Where did the Devils stand for the decade?

The first decade of the 2000s is in the books in Pac-10 football (except for the 7 teams that have exhibition, err, I mean bowl games this December and January).

So, what team is the cream of the crop for the decade in the Pac-10?

I realize that’s a stupid question, since everyone who’s even casually watched the conference at all in the last ten years knows that USC has been not only the dominant team in the Pac-10, if not the entire nation.

But I got to thinking how the rest of the teams fared in the 2000s, and considered overall record, conference record, bowl appearances, bowl wins, BCS bowl appearances, top 25 finishes (AP), top 10 finishes (AP), players they had drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, total players drafted, conference championships and BCS Championships.

Here’s the pecking order…(click to enlarge)

Let’s go team by team…

1. USC (101-26, 64-20) - Hands down, the best program in the conference for the decade. You may hate them, but 7 BCS Bowl appearances, double the number of first round draft picks than the 2nd place Pac-10 school, and three Heisman winners are all hard to argue with. Plus, they dominated their cross-town rival UCLA, going 9-1 for the decade.
Best Win: Matt Leinart threw for 332 yards and 5 touchdowns as the Trojans pasted Oklahoma 55-19 in the Orange Bowl on January 4, 2005 to claim the BCS National Championship.
Worst Loss: Tavita Pritchard threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradford with :49 left, lifting Stanford to an improbable 24-23 victory over 2nd-ranked USC on October 6, 2007 in Los Angeles. The Trojans were a 41-point favorite, and the loss snapped a 35-game home winning streak.
Player of the Decade: A lot to choose from, but my pick is tailback Reggie Bush, who ran for 1,658 yards and 15 touchdowns on only 187 carries in 2005, as he won the Heisman Trophy that season.

2. Oregon (85-37, 56-28) - No, I didn’t figure uniforms into the formula, otherwise the Ducks would have been much further down the list. But despite taking the field looking like superheroes for much of the decade, the Ducks were a model of consistency. Five 10-win seasons, 9 bowl appearances, and a BCS Championship snub in 2001 were all part of the last ten years in Eugene.
Best Win: Freshman LaMichael James ran for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Ducks beat their arch-rival Oregon State 37-33 on December 3, 2009 at Autzen Stadium to win the Pac-10 title outright, and claimed their first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1995.
Worst Loss:With the Ducks cruising at 8-1 overall and ranked 2nd in the nation, quarterback Dennis Dixon, a leading contender for the Heisman Trophy, went down with a knee injury early in a nationally-televised game at Arizona. The Ducks lost the game 38-28, starting a three-game losing streak, before finishing the year with a Sun Bowl rout over South Florida.
Player of the Decade: Joey Harrington gets the nod over Dennis Dixon because prior to the 2001 season, Oregon’s “Joey Heisman” campaign, complete with Harrington billboard in Times Square, really put Oregon football on the map nationally. Dixon gave Oregon it’s first real dual-threat quarterback, adding another wrinkle to one of the best offenses in college football.

3. Oregon State (80-44, 51-33) - The Beavers were a doormat for a long time in the Pac-10, but were the third most-successful program in the conference in the 2000s. Head coach Dennis Erickson had the Beavers in the top 5 in the nation in 2000 after a Fiesta Bowl dismantling of Notre Dame. After Erickson bolted for the NFL, Mike Riley took over, and if OSU wins their bowl game, they’ll have their 4th consecutive 9-win season. The Beavs have also been one of the best bowl teams in the country recently, going 6-1 for the decade and winning their last 5.
Best Win: Oregon scored 29 points in an 8-minute stretch of the third quarter, and routed Notre Dame 41-9 in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl (2000 season). Jonathan Smith threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, including two to receiver Chad Johnson (Ochocinco).
Worst Loss: December 3, 2009 - What was the best game for Oregon, was the worst loss for Oregon State. The Beavers fell to the Ducks 37-33 in arguably their biggest game in decades.
Player of the Decade: Steven Jackson was an absolute workhorse for the Beavers in 2002 and 2003, and amassed 3,625 yards and 39 touchdowns on the ground for his career. He’s the only Oregon State running back in history to have two seasons of more than 1,500 yards rushing. He went on to become a first round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2004.

4. California (71-52, 43-40) - The transformation that Cal football went throught in the early 2000s was nothing short of amazing. Previous head coach Tom Holmoe had gone 4-18 in his last two seasons in Berkeley, bequeathing a bad program to first time head coach Jeff Tedford, who took over in 2002. That first year, the Golden Bears went 7-5, starting a run of 8 straight winning seasons, and seven straight bowl berths.
Best Win: September 27, 2003 - Tyler Fredrickson kicked a 38-yard field goal in double overtime, lifting the Bears to a 34-31 win over top-ranked USC at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.
Worst Loss: October 13, 2007 - Trailing by 3 points with :14 remaining and no timeouts left, quarterback Kevin Riley tried to scramble in from the 12-yard line. He didn’t make it, and didn’t get out of bounds, meaning Cal couldn’t get their kicker on the field for a potential game-tying field goal. The Bears, who were 5-0 and ranked 2nd in the country at the time, lost to Oregon State 31-28. The loss started a 3-game skid, and Cal ended the season at a very average 7-6.
Player of the Decade: Alex Mack. Yes, I know he was a center. But he was also a three-time All-Pac-10 selection, a two-time Morris Award winner, a Draddy Trophy recipient, and paved the way for a 1,000 yard rusher in all four seasons he was the starting center. Mack was also a first round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2009.

