“There is no question in my mind that USC is the best team in the country and may be the best team in the history of college football.” — Jim Harbaugh, during the Pacific-10 Conference’s media day on July 26.

In all seriousness, though (since it’s hard to take Jim Harbaugh seriously at this point), just how good are the Trojans going to be this year?

It’s an important question, seeing as the Pac-10 goes as USC goes. The rest of the country looks down on the conference — you don’t have to look any further than LSU head coach Les Miles, who slighted the Pac-10 in comparison to the SEC, despite the fact that the Trojans have humiliated top SEC teams in recent years. And oftentimes, the only way for a conference like the Pac-10 to get respect is through its top dog.

As Stanford’s very own head coach said it, the Trojans shouldn’t have any trouble in representing the conference this year. Many, just like Harbaugh, believe this to be the best USC team ever, surpassing the not-so-long-ago heydays of Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Carson Palmer.

The Trojans return nearly everyone from a squad that made a one-loss Michigan look like a high school team in last year’s Rose Bowl. USC has never had this many starters returning, and as always, the recruiting cupboard is full with Pete Carroll running the ship.

The defense is stacked, featuring three of the best linebackers in the country: Keith Rivers, Brian Cushing and Ray Maualuga. You might remember Maualuga from last year’s USC-UCLA game. He was the guy who nearly beheaded Bruins quarterback Patrick Cowan in the fourth quarter; a video clip of the hit became an immediate YouTube favorite.

But questions still linger. For example, many ask, “Is this team too talented?” And as absurd as that sounds, they may have a point: A week after posing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, USC tailback Emmanuel Moody made the decision to transfer. Playing time is scarce for many top prospects, and it could cause dissension among the players.

Other things are up in the air, such as which USC receiver will emerge as the go-to-guy after the program lost standouts Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett last year. There was no question as to who the playmakers were among past USC champions. On this team, however, it’s much less clear. Many are expecting big things from junior wide receiver Patrick Turner and the stable of nine — yes, nine — running backs that USC features, but it remains to be seen who will step up at the skill positions.

Yet the biggest question of all comes down to a quarterback featuring a both biblical, yet bodily name: John David Booty.

This is supposed to be the year for the redshirt senior, a top high-school prospect who was forced to sit and watch under the Leinart reign. Booty stepped up as the starter last year, and at times he showed why he was so highly regarded out of high school, with monster performances rivaling those of Leinart’s past.

However, in the few close games the Trojans actually played, Booty didn’t exude the confidence nor charisma that most champion quarterbacks possess.

He was rattled by the crowd against Oregon State, as the Trojans lost on a missed two-point conversion, and he was shaken up by the swarming pressure of UCLA’s defense in the Trojans’ 13-9 loss.

Both games ended on Booty mistakes: The Beavers took down the Trojans after Booty forced an impossible throw to stud receiver Dwayne Jarrett and the Bruins sealed victory after Booty was acrobatically intercepted by backup linebacker Eric McNeal.

Booty has had his share of critics during his time thus far at USC. This is supposedly his year, his team and his title to win (or lose). But from an onlooker’s perspective, something tells me that he just doesn’t have the right stuff.

While Matt Leinart had the moxie to throw deep on fourth and 10 from his own 19 — and with a season on the line — Booty seems much less resolute. While Leinart had no problem in calling his own number for a QB sneak in USC’s 2005 win against Notre Dame (a field goal would have tied the game), Booty would probably defer to the coach.

That may be speculative and it may be unfair, but in what I’ve seem from Booty, it’s the conclusion I’ve come to. Soon enough he’ll have his chance to prove the haters — and Les Miles — wrong.