As always, these are power rankings.

Blame the non-prediction prediction on the Pac-10's bottom half, simmering in its own late stage syphilis induced psychosis.  Predictable, they're not.  Thus the frequency of the annoying, somewhat cop-out "TIE" in the list below.

What I do know is this whole tier concept.  In the world of home electronics, tis safer to side with Sony and Panasonic over impressively-named knockoffs.  In college football this means USC and Cal get the nod over UCLA and Stanford.

In the "I'm A Legit Top 10 Team" division, we have USC and California.  As a member of the chattering class I'm contractually obligated to mention these talking points about USC: lost two Heisman Trophy winners to the NFL and running back LenDale White, 3/5 of the offensive line from a team that lost its last game to Texas in the Rose Bowl, suffered through a tumultous offseason full of scandal but but but coach Pete Carroll is Hollywood yay and can recruit so this team is talented.  Of course none of that tells you anything about this year's team because that would require some thinking and we don't do that.  Cough.

Putting on my serious hat for a moment, USC is a team without an identity.  Are they going to reverse course and be on the defensive this year or is the offense going to set the world on fire again?  Or neither?  If one is determined they'll go far, if not, they'll be Florida State early 2000's: talented but woefully boring and with that diminishing dominance thing going on.

As for Cal, they should be in the top 10 this year.  Their offense had some issues last year that should remedy themselves with a new face at quarterback and a new OC hired from Northwestern.  Oh and that defense should be quite good with All-America candidates at defensive tackle and cornerback and a great group of linebackers.  It's 2004 all over again in the Pac-10.

After the obligatory USC/Cal references, the next tier in this conference is a close battle between Arizona State and Oregon.  The Duckies are coming off a 10-win season but graduate their steady-eddy quarterback Kellen Clemens and dominant DT Haloti Ngata.  I'm a little unsure how their defense will perform without the big man running interference, but the offense should be fantastic.  In the second year of a new spread look and the athletic Dennis Dixon at the helm, these Ducks will score, especially with a former No. 1 recruit in sophomore Jonathan Stewart in the backfield.

Arizona State has that two-quarterback monster thing going on and the coaches are content with young Keegan Herring running the ball.  Much like Oregon the question is with their defense.  Three defensive line imports and the addition of former elite recruit Mike Nixon to linebacker from a past life as a baseball player screams improvement.

These two can battle it out for a Holiday Bowl appearance and hopefully legitimate attempts at upsetting the USC/Cal juggernaut.

I have Washington State fifth in the conference.  Quarterback Alex Brink is developing into a fine quarterback, and with three touted JUCO backs and bowling ball DeMaundray Woolridge in the backfield, this team should have its best running game in a long time.  Throw in a defense that, like Cals, returns nearly every starter from a unit that was entirely inexperienced the year before, and the Cougars should make a move to the upper half of the conference.

And then... chaos.

The uncertainty at the bottom means there is little sediment of pushovers as happens in the SEC, but it wreaks havoc on predictions.

There's a lot of talk about Arizona this year, but I'm not buying just yet.  Quarterback Willie Tuitama is developing into a fine player and has good receivers to throw to, but Arizona's offensive line and run game remain huge concerns.  Defensively, they are coached by the much-hyped Mike Stoops, but the talent isn't quite there yet aside from the secondary and JUCO superstar Louis Holmes.

Stanford has what should be a phenomenal passing offense and an improving offensive line, but there isn't much running talent and the defense replaces many starters.  It wasn't a great defense to begin with, but a handful of talented players did depart.  Walt Harris is a quality coach who can get this team into the upper half of the conference, but it might not be this year.

After those two, we have UCLA.

The Bruins are among the most talented teams in the conference, but it's not a clear advantage for them anymore.  They graduate quarterback Drew Olson who had a fantastic senior season last year, but in steps former No. 1 quarterback recruit Ben Olson.  I have no idea what impact he'll have on the offense, but he has great talent and the team's fate is very much in his ability to make them better than they have been.  The defense looks sad, particularly at linebacker and defensive line, but they're playing the "new attitude" card with the import of vagabond defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker.  We'll see where that takes them, but the available talent isn't very encouraging.

Like UCLA, Washington's fate is very much in the hands of their quarterback.  I'm excited about the prospects of Isaiah Stanback this year as he's a team leader and greatly developed as a passer.  They lost a hotshot running prospect to academics, but if healthy Louis Rankin may be consistent and reliable enough to give the running game some life.

Finally, I have Oregon State as the worst team in the conference.  Mike Riley's return to Corvallis has been a disappointment and there's little to suggest this team is on the ascendant.

1. USC
2. Cal
3. TIE Arizona State
4. TIE Oregon
5. Washington State
6. TIE Stanford
7. TIE Arizona
8. UCLA
9. Washington
10. Oregon State