The PAC 10 is as deep as it ever has been, and that's good with Arizona's backslide.
Anytime you ask someone about what the best conference is, most times their answer is based on regional biases. Ask someone from New York, and they will say the Big East, ask somebody from Mississippi, and they will say the SEC, etc.
The thing is that it's cyclical. The PAC 10 jumped up this year, while the Big 10 and Big 12 were down. Three years from now it may be the opposite.
However, I think that year in and year out, the SEC is the best conference in football/basketball. You can point out how pathetic they are academically, but they always have a contender for a national championship in the main sports.