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This Year in Pac-10 Football
Jan. 15, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
WALNUT CREEK, Calif.-- PAC-10 TITLE FOR TROJANS: USC extended its Pac-10 record string of Conference championships to seven in a row as the Trojans went 8-1 in Pac-10 play and 12-1 overall. In so doing, USC earned a fourth straight trip to the Rose Bowl, which tied a record for consecutive appearances in that storied game.
PAC-10 PERFECT IN BOWL GAMES: The Pac-10 had arguably its finest bowl season ever as Conference teams went a perfect 5-0 in post-season contests. The five wins were the most bowl victories for the Pac-10 since going 5-1 following the 1997 season. The last time the Conference was undefeated in bowl games was following the 1989 season when the Pac-10 posted a 4-0 mark. The bowl wins came against stiff competition as Pac-10 teams knocked off four Top 20 teams in No. 8 Penn State, No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 17 BYU and No. 18 Pittsburgh.
PAC-10 BOWL GAME RESULTS (5-0): Rose Bowl presented by Citi: USC 38, Penn State 24 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl: Oregon 42, Oklahoma State 31 Brut Sun Bowl: Oregon State 3, Pittsburgh 0 Emerald Bowl: California 24, Miami 17 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl: Arizona 31, BYU 21
OUT OF OUR LEAGUE: The Pac-10 finished the 2008 season with a 19-17 (.528) record against a formidable slate of non-conference opponents, the 25th straight year the Conference compiled a winning mark against outsiders. The non-conference schedule was formidable in that 36% (13 of 36) of the opponents were ranked in the Top 25 when the Pac-10 played them. The Pac-10 finished a very solid 6-7 overall against those top 25 opponents and the Conference was 5-0 in games in which both teams were ranked.
NOTES ON THE 2008 ALL-PAC-10 FOOTBALL TEAM (selected by the Pac-10 head football coaches:
By School: USC placed the most players on the first team with eight selections, followed by Oregon and Oregon State with five each. Arizona and California were next with four each. Five of the 12 players named to the first-team defensive unit are Trojans.
Unanimous: Three players were named on the first-team ballot of all 10 head coaches--SS Kevin Ellison of USC, TE Rob Gronkowski of Arizona and offensive player of the year TB Jacquizz Rodgers of Oregon State. Four additional players were named on nine of 10 first-team ballots--C Alex Mack of California and the USC trio of OLB Brian Cushing, MLB Rey Maualuga and QB Mark Sanchez.
Three-time Selections: C Alex Mack of California and defensive player of the year MLB Rey Maualuga of USC were named to the first-team for the third consecutive year.
Two-time Selections: In addition to Mack and Maualuga, six other players were named first-team All-Pac-10 for the second time with three of them being Ducks. Repeat first-teamers from last year are the Oregon trio of ROV Patrick Chung, DE Nick Reed and C Max Unger, along with SS Kevin Ellison of USC, WR Mike Thomas of Arizona and TB Jahvid Best of California, who was named as a special teams performer last year.
