Pac-10 football still seeking nationwide respect

LOS ANGELES -- The dean of Pac-10 football coaches, Mike Bellotti of Oregon, was asked on Thursday how much the conference has changed during his tenure.

ASU's Erickson, Carpenter address Pac-10 media

“Go back to when I came to Oregon (as offensive coordinator) 20 years ago,” Bellotti said during the conference’s media day. “Don James, John Robinson and Terry Donahue were the (legendary) coaches then. The torch has been passed.”

Bellotti, who became Ducks coach in 1995, then sighed.

“We’re still fighting the same battle for respect,” he said. “There’s still the East Coast bias, where we need to help people understand that the Pac-10 can be the best conference in the nation.”

If “Southern California and everyone else” is the prevailing perception of the Pac-10, it was bolstered by the Trojans’ status as near-unanimous (38 of 39 votes) No. 1 pick in the conference’s preseason media poll.

Has the Pac-10’s biggest strength — the Trojans, winners of six conference titles and two national championships since 2002 — become its biggest weakness in the longtime pursuit of respect?

“They are the elephant in the living room, and they have earned it,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. “You can’t be the head football coach and not find a way to compete with USC. It’s part of the deal.

“When we catch them — and I say ‘when’ — we catch them, we’ll be at the top of the Pac-10, and maybe more. I told (USC coach) Pete Carroll that I hope we’ll soon play for not just first place in Los Angeles, but in the country.”

Early last season, the Pac-10, in terms of national reverence, appeared to be approaching such conferences as the Southeastern and Big 12.

The league had three schools in the top 13 of the polls, was No. 1 in Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings and had more impressive non-conference wins than any other conference in the nation. Why, some pundits even suggested that the Pac-10 had become at least the equal of the mighty SEC.

Then, USC lost against Stanford and Oregon to fall out of the national title picture. Dennis Dixon’s knee injury ended the quarterback’s pursuit of the Heisman Trophy and Oregon’s run to the Bowl Championship Series title game.

In the end, the SEC claimed both prizes, as Louisiana State won the national title, and Florida QB Tim Tebow took home the Heisman. The SEC was again king, while the Pac-10 continued to clamor for attention in a college football world that — even in today’s digital age — tilts away from the Left Coast.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said. “What, two-thirds of the teams are back East? If you’re not USC, you’re (in danger) of not getting thought about. I think us playing Georgia and other schools playing teams like Tennessee and Penn State will help.”

The Pac-10 touted its collective nonconference schedule on Thursday. This year, it plays 14 of 30 (47 percent) nonleague games against BCS opposition, second to the Atlantic Coast Conference (23 of 48, 47.9 percent). The SEC and Big 12 both play 15 of 48 games (31 percent) against BCS foes.

The BCS teams that the Pac-10 plays out of conference include Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Penn State and Notre Dame (three times). Even the non-BCS foes are considered among the best from that group: Hawaii, Utah, Boise State, Fresno State and Brigham Young (twice).

In 2007, the Pac-10 went 25-12 in nonleague games, 10-7 against BCS teams. The .588 winning percentage against BCS opponents led all conferences.

“I like those kind of games for our team,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “It’s a major challenge, but it’s worth it to play games like that. It can only ready you for games in your league. And those kind of games are what you have to play to build a program.”

Pac-10 preseason football media poll

    School    points
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 in parentheses