5. Arizona State (65-58, 37-47) - ASU went through three coaches (Snyder, Koetter and Erickson) this decade, but were never able to maintain success. The Sun Devils did make 6 bowl appearances, but still haven’t received a BCS bid. ASU trails only USC and Cal for the most first round picks in the decade, and did finish in the top 25 twice in the decade.
Best Win: October 27, 2007 - ASU fought back from a 13-0 deficit and beat Cal 31-20, to push their record to 8-0 on the season, and propelling them to #6 in the AP rankings. Dimitri Nance had three rushing touchdowns in the game for the Sun Devils, who, unfortunately are only 11-18 since this game.
Worst Loss: September 13, 2008 - After finishing the 2007 season with 10 wins and a berth in the Holiday Bowl, expectations for the ‘08 Sun Devils were very high. After routing Northern Arizona and Stanford to start the season, the 15th-ranked Sun Devils hosted UNLV before a showdown with highly-ranked Georgia. Apparently, the Devils forgot to show up, and lost to the Rebels 23-20 in overtime, leaving their crowd stunned and taking all of the luster off of the Georgia game. ASU limped to a 5-7 record for the season.
Player of the Decade: Defensive end Terrell Suggs was a dominant, disruptive force on the football field during his three seasons in Tempe. But the 2002 season was magical. Suggs, the Hamilton High School product, sacked opposing quarterbacks 24 times, an NCAA record that still stands. Suggs won the Ted Hendricks Award, the Lombardi Award, the Bronko Nagurski Award and the Bill Willis Award as a junior, and was a first round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2003, when he became the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

6. UCLA (66-57, 41-43) - The Bruins were a picture of mediocrity in the 2000s, registering only two seasons of 8+ wins. But in college football, mediocrity will get you to a bowl game, which UCLA did 7 times in the decade, winning two of them. Including interims, the Bruins have had 5 head coaches in the last ten seasons, meaning that mediocrity isn’t really accepted in Westwood.
Best Win: October 29, 2005 - Things looked bleak for undefeated UCLA, when Stanford extended their lead to 24-3 with 8:26 left to go in the fourth quarter. But the Bruins stormed back, scoring three touchdowns in the last 7 minutes of the game to force overtime. Stanford took a 3-point lead in o.t. on a 42-yard field goal by Michael Sgroi, but UCLA won it on a td pass from Drew Olson to Brandon Breazell. The win pushed the Bruins’ record to 8-0 and pushed them to a number 7 national ranking.
Worst Loss: November 5, 2005 - The very next week, the Bruins’ bubble burst, big time. UCLA traveled to Tucson to take on a 2-6 Arizona team, and got rolled 52-14, killing their national title hopes. The Bruins’ defense was riddled by the Wildcats’ offense, to the tune of 519 total yards.
Player of the Decade: Defensive end Dave Ball finished his Bruins’ career with 30.5 sacks, the most in school history. He led the nation in 2003 with 16.5 sacks, and was named a consensus All-American and the ABC Chevrolet National Defensive Player of the Year.

7. Washington State (57-63, 33-51) - I bet you thought Wazzu would be further down this list, huh? Considering their lack of success the last two seasons, the fact that the Cougars finished the season in the top 10 three times in this decade is almost unbelievable, but it’s true. Washington State went 30-8 over a three-year stretch from 2001 to 2003. Of course, since then, they’ve only won 23 games.
Best Win: December 30, 2003 - WSU exploded for three touchdowns in the third quarter, and knocked off 5th-ranked Texas 28-20 in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Matt Kegel threw two touchdown passes to Westwood High product Sammy Moore in the Cougars’ win.
Worst Loss: October 18, 2008 - Sure, USC was ranked 6th in the nation at the time, but to have a 69-0 whooping put on you on your home field is embarrassing for any team. The Cougars were outgained 625-116, allowed Mark Sanchez to throw 5 touchdown passes, and allowed three Trojans to gain 100+ yards rushing.
Player of the Decade: Alex Brink had better overall numbers, but Jason Gesser was the straw that stirred the drink for the very successful Cougar teams of the early 2000s. In the 2001 and 2002 seasons in which the Cougars went 20-5, Gesser threw for 6,418 yards and 54 touchdowns.

