One more to go

Well, USC might have to settle for one trip to the Rose Bowl this season, as a 6-5 UCLA team is the only thing standing between USC and Glendale on January 8th. The Trojans dominated from the start, going up 21-3 before Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn and the Irish knew what hit them. Charlie Weis sent out his team for 6 fourth downs, of which they only made two, which really set the tempo for the game. Notre Dame had a hard time adjusting to USC's speed, and may have figured out things in the second quarter, but the Trojans pulled away in the fourth. Quinn made the game close, 37-24 with about 3 minutes remaining, before DE Brian Cushing returned an onside kick attempt 42 yards to the house for USC's first kickoff return since Reggie Bush did it against UCLA in 2003. John David Booty started off on fire, leading the Trojans to touchdowns on their first three drives, but looked a little stagnant after we went up 21-3, as on three consecutive drives, the Trojans had a punt blocked and threw two interceptions. But with a few halftime adjustments, USC was able to pull away to move one game from the big one. Booty really took advantage of Dwayne Jarrett's height and the mismatch with the Irish secondary, hooking up for three touchdowns. The defense was solid even in giving up 24 points, they made Quinn earn each touchdown and really clamped down in the red zone. Any rushing attempt Notre Dame tried inside the 5 was shut down for a loss, forcing Quinn to go to the air for the touchdown. It wasn't a 31 point blowout of the Ty Willingham era, but it still was a statement heading into the season finale. Time for the game balls...

Offense: WR Dwayne Jarrett really stepped up today, catching 7 passes for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns. Booty would have got it, as he really tore apart the Notre Dame secondary, but those two picks, even though they didn't result in points, should not have happened. Honorable mention to C.J. Gable, who had over 100 yards rushing.

Defense: LB Dallas Sartz may have heard a lot of critics this year, starting in front of a lot of talented linebackers, but he came up in his final game in the Coliseum, making 8 tackles and recording a sack and playing all around solid defense out there. The secondary deserves huge props as well, containing the Notre Dame receivers as well as limiting Quinn to 22-45 passing.

Special Teams: Desmond Reed turned the tide of the game with his huge 40 yard punt return, which resulted in Jarrett's second touchdown of the game. There was no way Reed was going to fair catch that one, especially after the grass incident in South Bend last year.

And I had USC (-7.5) 31, Notre Dame 24. Off on the spread again...

Season-to-date:
W-L - 10-1
Against the spread: 5-5-1 (well, blowouts are good, right?)

And my top 25...

1. Ohio State (12-0)
2. Michigan (11-1)
3. Southern California (10-1)
4. Florida (11-1)
5. Louisville (10-1)
6. Boise State (12-0)
7. Louisiana State (10-2)
8. Wisconsin (11-1)
9. Oklahoma (10-2)
10. Arkansas (10-2)
11. Notre Dame (10-2)
12. Auburn (10-2)
13. Rutgers (10-1)
14. Virginia Tech (10-2)
15. Wake Forest (10-2)
    
16. West Virginia (9-2)
    
17. Hawaii (10-2)
18. Brigham Young (10-2)
19. Texas (9-3)
    
20. Tennessee (8-3)
21. California (8-3)
22. Nebraska (9-3)
23. Georgia Tech (9-3)
24. Texas A&M (9-3)
25. Boston College (9-3)
    

Yeah, Hawaii at #17 is primed for the upset... USC will be #2 if they beat UCLA... What a coaching job by Bob Stoops, getting the Sooners back in the Big 12 Championship after losing QB Rhett Bomar and RB Adrian Peterson... And what a collapse by Texas, losing their last two games to fall from the BCS to either the Cotton Bowl or the Holiday Bowl... ACC Championship Game: Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech, ugh... SEC Championship Game: Florida vs. Arkansas, go Hogs!... LSU, coulda, woulda, shoulda, best two loss team in the land... Boise State, BCS bound, now go represent the WAC in the Fiesta Bowl... Notre Dame to the Sugar Bowl, looking to extend their bowl losing streak...

The Rose Bowl!

