Lack of Institutional Control at USC?

A look at the off-field incidents of the USC football team under Pete Carroll, starting with the latest story which may be the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of the NCAA citing the athletic department with a lack of institutional control:

1. December 2009 - RB Joe McKnight was reportedly seen driving a SUV registered to a Santa Monica businessman. The owner, Scott Schenter, has said that the car belongs to McKnight's girlfriend but it is under his name because her family did not qualify for the loan. In any case, McKnight should have known better and will be lucky to get away with just a slap on the wrist.
2. July 2009 - LB Jordan Campbell and DE Everson Griffen were cited for being loud at a party in Nantucket, MA, which was better that what was first reported, that they were arrested for a breach of peace. Knuckleheads...
3. September 2008 - CB Shareece Wright was charged with resisting a police officer after not leaving a party,  ignoring a cop's orders. A plea agreement was made where Wright pled no contest to disturbing the peace. Wright was already out for the 2008 season with a neck, and missed 2009 due to a brain fart.
   
4. March 2008 - DT Fili Moala was arrested for obstructing an officer and resisting after a bar fight. Moala was smart enough to leave the scene of the crime but for some reason ran back into the bar and was arrested. Moala was, surprise, not charged for the incident. But it did not stop Todd McShay from predicting he would be the number 1 pick in the 2009 draft.
   
5. May 2007 - CB/FS Josh Pinkard was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. He plead guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 36 months of probation.
6. August 2006 - CBs Brandon and Ryan Ting decided to leave the team. It was later discovered that Brandon tested positive for steroids. Good bye to their 3.9 GPA and lowering out APR score. I don't remember, but hopefully Brandon was the good one.
   
7. June 2006 - WR Dwayne Jarrett shared an apartment with Matt Leinart, but paid less than his share of the rent. Leinart's father paid for most of the rent, and was viewed by the NCAA as a violation. Jarrett was reinstated once he donated the difference Leinart's father paid in rent to a charity of his choice.
8. April 2006 - RB Reggie Bush allegedly took improper benefits from prospective agents while playing out his junior (Heisman) season at USC. His parents were said to be living in a house rent free, as the rent was paid by Michael Michaels (that's really his name), a marketing agency investor. In April 2009, the NCAA combined the Bush investigation with that of O.J. Mayo to see if USC is lacking institutional control. Death Penalty here we come!
   
9. April 2006 - QB Mark Sanchez was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault by a woman who claimed that Sanchez made unwanted advances on her. Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, as the case was essentially a one-on-one allegation. Sanchez also used a fake ID when he was arrested and was cited for underage drinking. He had also broke a window at a frat party in an earlier indicent. Sanchez took a rape awareness class at USC and was later reinstated. 
10. January 2006 - Possible recruiting violations arise at Papadakis Tavern, where some recruits are treated to an expensive dinner miles away from campus. A visit to the restaurant has since been removed from future recruiting visits.
    
11. December 2005 - QB Matt Leinart was briefly ineligible for the 2006 Rose Bowl game (Vince Young's coming out party) after filming a promotional bit for ESPN.  He was reinstated by the NCAA after USC petitioned; apparently it was a money issue for them.
    
12. November 2005 - LB Rey Maualuga was arrested for allegedly punching another student at an off-campus party. Maualuga was allowed to play in the game that same weekend. No charges were filed against Maualuga, showing he did indeed "own the police."
    
13. August 2005 - DE Frostee Rucker was charged with spousal abuse (charges were filed in June the following year, after he left USC). Rucker settled with a plea agreement.
14. May 2005 - DT Manuel Wright failed to qualify academically and declared for the NFL Supplemental Draft.  Wright was also arrested on three misdemeanor charges, including assaulting one of his roommates and assault with a deadly weapon. Nick Saban also made him cry at one of his first Dolphin practices.
    
