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USC's class of 19 -- and one HUGE oral commitment -- ranks seventh in the nation and features 11 players (including said commitment) on the ESPNU 150 list.

That commitment is Seantrel Henderson, the nation's No. 1 offensive lineman, who will wait to sign until after USC meets with the NCAA later this month.

Lane Kiffin's first class after the departure of Pete Carroll was stronger than just about everybody thought it would be.

The Trojans had three top needs. They hit a grand slam at receiver and tight end. They did fairly well at defensive back. They fell short at linebacker.

Top prospects: Robert Woods is the nation's No. 1 receiver. Markeith Ambles was No. 4. Kyle Prater was No. 9. Xavier Grimble leads a list of three top-10 tight ends. Help is coming for quarterback Matt Barkley. Speaking of quarterbacks, the Trojans signed the No. 2 guy, Jesse Scroggins.

Under the radar: Not really a USC category. Fullback Soma Vainuku, recruited as a linebacker by a number of schools, signed as a fullback, perhaps positioning himself as the next Stanley Havili.

Issues? It's hard to quibble with the nation's No. 7 recruiting class, particularly when the school was dealing with a coaching transition to Kiffin from Carroll, but there are two things. First, linebacker was a need area that wasn't sufficiently addressed. Second, the Trojans lost out on a number of prospects to rival UCLA, most notably safety Dietrich Riley and linebacker Jordan Zumwalt

Notes: Kiffin said he expects linebacker Glen Stanley, the lone JC transfer, to play immediately... USC signed players from five states... Kiffin took a shot at the players who picked UCLA over USC in his signing day press conference: "I think, I've been gone three years but much hasn't changed. As you meet the kids there is a sense and I was reminded of the kids that go to UCLA and the kids that come to USC, and to be back here, I watched it over the weekend just to see if it's the same, and it's really still the same. I guess we waste time continuing to recruit them, we know within the first 10 minutes whether they're the type of guys that want to play here or there."

Another year, another top-10 class for USC, even without Pete Carroll.

USC and new coach Lane Kiffin signed 18 players and 11 of them were ranked in the ESPNU 150.

Yes, that is an extraordinary percentage.

And it's possible the Trojans are not done. Such as... click here.

Some Kiffin quotes here.

What are some things to look for as we headed into the next decade of Pac-10 football?

Thanks for asking.

10. A Heisman Trophy that doesn't go to USC: The Pac-10's last Heisman Trophy winner who didn't play for USC? Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett in 1970. Stanford's Toby Gerhart, the 2009 runner-up, earned the highest non-USC finish since Stanford's John Elway in 1982. The other nine teams are due. The next decade won't end without a Pac-10 player claiming the Heisman Trophy who isn't a denizen of Heritage Hall.

9. Getting defensive: Pete Carroll built a dynasty at USC because of defense. The Pac-10 needs to transform from underrated on defense to just unmistakably good on defense. The offensive skill and creativity are exciting -- and appreciated by the NFL -- but playing more consistent defense is how to permanently enter the "best conference" debate.

8. Coaching turnover or coaching continuity? How long does Jim Harbaugh remain at Stanford? Because as long as he does, the Cardinal are a top-25 team. Or close to it. Are Chip Kelly and Steve Sarkisian long for Oregon and Washington, respectively? Is this Lane Kiffin thing going to work out at USC? And what about Dennis Erickson and Paul Wulff, who both sit on hot seats? Good programs have coaching continuity. Programs that win between zero and six games a year, don't.

7. UCLA returns to the nation's elite: Did you read all the jocular commentary about Rick Neuheisel mildly trash-talking USC while celebrating UCLA's victory in the EagleBank Bowl? There was just a sniff of desperation to the amusement, eh? Because, deep down, everyone knows Neuheisel is going to win at UCLA.

6. The return of the quarterback: The conference of quarterbacks took a nap the second half of the previous decade. But it appears to be waking up. Quarterbacks like Jake Locker, Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley, Jeremiah Masoli and Nick Foles -- etc. -- appear ready to restock the NFL with Pac-10 signal-callers.

5. A rising Northwest: Oregon and Oregon State don't appear to be headed for a drop anytime soon. They may play for the Pac-10 title again in the 2010 Civil War. But there's a big purple cloud rising over Seattle and it has nothing to do with rain. In just one season, Sarkisian made it clear he has the coaching chops to lead Washington back into the Pac-10 and national picture.

4. Increased Parity: Even before Pete Carroll opted to bolt for the NFL, it was clear in 2009 that the the rest of the Pac-10 has caught up with USC. In 2010, the Pac-10 looks to be as deep with potential bowl teams as it has ever been. That might be a trend. Or a blip.

3. Expansion? Pac-10 presidents and athletic directors don't want to expand, but they might be forced to in order to keep up with 12-team BCS conferences with conference championship games. See No. 1 as a key reason why.

2. Will the USC dynasty crumble or endure? The first question is how hard USC might get hit by NCAA sanctions. The second is whether Kiffin can maintain the level of excellence established by Carroll. Those questions are intertwined but also mutually exclusive.

1. Can the Pac-10 keep up? The SEC and Big Ten make a lot more money than the Pac-10. Those conferences have better bowl arrangements, but their biggest advantage is TV revenue. New commissioner Larry Scott must figure out a way to negotiate a lucrative deal, which will start in 2012, that doesn't leave the conference behind. And, if you're a college football fan, you should root for the Pac-10 to get it done. If the BCS conferences become stratified into have and have-nots, then the competitive pool might get smaller, and that will subtract from the game as a whole.

It's time to look back at the best Big Ten coaches of the decade. The top choice was a no brainer. After that, it gets interesting.

Here's a looksie:

1. Jim Tressel, Ohio State: Other than USC's Pete Carroll, no coach dominated a major conference this decade like Tressel dominated the Big Ten. Since 2001, Tressel has won a national title, six Big Ten titles (outright or shared), five bowls and four BCS bowls. He owns a 94-21 record at Ohio State, and, perhaps more impressive, a 59-13 mark in Big Ten play. This was unquestionably the decade of The Vest.

2. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa: Ferentz revived a struggling Iowa program this decade and restored the Hawkeyes among the Big Ten's elite. Since 2002, he has guided Iowa to two Big Ten championships, four seasons of 10 or more victories and eight bowl games, winning five of them. Iowa owns four top-10 finishes this decade under Ferentz, who gets a slight edge over Lloyd Carr.

3. Lloyd Carr, Michigan: It seems like a while since Michigan last won a Big Ten title, but Carr's teams claimed three of them (two shared, one outright) in the first half of the decade. Michigan finished first or second in the league in seven of the eight years Carr coached this decade. He struggled against Tressel and in the Rose Bowl, but Carr's accomplishments shouldn't be overlooked.

4. Joe Paterno, Penn State: Paterno is right up there with Tressel in the second half of the decade, winning two Big Ten championships and averaging 10.2 wins per season between 2005-09. Four losing seasons in the first half of the decade sting a bit, but JoePa is getting better with age!

5. Joe Tiller, Purdue: Tiller won his only Big Ten title in 2000, and Purdue reached bowl games in the first seven years of the decade. Purdue's all-time coaching victories leader made the Boilers into a consistent upper-half Big Ten team in the aughts.

6. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin: Bielema probably hates being listed ahead of his boss and predecessor, but his record in the past four years speaks for itself. He owns a 38-14 record at Wisconsin (20-12 Big Ten) and has taken the Badgers to bowl games each year. Bielema coached Wisconsin's best team of the decade in 2006, a squad that went 12-1 and finished seventh in the final AP Poll.

7. Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin: Alvarez was arguably the Big Ten's Coach of the 1990s, and he kept the program among the league's elite until he stepped down following the 2005 season. He had three seasons of eight or more victories and won three bowls during the decade. Alvarez's best season this decade came in his last, as Wisconsin went 10-3 and beat Auburn in the Capital One Bowl.

8. Glen Mason, Minnesota: Mason coached Minnesota to six bowls in seven years until his dismissal after the 2006 Insight Bowl. He oversaw one of the nation's top rushing attacks this decade as backs Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III piled up yardage. Mason had a 10-win season in 2003, but his inability to get Minnesota to the next level led to his firing. He went just 24-32 in Big Ten play this decade.

9. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State: Dantonio has stabilized a Michigan State program that really underachieved for most of the decade. The Spartans have reached bowls in each of Dantonio's three seasons as head coach. Dantonio owns a 13-11 mark in Big Ten play, which is much better than his predecessors.

10. Pat Fitzgerald and Randy Walker, Northwestern: The two Wildcats coaches share this spot after bringing consistency to a program that reached historic lows before 1995. Walker won a Big Ten championship in 2000 and took NU to three bowls in six years this decade. Fitzgerald, who took over after Walker's sudden death in 2006, owns 17-9 record (10-6 Big Ten) in the last two seasons. Expect him to be much higher on this list in the next decade recap.

How do the Pac-10 coaches stack up this decade?

Based on this list, which ranks them one through 10, the present lineup is pretty strong.

And, suddenly, there's gaping a void at the top because Pete Carroll, an obvious No. 1, jumped ship to the NFL.

Note: This evaluation covers only 2000 through 2009.

10. Chip Kelly (Oregon, 2009-present); Steve Sarkisian (Washington, 2009-present) [tie]: Kelly took over a winner and led it to a Rose Bowl in his first season. Sarkisian took over a team that went 0-12 in 2008 and led it to five wins. Let's just say the Pac-10 blog is impressed with both rookie efforts.

9. Jim Harbaugh (Stanford 2007-present): Harbaugh is 17-20 in three seasons, but does anyone doubt that he is an outstanding coach? (See all of the other programs and NFL teams that are looking his way). He's a charismatic recruiter, a great motivator and has built Stanford into a hard-nosed physical team that can compete with anyone.

8. Mike Price (Washington State, 2000-2002): Sure, it's just three seasons, but Price's final two at Washington State featured 10 victories and a Rose Bowl berth. Wonder how things might have gone for the Cougars if he'd stayed in Pullman and never bolted for Alabama?

7. Mike Stoops (Arizona 2005-present): Stoops has had his fits and starts -- he 's 33-39 after six seasons -- but he inherited a program at rock bottom and has rebuilt it into a winner that is on the cusp of challenging for a Pac-10 title. While he still has some media critics, it's interesting -- and revealing -- how respected he is among other coaches.

6. Rick Neuheisel (Washington, 2000-2002; UCLA, 2008-present): What seems to annoy Neuheisel's critics the most is that he keeps winning. He was 33-16 at Washington and won a Rose Bowl. He took over a UCLA program that had face-planted in the shadow of USC and led it to a bowl victory in his second season.

5. Dennis Erickson, (Oregon State, 2000-2002; Arizona State, 2007-present): Erickson went 31-17 at Oregon State -- winning a Fiesta Bowl in the process -- and is 19-18 at Arizona State. Erickson wins wherever he goes, which is why it's hard to write off the Sun Devils in 2010.

4. Jeff Tedford, California (2002-present): Cal fans may now take him for granted, but the Bears won four games the two seasons before he arrived. Meanwhile, Tedford has never posted a losing season and is 67-35 overall. Four times the Bears have finished nationally ranked during his tenure.

3. Mike Riley, Oregon State (2003-present): Riley is 40-23 overall and 5-1 in bowl games since returning to Oregon State in 2003. He paved the way for the transformation of one of college football's perennial losers into a Pac-10 contender.

2. Mike Bellotti, Oregon (2000-2008): Great coach, great guy. He went 77-34 in the decade, which included four top-12 finishes. The Ducks who went to the Rose Bowl after the 2009 season were all recruited by him.

1. Pete Carroll, USC (2001-2009): We don't really have to explain this one, right? He went 97-19 at USC with two national titles and seven consecutive Pac-10 crowns.

Lots of extraordinary games to choose from, as well as many ways to ascribe greatness: the size of the stage, the competitiveness of the game and the overall strangeness.