8. Washington (49-71, 31-53) - It’s hard to believe now, but the Huskies were a top three team in the nation following the 2000 season. They had just won the Rose Bowl, and had young Rick Neuheisel as their head coach. After a disappointing 2002 season, Neuheisel interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers coaching job, enfuriating the athletic department at UW. A few months later, Neuheisel was fired after it became known that he had participated in an NCAA Tournament pool. Keith Gilbertson would take over the program on short notice, and things got bad. Gilbertson’s teams went 7-16 in two years, and he was replaced by Tyrone Willingham. Willingham was fired in 2008 after an 0-12 season. And now, it finally appears that the Huskies are on the right track to restore their proud tradition under Steve Sarkisian, who guided UW to a 5-7 season in 2009.
Best Win: January 1, 2001 - The Huskies overpowered Drew Brees and the Purdue Boilermakers 34-24 in the Rose Bowl, and finished their season 11-1 and ranked #3 in the nation.
Worst Loss: November 22, 2008 - After starting the season 0-10, opportunities to avoid a winless season were running out for Washington. Their best opportunity came at Washington State in the annual Apple Cup game. Despite winning a game earlier in the year against Portland State, the Cougars were one of the worst teams in the country, and had been shut out in three of their previous four games. Yet, the Cougs beat their rivals 16-13 in overtime on a field goal by Nico Grasu. A week later, Cal routed UW, and the winless season was complete.
Player of the Decade: Jake Locker turned a lot of heads as a freshman in 2007, running for 986 and 13 touchdowns, while throwing for 2,062 yards and 14 more scores. His sophomore year was a wash, after getting hurt in the 4th game, but Locker came back strong as a junior in 2009, throwing for 2800 yards and 21 touchdowns, while running for 388 and 7 tds. Despite being the top QB prospect in the 2010 NFL Draft, Locker has already announced he’s coming back to Seattle for his senior season. Gotta love that.

9. Stanford (47-68, 33-51) - The 2001 Stanford team under head coach Ty Willingham went 9-3, and things were looking up in Palo Alto. But Willingham bolted Stanford for Notre Dame, and the Cardinal were forced to rebuild once again. Stanford went 10-23 under Buddy Teevens from 2002 to 2004, a dreadful 6-17 under Walt Harris in 2005 and 2006, and then Jim Harbaugh rode into town on his white horse. Stanford has gone 17-19 under Harbaugh, including a stellar 8-4 season in 2009. And the best part of it is, despite being the target of a lot of “higher profile” programs for coaching openings, Harbaugh has extended his deal with the Cardinal.
Best Win: October 6, 2007 - Nobody on the planet gave the Cardinal a chance against the undefeated USC Trojans. Stanford was coming off a 1-11 season, and had started out ‘07 1-3, with their only win coming against San Jose State. But the 41-point underdogs persevered, and knocked off the mighty Trojans on a late touchdown pass by Tavita Pritchard.
Worst Loss: November 21, 2009 - After three impressive wins over Arizona State, Oregon and USC in which they had racked up 139 points, Stanford had designs on a trip to the Rose Bowl, which would have been their first since losing to Wisconsin in the 2000 game (1999 season). Next up on the schedule, “The Big Game” with Cal, who would be without their best player, Jahvid Best. The Cardinal got off to a quick 14-3 lead, but Cal chipped away, and behind a strong effort from Shane Vereen, who ran for 193 yards and 3 scores, the Golden Bears won 34-28, and killed any Pasadena dreams for Stanford.
Player of the Decade: Hands down, Toby Gerhart. The bruising runner scored 41 touchdowns in 2008 and 2009, and led the nation in rushing as a senior in ‘09. He also finished 2nd to Alabama’s Mark Ingram in the closest Heisman Trophy voting in history.

10. Arizona (49-68, 30-54) - Let’s face it, most of this decade had Wildcat football fans longing for the glory days of Chuck Cecil and Tedy Bruschi. After Dick Tomey resigned following the 2000 season, things got bad for U of A…and that’s an understatement. John Mackovic took the job, and ran the program into the ground. In the midst of embarrassing performances and player revolts, Mackovic was fired midway through his third season in 2003. Mike Stoops took the reins in 2004, and despite being on the hot seat for much of his tenure, has seemingly guided the ‘Cats back to respectability. Arizona has enjoyed back-to-back 8-win seasons, and is going to a bowl game in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 1997 and 1998 seasons.
Best Win: November 15, 2007 - The Wildcats got a Herculean effort from cornerback Antoine Cason, who returned an interception for a touchdown, and then 9 minutes later took a punt return to the house in ‘Zona’s 34-24 upset win over 2nd-ranked Oregon.
Worst Loss: September 20, 2003 - Purdue’s Kyle Orton threw three touchdown passes, and Jerome Brooks and Jerod Void each scored twice as the Boilermakers humbled Arizona 59-7 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette. The loss marked rock-bottom for the Arizona football program–at least that’s what the athletic department thought, Mackovic was fired a week later after an overtime loss to TCU in Tucson.
Player of the Decade: Antoine Cason terrorized Pac-10 quarterbacks and receivers for four years. Cason was a 2-time First Team All-Pac-10 selection, and was a consensus All-American and winner of the Jim Thorpe Award presented to the nation’s most outstanding defensive back in 2007. He finished his Arizona career with 15 interceptions, including 3 returned for touchdowns, and was a stellar punt returner as a senior when he returned two kicks for touchdowns.

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