15. March 2005 - CB Eric Wright was arrested on suspicion of rape at an on-campus apartment. The charges were dismissed due to lack of evidence, even though 136 Ecstasy pills were found in his apartment. He transferred to UNLV a few months later.
16. August 2004 - RB Hershel Dennis was investigated for sexual assault after he had sex with a female who was drunk. He was reinstated after the investigation was dropped due to, surprise, a lack of evidence. Too bad Reggie Bush and LenDale White had already established themselves.
17. April 2004 - WR Mike Williams declared for the NFL Draft on the heels of Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett challenging the NFL's three years out of high school rule. Courts later ruled that decision void, and Williams was unable to regain eligibility at USC.
    
18. March 2004 - OT Winston Justice was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he shot at another student with a pellet gun. It was Justice's second arrest in eight months; he was arrested for soliciting prostitution from an undercover police officer. He plead guilty on a lesser charge, exhibiting a replica firearm, and was suspended for two semesters.

I'm sure I'm missing some incidents. But in addition to these, players being academically ineligible also hurt the program, in terms of APR scores and the number of scholarships the school gets. Here's a list of players who were academically ineligible during Carroll's tenure:

1. Darnell Bing: 2002 
2. Stanley Havili: 2009 (Spring semester; Rose Bowl only)
   
3. Whitney Lewis: 2004 (redshirt)
4. Anthony McCoy: 2010 (Spring semester, will miss Emerald Bowl)
   
5. Joe McKnight: 2008 (Spring semester)
6. Tyron Smith: 2010 (Spring semester, will miss Emerald Bowl)
   
7. Matt Spanos: 2006
8. Averell Spicer: 2010 (Spring semester, will miss Emerald Bowl)
   
9. Troy Van Blarcom: 2007 (Dismissed)
   
10. Chauncey Washington: 2004 (redshirt) and 2005
11. Manuel Wright: 2005 (declared for Supplemental Draft)
12. Shareece Wright: 2009

Again, probably missing some from this list as well. Feel free to add to this.

I remember... 6 years

Stealing this from GarryP's post on WeAreSC, (and it's just 6 years for me, cause I'll admit, I didn't follow USC, let alone college football until I got to SC. But am I a bandwagon fan for jumping aboard my freshman year at the school, which happened to be the 2003 national championship year? Find me next September at the Coliseum with my 2010 football season tickets...):

2003:

• My first taste of USC football, the 2003 season opener at #6 Auburn. Watching the game in the common area of New/North dormitory. Free pizza (mmm pizza). Matt Leinart's first career pass being a touchdown to Mike Williams. Dominating a team that had Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown, and Carnell Williams in the backfield.
• My first taste of the Coliseum, the 2003 home opener against BYU. Jumping out to a 21-0 lead before the Cougars stormed back with 18 straight. Leinart's 3 picks and the boos from the crowd. The Trojans scoring 14 points to end the game. The first smell of victory dogs.
• Beating Hawaii 61-32. Seeing Hawaii play live for the first time, in Los Angeles ironically. Timmah Chang.
• Losing to Cal in triple overtime. Watching the Gamecast while working in the computer lab at King Hall, cheering as the Trojans came back from down 14 and being depressed when we lost.
• Beating Notre Dame 45-14 in South Bend.
• #3 USC against #6 Washington State. To this day, I don't understand why there wasn't much hoopla over this game between two top 6 teams. Wazzu went on to beat Texas in the Holiday Bowl. 
• Beating UCLA 47-22, including leading 40-2 at one point. Seeing a male Bruin cheerleader waving the UCLA fan after they converted a blocked PAT into a safety, cutting the margin to 30-2. Mike Patterson rumbling 52 yards to score. Singing "Tusk" at a UCLA game.
• Beating Oregon State 52-28 in the season finale. Mike Williams' one handed catch. Singing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" at the end of the game, and saying "Beat the Sooners!" while "Conquest" played.
• Watching the BCS selection show the next day to see that Oklahoma, despite losing to Kansas State 35-7, would play in the Sugar Bowl against LSU for the BCS National Championship. Also the same day I lost faith in the BCS.
• Beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl 28-14. Leinart lateral to Hershel Dennis lateral to Mike Williams pass to Leinart for touchdown. Keary Colbert going beast mode on the Wolverine secondary. USC Trojans, the 2003 National Champions. Finished 12-1, #1 in the AP poll, Pac-10 champions.
  