And we made the executive decision not to make this a list of USC upset losses -- other than the biggest one of those.

10. Oregon 56, Arizona State 55 (2 OT), 2000: Many of you are drawing a blank, but the ones who saw this one are jumping out of their chairs and going, "Oh man. That one was nuts." Both teams scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. The teams combined for 1,228 yards, 663 of those for the Sun Devils. Ducks quarterback Joey Harrington threw six -- SIX! -- touchdown passes, including three in the fourth quarter, the last of which tied the score with 27 seconds left after the Sun Devils gave away a critical fumble. Arizona State freshman QB Jeff Krohn threw five TD passes, by the way. ASU lost the game when coach Bruce Snyder decided to fake the extra point and go for the two-point conversion in the second overtime. It failed, leaving fans in Tempe stunned.

9. Washington State 30, USC 27 (OT), 2002: Any of you Cougars fans able to muster the memory of kicker Drew Dunning's slide on his knees at Martin Stadium? Dunning sent the game into overtime with a 35-yard field goal and then made the game-winner from the same distance in a victory that was critical to the Cougars' run to the Rose Bowl. The game featured a brilliant quarterback duel between Carson Palmer and Jason Gesser -- Gesser passed for 315 yards, Palmer for 381 -- and a dominant performance from Cougars defensive tackle Rien Long, who went on to win the Outland Trophy. Between this game and the 2006 Rose Bowl, USC lost just once.

8. Oregon 44, Arizona 41 (2 OT), 2009: If Arizona had won this game, we now know the Wildcats would have played in their first Rose Bowl. The Wildcats led 24-14 early in the fourth quarter, but then the game went crazy. With red-clad Arizona fans encircling the field, Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli tied the game in regulation with six seconds left with a touchdown pass to Ed Dickson. Masoli then won it in the second overtime with a 1-yard run. Masoli ran for three TDs and passed for three more.

7. Stanford 24, USC 23, 2007: Greatest upset in Pac-10 history? Maybe. Stanford was a 41-point underdog playing its backup quarterback at No. 2 USC, which had won 35 in a row at home. But Trojans quarterback John David Booty, who foolishly played -- and was allowed to play -- with an injured throwing hand, threw four interceptions, while Stanford's Tavita Pritchard led a clutch, game-winning drive, throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradford on fourth-and-goal with 49 seconds remaining.

6. Oregon 37, Oregon State 33, 2009: It was the Civil War for the Roses, with the Ducks earning a berth in the Rose Bowl. While the return of Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount was significant -- he scored a critical touchdown -- the game belonged to redshirt freshman running back LaMichael James, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 166 yards, and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who ran over Beavers safety Lance Mitchell to convert a fourth-and-3 play from the Beavers' 33 with 3:41 left, as Oregon ran out the final six minutes with its final drive.

5. California 31, Oregon 24, 2007: Sixth-ranked California, featuring a stellar performance from receiver DeSean Jackson, outlasted No. 11 Oregon in a game between two teams that would at one point rise to No. 2 during the season, though both ultimately crumbled. The game turned on a strange play as the Ducks were on the cusp of tying the score. With 22 seconds to go, Dennis Dixon found Cameron Colvin near the goal line, but Colvin fumbled trying to reach the ball into the end zone when he was hit by Marcus Ezeff. The loose ball went through the end zone and was ruled a touchback and possession for Cal.

4. Washington 33, Oregon State 30, 2000: It was the greatest game no one saw because of the late, West Coast kickoff at Husky Stadium. And at the time, its magnitude wasn't clear. The critical play of the back-and-forth affair happened when Washington defensive tackle Larry Tripplett caught Ken Simonton for a three-yard loss on second-and-1 from the Huskies 26-yard line with 42 seconds left. The Beavers panicked and mistakenly spiked the ball -- they had a timeout left -- and then Ryan Cesca missed a 46-yard field goal to tie. It was the Beavers' only loss of the season; they crushed Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. They would have played Oklahoma for the national title if they had prevailed. And the win helped the Huskies win the Rose Bowl tiebreaker.

3. USC 23, California 17, 2004: No. 7 California had a first-and-goal on top-ranked USC's 9-yard line with under two minutes left. At that point, Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers had completed 29 of 31 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown. But the Bears couldn't punch it in, with USC registering a sack and forcing three incompletions. It was the closest call of the season for the best team of the USC dynasty.

2. USC 34, Notre Dame 31, 2005: The infamous "Bush Push" game. No. 9 Notre Dame was about to knock off top-ranked rival USC and make Irish coach Charlie Weis a national sensation, but Matt Leinart led a drive for the ages in the waning moments as the Trojans prevailed, scoring the winning points when Leinart got a little extra help from Bush on his second effort on a quarterback sneak.

1. Texas 41, USC 38, 2006 Rose Bowl: Perhaps the great game in college football history, particularly considering that the stakes were a national title for two unbeaten teams and the field was packed with talent and future high draft choices. Vince Young almost single-handedly willed his team to the victory -- he ran for 200 yards and passed for 267 more -- and denied the Trojans a third consecutive national title. USC walked away with a laundry list of "what ifs," but the ultimate result was a 34-game winning streak coming to an end.

Every football fan has a different definition of what makes a game great. Some fans might prefer defensive struggles. Other enjoy torrents of points.

The Big 12 has provided a few of latter -- and more -- over the last decade with some of the most entertaining games in recent college football history.

Here are my favorite 10 games of the past decade. There are 10 to 15 other games that legitimately could have been included on this list.

1. Texas 41, USC 38 (Jan. 1, 2006): The Longhorns claimed the 2005 national title with a dramatic comeback capped by Vince Young’s game-winning 8-yard TD run with 19 seconds left. Michael Huff’s critical fourth-down stop of LenDale White set the stage on the preceding drive. And many observers still think that Pete Carroll could have gone for a game-tying field goal attempt on the final play of the game if he hadn't squandered a timeout before a two-point try after Young's TD run.

