Since an embarrassing 1999 season, the Pac-10 has returned to the nation's elite, with four different conference teams earning Top 10 perches in the past two final AP polls.

Oregon, the conference's only ranked team in 1999, has earned a Top 10 slot the past two seasons, including last year's final No. 2 ranking.

Yet, of the six Bowl Championship Series conferences, only the Pac-10 hasn't celebrated a national championship over the past five seasons. Heck, the Pac-10 hasn't won a consensus national title since USC did in 1972, though it split crowns three times (USC, 1974, '78; Washington, 1991).

	Around The Pac-10
	Arizona Wildcats
	Arizona State Sun Devils
	California Golden Bears
	Oregon Ducks
	Oregon State Beavers
	Stanford Cardinal
	UCLA Bruins
	USC Trojans
	Washington Huskies
	Washington State Cougars

Then there's the nation's top individual honor: The Heisman Trophy. The Pac-10 won seven of those from 1962-81. Since then, zero.

After last year's BCS-forced hiatus from the Rose Bowl -- insert harrumph from Oregon here -- the Pac-10 again will send its champion to Pasadena. The question is: What about the Fiesta Bowl, site of this year's BCS national title contest?

The national consensus, apologies to the conspiracy theorists obsessing with the perceived East Coast media bias, is the Pac-10 once again won't be in the hunt for No. 1. The conference frontrunners, Washington and Washington State, are ostensibly Top 10-caliber teams with too many flaws to make the requisite perfect -- or near-perfect -- dash through tough schedules.

The once remarkable Northwest powershift away from Los Angeles is now the conference's status quo. Yet this still plays as quaint away from the West Coast.

Washington, ranked No. 9 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, has a high-powered offense led by celestial sophomore receiver Reggie Williams. But its defense surrendered an average of 54 points in three defeats over the Huskies' final four games.

Washington State, picked for the first time in 41 years by Pac-10 media to win the conference, welcomes back strong players on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Jason Gesser, the Pac-10's top Heisman candidate. But the Cougars lack the pedigree. They haven't posted consecutive winning seasons since 1988-89.

For either team to make a national title run, it will have to win on the road against a Big Ten heavyweight. The Huskies open their season on Aug. 31 at Michigan, while Gesser could impress Heisman voters at Ohio State on Sept. 14.

Yet frontrunner status in the Pac-10 is about as secure as a fedora in a hurricane. Over the past seven years, seven different teams have claimed the conference title. Oregon won't go away as long as Mike Bellotti runs the show. But the Ducks must replace quarterback Joey Harrington and two cornerbacks.

USC's Achilles heal is a questionable offensive line, which figures to struggle against a brutal schedule. Oregon State, loaded on defense, has the right schedule (read: soft), but it must break in talented but green quarterback Derek Anderson.

UCLA? Bruins coach Bob Toledo needs to overcome skeptics and make some noise. His job could be on the line.

Typically, supremacy in the offensive-minded Pac-10 starts at quarterback, followed by skill players and offensive line depth. Defense usually is an afterthought on the checklist.

With Washington and Washington State welcoming back nearly identical talent on offense, such thinking might change this season.

"The team that wins the conference this year is going to be the team that plays the best defense," Huskies coach Rick Neuheisel said.

Game of the Year
Washington visits Washington State on Nov. 23. If both teams notched victories over Oregon earlier in the month, this game figures to be for the conference title. WSU hasn't beaten Washington since 1997, and the last time the Huskies were in Pullman two years ago, they won 51-3.

Offensive Player of the Year
Gesser wins by a nose over Williams and Oregon tailback Onterrio Smith. The Pac-10 leader in total offense last year, Gesser threw for 3,010 yards and 26 touchdowns. He's on track to rewrite a WSU quarterbacking record book that includes names like Bledsoe, Leaf and Rypien.

Defensive Player of the Year
USC strong safety Troy Polamalu earns the nod over Arizona State sack-machine Terrell Suggs. The Trojans first All-American safety since Mark Carrier in 1989, Polamalu led his team with 118 tackles and returned two of his three interceptions for touchdowns. Humble and soft-spoken off the field, he can knock the spit out of someone on it.

Ted Miller covers college football for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.