Pac-10 Talk: Oregon and Oregon State

Oregon’s Mike Bellotti was very clear: "We are as excited about this season as we were disappointed by the end of last season. There was some introspection by coaches and players on how to be better. We had a good ‘clear the air’ meeting this spring."

After starting 7-2 (including a gift "win" in Eugene over Oklahoma), the Ducks lost their last four games, including a 38-8 drubbing by BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl to finish 7-6. Oregon has 14 starters returning, including quarterback Dennis Dixon, who played baseball during the spring and summer and will only return to Eugene on Friday.

Bellotti feels the offense won’t miss a beat with the introduction of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator after Gary Crowton left for LSU. Kelly’s specialty is the spread offense, essentially the same program as run by Crowton. "On defense, we have holes to fill and we need leadership in the defensive front," Bellotti said. He emphasized that the "turnover-takeaway margin is the most important element in winning or losing."

Asked about LSU coach Les Miles’ comments about how LSU’s road through the SEC to get to a national championship game will be much harder than USC’s road through the Pac-10, Bellotti said "There’s always a perception problem [with the Pac-10]. The reality is that the SEC is tremendous conference and that area feels football is biggest thing in the world.

"I would take the Pac-10 in any one game, though. We have creative coaching and can throw the ball in this conference and that’s a great equalizer."

The Ducks were picked for sixth in the conference by the media panel.

Oregon State is expected to be a contender in the conference race with 17 starters back from a 10-4 season that included a home win against USC. Unfortunately, the funeral for football services coordinator Jim Gilstrap, who passed away last Friday at age 65, was held today and no one from OSU was able to attend the Pac-10 Football Media Day event.

The Beavers were picked for fifth by the media panel.

More to come from Pac-10 Football Media Day . . .