays. Star quarterback Rudy Carpenter is gone and the replacements are none too appetizing, especially with the transfer out of Jack Elway. The program looked to be getting an upgrade by acquiring Erickson after tossing Dirk Koetter, but his third season will go a long way toward determining whether regime chance was the wise choice in the long-term.
3. Whether California ends its 51-year Rose Bowl drought. If there were any year to finally break through to the roses, this is it. The Golden Bears return tailback Jahvid Best and quarterback Kevin Riley and an excellent secondary. After a moderately stiff non-conference schedule featuring Maryland and Minnesota, the meat of the schedule arrives, as they face USC at home and Oregon on the road to start conference play. A 5-0 start would put Cal in fantastic position to win the conference championship and, perhaps, contend for a bit more than that. They might be more motivated to avoid having to play catch-up should they start in the hole in conference play.
4. If Oregon can bring back 2001. Nevermind that Joey Harrington had the misfortune to be selected by Matt Millen in the draft. He engineered a fantastic season that saw the Ducks head to the Fiesta Bowl. Since then, though, it has been all USC in the Pac 10. Recently promoted head coach Chip Kelly hopes to change that. If the Ducks can survive a trip to Berkeley, the Rose Bowl is there for the taking with USC coming to Eugene. It is a possibility that grows brighter should the Ducks also survive matches with the cream of Le Petit Cinq, Boise State (on the smurf turf) and Utah (at Autzen). Jeremiah Masoli leads the way for a team that has a number of question marks, particularly the offensive line and receivers, that need to be overcome. Can the Ducks stamp their authority on the Pac 10?
5. Whether Oregon State can have a fast start for once. The Beavers had a miserable start to the 2008 season, dropping a game to a mediocre Stanford squad in the opener then getting smacked by Penn State in the eastern time zone. However, the Ducks began to right the ship in game number four with their second consecutive home upset of USC, a win that unwittingly put them in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the season. Granted, this was not the driver’s seat of a Ferrari, but a Yugo. The confidence was low that this team could actually do it, but then something funny happened: they started to string together a fantastic winning streak. They reached 7-1 before their dreams of the Rose Bowl for the Beavers since 1964 were crushed in the Civil War.
The non-conference schedule is kinder this season, with the toughest challenge likely to be a visit from last season’s surprise Big East champion, Cincinnati. So the Beavers will likely get off to a good start. However, they have the misfortune of paying visits to all three of USC, Cal, and Oregon. So it goes. Mike Riley consistently puts together some very good teams, so this is unlikely to be the last time Oregon State is not rated highly at the beginning of the season. Could they keep the momentum of a fast start going?
6. Whether Stanford will go to its first bowl game since 2001. The pieces are coming together. After the devastating Buddy Teevens and Walt Harris administrations, the program is finally headed in the right direction under Jim Harbaugh. The Cardinal are breaking in a new quarterback in Andrew Lick, but the schedule is not too bad if they can withstand the growing pains. They will probably need to win six of their first eight games, because the finishing kick is brutal: Oregon, USC, Cal, and Notre Dame. Stanford is sort of still living off that USC win two years ago, so they need to tag another superior opponent if they are to be taken seriously as a program.
7. How much UCLA improves and measures up against the Trojans. Rick Neuheisel promised the end of the USC monopoly in 2008. If he is going to live up to his words, he is going to need to lead upward a team that was dreadful offensively in 2008. Exhibit A: Getting smoked 59-0 by BYU, which is terrible no matter how good BYU was last season. Exhibit B: Kevin Craft, who threw an absurd four pick-sixes interceptions returned for a touchdown against Arizona State, a mediocre team that made the Bruins look like Washington State. Craft finished the year with 20 interceptions and has rightfully been demoted in favor of redshirt freshman Kevin Prince, so the offensive should run a bit smoother. Can this team scrounge up enough wins to go bowling? Can this team keep up with their cardinal-clad crosstown rivals in their November 28 meeting?
8. Whether USC’s run at the top of the Pac 10 will come to an end. While there is plenty of positive talk about Oregon and California making a run at the crown, most of the talk is negative. Namely, whether USC will fall off the perch. That is only warranted, considering to be the man you have got to beat the man. Nevermind that USC lost a boatload of talent to the NFL; they have a boatload of talent ready to step in. The loss of wideout Ronald Johnson will be significant, but if someone can step up to catch some balls, all will be fine in Trojanland. But the main attraction, the main blood in the water, is at the quarterback position, where redshirt freshman Matt Barkley has been deemed The Man at QB by Pete Carroll. Can the Trojans’ pursuers take advantage of the potential growing pains? Will someone outside of South Central keep them out of the BCS? Will USC be deposed as king of the mountain in the Pac 10?
9. How much Washington improves. After a 0-12 season, there is no direction to go but up. Whether that upward movement is two wins, four wins, or (gasp!) a bowl game is a question of how high new coach Steve Sarkisian and returning quarterback Jake Locker can pull this program. Wins really do not matter; this team just needs to be competitive in the games that matter, especially conference games, and start aiming for a bowl game in 2010. A good measuring stick will be the Apple Cup game, one in which they lost to a team that was by most accounts even worse than the Huskies.
10. Whether Washington State will bring up the rear in the Pac 10. The eleven losses shine much brighter than the two wins, the 60-point waxings defining the first season of the Paul Wulff administration. Like their cross-state rivals, they cannot go down much further, but their recovery process could be more painful. With no FCS teams on the schedule, there are no easy wins anywhere, meaning what was Washington’s fate in 2008 could be Washington State’s in 2009. Can Wulff defy the naysayers and finish higher than last in conference?