2004:

• Beating Virginia Tech 24-13 in D.C. Reggie Bush announcing his arrival to the college football world with three receiving touchdowns. The Hokies would go on to win the ACC in their first year of membership.
• First weekender trip, a 31-28 win over Stanford. Being shocked by the Farm's long TD run to end the first half up 28-17. USC's comeback and defense smothering Stanford. Chanting "We are SC!" at the end of the game.
• Beating Cal 23-17. The stand. Cal drove the ball to the USC 9 yard line with about a minute and a half remaining. The sequence of plays went: Aaron Rodgers pass incomplete, Rodgers sacked for a 5 yard loss, Rodgers pass incomplete, Rodgers pass incomplete, ball game. Loudest I've heard the Coliseum. Ever. First time College Gameday came to the Coliseum, and it was hella fun. 
• Beating Oregon State 28-20 in the Fog Bowl. Watching the game at a Hooters. Dominique Byrd's one handed catch. Reggie's punt return.
• Beating Notre Dame 41-10 in the Coliseum. College Gameday came back!
  
• Beating UCLA 29-24 behind Reggie and on the strength of Ryan Killeen's five field goals. Dwayne Jarrett's crushing block on a Bruin defender on Reggie's first TD. Carrying oranges into the game and holding them up high after the game ended. Matt Cassel's most important play of his USC career: recovering an onside kick to seal the deal.
• Tom "The Bomb" Malone.
• Matt Leinart winning the Heisman Trophy.
  
• Beating Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl 55-19. Leaving no doubt. Watching the game and thinking how unreal it was that we were destroying the Sooners. Steve Smith going beast mode on the Sooner secondary. USC Trojans, the 2004 National Champions. Finished 13-0, ranked #1 in both polls, Pac-10 champions.

2005:

• Scoring 70 points in the home opener against Arkansas.
• Reggie Bush, lol.
• Trailing Arizona State 21-3 at the half. Missed the first half because of an engineering career fair. Huge comeback to win 38-28.
• Beating Notre Dame 34-31 in South Bend. Samardzija's punt return. Brady Quinn's drive to take the lead. 4th-and-9. Leinart to Jarrett. Leinart's gutsy audible in a loud (understatement) Notre Dame Stadium. Jarrett having blurry vision in one eye. Leinart fumbling out of bounds at the one yard line. Time running off the clock. The Bush Push. Charlie Weis getting a 10 year contract extension after losing this game.
• Revenge at Cal, 35-10. 
• Beating Fresno State 50-42. The wildest game I had seen in person (at the time). Reggie Bush going beast mode on the Bulldog defense. Punching my buddy in the face on accident after Darnell Bing returned an interception for a TD (called back for a penalty). 
• Beating UCLA 66-19. Too bad we paid for that a year later. College Gameday, woot. Yelling "Arizona" at them Bruins (they lost to them 52-14).
  
• Reggie Bush winning the Heisman Trophy.
• Vince Young beating USC in the Rose Bowl/BCS National Championship game 41-38. The only thing I remember is VY running towards us with 19 seconds left to put the Longhorns up 39-38. USC's 34 game win streak snapped. But I remember applauding the team after the loss. Nothing to be ashamed of after that one. Finished 12-1, ranked #2 in both polls, Pac-10 champions.
  

