Trojans respond to punch to the mouth

Well unlike their trip to Corvalis in September, USC responded to Stanford landing the first punch. Against Oregon State, the Trojans could not muster any response to the Beavers, but last night against the Cardinal, after giving up a touchdown on Stanford's opening drive, USC answered with a scoring drive of their own. But even with that, it was a sloppy first half for the Trojans, who came in wanting to attack the weak Cardinal pass defense, and eventually turned to their potent run game to take control. Stanford controlled both side of the ball at the start of the game, rushing for over 140 yards in the first half while pressuring USC QB Mark Sanchez. The turning point in the game was when C.J. Gable returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown after Stanford had pulled ahead 17-10. That sparked a 35-0 scoring run that put the game away for the Trojans. It was nice to see the adjustments the coaching staff made, notably running the ball and bringing up a safety to stop the Cardinal rushing attack. Now that this has been settled, the two rivalry games remain against Notre Dame and UCLA. But for now, a bye to regroup. By the way, no real indepth analysis of this game... too busy having fun at a wine party... Anyway, the Pac-10 rankings...

1. USC (9-1 overall, 7-1 Pac-10) - So much for that impenetrable defense... but still a nice come from behind win, even if it was only against Stanford. And 8.3 points per game allowed is still nothing to be ashamed of. Next up is a matchup against Notre Dame after a bye. The Irish are floundering right now and almost blew their game against Navy.
2. Oregon State (7-3, 6-1) - Can't see them losing the rest of the way, as they're clicking on all cylinders. Arizona and Oregon won't be cakewalks, but the Beavers should win out and make it to the Rose Bowl, for a rematch with Penn State... ugh...
3. Oregon (8-3, 6-2) - Now that's a Pac-10 game! The Ducks won a 55-45 shootout with the Wildcats, where Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli finally showed that he can throw the ball. Now can they win the big one? After a bye, and assuming Oregon State beats Arizona, the Ducks could be playing for second place in the Pac-10 and a trip to the Holiday Bowl.
4. Arizona (6-4, 4-3) - Just fell too far behind Oregon in a hostile environment. But they can still do things down the stretch, by ruining Oregon State's Rose Bowl hopes and preventing rival Arizona State from making a bowl game, something coach Mike Stoops would love.
5. California (6-4, 4-3) - Well so much for finishing strong. Though they will get to 7 wins (Cal plays Washington in the season finale) but other than a win over Michigan State in the season opener, they really haven't done much this season. The only thing left to do this season is not screw up by losing to Stanford again.
6. Stanford (5-6, 4-4) - Showed a lot of spirit again this week against USC, but the Trojans were able to flip this switch this year and pull away late. Now they need to upset Cal again if they want to become bowl eligible, which will be a tall task.
7. Arizona State (4-6, 3-4) - Two game winning streak!!! Too bad it was against Washington and Washington State... Now they can get some momentum going into the season finale against Arizona by taking care of UCLA, which they should do. Should. Like how they should have beat UNLV.
8. UCLA (4-6, 3-4) - Keep those fans dreams alive for a bowl game! Lol. Seriously. If they make it to a bowl game, I will buy any UCLA fan four tickets to that game, cause making it to a bowl means they have to beat Arizona State in Tempe (questionable) and USC in the Rose Bowl (doubtful).
9. Washington (0-10, 0-7) - The Huskies should be favored against the Cougars.
10. Washington State (1-10, 0-8) - Other than that, I got nothing. Though at least Washington State gets to go to Hawaii in the season finale!

And the top 25, though not much changes after not many upsets:

1. Alabama (11-0)
2. Texas Tech (10-0)
3. Florida (9-1)
4. Texas (10-1)
5. Oklahoma (9-1)
6. USC (9-1)
7. Utah (11-0)
8. Penn State (10-1)
9. Boise State (10-0)
10. Ohio State (9-2)
11. Missouri (9-2)
12. Oklahoma State (9-2)
13. Texas Christian (9-2)
14. Brigham Young (10-1)
15. Ball State (10-0)
16. Michigan State (9-2)
17. Georgia (9-2)
18. Pittsburgh (7-2)
19. Oregon State (7-3)
20. Louisiana State (7-3)
21. Cincinnati (8-2)
22. Western Michigan (9-2)
23. Oregon (8-3)
24. Miami (Florida) (7-3)
25. Northwestern (8-3)

And BCS bowl predictions!