Weird, how we've been so successful over the past four years that most of the student section doesn't give a crap about the Rose Bowl. Me, I'm excited for it, for a team that lost two Heisman winners and several All-Americans to win at least a share of the Pac-10 championship and get into another BCS game, it shows how great this year's team is too. Our team goal is always to shoot for the Rose Bowl, regardless of where the National Championship is being played, and I agree with the team's aspirations. I won't be upset if we don't make the big game, though I do feel like we deserve it, but Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame, Arkansas, and West Virginia all have valid points on why they should be in Glendale on January 8th. Right now, we have to worry about Notre Dame, who has rolled over every service academy in the United States, and comes into the Coliseum with their own National Championship hopes. I believe they are pretty much guaranteed to go to a BCS game as well with 10 regular season victories, but after yesterday's game was for a berth in the Rose Bowl, this game may reduce the teams in contention to meet Ohio State in the BCS Championship game.

But back to the Cal game. Our first half offense was nonexistent, especially in the red zone, where we had to settle for two field goals, and could not capitalize on two Nate Longshore turnovers. But our defense, save for the lone touchdown drive we gave up, was solid all night. To hold an offensive team like the Bears to one touchdown was really encouraging to see. We only sacked Longshore once, forcing a fumble, but we did not give him many open targets to throw to, forcing him to go 17-38 with two interceptions. One of his big play options, DeSean Jackson, seemed to be out of it after taking a monster hit from Kevin Ellison on the first drive of the game, though he did turn a 35 yard gain out of a missed tackle, and was not able to return many punts after P Greg Woidneck punted the ball 20 yards and out of bounds on most of his second half punts. Marshawn Lynch did have a solid game, but not a breakout one. He did give the crowd a scare when he scampered 60 yards to the end zone late in the fourth quarter, but it was called back after his knee touched the turf. The Bears defense did their part for most of the game, save for the 4th and 2 touchdown, as they did hold us to three field goals before our fourth quarter burst. Speaking of field goals, what about David Buehler! His 49 yard field goal, the first attempt of his career, changed the momentum of the game, as the crowd was dead when we decided to go for the long kick. But when he nailed it, it was all Trojans after that. Our defense really shut down the Bears after that, forcing three three-and-outs leading to our two touchdown drives. John David Booty really took over the game from that point, hitting Dwayne Jarrett on a post route for our first touchdown, and not overthrowing a wide open Steve Smith on a 4th and 2 conversion which punched our ticket to the Rose Bowl. It was a fun game to watch, and I'm really looking forward to Notre Dame in 6 days (as well as finding a ticket...). Well, now for the game balls...

Offense: Well, Booty had the touchdown numbers, but RB C.J. Gable was really our offense last night, running for 91 yards on 19 carries, catching a pass for 35 yards, and returning a kickoff 33 yards, having a mini-Reggie Bush night out there. Now if he could only return punts as well...

Defense: I'm not sure if I want to cop out and give 11 game balls today, but I think DE Lawrence Jackson deserves another one, with his 6 tackles (1.5 for loss), sack, and forced fumble, but it was the things that don't end up in the box score that earned him this ball, pressuring Longshore into quick decisions that usually didn't work.

Special Teams: K David Buehler. Don't make me explain this to you.

Well, I'll take 23-9 and a loss over 34-31 and a win....

Season-to-date:
W-L - 9-1
Against the spread: 5-4-1

And my Top 25

1. Ohio State (12-0)
2. Michigan (11-1)
3. Southern California (9-1)
4. Florida (10-1)
5. Notre Dame (10-1)
6. Arkansas (10-1)
7. West Virginia (9-1)
8. Boise State (11-0)
9. Louisville (9-1)
10. Wisconsin (11-1)
11. Texas (9-2)
12. Louisiana State (9-2)
13. Oklahoma (8-2)
    
14. Georgia Tech (8-2)
15. Auburn (9-2)
16. Rutgers (9-1)
17. Boston College (9-2)
18. Virginia Tech (8-2)
19. Hawaii (9-2)
20. Brigham Young (9-2)
21. Wake Forest (9-2)
22. Tennessee (8-3)
23. California (8-3)
    
24. Nebraska (8-3)
25. Clemson (8-3)

Though I have Michigan still at #2, it's because I think they are currently the 2nd best team in the country, but I don't think they should be in the National Championship. In my eyes, Ohio State should not have to beat Michigan twice to win the championship, and if Michigan beats the Buckeyes later, we'd have a moot point with each team having a victory over each other. And I think that it should be a requirement that a team must be a conference champion to make the National Championship game. As of right now, I don't know who Ohio State will be playing. If USC wins out, beating Notre Dame and UCLA, we deserve to be in the discussion. Assuming Florida beats Florida State and Arkansas pulls off a semi-upset over LSU, the winner of the SEC championship also can make a case. An 11-1 Notre Dame team, regardless of their schedule, will always have shot to play for a National Championship. West Virginia still has to take care of Rutgers in the last week of the season before being mentioned as #2. And Michigan still can lay claim to be the #2 team in the nation, but have they missed their opportunity? But in two weeks, the picture will either clear up, or still be as cloudy as it is today.