2006:

• Booty Booty Booty Booty rockin' everywhere!
• Beating Nebraska 28-10. College Gameday again.
• Losing to Oregon State 33-31. But it seemed like the turning point of the season after winning the previous three games by 7 points or less. The Trojans fell behind 33-10, then rallied for 21 straight points before Booty's 2 pt conversion was tipped at the line of scrimmage. But wasn't too upset after that loss.
• Beating Cal 23-9. It was a slugfest, yet included a 49 yard field goal by back-up kicker David Buehler. Gutsy fourth-and-2 call to up USC up by two scores from Booty to Steve Smith.
• Beating Notre Dame 44-24. Dwayne Jarrett went into beast mode on the Notre Dame secondary. College Gameday was there.
• Losing to UCLA 13-9 while ranked #2 in the nation, poised for a return to the national championship. This one hurt, and was probably where USC's dominance started to dwindle.
• Beating Michigan 32-18 in the Rose Bowl. Mario Danelo's last game. Dwayne Jarrett and John David Booty going beast mode on the Wolverine defense. Finished 11-2, ranked #4 in both polls, Pac-10 champions.
• Mario Danelo's death. Sigh, this one hurt. I may or may not have cried when I heard this.

2007:

• The missing man (kicker) formation after USC scored their first TD against Idaho. Get the chills everytime I see the video.
• Rolling over Nebraska 49-31. The team got to cocky, as you could tell after escaping Washington 27-24 and....
• Losing to Stanford 24-23. Disgusting. Booty broke a finger on his throwing hand, and golden boy Sanchez apparently wasn't ready to play. Against Stanford. A 43 point underdog.
• Beating Notre Dame 38-0 in South Bend.
  
• Losing to Oregon 24-17. USC's Pac-10 reign should have ended after this. Then Dennis Dixon's knee exploded.
• Weekender at Cal, winning 24-17. The driving rain made for an awesome atmosphere. I was soaked and chilled to the bone, yet we won, so all was good.
• Beating UCLA 24-7. Singing "Tusk" at the end of the game. Revenge never felt so good.
• Beating Illinois in the Rose Bowl 49-17. Rey Maualuga going beast mode on Juice Williams in the second quarter. Finished 11-2, #2 in the coaches poll, #3 in the AP poll, Pac-10 champions.

2008:

• Mark "Dirty" Sanchez making his debut at Virginia, winning 52-7.
• Beating Ohio State 35-3 in the Coliseum. Let down game coming in 3, 2, 1,
• Losing to Oregon State 27-21, falling behind 21-0. I guess coming out flat is very trendy for this team.
• Beating Notre Dame 38-3 in the Coliseum. Missed this game (Vegas).
• Beating UCLA 28-7. Back to the scene of the crime, getting sweet revenge against the Bruins.
• Beating Penn State in the Rose Bowl 38-24. Yeah not really a remarkable year after beating Ohio State and losing to Oregon State. Finished 12-1, #2 in the coaches poll, #3 in the AP poll, Pac-10 champions.

Not a bad list at all. Probably a lot more memories that I'm missing. One down year is not bad at all, and Pete doesn't face too much flack for beating Notre Dame and UCLA. A lot of teams would kill to have an entire history with these accomplishments, let alone a six year stretch. And I didn't even list the 2002 season, with a Pac-10 championship, finishing 11-2, ranked #4 in both polls, and Carson Palmer winning the Heisman. Next year, we lose a lot again (entire secondary, Damian Williams), but hopefully the coaching staff won't have too much turnover. The schedule is easier, but I like that fact that there is no marquee matchup that the team gets super pumped for, avoiding having a slump or hangover after that game.

UCLA fans will now light themselves on fire.

Trojans come up Poinsettias... huh?

Kick USC when they're down, Pac-10 teams, because when the Trojans bounce back (maybe not next season, but the season after), they will come back with a vengeance. Wait, who am I kidding? The talent gap has closed on USC to the point where they can't just win games on talent anymore. The Trojans can't just show up to a game and sleepwalk to a 30 point win. Coaches are finding the chinks in the armor and USC can't make the adjustments to make use of their advantages. Games are being decided on which team has the most heart, and in most of the games this season, the team on the opposite on the end of the field has had more desire to win the game. Maybe not due to a lack of desire to win the game as much as overconfidence on the Trojans' part. Take a look back at this season, game-by-game, and let's figure out which team wanted the game more.