2. Texas Tech 39, Texas 33 (Nov. 1, 2008): Michael Crabtree’s 28-yard touchdown reception from Graham Harrell with one second remaining capped the wildest victory in Tech history -- made even more improbable after Blake Gideon dropped an interception on the play before Crabtree’s game-winning touchdown.

3. Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42 (Jan. 1, 2007): The Broncos won the 2007 Fiesta Bowl by fooling Bob Stoops’ team with three gadget plays: a game-tying hook and ladder play in regulation, an option pass from wide receiver Vinny Perretta to Derek Schouman in overtime to pull within one point and a game-winning two-point conversion by Ian Johnson on a Statue of Liberty play. Johnson proposed to his girlfriend, Chrissy Popadics, on the field after the play. After all the excitement, of course, she accepted.

4. Oklahoma State 49, Texas Tech 45 (Sept. 22, 2007): This classic offensive battle produced 62 first downs and 1,328 yards and wasn’t settled until Michael Crabtree dropped a potential game-winning touchdown pass in the end zone in the final minute of play. And we all still remember it more for the fireworks in the press conferences with Mike Leach and Mike Gundy than for what happened on the field, don’t we?

5. Oklahoma 35, Texas A&M 31 (Nov. 11, 2000): Torrance Marshall’s game-winning 41-yard interception return with 7:42 left enabled the Sooners to continue their charge to the 2000 national championship. Oklahoma overcame an 11-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter and a 10-point hole with less than 9 minutes remaining. Marshall’s heroics gave the Sooners the lead and the Oklahoma defense did the rest, turning away the Aggies twice deep in Oklahoma territory late in the game.

6. Kansas 40, Missouri 37 (Nov. 29, 2008): Four lead changes in the final 6:52 made this game memorable, even though Missouri had already clinched the North title coming into the game. Todd Reesing and Kerry Meier hooked up five times on the game-winning drive, capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds left. Missouri had one last hope, but Jeff Wolfert’s 54-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game was partially blocked by Phillip Strozier.

7. Texas 13, Nebraska 12 (Dec. 5, 2009) : In a conference that made its national reputation with wild offensive battles, it was refreshing to see a defensive struggle in the 2009 Big 12 title game. Nebraska, keyed by a ferocious defense that forced three interceptions and sacked Colt McCoy nine times, appeared to have taken control on a 42-yard field goal by Alex Henery with 1:44 left. Ndamukong Suh sacked McCoy a championship-game record 4.5 times. But McCoy withstood the rush and drove the Longhorns for the game-winning field goal after a controversial officiating decision put extra time back on the clock after it appeared the Longhorns had squandered their chance to win. Hunter Lawrence’s 46-yard field goal as time expired gave Texas the victory.

8. Texas 56, Oklahoma State 35 (Nov. 6, 2004): The Longhorns were in a 35-7 hole late in the second quarter before Vince Young hooked up on a 4-yard TD pass to Bo Scaife shortly before halftime. That opened the floodgates, as the Longhorns scored touchdowns on six straight drives. Cedric Benson rushed for 141 yards and five touchdowns and Vince Young rushed for 123 yards and completed 12 straight passes at one point en route to a then career-high 278 passing yards. The Longhorns piled up 600 yards of total offense in the wild comeback, outgaining the Cowboys 266-to-minus-5 in the third quarter of the comeback.

9. Nebraska 40, Colorado 31 (Nov. 28, 2008): Alex Henery’s school-record 57-yard field goal with 1:43 left gave the Cornhuskers the lead for good in this classic that Colorado needed to win to qualify for a bowl game. And Ndamukong Suh foreshadowed his monster season to come by icing the victory with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown with 55 seconds left.

10. Baylor 35, Texas A&M 34 (Oct. 30, 2004): The Bears had been waiting for a long time for a chance to beat Texas A&M -- particularly after losing 73-10 to the Aggies in College Station the previous season. So it was understandable that Guy Morriss didn’t hesitate to go for the win after pulling within one point in overtime on Shawn Bell’s pass to Dominique Ziegler. Bell and Ziegler then hooked up again for the two-point conversion, snapping an 18-game winless streak to the Aggies.

Yes, there are lots of USC teams in our list of the "best Pac-10 teams of the decade."

Not sure how you get around that. From 2002 to 2008, the Trojans finished ranked in the nation's top four. During that span, no other conference team topped the Trojans in the national rankings.

One team not listed, however, merits special mention: Oregon in 2007.

That team was 8-1, ranked No. 2 in the BCS standings and appeared to be headed for a showdown with LSU for the national championship. Then quarterback Dennis Dixon blew out his knee at Arizona -- he'd actually hurt it the week before vs. Arizona State -- and the Ducks subsequently lost to the Wildcats, the first of three consecutive losses before a blowout victory over South Florida in the Sun Bowl.

More than a few people -- not just Ducks fans -- believe that team would have won the national title if Dixon had remained healthy.

Of course, if wishes were fishes then cows would fly.

10. USC, 2007: A toss-up between this squad and the Trojans 2006 team. The '07 team finished ranked third in the AP and second in the coaches poll, while '06 finished fourth in both. '07 lost to 41-point underdog Stanford and at Oregon, see above about the Ducks. '06 lost at Oregon State and at UCLA, a 13-9 defeat that cost it a spot in the national title game. That last detail iced it for '07.

9. USC, 2002: More than a few pundits watching Carson Palmer and company pound Iowa in the Orange Bowl opined that, by season's end, this might be the nation's best team in 2002. After a 3-2 start in Year Two of the Pete Carroll Era, the Trojans won eight in a row to finish 11-2 and ranked No. 4.

8. California, 2004: Sure, the Bears laid an egg vs. Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl -- quick Cal fans: how many receivers were missing due to injury? And what do you think of Mack Brown? -- but Aaron Rodgers and company put on quite a show. The only regular-season defeat came in a thriller at USC -- see below -- 23-17, when the Trojans held strong after the Bears had a first-and-goal from the 9-yard line with less than two minutes left.