BCS National Championship - Florida (SEC Champ) vs. Texas Tech (Big 12 Champ)

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Texas (BCS at large) vs. Utah (BCS at large)

Allstate Sugar Bowl - Alabama (BCS at large) vs. Ohio State (BCS at large)

FedEx Orange Bowl - Miami (Florida) (ACC Champ) vs. Cincinnati (Big East Champ)

Rose Bowl Game - Penn State (Big Ten Champ) vs. USC (Pac-10 Champ)

Does defense really win championships?

I guess USC will find out the answer this year. Another impressive performance for the Trojan defense, which had pitched shutouts in 3 of the last 4 games, and probably would have if two penalties had not wiped out two interceptions. Four gripes about the game (save for the offense, thats for the next paragraph...) Penalties started to rack up again, with SC being flagged 10 times for 105 yards. Josh Pinkard showing that the Trojans do not know how to play the game, trying to return an interception 5 yards deep in the end zone instead of downing it for a touchback, which ended up in him being tackled at the 3 yard line. And apparently, if you can average 27 yards on your punts, you too can be USC's punter next season. Ugh Greg Woidneck. We need another Tom Malone type punter... There has been a lot of flack given to UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel saying punting is winning, but in this game, where the offense had a hard time sustaining drives and the defense failing to stop Cal's drives early, special teams would have really helped turn the field around and maybe given the offense good field position to get into field goal range. And what happened to Big Balls Pete? Punting from the 39 on 4th-and-5? What the hell!!! And worse, Woidneck kicked the ball only 20 yards!!!! FUCK!!!!


As good as the defense was, the offense had a hard time sustaining drives in the second half, especially in the third quarter. Hard to tell what the problem really was, but in the Mark Sanchez era, the Trojans have failed to score 20 points 3 times, something that didn't happen very often. One thing that has to go is Joe McKnight. He has been spectacular at times, but his fumbles, including one in the fourth quarter, have come at the worst of times and killed promising drives. He also only has one touchdown on the year, which came in the Virginia game. Please, keep the ball in C.J. Gable and Stafon Johnson's hands Sark. Geez looks like we've already lost another tailback, Broderick Green, due to lack of playing time. One thing that did improve was Sanchez going to the underneath receivers, be it the tight end or the fullback, and those were open most of the night. Also have to give credit to the Cal defense, which kept the Bears in the game.


But if the Trojan offense can score 10 points, it looks like USC should be in good shape all year. The defense has allowed 60 points all year, and if you take out the Oregon State game, USC has allowed a mere 33 points in eight games. Whoa. USC has only allowed one touchdown at home, and only two touchdowns all year in the second half, both on drives that started in the red zone.


Hmm, weekender next week...will SC exact revenge against the Cardinal? Will Pete Carroll extend his streak to 26 games in november? Will the Trojans score more than 20 points? If they don't, there goes the cover, which SC has done a decent job of doing this season... here's a quick look:


W @ Virginia (-20.5) 52-7
W vs. Ohio State (-12) 35-3
L @ Oregon State (-24) 21-27
W vs. Oregon (-16) 44-10
T vs. Arizona State (-28) 28-0
W @ Washington State (-42) 69-0
L @ Arizona (-15.5) 17-10
W vs. Washington (-45) 59-0
L vs. California 17-3
Record: 5-3-1

Oh well. Here's a look at the Pac-10 rankings:

1. USC (8-1 overall, 6-1 Pac-10) - Remember that key three game stretch two years ago, when SC hosted a top 25 Oregon team, top 10 Cal team, and top 6 Notre Dame team? Everyone was saying how if they got through that brutal stretch, the Trojans would be in the National Championship game. But we all forgot about the UCLA game. Darn. Anyway, this year's game should be fun, with the vaunted Bruin offense going up against the Trojan defense allowing 6.7 points per game. LOL. But first things first, revenge against Stanford, who has a physical running game which could cause trouble for the USC defense, and shutting down Tavita Pritchard, who burned USC for the game winning TD.
2. Oregon State (6-3, 5-1) - Mike Riley finally got a win over UCLA after 9 tries. Now, the Beavers enter a brutal stretch against Cal, Arizona, and Oregon. Lose one game and their Rose Bowl shots go down the drain. After the Trojans took care of Cal, Oregon State is the only team remaining that controls their Rose Bowl chances. And you know what, I'm kinda half rooting for them to win out, cause that makes the Trojans' loss to them seem not so bad. I mean look at their resume, outside of the egg they laid against Stanford, the Beavs have played relatively well. They got blown out to a Penn State team that is 9-1 in Happy Valley, always a tough place to play, and got screwed in their loss at Utah, who is 10-0, but other than that, just a string of solid wins. Look for them to finish down the stretch strong, as they have done in the past few years.
3. California (6-3, 4-2) - A season of what could have been for the Bears after a loss to Maryland and giving up a huge third quarter to Arizona. They can do SC a favor and do something USC has not done since 2004 and win in Corvalis, which would open up the chance for SC to make it to the Rose Bowl. Nate Longshore actually played well, especially when penalties wiped out two interceptions. But the Bears need to prove that they can finish strong after their poor finish last year, and can do so with a win over Oregon State.
4. Arizona (6-3, 4-2) - Finally became bowl eligible, and with 7 spots for 5 bowl teams (lol), save to say the Wildcats will go bowling for the first time in a while. Now to climb the bowl ladder to head to the Sun Bowl or even the Holiday Bowl, as the Cats still have to play Oregon and Oregon State, and holds any tiebreaker with Cal. And their climb up the ladder starts at Oregon next week, against a Ducks team that had problems putting away Stanford.
5. Oregon (7-3, 5-2) - Maybe they weren't who we thought they were? Really had problems with the Cardinal playing at home. And they need to pass the ball if they have any hope of finishing strong against Arizona and Oregon State.
6. Stanford (5-5, 4-3) - Will lightning strike twice for Stanford? USC fans certainly hope not. The Cardinal were thisclose to getting win number 6 and heading to a bowl game, but will have to beat either the Trojans (25-0 in November + 24-23 loss last year = motivated Trojans, hopefully) or the Bears, which after last year's upset in the Big Game, doesn't seem too far fetched.
7. Arizona State (3-6, 2-4) - Finally ended that six game losing steak, even if it take playing Washington. The Sun Devils still have a chance to make a bowl game, as they could potentially be riding a 3 game win streak heading into the season finale against Arizona, and those games the last few years have gone down to the wire, so anything can happen there. But first things first, oh well, who am I kidding, take care of UCLA after Thanksgiving (Wazzu is a lock for the Devils) and they could be playing for their bowl lives and a return trip to Honolulu against the Wildcats.
8. UCLA (3-6, 2-4) - Not only because they lost, but how they lost. Just completely shut down by the Beavers in the second half. But they should take care of business against Washington in Rick Neuheisel's homecoming (lol) to keep their long shot chances of a bowl game alive, but it may be hard for the Bruins, as they still host a hungry Arizona State team looking for their own bowl game shots, and a USC team, which frankly, has to stop overlooking teams, and will probably not overlook UCLA. Hopefully.
9. Washington (0-9, 0-6) - It would be hilarious if the Huskies could beat the Bruins. Other than that I got nothing for Washington and
10. Washington State (1-9, 0-7) - Washington State, but they did show some spunk in their blowouts this week. Baring any upsets, this should be how the Pac-10 should settle out at the end of the season...

And for the top 25...