• USC 56, San Jose State 3 - The Spartans dominated the first quarter before USC remembered they were USC and overwhelmed San Jose State.
• USC 18, Ohio State 15 - Sluggish game where both teams wanted the win equally. But at this point in the season, Ohio State was still Ohio State, who faltered in big games while USC still dominated Big Ten teams.
• Washington 16, USC 13 - The Trojans were so overconfident (like the year before against Oregon State) that they thought they could sleepwalk into Husky Stadium for a win. Jake Locker willed the Huskies to the win while the armor started to crack for the defense.
• USC 27, Washington State 6 - The score may not show it, but if you watched this game, the Cougars moved the ball on the vaunted Trojan defense. QB Jeff Tuel, in his first action of the season, gave the defense fits all game.
• USC 30, California 3 - The last complete game of the season. Cal had just come off a demoralizing loss to Oregon (42-3) as the 6th ranked team in the nation. The Trojans wanted this one more. Last time all season I felt confident of a game going into halftime.
• USC 34, Notre Dame 27 - USC started off fast, but Notre Dame wanted to win this one, badly. A furious comeback was cut short as time expired on the Irish. This was kind of like the Penn State Rose Bowl game where USC jumped out to a big lead only to hold on late to save the win.
• USC 42, Oregon State 36 - Oregon State wanted this one more, and they had the weapons to do it. Somehow Matt Barkley put together his first coherent drive since the Ohio State game to work the last five minutes off the clock to hold on.
• Oregon 47, USC 20 - Look at the score and tell me who had more heart. I believe it was 24-17 at the half. 
• USC 14, Arizona State 9 - Fluke pick-6 and 75 yard screen play or USC is 7-5 right now.
• Stanford 55, USC 21 - 27 fourth quarter points by Stanford. I think they may have had more heart that game.
• USC 28, UCLA 7 - A competent Bruin offense probably moves the ball on USC, turning enough punts into field goals to give UCLA the win. But both teams were equally bad in this one.
• Arizona 21, USC 17 - Arizona wanted to go to the Holiday Bowl. USC just wanted a nightmare season to end.

That's just one time all season where USC showed more effort and heart through out the game than their opponent. In years past, I would complain about how turnovers and penalties would shoot the Trojans in their foot. but those teams at least had the heart to not get blown out by 34 points at home. I mean at certain points in the game, you can look at the body language of the team and tell that we're not going to win the game. Against Oregon when we could not stop their offense. Against Stanford when Toby Gerhart ripped off another huge gain. Against Washington as Jake Locker dissected the defense. Against Arizona as Will Harris jogged over to help on the game winning touchdown. At least in the past, you could say USC would always have a chance to win the game, even though their mistakes put them in a losing predicament.

Hard to find a favorite loss, but I look back to the Oregon State loss in 2006. USC fell behind 33-10 early in the third quarter and it was almost time to turn off the TV. But that team would not allow USC to get blown out. They would not allow the Trojans name to be sullied by a blowout to Oregon State. So the made a HUGE run at the game, cutting the margin to 33-17, then 33-25, then 33-31 before Booty's pass to Jarrett on the conversion was tipped at the line. At the time, the loss hurt, it was the first regular season loss since 2002. But I came away with a lot of positives from that game. How the team showed heart and almost pulled off the comeback of the ages. How that team would not allow the program to suffer such a blowout. The UCLA loss in 2006 was disheartening because of how poorly the offense played that day. The Stanford loss in 2007 hurt because the Cardinal were such huge underdogs and made a comeback of their own, down 9 points in the fourth quarter. The Oregon loss in 2007 was fine, as Mark Sanchez was filling in for an  injured Booty, and we were driving to tie in the final minutes. The Oregon State loss in 2008 was brutal only because we looked so good against Virginia and Ohio State only to stumble in Corvalis, and the Trojans could not close the 21 point halftime margin.

But the most disappointing thing of this year's team is their inability to finish games. Pop in the 2004 USC Trojans DVD. What is the one thing Carroll is shouting to his team in the locker room after game?

Carroll: "Can you win the game in the first quarter?"
Team: "Hell no!"
Carroll: "Can you win the game in the second quarter?"
Team: "Hell no!"
Carroll: "Can you win the game in the third quarter?"
Team: "Hell no!"
Carroll: "But can you win the game in the fourth quarter?"
Team: "Hell yeah!" (Insanity ensues.)