7. Oregon State, 2000: If not for a crazy finish at Washington in a 33-30 defeat, the Beavers might have played Oklahoma for the national championship. They went on to blister Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl and finished ranked fourth in the nation. Go back and look at the roster: Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, DeLawrence Grant, Dennis Weathersby, LeDarius Jackson, Ken Simonton, etc. This was hardly a scrappy, little team.

6. Washington, 2000: This crew of Huskies was hardly dominant but they just found a way to win week after week, led by quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo. The 11-1 season included a victory over Miami, which finished ranked No. 2, a loss at No. 7 Oregon, and a Rose Bowl win over Drew Brees and Purdue.

5. USC, 2008: This crew paired one of the best defenses in college football history with a quarterback who's playing in the AFC championship this weekend. Yes, it's fair to ask how the horsepucky this team didn't win the national championship. Oregon State fans care to explain?

4. Oregon, 2001: How strange was the Ducks 49-42 loss vs Stanford, their only defeat of the season? The normally staid AP said this in the game story, it was "a game that had everything but aliens landing on the Autzen Stadium turf." The Ducks led by 14 in the fourth quarter before a blocked punt and interception from Joey Harrington allowed the Cardinal to take the lead. While Oregon fans mostly remember getting BCSed out of the national title game by Nebraska, the Stanford game prevented them from playing Miami in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks blasted Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl and finished No. 2, still the program's best final ranking.

3. USC, 2003: A dominant team that lost only in triple-overtime at California. Only a BCS computer glitch forced the Trojans, ranked No. 1 in every poll, to share a portion of the national title with another squad.

2. USC, 2005: The offense was a thing of beauty -- 580 yards, 49 points per game -- but a young defense, which featured a true freshman and four sophomore starters, cost the Trojans in the thrilling BCS title loss to the University of Vince Young.

1. USC, 2004: Unbeaten, undisputed. Dominant. Best team of the decade in all of college football? Perhaps, though folks could make a strong argument for Miami in 2001. An extraordinary array of talent on both sides of the ball. And defense was the difference vs. 2005. It ranked sixth in the nation in total defense and third in scoring. The Trojans battered Oklahoma 55-19 for the national title.

Great and notable -- and not so-great -- moments of the Pac-10 decade.

Note: Games of the decade comes tomorrow.

10. Le Affair de Neuheisel: Washington fired Rick Neuheisel before the 2003 season amid an NCAA probe into his participation into a high-stakes pool on the NCAA basketball tournament. Neuheisel would go on to win a $4.5 million settlement for wrongful termination. The Huskies subsequently would endure their worst run in program history.

9. Civil War for the Roses: While both teams were ranked higher in the 2000 Civil War, Oregon and Oregon had never previously played for higher stakes: a Rose Bowl berth for the winner. The game matched the pregame hype as the Ducks prevailed in a 37-33 thriller.

8. Pullman goes nuts: "The ruling on the field was that it was a backward pass. Washington recovered that pass, and the game is over," said the referee presiding over the 2002 Apple Cup. The Huskies' 29-26 upset win over then-No. 3-ranked Washington State in triple overtime ended on a controversial play that was about as inconclusive on replay as a play could be. Fans in Martin Stadium, however, thought they were getting jobbed, and they preceded to bombard the field with bottles and other objects.

7. Oregon left out: The BCS computers preferred No. 4 Nebraska, fresh off a 62-36 loss to Colorado, which knocked the Cornhuskers out of the Big 12 championship game, over No. 2 Oregon for the national title game vs. Miami. The Hurricanes routed Nebraska 37-14 for the national title, while the Ducks stomped Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl.

6. Price to Alabama: When rumors started swirling that Alabama wanted to hire Washington State coach Mike Price, it seemed like a terrible match. It was. Price, after leading his listless Cougars to a loss in the 2003 Rose Bowl against Oklahoma, took over the Crimson Tide but would never coach a game. He was fired after an intoxicated afternoon at a strip club became a national scandal.

5. USC left out: USC was No. 1 in both human polls at the end of the 2003 season, but the BCS computers saw differently and matched LSU and Oklahoma for the computer title, even though the Sooners had just been beaten 35-7 by Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game. LSU beat Oklahoma, while USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl. The AP and FWAA polls crowned the Trojans national champions. The coaches poll was contractually obligated to name LSU its champion, though three coaches rebelled and voted USC No. 1.

4. The replay screw-up: The scoreboard said Oregon 34, Oklahoma 33 in Autzen Stadium on Sept. 16, 2006, but Sooners fans -- and everybody else, really -- knew differently. In what was surely the worst replay call in history, the Ducks were "awarded" possession on an onside kick in which the kick was illegal -- it touched an Oregon player before going 10 yards -- and was recovered by the Sooners anyway. The Pac-10 office later admitted the call was blown. Bringing it up remains an outstanding method to annoy Oklahoma fans.

3. Bellotti to Kelly announced: On March 13, 2009, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, the dean of Pac-10 coaches and the fifth-longest tenured coach in FBS football, handed the Ducks over to offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Bellotti, who became Oregon's athletic director, went 116-55 in 14 seasons as the Oregon coach.

2. Bush push: The play became the defining -- and controversial -- moment of No. 1 USC's 34-31 win at No. 9 Notre Dame in 2005, though a 61-yard pass from Matt Leinart to Dwayne Jarrett on fourth-and-9 on the final drive was just as dramatic. Leinart's initial push on a quarterback sneak for the winning touchdown in the waning moments failed, but running back Reggie Bush jumped into the fray and pushed Leinart into the end zone. A couple of Notre Dame fans through the years have noted that such a play is against the rules.

1. USC hires Pete Carroll: On Dec. 15, 2000, USC made a decision that was almost unanimously panned by the media and fans: It hired Carroll as its head football coach. Things, however, worked out OK for the Trojans.

The Pac-10 decade started with parity and a rising Northwest. It ended that way, too.

In the middle, it was all about the Trojans, with USC winning a pair of national titles -- and playing for a third -- and at least sharing seven consecutive conference championships.

The Pac-10 decade featured a run of remarkable stability at the top amid significant change.