1. Alabama (10-0) - Dammit LSU!!! I just started to like you guys again. Oh well, nice win in a hostile Death Valley for the Tide, who should roll into Atlanta to get blown out by Florida in the SEC championship game.
2. Texas Tech (10-0) - Solid win over Okie State quelled my doubts about this team, but their game in two weeks at Oklahoma might be a quarterfinal game for the national championship.
3. Florida (8-1) - Smacked around a helpless Vandy team. Maybe Pete Carroll needs to take a page out of cum, er, Coach Urban Meyer's book and run up the score on some teams, as it seems like something Meyer loves to do. What a jackass. And unfortunately, it looks like this asshole will be playing for another national championship, unless Florida State or Alabama (and another asshole Nick Saban) beats him in the next few weeks.
4. Texas (9-1) - Looks like that loss to Texas Tech might not be too damning, especially if the Sooners can beat the Raiders in a couple of weeks. I had something witty here with Mark Mangino and Vince Gill, er, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, but I got too frustrated with blogspot's picture attachments...
5. Oklahoma (9-1) - Huge game against Texas Tech in two weeks. But seriously, no defense in the Big 12!?! 94 points combined between them and Texas A&M!!! Seriously!?!
6. USC (7-1) - So when the Trojans play defense instead of blowing out teams with offense like the old days, USC is struggling? Gay. And speaking of defense, what happened to the SEC? I mean we don't want 3-2 barnburners, and shootouts are fun, but I thought the SEC was built on defense. Just saying.
7. Utah (10-0) - Played some close games recently, but still has big wins over Oregon State (who saw that coming?) and TCU, with the season finale against BYU in a couple of weeks. Still has the inside track on making another BCS game, as long as they take care of business.
8. Penn State (9-1) - Iowa is a good team, but Penn State was sooo close to making it to the national championship. Now? A loss to Michigan State and no Rose Bowl...
9. Boise State (9-0)
10. Ohio State (8-2)
11. Missouri (8-2)
12. Oklahoma State (8-2)
13. Texas Christian (9-2)
14. Brigham Young (9-1)
15. Ball State (9-0)
16. Georgia (8-2)
17. North Carolina (8-2)
18. Michigan State (9-2)
19. Louisiana State (6-3)
20. Pittsburgh (7-2)
21. Florida State (7-2)
22. Oregon State (6-3)
23. Tulsa (8-1)
24. South Carolina (7-3)
25. Western Michigan (8-2)

Another shutout...

but was it really that impressive? USC shutout 56-0 for the Trojans' third shutout in four games, but it was against the only remaining winless team in FBS. So much for losing early being a good thing for USC, as the weak Pac-10 slate is really taking centerstage as the Big 12 and SEC have top ten matchups week in and week out. Like the Washington State game, can't really say much about this one. USC again tried to run out the clock in the second half after jumping out to a 42-0 lead at the half by calling simple run plays. The defense did earn the shutout by collecting interceptions on two long Washington drives that made it deep into USC territory. Oh well. Can't really do anything about the national championship picture, as there really is nothing USC can do to control their destiny. After all the chaos at the top in recent years down the stretch, I can't really see that repeating. Or maybe... hmm. Penn State should win out and make the BCS National Championship game, even with people trying to build up Iowa and Michigan State. Alabama still has to travel to LSU next week and play Florida (probably) in the SEC championship. Texas Tech still hosts Oklahoma State and travels to Oklahoma. Florida looks to play their way back into the National Title picture after blowing out Georgia, as they should be favored in their remaining games until the SEC championship. But for now, all USC has to worry about is a dangerous Cal team coming in to take the perch atop the Pac-10 standings away from the Trojans. Here's the Pac-10 rankings:

1. USC (7-1 overall, 5-1 Pac-10) - Pac-10 game of the year (so far anyway) when Cal travels to the Coliseum next week. USC took care of business against the Huskies, but the Trojans will face a stiff test from the Bears, who almost always seem to give USC their A-game. Mark Sanchez must show that he can make the correct decisions in a big game, as this one could go down to the fourth quarter, where Sanchez is only 2-2 in games decided by 7 points or less (W vs. Arizona, L @ Oregon in 2007, L @ Oregon State, W @ Arizona in 2008).
2. California (6-2, 4-1) - I'll admit that I had them a little low last week, but a very impressive win over Oregon in terrible weather. After a terrible third quarter against Arizona, the Bears have bounced back with solid wins over UCLA and Oregon and bring some momentum with them into the Coliseum. If they can get solid play out of either Kevin Riley or Nate Longshore, and Jahvid Best holds up all game, they have a shot at the upset. But again, this is November, where Pete Carroll hasn't lost while at USC.
3. Oregon State (5-3, 4-1) - Survived a scare against Arizona State, but they still face a tough stretch to finish off the season. UCLA may not be a scary team on paper, but if the Beavers let the Bruins hang around like they let the Sun Devils today, the Bruins are capable of putting a coherent offensive drive together for a game winning touchdown. Not looking ahead, but after UCLA, Oregon State still has to play Arizona, Cal, and Oregon. Dang. But that all said, they still control their Rose Bowl destiny (as does Cal, which even I failed to see).
4. Arizona (5-3, 3-2) - They should become bowl eligible next week against Washington State, which makes the rest of the schedule a breeze without the pressure of making a bowl game.
5. Oregon (6-3, 4-2) - Quite a drop, but that's how the cookie crumbles... Tough loss at Cal today, and they need to rebound against a scrappy Stanford squad, who might be desperate in finding their sixth win to become bowl eligible...
6. Stanford (5-4, 4-2) - Cause there aren't a lot of chances for win number six. It's always tough winning in Autzen, USC will be determined not to have a repeat of 2007, and Cal looks to have found their groove.
7. UCLA (3-5, 2-3) - The Bruins have a real shot against Oregon State next week in the Rose Bowl, as long as Kevin Craft keeps his interception count under four (seriously, he only has 11 interceptions!?!). A loss here makes the road to a bowl game really tough for UCLA, as it means they would have to win out... meaning beating USC.
8. Arizona State (2-6, 1-4) - Just dug a hole too deep to climb out of, and now have a six game losing streak. Though it should end next week when they travel to Seattle for the Pillow Fight of the week.
9. Washington (0-8, 0-5) - How can the only winless team left in FBS not be last place in any conference rankings?
10. Washington State (1-8, 0-6) - When they're in the same conference as Washington State.