All-Academic: Five players were named to the first team on both the All-Pac-10 Team and the Pac-10 All-Academic Football Team--C Alex Mack of California, P Aaron Perez of UCLA, DE Nick Reed of Oregon, WR Sammie Stroughter of Oregon State and QB Mark Sanchez of USC. In addition, DE Clay Matthews of USC and CB Alterraun Verner of UCLA were named first-team All-Academic and second-team All-Pac-10. CURRENT STREAKS HEADING INTO THE 2009 SEASON: Longest overall winning streak: 10 games - USC Longest Conference-game winning streak: 8 games - USC Longest home winning streak: 9 games - USC Longest road winning streak: 4 games - USC
2008 PAC-10 FOOTBALL NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS:
Draddy Trophy (National Football Foundation top scholar-athlete in the nation) Alex Mack, C, Sr., California
Chuck Bednarik Award (nation’s top defensive player) Rey Maualuga, MLB, Sr., USC
Unanimous First-Team All-America Selection Rey Maualuga, MLB, Sr., USC
Consensus First-Team All-America Selection Taylor Mays, FS, Jr., USC
Other First-Team All-America Selections Andy Levitre, OT, Sr., Oregon State Nick Reed, DE, Sr., Oregon
Second-Team All-America Selections Brian Cushing, OLB, Sr., USC Alex Mack, C, Sr., California Fili Moala, DT, Sr., USC
Third-Team All-America Selections Kai Forbath, PK, So., UCLA Rob Gronkowski, TE, So., Arizona Jacquizz Rodgers, TB, Fr., Oregon State
Sporting News Pac-10 Offensive MVP Jacquizz Rodgers, TB, Fr., Oregon State
Sporting News Pac-10 Defensive MVP Rey Maualuga, MLB, Sr., USC
Freshman All-America Selections Bryan Anger, P, California Lawrence Guy, DT, Arizona State Tom Keiser, DE, Stanford Jacquizz Rodgers, TB, Oregon State
Sporting News National and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Jacquizz Rodgers, TB, Oregon State
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Selection Nick Reed, DE, Sr., Oregon
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Selections Micah Hannam, OT, So., Washington State Mike Nixon, OLB, Jr., Arizona State Nick Reed, DE, Sr., Oregon
American Football Coaches Region 5 Coach of the Year Mike Riley, Oregon State
Sporting News Pac-10 Coach of the Year Mike Bellotti, Oregon
Pac-10 Awards Voted on by the Head Coaches:
Offensive Player of the Year Jacquizz Rodgers, TB, Fr., Oregon State
Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year Rey Maualuga, MLB, Sr., USC
Freshman of the Year Jacquizz Rodgers, TB, Oregon State
Coach of the Year Mike Riley, Oregon State
Morris Trophy Winners (outstanding offensive and defensive linemen as voted by the players) Offense: Alex Mack, C, Sr., California Defense: Nick Reed, DE, Sr., Oregon PAC-10 RECORDS ESTABLISHED:
2008 Individual Records Established
Rushing Most Yards Gained by a Freshman 1253 Jacquizz Rodgers, OSU, 2008 Previous Record: 1069, Darrin Nelson, Stanford, 1977
Kickoff Returns Most Kickoff Returns, Season 46 Terrence Austin, UCLA, 2008 (1109 yards) Previous Record: 41, Dwayne Owens, OSU, 1990
Most Yards on Kickoff Returns, Season 1109 Terrence Austin, UCLA, 2008 (46 returns) Previous Record: 1014, Dwayne Owens, OSU, 1990
Most Career Receptions 260 Mike Thomas, Arizona, 2005-08 (3,240 yards-23 TD) Previous Record: 258, Derek Hagen, Arizona State, 2002-05
2008 Individual Records Tied
Scoring Highest Percentage of Extra Points Made 100.0 Jason Bondzio, Arizona, 2008 (55-55)
Interceptions Longest Interception Return 100 Troy Nolan, Arizona State vs. UCLA, 2008*
2008 Team Records Established
Kickoff Returns Most Yards on Kickoff Returns 298 Washington State vs. California, 2008 (11 returns) Previous Record: 280, Oregon vs. Washington State, 1984 (9 returns)
Scoring Most Touchdowns Scored by the Defense 4 Arizona State vs. UCLA, 2008* (3 int., 1 fumble)
Most Points Allowed 570 Washington State, 2008 Previous Record: 469, Oregon State, 1981
Consecutive Records Most Consecutive Conference Championships 7 USC 2002-Present
Additional Records Most Bowl Game Victories 31 USC
Most Bowl Game Appearances 47 USC
Most Consecutive BCS Game Appearances 7 USC*
2008 Team Records Tied Most Kickoff Returns 11 Washington State vs. California, 2008 (298 yards)
Fewest Penalties Against 0 Arizona vs. California, 2008
Fewest Yards Penalized 0 Arizona vs. California, 2008
*NCAA Record
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