And, of course, that bastion of stability -- the USC Dynasty -- is now in the midst of its own seismic shift with the departure of Pete Carroll and the arrival of Lane Kiffin.

That 's a good place to start: the coaches.

No Pac-10 team has the same head coach it had in 2000. Only California, Oregon, Oregon State and USC had just two coaches during the decade, and, obviously, the Trojans are no longer part of that group.

Stanford and Washington both went through four coaches since 2000.

The Pac-10 won three Heisman Trophies this past decade: quarterback Carson Palmer, quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush. All played for USC. This past season, Stanford's Toby Gerhart finished as the runner-up to Alabama's Mark Ingram in the closest Heisman race in history.

While the decade was mostly owned by USC, it wasn't entirely. Four conference teams finished ranked in the final top five of the AP poll at least once: Washington, Oregon, Oregon State and USC. Washington State earned three consecutive top-10 rankings from 2001-2003. California finished ninth in 2004.

That the Huskies and Cougars are mentioned there also makes both program's precipitous slides from the national elite into the morass of ineptitude notable.

While the story of the decade in the conference is USC's rise, the No. 2 story might be the fall of Washington, which finished 11-1 and ranked No. 3 in 2000 under Rick Neuheisel but went 0-12 in 2008 under Tyrone Willingham and lost 15 in a row before beating Idaho in Game 2 of 2009.

That fall began with the top off-field story of the decade: The controversial firing of Neuheisel for participating in a high-stakes betting pool on the NCAA tournament, which ended up costing Washington $4.5 million when the school opted to settle a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

On the field, the Pac-10 changed the way it played offense.

Over the first half of the decade, it was mostly about passing and marquee quarterbacks: five of the Pac-10's top seven single-season passing yardage marks were set from 2002-2005.

The high-flying offenses peaked in 2002 when six quarterbacks threw for more than 3,300 yards.

The past two seasons, no conference quarterback passed for more than 3,300 yards. In fact, only three eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark the past two seasons combined.

Meanwhile, if California running back Shane Vereen had found 48 more yards this season, the Pac-10 would have produced six 1,000-yard rushers for a second consecutive year.

And yet, by the end of the 2009 season, the story in the Pac-10 was the bumper crop of young quarterbacks, eight of whom will be back in 2010.

But between Washington going to the Rose Bowl after the 2000 season and Oregon doing so following the 2009 campaign, it was mostly about USC, which fell short of a third consecutive national title after a nail-biting loss to Texas in the national title game following the 2005 season.

The Trojans finished ranked in the final top four of the AP poll from 2002 to 2008. They went 6-1 in BCS bowl games. They dominated college football as much as they dominated the Pac-10.

And yet, in the final year of the decade, they fell back into the pack -- and the "pac" moved up, with Oregon and Oregon State playing a Civil War for the Rose Bowl berth.

Will the next decade bring more parity? Or will USC regain its championship form? Or will another team rise to the fore?

We shall see.

UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow spoke to reporters about his flirtation with USC for the first time Thursday afternoon.

Well, sort of.

During a 20-minute teleconference, reporters asked for specifics about his contact with USC. He responded by saying, "It's an exciting time for UCLA football."

Reporters asked a lot of questions, as they are wont to do, and Chow let out a number of knowing laughs and then didn't say much. As he is wont to do.

Some things did become clearer.

Chow admitted he gave overtures from USC "some consideration."

"There was some thought to it, sure," he said.

He said new USC coach Lane Kiffin "made several phone calls, several attempts" to talk to him. They never did talk, but that wasn't because of hard feelings between the two.

"There's no problem with Lane Kiffin," Chow said.

He also never talked to USC athletic director Mike Garrett. His agent Don Yee and Chow's son, Carter, an attorney with Yee's agency, handled all the discussions with USC.

Chow said he was on vacation in Marco Island, Fla., -- which included tending to a sick friend -- when the news of Kiffin's hiring broke Tuesday night. He said that, despite reports he was already a part of Kiffin's USC staff, he and his agents had not yet talked to anyone representing USC.

That's why he didn't see any reason to deny that he was interested in going back to USC, where he coached from 2001-2004 under Pete Carroll and with Kiffin.

"How do I know if I'm not interested?" he said.

He said he immediately informed UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel that Kiffin had contacted him. He was vague about whether USC and his agents talked specifics of a potential contract. He said he talked to a few recruits as well as Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince during the process.

He said "Lane will do well at USC" and that he "had great admiration for Lane Kiffin." And that he was "flattered" by the attention.

But most of all?

"We're awfully excited about what's ahead at UCLA," he said.

In his first meeting with reporters as USC's head football coach, Lane Kiffin embraced the idea of providing a strong connection to the Trojans dynastic Pete Carroll Era, but he probably should have torn a page from Carroll's news conference playbook.

The filibuster.

When Carroll met with reporters this week to explain his decision to bail on the Trojans and head north for the Seattle Seahawks, he rambled for the first 20 minutes of a 30-minute news conference in order to limit his exposure to tough questions.

Kiffin didn't do that. And he got grilled by pointed inquiries about his coaching résumé, USC's potential NCAA issues, his abrupt departure from Tennessee and about whether his assistant, Ed Orgeron, tried to lure previously committed Vols recruits to USC.

There will be a diversity of opinion about how he competed with the big-city reportorial crew. In the interest of giving the new guy a break, let's call it a draw. That's a win for USC, because after Kiffin bailed on Tennessee after just one season, the consensus reaction outside of Heritage Hall was he was an amoral opportunist whose rise through the coaching ranks before he even turned 35 is almost inexplicable.

Yet Kiffin made a reasonable point about the national hullabaloo as well as the emotional explosion of Tennessee students, who took a break from studying and hit the streets Tuesday night to burn mattresses and chant obscenities, eventually requiring a police presence to keep them from rioting because they'd learned Kiffin was pursuing what he called his "dream job."

"If they weren't upset that we were leaving, then we weren't doing anything right," he said.

What folks who regularly attend games in the biggest stadium in the SEC hate to hear is the fundamental reason Kiffin headed West.