A lot of great finishes this week. What a game between Texas and Texas Tech, with Graham Harrell connecting with Michael Crabtree for the game winning touchdown with one second left for the upset. Missouri needing a late field goal to hold of Baylor. Michigan State beating Wisconsin with a late field goal. Northwestern using a pick-six for the game winning score against Minnesota. Pittsburgh edging Notre Dame in four overtimes. Oregon State intercepting Rudy Carpenter's two point attempt to hold off Arizona State. Solid day overall for college football. A lot of changes in the top 25...

1. Alabama (8-0) - Yeah I know, I've had Penn State ranked higher than Bama in the past few weeks, but I can't move the Nittany Lions to #1 after a bye, even if the Tide only beat up a Sun Belt team. Though they still have a tough road left, as they travel to LSU next week, and if they get there, a date with Florida (most likely) in the SEC championship.
2. Penn State (9-0) - But #2 is what counts these days. All you can hope for is a shot in playing in the BCS national championship game. I don't know why everyone is building up Iowa so much, this isn't like Iowa of the early 2000's, where they averaged 10 wins a season. Right now, the Nittany Lions are a lock for the BCS title game, much to the delight of the nation (just joking....)
3. Texas Tech (9-0) - Still not buying into them, as they still have to play Oklahoma State, at Oklahoma, and if they make it, Missouri in the Big 12 championship. But nonetheless, very impressive win against Texas.
4. Florida (7-1) - Unless Georgia isn't the team we thought they were... Other than the head scratcher against Mississippi, Florida has been really dominant, racking up gaudy numbers against decent competition.
5. Texas (8-1) - Even though it wasn't a bad loss, Florida looks terrific today, and the Longhorns have to drop behind the three big undefeated teams.
6. Oklahoma (8-1) - Hey, USC isn't the only team that can fall in the polls while playing weak competition, though the defense really does need to clamp down. They combined with Nebraska for 90 points today. Geez. But Florida was dominant against Georgia, and Tech deserves to be in the top 3.
7. USC (7-1) - Seems to be cockblocked from the top of the polls by the Big 12 South, but wiht good reason. All of the teams in the Big 12 South are really solid. Can't take anything away from them, weak out of conference schedule or not. And the Pac-10 is really weak. All USC should worry about is getting back to the Rose Bowl. If major upsets happen ahead of them, great. If not, oh well, stop losing to weaker teams.
8. Oklahoma State (8-1) - Solid bounce back win against... Iowa State. Oh nevermind. Quick aside, Iowa State sure did pick the right team to copy their uniform design from, heh.
9. Utah (9-0) - First big showdown in the MWC against TCU on Thursday (wow, the Mtn. really blew a shot there...). Winner (even TCU with one loss) has the inside track to a BCS game, as its unlikely two of Utah, TCU, or BYU will make it there, as the Cougars have looked unimpressive since their loss to TCU, a second loss would end things for the Frogs, and Utah stil has to play BYU in their season finale.
10. Boise State (8-0)
11. Texas Christian (9-1)
12. Ohio State (7-2)
13. Missouri (7-2)
14. Louisiana State (6-2)
15. Brigham Young (8-1)
16. Ball State (8-0)
17. Georgia (7-2)
18. North Carolina (6-2)
19. Michigan State (8-2)
20. West Virginia (6-2)
21. California (6-2)
22. Georgia Tech (7-2)
23. Northwestern (7-2)
24. Maryland (6-2)
25. Tulsa (7-1)