Adams: Southern Cal No. 1 until proved otherwise

There’s no Reggie Bush.

No Matt Leinhart.

No big-name wide receiver.

But there’s also no logical reason to pick against Southern Cal winning a third national championship in five years.

USC has as many stars as ever.

You just won’t find them in the usual positions.

John David Booty might be the best quarterback in the Pac-10, and the Trojans have more high school All-American tailbacks than your average conference does.

But the Trojans’ best players are on a defense that returns 10 starters.

For example, all three linebackers — Brian Cushing, Ray Maualuga, and Keith Rivers — are Butkus Award nominees; three members of the front four have made first-team preseason all-conference; the secondary has four returning starters and two backups with starting experience.

1. Southern Cal — Despite what Pac-10 detractors might think, the schedule won’t be easy. It includes road games at Notre Dame, Oregon, Cal and Nebraska, and is top-heavy on the back end with Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Cal, Arizona State and UCLA in the last six games.

2. LSU — Like the Trojans, the Tigers are loaded on defense, especially up front with tackle Glenn Dorsey and end Tyson Jackson. They also have an even tougher schedule, which includes Virginia Tech in non-conference play and Florida outside the SEC West. But Florida, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Arkansas and South Carolina will have to play at Tiger Stadium.

3. Texas — Star sophomore quarterback Colt McCoy will be throwing to what coach Mack Brown calls his best-ever group of wide receivers, and that’s saying something. TCU will test the Longhorns early, and the last four games are against Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. But as usual, a mid-season match-up with Oklahoma overshadows the rest of the schedule.

4. West Virginia — Nobody will have a better one-two punch than quarterback Patrick White and tailback Steve Slaton. Both will have to be at the top of their game against Louisville, which has the passing attack to exploit the Mountaineers’ usually vulnerable secondary. Its toughest road games are at improving South Florida and Rutgers.

5. Oklahoma — The Sooners return 16 starters from an 11-win team, but their inexperience at quarterback will be decisive against Texas. Their next toughest games — against Miami, Missouri, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State — are at home.

6. Florida — Never mind what the defending national champions lost on defense, their offense should be improved over last season, and there is plenty of young tal-ent on defense. Their biggest road challenges will be at LSU and South Carolina.

7. Michigan — A talented, versatile offense — led by quarterback Chad Henne, tailback Mike Hart and receiver Mario Manningham — will have to make up for an inexperienced defense that returns only four starters. Its last two games against Wisconsin in Madison and at home against Ohio State will decide the Big Ten champi-onship.

8. Louisville — Coach Bobby Petrino has gone pro but another explosive offense remains. Quarterback Brian Brohm will have a great cast of receivers and a veteran offensive line. But will the Cardinals have enough defense to win back-to-back road games against West Virginia and South Florida?

9. Virginia Tech — Eight starters return from the nation’s top-ranked defense, and tailback Branden Ore is a proven runner. But the Hokies will need improved pass-ing from quarterback Sean Glennon if they hope to contend for a national title.

10. Tennessee — Erik Ainge is a talented, experienced quarterback, and there’s proven depth at running back. The Vols will need immediate help from a talented re-cruiting class against a challenging schedule that includes Cal and Florida in the first three games.

11. Wisconsin — The Badgers return 18 starters from a 12-win team and could be 9-0 going into November and back-to-back games against Ohio State and Michigan. You can’t expect them to win both.

12. TCU — The Horned Frogs, who return 16 starters from an 11-2 team, are an overwhelming favorite to win the Mountain West Conference. They also should be fa-vored to beat everyone except Texas.

13. Arkansas — The Razorbacks have Heisman Trophy candidate Darren McFadden at tailback and another 1,000-yard rusher in Felix Jones, but quarterback Casey Dick is average at best, and the defense suffered key losses. The non-conference schedule is a joke, and toss-up games against Auburn and South Carolina are at home.

14. South Carolina — The defense should be much-improved, and coach Steve Spurrier invariably gets the most from his offense. The schedule is brutal: road games at Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas.

15. Ohio State — Despite all their losses on offense, the Buckeyes have enough defense to contend for the top 10 — thanks, in part, to a ridiculously easy non-conference schedule.

16. Georgia — Sophomore quarterback Matthew Stafford is an emerging star, and there’s depth as usual at running back. But there are question marks in the offen-sive and defensive lines.

17. Cal — The Golden Bears again will have plenty of offensive firepower, but they don’t have enough defense to slug it out with USC for the Pac-10 championship.

18. Florida State — Coach Bobby Bowden has 21 starters returning and a revamped coaching staff, including new offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher.

19. Nebraska — Arizona State transfer Sam Keller should pick up where quarterback Zac Taylor left off as the Cornhuskers’ passing game continues to make progress.

20. UCLA — The Bruins, who return 21 starters from the team that upset Southern Cal, would be ranked even higher if they hadn’t gone belly-up against Florida State in the Emerald Bowl.

21. Auburn — A rebuilt offensive line must come together quickly, and quarterback Brandon Cox must rebound from a lackluster 2006 season if the Tigers are to have success against a daunting schedule that sends them to Florida, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia.

22. Hawaii — Quarterback Colt Brennan is a strong Heisman Trophy candidate, and the Rainbow Warriors return eight starters on defense.

23. Texas A&M — The Aggies return 16 starters, including 260-pound tailback Jorvorskie Lane and quarterback Stephen McGee.

24. South Florida — The Bulls return 20 starters from the team that knocked off West Virginia and almost beat Rutgers.

25. Wake Forest — The Demon Deacons, who return 15 starters, capitalized on a down year in the ACC to win 11 games and a conference championship last season.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.