That was one thing you could always count on from a Pete Carroll coached team, that they would always finish games strong. For some reason, this year's team has played their worst in the fourth quarter. Last season, USC outscored their opponents 98-15 in 12 regular season games (a TD against Oregon State on a 2-yard drive, and a TD against Stanford to end the game). This year? They were outscored 70-88 (skewed a bit by a 27-0 shellacking by the Cardinal, but still). That's not finishing strong Pete. Is it the conditioning? Don't we still have the same guy we've had since 2002 (if not further back)? Is it the injuries wrecking havoc to the depth chart? Is it the coaches being out-coached? What changed at the end of the third quarter against Notre Dame? It's hard to put a finger on it.

But its nice for all the Bruins out there to put this 8-4 season in perspective, how they would be elated if they were 8-4 this year and going to a bowl game not in Middle-of-nowhere, Idaho or Cold-as-fuck, Michigan. And it was a great run from 2002 to 2008, winning seven straight Pac-10 championships and finishing in the top 4 every year while going to a BCS game. With the parity in the Pac-10 and balance of talent across the board, it would be hard for any team to break USC's record 3 straight Rose Bowl wins (and 4 appearances in a row), so we have that to look forward to. But when will the Trojans elevate back up the Pac-10 pecking order? It doesn't look like next year, with the Stanfords and Oregons and Oregon States looking to run shit in the conference while USC is finally, officially in rebuilding mode. Carroll may think Matt Barkley is the golden boy, but until he can learn to set his field, stop staring down receivers, and avoiding his requisite interception every game, he is not the next Mark Sanchez, Matt Leinart, or even John David Booty.

What will help him and the team out? No coaching turnover. I think that, more than anything, wrecked havoc on the team this year. Even if the coaches failed to improve any player this year (Barkley made more mistakes at the end of the season, offensive line unit was ranked #1 nationally and disintegrated as the year progressed, ditto for the secondary, receivers did not improve through the year and were mishandled (short routes to Damian Williams, burning DeVon Flournoy's redshirt, tight ends not named Anthony McCoy having no confidence), special teams (outside of the punt return unit) not improving even with a special teams coach) having the continuity of the staff will help the young players grow (then again, the lack of improvement could again be placed on the arrogance of the players, thinking that they're better than the other team). Half of last year's staff is in Washington right now, and it looks like the better half is running things in Seattle. But the staff, as is, is fine, as long as it can stay intact through the spring and into next season.

The one thing I like about next season's schedule is that there isn't one game everyone is circling, like Ohio State or Nebraska from the past few years. There will be no big game let down for next year's team, allowing them to take one game at a time and not look past the opponent of the week. @ Hawaii, Virginia, @ Minnesota, and Notre Dame is a very manageable out-of-conference, but then again, we all know Carroll's problems lie in conference. Having Oregon and Cal come to the Coliseum, helps, then again, we lost by 34 at home to Stanford this year.

Will things change this offseason? Hard to see the administration putting heat on Carroll after his great run from 2002-2008, especially with that gaudy 18-2 record against rivals UCLA and Notre Dame. Every great team of this decade has had their poor seasons. Oklahoma started the aughts (2000's) by winning the National Championship and made it to three more games (2003 loss to LSU 21-14, 2004 loss to USC 55-19, 2008 loss to Florida 24-14) but went 8-4 in 2005 (those wins were eventually vacated thanks to Rhett Bomar) and 7-5 in 2009 (minus Heisman winning QB Sam Bradford). Miami looked to run shit after winning it all in 2001 but falling short in 2002 (double-overtime epic loss to Ohio State 31-24) but went 7-5, 5-7, and 7-6 between 2006 and 2008. Ohio State won the 2002 national championship but lost in 2006 and 2007 and finished 7-5 and 8-4 twice. USC started off slow (5-7, 6-6 in 2000 and 2001, respectively) but dominated the rest of the decade before this year, which could still end in a not bad 9-4. LSU won it all in 2003 and 2007 but was 8-5 in 2000 and 2008 and was is the only national champion with 2 losses. Texas, I think has won double digit games every year in this decade. If they win the title this year, they may be the team of the decade, since Florida had to endure the Ron Zook era. Wow too much info there... might have a team of the decade power rankings after the national championship.

