Feats of Clay
Clay Matthews was one of the best linebackers ever to suit up at Southern California, a stalwart of the 1978 squad that produced 37 future NFL players. Matthews currently has two sons playing his former position in the Pac-10, albeit at different schools. Clay III plays at USC and backs up All-American candidate Brian Cushing, while Casey, a sophomore, is a budding star at middle linebacker for Oregon.

Pac-10 odysseys
Lewis and Clark, whose own pilgrimage ended in Oregon, would empathize with the paths some of these Pac-10 skill-position players have taken to find themselves on the two-deep chart:

Nyan Boateng, WR, Cal: Born in Ghana. Raised in Brooklyn, where he was a high school hoops teammate of Sebastian Telfair. Accepted a scholarship to Florida, where he caught two passes as a freshman before being arrested for burglary, criminal mischief and battery (i.e., breaking down his ex-girlfriend's door). Transferred to Berkeley and sat out last season.

Jason Forcier, QB, Stanford: Attended gridiron powerhouse Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.) for three years before transferring to St. Augustine (San Diego). Accepted a scholarship to Michigan (the Mater Dei of college football), where he backed up Chad Henne for two seasons while completing all three passes he attempted for the Wolverines. Transferred to Stanford in 2007, coinciding with another former Michigan QB's comments about the Wolverines' steering "borderline guys" into majors in sports communications. That guy, Jim Harbaugh, is now Forcier's head coach in Palo Alto.

Kevin Craft, QB, UCLA: Began his career at San Diego State, playing for his father, Tom Craft. His dad was fired following the 2005 season, after which Kevin started five games as a redshirt frosh in 2006 and was the Aztecs' leading passer. Transferred to Mount San Antonio College before the 2007 season after his dad was hired as the offensive coordinator there and threw 44 TD passes. Now a Bruin, Craft, who made his college debut as a starter against BYU, could start against the Cougars again on Sept. 6.

Locker room
Redshirt sophomore Jake Locker of Washington is the closest thing the Pac-10 has to Florida's Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow. Last year, Locker's first as a starter, he set a Pac-10 record for rushing yardage by a quarterback (986 yards) while also throwing the longest touchdown pass in conference history, 98 yards.

Despite Washington fielding its most porous defense in school history (446.4 yards per game), Locker engineered near upsets of two BCS bowl teams, USC (a 27-24 loss) and Hawaii (35-28 loss, after leading 28-7).

This summer Locker is causing sleepless nights for Ty Willingham by playing outfield for the Class A Bellingham (Wash.) Bells. Which is to say that Locker is an athlete of multiple lockers.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Arizona
5-foot-8 wideout Mike Thomas led the Pac-10 in receptions last season with 83.

Arizona State
Dennis Erickson is the only coach besides Lou Holtz to defeat three No. 1s, and he may have a chance to make it four on Oct. 11 at USC.

California
Mammoth left tackle Mike Tepper (6-foot-7, 321 pounds) played youth soccer for 11 years.

Oregon
Rover Patrick Chung is the Pac-10's leading returning tackler, with 117 stops in '07.

Oregon State
Projected tailback starter Ryan McCants has yet to carry the ball in college.

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Stanford
Another Wolverine QB on the Farm, as Michigan transfer Jason Forcier battles incumbent Tavita Pritchard to start.

UCLA
New head coach Rick Neuheisel, a former Bruin QB, has a law degree from USC.

USC
How deep? Redshirt freshman RB Marc Tyler, a USA Today prep 1st team All-American who averaged 13.0 yards per carry as a senior (and whose dad is former All-Pro Wendell Tyler), is 6th on the depth chart.

Washington
The Huskies allowed a school-record worst 446.4 yards per game in '07.

Washington State
Fifth-year senior QB Gary Rogers, who has completed 4 of 16 passes in his career, replaces record-setting Alex Brink.

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