And Hawaii deserves to be in the top 25. Eight wins in a row, regardless of their opposition (hey look at Notre Dame...) should get some national attention. The ACC is in a mess. So is the Pac-10, with Arizona coming on strong following wins over California and Oregon(!). But three things are set as of right now. Hawaii is going to the Hawaii Bowl. Ohio State is going to the National Champion. And USC is in its rightful place as the Pac-10 champion.

Another solid win

Well, another good win by USC last week, beating the Oregon Ducks 35-10. That game sets up this week's one as a winner takes the Rose Bowl game, where the winner is assured of at least a berth in the Rose Bowl with both Cal and USC going in with one loss in the conference. But back to the Oregon game for now. With all of the upsets happening last week, it was great for us to come out and blow out a team like the Ducks and show that we are close to the top of the one loss teams. Texas, Auburn, West Virginia, and Cal, all top 10 teams, lost last week, allowing us to jump from #7 to #3 in the BCS polls with Ohio State and Michigan playing tomorrow, with the winner pretty much guaranteed a spot in the National Championship Game. Our offense still wasn't as sharp as possible, with us throwing three interceptions, though we were able to pretty much move the ball at will en route to scoring 35 points. Our defense was good, but not great, though we did play off of Oregon's strength as a spread team, giving up short plays all the way down the field until they reached the Red Zone, which nullified their ability to spread the ball. They were only able to score one touchdown in the red zone, and that was on a controversial fourth down play that resulted in a reversal of the reversal of the original call. I still don't get why it took the refs so long to figure out what happened. I'm with Coach Carroll on this one, I didn't mind the touchdown as much as I was bothered by the length of the stoppage of the game. Lawrence Jackson finally had a breakout game, collecting 10 tackles and three sacks, showing the form that made him a preseason All-American pick.

But now here's our season, and essentially Cal's season too. The winner of this week's game will at worst go to the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 Champion. The loser gets relegated to the Holiday Bowl or worse. The Trojans' five year BCS bowl streak is on the line, while the Bears look to get into the Rose Bowl for this first time since 1959 (I think). Right now, I can't see USC losing this one, though it may be a close game. Nate Longshore's confidence may have taken a hit in the Arizona game, when he threw three picks. But I am weary of their running backs, Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, and their burner at wideout, Desean Jackson. I think we should shut down the run like we always do, but with Jackson, if we punt the ball to him once, we are in trouble. We can't give him the entire field to work with. I'd take 30 yard punts over a very good chance of Jackson taking one back to the house. He's also a very good receiver, though I think one solid shot from Taylor Mays (geez I miss Scott Ware) may make him think twice about coming over the middle. And I'm not too worried about their defense. One of their cornerbacks has 8 interceptions on the year, Daymien Hughes (can't spell his name...), but their other corner will be really tested by Steve Smith and Patrick Turner, though Dwayne Jarrett does need to have a solid day for us to win this one. My verdict? USC (-5.5) 34, Cal 31

Last week I had USC (-8) winning 28-21. Doh...

Season-to-date:
W-L - 8-1
Against the spread: 5-3-1 (I don't mind my streak ending with a 25 point win...)

My top 25 (before West Virginia's win last night)

1. Ohio State (11-0)
2. Michigan (11-0)
3. Southern California (8-1)
4. Florida (9-1)
5. Notre Dame (9-1)
   
6. Arkansas (9-1)
7. Rutgers (9-0)
8. West Virginia (8-1)
9. Boise State (10-0)
10. Louisville (8-1)
    
11. Wisconsin (10-1)
12. Texas (9-2)
13. Louisiana State (8-2)
14. Wake Forest (9-1)
    
15. Oklahoma (8-2)
16. Georgia Tech (8-2)
17. Auburn (9-2)
18. California (8-2)
19. Boston College (8-2)
20. Hawaii (8-2)
21. Virginia Tech (8-2)
22. Brigham Young (8-2)
    
