LOS ANGELES — In recent years, there always seemed to be a team or two capable of making a run at USC for Pac-10 supremacy.

For the sixth consecutive year at Thursday's annual Pac-10 media day, the Trojans were the media's pick to win the conference, but the general feeling is the rest of the conference pecking order is anybody's guess.

"To pick who is going to finish second in this league would be very, very difficult," said Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson, whose Sun Devils were the ones picked as the conference's runner-up.

While USC, which has won or shared the past six conference titles, was a near-unanimous pick to win the Pac-10 again, the Trojans don't seem to have the feeling of invincibility that surrounded them going into last season, when Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said they might be the best team in the history of college football.

Oregon was third, followed by Cal, UCLA, Oregon State, Arizona, Washington, Stanford and Washington State.

Surprisingly, the Bears received one first-place vote, the only other team to get picked to win the conference besides USC.

"It seems more wide open this year," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "I think it's just because nobody really knows."

While USC is expected to be a national power again, the Trojans are a little short on experience. But coach Pete Carroll has plugged the holes with his next wave of prep All-Americans, and he says the infusion of youth

"We've had a terrific run, but a lot of those kids in the program have all left us," Carroll said. "I sense a whole new excitement about our program that I've never been more pumped about a year starting. It seems like the first time for us. We have a chance to do something special again with a kind of changing of the guard. I can't wait to see these guys crank it up and go."

The event turned somber when Oregon coach Mike Bellotti took the podium and spoke about Todd Doxey, the Ducks defensive back who drowned earlier this month after jumping off a bridge during a team outing on the McKenzie River.

"As a team and a family, we mourn the loss of Todd Doxey," Bellotti said. "You don't really realize how great some young people are until you see the lives they've touched and the influence they've had on your team. Todd will forever be in our hearts. Our players are dedicated to honoring his memory."

Note: Tedford said redshirt freshman defensive end Scott Smith is transferring. Tedford granted Smith a release from his scholarship last week.