ESPN College Football

At what position is the Pac-10 deep? At what position in the Pac-10 thin? Here's the third of three parts taking a look at just that.

Deep: Specialists

Why is it deep? Eight teams welcome back both their punter and kicker, and many of them are quite happy about that. Three conference kickers ranked among the top-20 in field goals per game, while three punters ranked in the top 21. No team is replacing both specialists. Oregon is replacing kicker Morgan Flint and USC is replacing kicker Jordan Congdon, who ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, in field goals per game in 2009.

The big names: Start with two Lou Groza Award winning kickers: UCLA's Kai Forbath (2009) and Arizona State's Thomas Weber (2007). Then there's Oregon State's Justin Kahut, who made 22 of 27 field goals with a long of 50, and Washington's Erik Folk, who was 18 for 21 with a long of 48. As for the punters, Arizona State's Trevor Hankins ranked No. 1 in the Pac-10 and 10th in the nation in punting (44.2 yards per punt), while UCLA's Jeff Locke (43.6) was 16th in the nation and Washington State's Reid Forrest (43.2) was 21st. Oh, and California's Bryan Anger might have the biggest foot of everyone; he dropped a conference-high 24 punts inside the 20 last year.

Thin: Linebacker

Why is it thin? Four of the six linebackers who made up the first and second All-Pac-10 teams are gone as are five of the 11 LBs who earned honorable mention. Only two teams -- USC and Oregon -- welcome back all of their starting LBs from 2009, and a big story this spring was the Trojans lack of depth at the position, while the Ducks moved Eddie Pleasant to safety (in large part because of depth at the position). Arizona is replacing all three starting linebackers, while Arizona State, Oregon State and UCLA only have one returning starter at the position (though the Beavers outside linebacker platoon of Dwight Roberson and Keith Pankey probably should count as more than one starter).

Fill the void? This is not a "strength" position, but the cupboard is hardly empty: UCLA's Akeem Ayers, California's Mike Mohamed and Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict are All-American candidates, while Oregon's Casey Matthews earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors in 2009 and Washington's Mason Foster is a likely breakout player. The Ducks, in particular, are fast and deep at linebacker, while the Sun Devils aren't far behind in terms of young talent.

Who will breakout and make a move toward stardom this season?

Most of these guys aren't "new," but they could make the next step up in their careers this spring.

Arizona
Juron Criner, WR, Jr: Criner (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) is already a familiar name to Wildcats fans. Heck, he led the team with nine touchdown receptions in 2009. The reason he makes this list is this: It would be a surprise if he's not first-team All-Pac-10 at season's end.

Arizona State
Aaron Pflugrad, WR, Jr: Hmm. Name seems familiar? Pflugrad is a transfer from Oregon, who left the Ducks after his father, Robin, was fired as receivers coach. He was expected to start for the Ducks in 2009, and he should be in the same position with the Sun Devils, who need help at receiver.

California
Ernest Owusu, DE, Jr: Owusu looked like a budding star early last season when he recorded two sacks and three tackles for a loss against Maryland, but that was about it for his production in 2009. Still, he combines good intelligence and speed with special power -- he's the Bears' strongest player -- and that could all come together as he fights to break into the starting lineup.

Oregon
Diante Jackson, WR, RFr: Many thought Jackson would offer immediate help to the Ducks' receiving corps as a true freshman, but, instead, he was a scout team star last year. The Ducks are looking for a dynamic, play-making presence at wideout and Jackson might be the guy.

Oregon State
The Unga brothers: The Beavers lost Keaton Kristick to graduation and Keith Pankey may miss 2010 with an Achilles injury, so there are opportunities at linebacker. These twin brothers -- Kevin "Feti" Unga and Devin "Uani" Unga -- could fight their way into the mix.

Stanford
Shayne Skov, LB, So: Skov started seven games last year as a true freshman and ended up third on the Cardinal with 62 tackles. The early returns are Skov will be first-team All-Pac-10 before he's done.

UCLA
Cory Harkey, TE, Jr: With the departure of Logan Paulsen and Ryan Moya, Harkey will finally get his chance to take center stage. He caught eight passes for 41 yards and a touchdown in 2009. His production will be many times that in 2010.

USC
T.J. McDonald, S, So: First off, the son of former USC legend Tim McDonald is listed at 205 pounds. Really? He looks bigger -- in a good way. And he's a hitter. He had seven tackles as a backup to strong safety Will Harris last year, but he could play either free or strong.

Washington
Talia Crichton, DE, So: Crichton was forced into action last year as a true freshman -- he started four games -- because the Huskies lacked depth on the defensive line. With the departure of both starting ends -- and the questionable status of Kalani Aldrich's knee -- Crichton is almost certain to ascend to a first-team spot. Here's a guess he's better prepared in 2010.

Washington State
Travis Long, DE, So: Back in the Cougars' glory days -- folks, it wasn't really that long ago, either -- they always had ends who were disruptive. Long led the Cougars with 6.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks as a true freshman in 2009. Those numbers will more than double in 2010.