23. Tennessee (7-3)
24. Maryland (8-2)
25. Nebraska (8-3)
    

That was a fun game

Well, I wanted a 49-0 win, but 42-0 will do just fine. It's great to get a shutout, even if its against a team like Stanford who is in a down year. This was USC's first shutout in two years, since we beat Washington 38-0. But it was great to see the offense do their thing in the first half, with QB John David Booty engineering four touchdown drives, and another that was cut short due to a non pass interference call. In the third quarter, both offenses stalled, but Stanford had a chance to put points up on the board, but that just ended up with their field goal being blocked and returned 71 yards by CB Terrell Thomas for USC's first non-offensive touchdown of the year. And QB Mark Sanchez scored his first collegiate touchdown on a quarterback keeper in the fourth quarter. But Stanford QB T.C. Ostrander had a much more difficult time, getting hit on almost every pass and getting cracked whenever he tucked the ball and ran with it. The Trojan defense was solid against the run, allowing only 30 yards on 30 rushes, or one yard per carry. And they actually caused turnovers today, going to either even or +1 on the year in turnover margin. The first was on a fumble on a kick return, on which the Trojans scored on the next play on a Steve Smith touchdown catch. One interception led to a turnover on downs, while the other occurred at the end of the first half. Overall, this Stanford game was the perfect remedy after last week's loss, though the Trojans start their November home stand with a dangerous Oregon team. Duck QB Dennis Dixon had some trouble passing the ball, but their running game is sure to cause problems, especially with their misdirection games. Coach Pete Carroll best leave LB Rey Maualuga and his overpursuit on the bench for this one. Now for the game balls:

Offense: QB John David Booty continues to be accurate and efficient in the pass game, going 12-21 for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns, all of which came in the first half. He's showing great understanding of the offense and after falling behind 33-10 against Oregon State, he has really been making the right decisions out there. Just don't have him throw any more slant passes that will be batted down at the line of scrimmage.

Defense: The entire defense came up today, pitching a shutout and giving up only 30 rushing yards, but I'm giving the game ball to CB Terrell Thomas, who returned the blocked field goal for his first career touchdown and also had a sack and interception.

Special Teams: Um, these guys also came up huge today. LB Clay Matthews forced a fumble on a kick return, which was recovered by CB Shareece Wright. And DT Sedrick Ellis blocked the field goal to keep the Cardinal off the board, which was returned by Thomas. I guess I'll let you make the decision here. The only problem I had today was the the Desmond Reed experience. Man we need someone else fielding punts out there. And no kick returns today. That doesn't happen much...

As I said before, I wanted, or had, USC (-29) winning 49-0. This was USC's first time covering the spread since the Arkansas game. Go figure...

Season-to-date:
W-L - 7-1
Against the spread: 5-2-1 (4 in a row, not bad)

And this week's top 25:

1. Ohio State (10-0)
2. Michigan (10-0)
3. Louisville (8-0)
4. Texas (8-1)
5. Auburn (9-1)
6. Florida (8-1)
7. Notre Dame (8-1)
8. California (8-1)
9. Southern California (7-1)
10. West Virginia (7-1)
11. Arkansas (8-1)
12. Boise State (9-0)
13. Louisiana State (6-2)
14. Rutgers (7-0)
15. Wisconsin (9-1)
16. Tennesse (7-2)
17. Oklahoma (7-2)
18. Wake Forest (8-1)
19. Georgia Tech (7-2)
20. Oregon (7-2)
21. Texas A&M (8-2)
22. Boston College (7-2)
23. Hawaii (7-2)
24. Virginia Tech (7-2)
    
25. Oregon State (6-3)

Even with sloppy wins, Ohio State and Michigan are so far ahead of everyone else right now that they remain 1-2 in my poll. Louisville jumps to #3 over Texas only because they are undefeated right now. 5-9 could be in any order right now, and with USC playing Cal and ND in a couple of weeks, the order may not matter. I dropped West Virginia so far because they haven't played anyone yet. If Louisville had lost, I wouldn't have dropped them as much, because they at least have a win over a Miami team that was still feared at the time. Even with their strong win today, I still have LSU behind Arkansas and Boise. I have Arkansas ahead as they are the only undefeated team in the SEC, though that may change next week when they play Tennesse. And Boise is only ranked ahead because I can't have a two loss team ahead of an undefeated one, and I will jump Rutgers over LSU if they beat (hopefully) Louisville next week. Clemson and Tulsa drop out with losses, making way for Virginia Tech and Oregon State in my poll.