Pac-10 preview: Getting the points is what drives coaches

Sitting over lunch at Pac-10 media day a month ago in Los Angeles, USC Coach Pete Carroll surveyed a room of his colleagues.

"There's a guy in the room that says you win with offense," he said. "But for the most part, proven over history, you win week in and week out by playing great defense."

But which guy in the room? Dennis Erickson of Oregon State? Washington State's Mike Price? John Mackovic of Arizona?

Who's to say? With the dismissal last year of Tom Holmoe at California and the installation of Jeff Tedford, and Tyrone Willingham leaving Stanford for Notre Dame and replaced by Buddy Teevens, the Pac-10 coaches roster is now peopled by nine men who have offensive backgrounds. The exception is Carroll, and even he did a stint as a college offensive coordinator at Pacific.

Everybody knew the Pac-10 had a reputation for offense, but the current composition is the most lopsided in Pac-10 history. The Northwest, for example, is occupied by nothing but guys who built a reputation scheming better offense — Erickson, Price, Washington's Rick Neuheisel and Oregon's Mike Bellotti.

So count on a lot of points in the conference this season (but you knew that). The teams picked 1-2 by the media — Washington State and Washington — are expected to prosper behind incendiary offenses, and the third choice, Oregon, is not likely to lose an image for flinging and running a football seemingly at will.

Why the lean toward offense? Points mean entertainment, and college football probably would have a hard time surviving a steady diet of 13-7 games. And the Pac-10, situated primarily in urban markets with many sporting choices, has to battle harder than some other leagues for spectators.

"We all want to score points," says Mackovic. "(Administrators) feel if they get someone who's been involved (with offense), at least we know he's going to make sure that happens and that he won't give in to some other style of play."

There's an old stereotype of bedside manner of offensive versus defensive coaches. One is cool, reasoned, even gentle; the other drives a pickup truck, dips chewing tobacco and is always hoarse from yelling at his players.

Guess which is which? And if there's a shred of accuracy in it, guess which administrators would prefer as the coach who is the face of the program?

"I don't know that I'm the stereotypical defensive guy," said Carroll, who indeed seems facile in front of a camera.

On the field, Mackovic believes that over the past 20 years, the quarterback has become increasingly important. Who better to oversee the QB than a guy more apt to understand him?

"It's the big-play focus," Mackovic said. "Fifteen or 20 years ago, it was run, run, run. Hit a couple of passes here and there, but you still measured your success by how effectively you ran the ball. Today, they won't even try to run it. They'll just take off and throw it. Or if they're a good running team, they won't throw it for the first down, they'll throw it for the touchdown."

Mackovic knows whereof he speaks. Last year at Husky Stadium, Washington trotted out Cody Pickett, whose shoulder was a mess. Rightly figuring the Huskies had to run, Arizona stacked its defense accordingly. So Pickett threw for a school-record 455 yards and the Huskies ran for just 83.

For his part, Carroll relishes being a lone wolf.

"I love being in an offensive conference and being a defensive guy," Carroll said. "I talked to (athletic director) Mike Garrett about it when I got the job. I thought it could make us special."

Having had NFL head-coaching stints with the New York Jets and New England, Carroll believes he has learned something about division of responsibility that he is taking to USC.

"This is the first time I've been a defensive coordinator (as a head coach)," he said. "I absolutely believe I made a terrible mistake in not being a defensive coordinator in the NFL. I'm a really good defensive coordinator, I really know my stuff. Had I given that to my team, as opposed to asking one of my other guys to do it and trying to help them, I think we would have been better, and we only needed to be a little better.

"My players would have known who I am. My team right now has a much better feel for what I'm all about. When you're just a figurehead guy, they almost have to subjectively figure out what this head coach really brings. You don't have the connection."

Carroll and Cal's Tedford have already had that discussion. And Carroll may someday regret it.

"I could kick myself for talking to him," Carroll said.

Judging by the points scored in the Pac-10, the league's other head coaches got the message of personal involvement long ago.