The Pac-10 is back
With the Sporting News ranking three Pac-10 teams in the top 20,
including UCLA No. 20, Washington No. 16 and USC No. 9, and the AP
ranking Washington No. 13 and USC No. 15, the conference is back on
the charts.
Rankings for the Pac-10 were released at the recent Pac-10 media
day, with UCLA at No. 4 in the conference. With a new season ahead
of them, the Bruins are looking to put the frustrations of
’99 behind them.
“Last year we had a disappointing season,” UCLA head
coach Bob Toledo said. “It was discouraging after coming off
of 20 wins in two years, two Pac-10 championships and two New
Year’s games. Our work is cut out for us.”
“The attitude is great,” Toledo added.
“(We’re going to) put last year behind us.”
Though Washington has been ranked at No. 1 in the conference,
Husky head coach and former Bruin Rick Neuheisel said that anything
can happen.
“We all know it doesn’t mean much,” he said of
the rankings. “Last year three of the top four teams
didn’t play in bowl games. It really matters what transpires
through the months of September, October and November.”
The Pac-10 pre-season rankings are as follows: Washington, USC,
Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State, Oregon State, Stanford, Arizona,
California and Washington State.
Respect for the Pac
The overriding theme at media day was that this year’s
Pac-10 teams hope to redeem last year’s poor non-conference
showing. The Pac-10 went 20-18 in nonconference games and went 1-4
in bowl games. Only Oregon managed a bowl victory.
“Last season, the Pac-10 lost its respect. They laugh at
the Pac-10,” said USC senior linebacker Zeke Moreno.
USC will be the first school to challenge the notion that the
Pac-10 is weak when it plays No. 22 (AP) Penn State in New Jersey
on Aug. 27 in the Kickoff Classic.
“It’s more than just a USC game,” head coach
Paul Hackett said. “It’s about West Coast football and
what’s going on on the West Coast.”
Looking to some tough competition
With Alabama ranked No. 3 and Michigan ranked No. 6 in the AP
poll, the Bruins will also face early challenges this season. UCLA
plays Alabama on Sept. 2 and Michigan on Sept. 16.
“If you play good competition and beat them, it does
something good for the program,” Toledo said.
“If we can somehow beat Alabama, we can show a national
television audience that the Pac-10 and UCLA are back.”
The Fame game
Billy Kilmer, a Bruin tailback from 1958-1960, will be inducted
into the College Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 11-12 in South Bend,
Ind. In 1960, Kilmer led the Bruins in rushing, scoring, passing,
and total offense with 1,889 yards.
That same year, Kilmer earned first-team All-American honors,
finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting, and was MVP of both
the Bruin team and the Chicago All-Star Game.
After college Kilmer continued his football career, playing with
the San Francisco 49ers, the New Orleans Saints and the Washington
Redskins.
Notes compiled by Christina Teller, Daily Bruin Senior
Staff.