On second thought, maybe it's better to receive

The Pac-10 is having a down year (collective nonconference record: 13-15). Each team has its own reasons, but is there anything the league is missing top to bottom?

Here's one thought : Where are the game-breaking wide receivers? Nobody has established himself as a preeminent threat this year, and that doesn't bode well for the historically pass-happy conference.

Though quarterbacks such as Rudy Carpenter and Mark Sanchez will show up on magazine covers, somebody has to catch the ball. So far this season, no player from the Pac-10 is in the nation's top 25 in receptions per game or receiving yards per game.

The league leader, Arizona's Mike Thomas, is only on pace for 948 yards in the regular season. The last time the conference didn't have a 1,000-yard receiver was in 2000. Somebody has hit that mark for 14 of the past 16 years, led by Cal's Geoff McArthur with 1,504 yards in 2004.

Thomas, who is gaining 79 yards per game, also leads the Pac-10 with 6.2 receptions per game. Compare that to the national leaders: Jarett Dillard has 112.3 receiving yards per game for Rice and Casey Fitzgerald is hauling in 9.2 passes per game for North Texas.

The Pac-10 only has four receivers averaging over 70 yards and just six averaging more than 5 receptions per game.

-- Adam Rose
Photo: Arizona's Mike Thomas drops a pass against UCLA. Credit: Gary A. Vasquez/US Presswire.