"This is the No. 1 job in America," he said.

First order of business for USC fans: What about Norm Chow?

Kiffin left that open because talks are ongoing with Chow, who is presently -- oh, boy! -- UCLA's offensive coordinator.

"We won't get into any names out of respect for other colleges," Kiffin said.

Wait. Forget Chow for a moment. What's up with talk of respect? Didn't Kiffin trash talk other SEC programs from his first day as Tennessee's coach?

"We have great respect for every coach and every team in this conference," he said about his return to the Pac-10.

Come again? Why not stir things up like he did at Tennessee?

He explained, "We don't need to go out and create energy about our program. We don't need to grab attention."

Hmm. Let's see how long his new-found diplomacy lasts.

As for Chow, Kiffin said he doesn't have hard feelings about how things went down after the 2004 season, when Chow left in a huff for the Tennessee Titans, feeling he was being marginalized by Carroll, Kiffin and fellow offensive assistant Steve Sarkisian, now the head coach at Washington.

"I think the world of Norm," Kiffin said. "I don't have any issues with him."

He might have one. When asked if he planned to call plays for the offense, he said, "That would be my guess because that is what I've always done.'

Hard to believe that won't be an issue for Chow, as it was when Carroll asked him to surrender play-calling duties to Sarkisian and Kiffin.

Beyond Chow, Kiffin anticipated the next line of question: His rogue reputation and USC's present issues with the NCAA.

"The No. 1 thing we're going to do is have a dedication to running a clean and disciplined program," he said in his introductory comments.

When asked about potential NCAA sanctions for USC due to the Reggie Bush investigation, he said, "I feel very confident that it will not effect the recruiting and will get resolved."

He was repeatedly asked about allegations Orgeron immediately called Tennessee recruits to try to convince them to go to USC. Kiffin repeatedly denied any wrong-doing, though it was impossible to understand the substance of what degenerated into a few minutes of "did-not, did-to" during the news conference.

He did provide his policy for trying to lure Tennessee recruits to USC: "I will not be calling them unless they call us," he said.

Kiffin was more excited to talk about recruiting in general. He and Orgeron are generally regarded as two of the nation's best recruiters.

It's clear that Kiffin believes USC should continue to recruit nationally.

"We will be able to go anywhere in the country to get the best players and bring them here," he said.

Kiffin called USC "a perfect fit." He called it "home."

While USC is his third head coaching job in 17 months, he said he doesn't expect to be uprooting again anytime soon.

"I'm at the best place in America -- there's nowhere for me to go," he said.

Boy, who have thought hiring a football coach could inspire such... feeling?

USC fans mourn Pete Carroll's departure with a candlelight vigil. Tennessee fans mourn the loss of Lane Kiffin with a, er, near-riot.

It makes sense that Tennessee fans feel jilted. But the reaction most everywhere else, including LA, also is mostly negative.

The pessimists think all those people who are saying bad things about Kiffin are way too generous.

The optimists can't understand this. They think Kiffin is a great hire.

In the interest of making everyone happy -- or, in the case of the pessimists, justified -- the Pac-10 blog will present talking points for each position.

The Kiffin Pessimist

• Kiffin is bailing on Tennessee after only one season. He showed zero loyalty to the school that entrusted him, at just 33, with its cherished football program.
• Kiffin was fired from his previous head coaching job, the Oakland Raiders, before the end of his second season. His record? 5-15. Said owner Al Davis, "I think he conned me like he conned all you people."
• USC is entrusting its tradition-rich program to a coach whose career record is 12-21.
• He's an immature, attention-seeking loudmouth. He popped off at Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier. His mouth earned a reprimand from the SEC.
• In just one season, he committed at least six secondary NCAA violations.
• Tennessee faces at least two more violations as the NCAA continues an ongoing inquiry into other infractions, including the possible misuse of recruiting hostesses and impermissible visits.
• That's the NCAA baggage he brings to USC, a school facing its own NCAA inquiry. That hammering you hear outside? That's the NCAA building a gallows.
• Three Vols freshmen were involved in a robbery on November 12. Two were later kicked off the team.
• That's the sort of discipline he inspires.
• Kiffin is trying to hire Norm Chow as his offensive coordinator. Recall that Kiffin was part of the palace coup that convinced a suddenly marginalized Chow to bolt USC for the Tennessee Titans. Sure they'll be swell together.
• With Chow gone, Kiffin was USC's offensive coordinator when UCLA beat the Trojans 13-9 in 2006, costing them a berth in the BCS national title game.
• Kiffin lost 19-15 at home this season to UCLA, which went 3-6 in Pac-10 play.

The Kiffin Optimist

• One word: Recruiting.
• Make that two words and a sentence: Recruiting, recruiting. Kiffin and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron will be the nation's best recruiting tandem, and nothing in college football is more important than great recruiting.
• Xs and Os? The defense goes to Monte Kiffin, one of the great coaching legends on that side of the ball. The offense -- hopefully! -- goes to Norm Chow, one of the great coaching legends on that side of the ball.
• So, great recruiting plus great schemes: We could stop there.
• Lack of loyalty? Wait, phone's ringing. Hello. You want to offer Mr. Pessimist his dream job? Sorry. He's not going to take it. He's loyal.
• Maybe the reason Kiffin has been hired for his third head coaching job in 17 months -- before he turned 35 -- is because everybody knows he's got loads of talent? It's not like the Raiders, Volunteers and Trojans hired him because they felt sorry for him.
• The loudmouth stuff? Overblown. But he's been told to tone it down. He will.
• The secondary NCAA violations? Randomly audit 10 other elite BCS programs. How do they compare to Kiffin? No, we don't know why those other schools didn't get as much publicity for their peccadillos.
• Look, fans and media who don't understand the nature of NCAA violations and sanctions can prattle on about how horribly the Trojans will get hammered, but, please, just make sure they're around when the actual penalties are handed out. We want photos of the chagrined expressions.
• When you oversee 85 young men, ages 18 to 23, the odds of going a year without any of them getting into trouble aren't great. That's just the way things go.
• Chow's a pro. He and Kiffin, if reunited, will work fine together.
• Kiffin took over a Vols team that went 5-7 in 2008 and lost to Florida by 24, Georgia by 12 and Alabama by 20. He went 7-6, beat Georgia 45-19 and lost to Florida and Alabama by a combined 12 points. Where did the Gators and Tide finish in the final polls?
• Anyone recall the uproar when USC hired Carroll? Who thought that was an inspired decision in 2000?
• When the pessimists unanimously back a position, always bet against them (Carroll taught us that).

