Pacific 10 football

Football coaches from the Pacific 10 Conference are gathering before media outlets in Los Angeles this morning to discuss the upcoming season. Here’s a who, what, when, where, why and how look at some of the questions they might face:

Who ... might finally emerge from the desert as a serious championship contender? Either (or both) Arizona and Arizona State seem to annually generate optimistic expectations ... then fall short. Coach Mike Stoops was celebrated when he came to Arizona from Oklahoma, but this will be his fourth season in Tucson, and Wildcats fans are getting impatient. Stoops hired pass-happy coordinator Sonny Dykes away from Texas Tech, so expect Arizona’s fate to rest with quarterback Willie Tuitama. He ascended from the lower rungs of the depth chart to wow observers as a freshman, but since then he’s been hampered by injuries.

Over in Tempe, the-man-who-might-have-been-USC’s-coach takes over. Dennis Erickson’s NFL performance was less than stellar, but he has a proven track record in college and an experienced quarterback in former Westlake High star Rudy Carpenter.

What ... in the world was new Louisiana State Coach Les Miles thinking when he bagged on the competition in the Pac-10?

The Mouth of the South has been popping off about the potential of a USC-LSU matchup in the BCS national championship game, saying the Trojans have a “much easier road to travel” than his Tigers, who play “much stiffer competition” in the SEC.

Miles is right, of course.

Those Arkansas and Auburn teams USC has beaten up in recent years were real stiffs.

When ... will the latest, greatest UCLA quarterback controversy explode? OK, so maybe Coach Karl Dorrell has more pressing concerns right now -- one of his coaches was arrested Tuesday -- but sooner or later the focus is bound to turn to whether the Bruins are better with Ben Olson or Patrick Cowan at quarterback.

Heading into the start of practice Aug. 6, Dorrell says Olson is his starter. However, Dorrell also said that the knee injury that sidelined the left-hander for most of last season would not preclude him from re-claiming his starting job when he was healthy. But it apparently did. Cowan, who guided the Bruins as the starter in their last seven regular-season games, also got the call in the Emerald Bowl even though Olson was ready to play.

Then again, we all know how that turned out. Stay tuned.

Where ... might a conference championship come from if not from midtown L.A.?

How about Corvallis, Oregon?

Oregon State won eight of its last nine games last season after opening 2-3, and the Beavers have four of five starters -- all of them all-conference players -- back on the offensive line and a returning starting corps of linebackers to anchor the defense.

Why ... is California receiver DeSean Jackson, pictured left, not only the college game’s most exciting player, but maybe its most valuable?

Let us count (a few of) the ways:

* He’s a touchdown-maker, with 21 touchdowns in 24 games over two college seasons.

* He shortens the field for the Golden Bears offense. As a sophomore last season, the former Long Beach Poly High star led the nation with a 18.2-yards punt return average. (And sometimes he really shortens it -- he took back a Pac-10 season record four punts for touchdowns.)

* He has been Cal’s leading receiver the last two seasons and last year had four 100-yard receiving games and 28 plays in which he gained 20 yards or more.

And finally ...

How ... (and this is a compound question) does Pete Carroll plan to keep such a huge and talented corps of running backs happy (?) ... with a Heisman Trophy candidate playing quarterback?

The Trojans have 10 tailbacks on scholarship. And oh, the guy in the backfield Carroll really likes? That would be fullback Stanley Havili.