EUGENE, Ore. -- The games couldn't have been more different, but for the second consecutive year Oregon State isn't going to the Rose Bowl because it lost the Civil War.

It hurt in 2008 when the Ducks rolled over them 65-38. And it hurt Thursday night when the Ducks outlasted them 37-33.

“It is never easy," Beavers linebacker Keith Pankey said. "We fought all season for this and it slipped through our fingers. We played our hearts out today.”

It came down to a couple of plays. It always seems to in tight games.



Both offenses mostly had their way, but the Ducks made the critical conversions in the fourth quarter and the Beavers could not.

Oregon State jumped ahead 30-21 after driving 75 yards for a touchdown on their first possession of the second half, but the Beavers wouldn't reach the end zone again.

There were two contrasting, critical fourth-quarter drives that told the final story.

Down by four, the Beavers had a first down on the Oregon 22-yard line as the clock wound down in the fourth quarter. But three plays later, they faced a fourth-and-15 with 6:16 left.

Coach Mike Riley looked at the clock and thought about the Ducks offense. He decided he needed to go for it.

"On 4th and 15, we did not know if we would get another opportunity and if they scored a touchdown it would be over," he said.

But Sean Canfield, the most accurate passer in the Pac-10, couldn't connect with James Rodgers.

The Ducks took over and wouldn't give the ball back, twice converting on fourth down during the game's gutsy, poised final drive.

One team made plays in the fourth quarter, one team couldn't.

The Beavers, who last played in a Rose Bowl in 1965, now may likely fall all the way to the Las Vegas Bowl, based on how the bowl-selection process will go, despite tying for second in the Pac-10. The Holiday Bowl will select the winner of the USC-Arizona game on Saturday, while the Sun Bowl likely will exercise a "no-repeat" clause and choose a team other than the Beavers, who were in El Paso last year.

“We cannot sit here and sulk," Pankey said. "It did not go our way, but we have one game left.”

Canfield was outstanding in a losing effort. He completed 24 of 36 passes for 306 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. It likely will be between him and Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli as to who is named first-team All-Pac-10 quarterback.

"Sean Canfield is the real deal," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. "He's the first guy I've seen come into Autzen Stadium and not get rattled."

The Beavers (8-4, 6-3) didn't seemed rattled in the least. They just got beat.

“They were the best tonight," Riley said. "Our conference this year was one of the strongest and most balanced it has ever been.”

Each Civil War loss -- a humiliating blowout in 2008 and a what-might-have-been in 2009 -- hurts in its own way.

The Beavers have nothing to be ashamed of this go-around. But that won't be much consolation when they watch the Ducks take the field opposite Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and they think, "That could have been us."

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Leaving the Bay for the Desert today... 

• We open with a must-read. All summer we saw reports on players behaving badly. How about one who's inspirational? Oregon State's Marcus Henderson went through a lot growing up, and now he's battling to be a starting center in the Pac-10.
• Sometimes interesting guys aren't starters, such as this Arizona fullback.
• Arizona State has depth at receiver, including a guy who's a huge Chicago White Sox fan. If you saw the Butkus Watch List yesterday, you might have gone 'Who?' over Gerald Munns... well, here's who -- but the story has a twist. An update on the center situation and other notes. Looks like kicker Thomas Weber again will be punter Thomas Weber as well. And ASU is No. 16, according to the New York Times.
• We've read about California's young receivers -- here's an old one. And what about his younger brother, Eddie, who's looking like the Bears' fourth LB. Jonathan Okanes reviews practices thus far.
• A walk-on might start at LB for Oregon against Washington, which sort of matches the Huskies situation. Update on the Ducks O-line and injuries. Also here.
• Practice report from Oregon State, with Sumo results at the bottom. Nothing hanky about Pankey ... at LB, that is. One area where the Beavers are unconcerned is at WR.
• Stanford's student paper writes about Tavita Pritchard.
• Is QB Kevin Craft now the man at UCLA? It appears so. A look at No. 2 Chris Forcier. Checking in with DeWayne Walker.
• USC is itching, and not just to get started or to play a real game. The Trojans are really itching. And it sounds like talented DE Everson Griffen is itching, but not in a funny way because he's angry about something. OG Jeff Byers is back after a spot of the fever. A required QB update. And a hopeful update on injury-riddled Josh Pinkard, who's long been one of Pete Carroll's favorite players.
• Washington legend Don James checked out a Huskies practice and took a shot at the rugged nonconference schedule. Gary Washburn takes a look at the whys of Washington always playing a killer schedule. As for practice... click here -- including an update on the depth chart at TE. Molly Yanity checks in with the freshmen RBs. This is interesting: The Huskies wilted in the second half in 2007.
• Injuries are hounding the Washington State WRs. A practice summary. A look at CB and return man Tyrone Justin and newly minted OG B.J. Guerra.
• Finally, Jon Wilner's excellent blog does its football preview thing.