The Pac-10 moments that stood out.

1. Pete Carroll leaves USC for the Seattle Seahawks: It wasn't just the biggest story in the Pac-10. It was the biggest story of the college football season. Carroll built a dynasty and nearly won three consecutive national titles. His run at USC -- two national championships, seven Pac-10 titles, seven consecutive top-four finishes, three Heisman Trophy winners -- ranks among the best in college football history.

2. Lane Kiffin leaves Tennessee for USC: This one nearly equaled Carroll's departure in shock value: Kiffin, a former USC assistant, bolts his job at Tennessee after just one season to take over the Trojans. Obviously, unless you've been under a rock, you've read plenty about this one of late, including the potential inclusion of Norm Chow, presently UCLA's offensive coordinator, on Kiffin's new staff. That certainly will cool things down between the Bruins and Trojans, eh?

3. A victory in the Civil War for the Roses sends Oregon to the Rose Bowl: The Ducks 37-33 victory over rival Oregon State lived up to the pregame hype. LeGarrette Blount scored a touchdown in his first action since his meltdown at Boise State, but the stars for Oregon were running back LaMichael James (166 yards rushing, three TDs) and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who led a masterful final possession that featured two fourth-down conversions and burned the final 6:09 off the clock.

4. The punch: Blount's punch of a Boise State player after the Ducks embarrassing 19-8 season-opening road loss became one of the most replayed highlights of the season. It also became the touchstone for the Ducks' transformation from a national joke into Pac-10 champions. And Chip Kelly from an overmatched neophyte into Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

5. Toby Gerhart is runner-up in closest Heisman race in history: Despite putting up the best numbers against the best competition during the regular season, Gerhart finished second to Alabama's Mark Ingram in the Heisman Trophy voting. Still, Gerhart won the Doak Walker Award -- over Ingram -- as the country's top running back and earned consensus first-team All-America honors.

6. Oregon crushes No. 4 USC 47-20: For anyone who had covered USC during the Carroll era, it was shocking to watch. The Ducks piled up 613 total yards -- 391 rushing -- while handing USC its worst loss since 1997.

7. Stanford runs up the score on USC, 55-21: For anyone who had covered USC during the Carroll era, it was shocking to watch. Perhaps it was possible to write off the Trojans getting blown out on the road at Oregon, but getting physically manhandled at home? The 34-point defeat was USC's worst home loss since 1966. Even more galling: Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh opted to go for a 2-point conversion with a 27-point lead and just 6:47 left, inspiring a spirited post-game handshake with Carroll, who asked Harbaugh, "What's your deal?"

8. Oregon beats Arizona 44-41 in double-overtime: It was as entertaining a game as you could see. Oregon overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit because of a tour de force performance from Masoli, who scored three touchdowns running and three passing, including an 8-yard toss that tied the score with six seconds left and forced overtime, stunning Wildcats fans who already had jumped from the stands for a postgame celebration. The loss kept Arizona from playing in its first Rose Bowl.

9. California goes down by a combined 72-6 on consecutive weekends: Talk about a fall from grace. Cal went to Oregon on Sept. 26 ranked No. 6 in the country with a 3-0 record. The Bears were national title contenders and Jahvid Best was the conference's leading Heisman Trophy candidate. But a 42-3 loss to the Ducks followed by a 30-3 defeat at home against USC the following weekend made the Bears a national punchline.

10. Sarkisian bests Carroll: Fresh off a thrilling 18-15 win at Ohio State, USC carried a No. 3 ranking to Washington, which had just ended a 15-game losing streak the week before against Idaho. Most of the pregame discussion was whether Carroll would take it easy on his former offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian. But with quarterback Aaron Corp starting for an injured Matt Barkley, the Trojans couldn't get anything going on offense. Washington quarterback Jake Locker, meanwhile, engineered a thrilling 68-yard drive that ended on Erik Folk's 22-yard field goal with three seconds remaining for a shocking 16-13 victory.

There appear to be two initial reactions to the Lane Kiffin hire at USC.

First, fans and media -- particularly around Tennessee -- are outraged. And the media reaction in LA isn't exactly a warm hug.

But one place where Kiffin landing at USC is seemingly being met with great cheer is recruiting. At least on the Trojans' end of things.

Tennessee? Not so much.

You can follow along here -- count on numerous updates over the coming days as national signing day nears.

The early returns are the Vols are getting a number of decommits from their class, which was ranked sixth in the nation before Kiffin bolted, while USC's class is getting good news, starting with a reaffirmation from elite receiver Kyle Prater, who told ESPN's Greg Biggins that he will enroll at USC next week and be available to participate in spring practices.

What about QB Jesse Scroggins?

"[I'm] Overjoyed. Excited," Scroggins told ESPN affiliate Web site WeAreSC.com. "Lane recruited me at Tennessee as his No. 1 quarterback. I went on an unofficial visit to Tennessee in April. At that time he told me he was going to run an offensive system similar to USC and that I was perfect for the system."

The big question: Will some of these marquee Tennessee guys follow Kiffin to USC?

And what about big-ticket recruits like DE Ronald Powell (a Florida commit over USC), DE Jackson Jeffcoat (uncommitted), OT Brice Schwab (a USC decommit after Pete Carroll's departure to Seattle) and OT Seantrel Henderson (uncommitted)?

Here's the shocker: With Kiffin and recruiting star Ed Orgeron back in Heritage Hall, the Trojans' class might actually moves up in the national rankings -- it's presently 11th -- after Carroll's departure.

Who saw that coming?