Anyway, the Pac-10 rankings heading into the bowl season:

1. Oregon (10-2, 8-1) - Pac-10 Coach of the Year will be Chip Kelly, not only for winning the Pac-10 championship in his first season as coach, but also for turning what could have been a disastrous season after the Blount sucker punch and embarrassing display against Boise State in the season opener. What a difference three months make, as they looked to be the laughing stock of the conference. Just two things Oregon: Don't shit the bed in the Rose Bowl against Ohio State like you did against Boise State, and stop rushing the field every time you win a game that means something. Act like you've won before.
2. Arizona (8-4, 6-3) - Arizona finally got paid off for waiting for the Mike Stoops era to payoff, and it should culminate in the Holiday Bowl against a Nebraska team that can't score if their lives depended on it. Four field goals didn't beat Texas, and it probably won't be the Wildcats. By the way, Trojan fans, QB Nick Foles was playing with a broken left (non-throwing) hand while they were down to their back-up tail back and still won on the road. I'm just sayin'.
3. Oregon State (8-4, 6-3) - Rose Bowl or bust indeed. Holiday Bowl already passed on the Beavs, the Sun Bowl has a no-repeat clause (Oregon State beat Pitt last year in a barn-burner, 3-0), so its down to the Vegas or Emerald Bowls. Probably the Vegas since the Emerald wants its pick of the NorCal teams (Stanford, Cal). The Beavs probably will get Utah in Vegas since BYU has played there in the past 32 seasons.
   
4. Stanford (8-4, 6-3) - USC's loss is the Cardinal gain, right? El Paso against Texas Tech or Oklahoma looks likely for Stanford. Too bad Toby Gerhart had to play on a four loss team, as he should win the Heisman on production alone, but Mark Ingram being productive on a 13-0 Bama team will win the Tide their first Heisman (hard to believe, I know). Gerhart should be the Pac-10 offensive player of the year, though.
   
5. California (8-4, 5-4) - USC won the head-to-head here, but Cal, despite a disappointing loss to Washington, finished the season stronger, and would probably be 10-2 had Jahvid Best not been knocked out of the Oregon State game. That back-to-back with Oregon and USC lingers though. Probably head to the Emerald Bowl again, unless the Sun Bowl gets frisky and sends the Bears to El Paso and keeps Stanford in the Bay Area. Either way, Boston College awaits as long as the Gator Bowl can host the Bobby Bowden Memorial Bowl between Florida State and West Virginia (the last two teams he's coached).
   
6. USC (8-4, 5-4) - What's prettier, a Rose or Poinsettia? Well at least some Trojan fans got what they asked for, a bowl game not in Pasadena. Still stuck in Southern California, though I guess that was the goal coming in, playing in one of the Rose Bowl games this year. Disappointment, sure. The question is, will Mitch Mustain get some reps in the Poinsettia Bowl against BYU? Because this defense is not holding the Cougars to less than 28 points, which is bad since the offense can't eclipse 21.
7. Washington (5-7, 4-5) - Finished the season strong by winning the Apple Cup and destroying Cal. That hail mary by ASU literally cost the Huskies a chance to play in a bowl this year. I bark for Sark, and I think he is a close runner-up to Chip Kelly for coach of the year. A five win turnaround is not bad at all.
8. UCLA (6-6, 3-6) - Yes, bowl eligible, but hard to overlook that six game losing streak. Notre Dame's loss is the Bruins' gain, as they should (as long as Navy beats Army) get called by a bowl with an at-large spot, most likely the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, unless Roady's wants Louisiana-Monroe or Louisiana-Lafayette to fill that spot. Idaho is a virtual lock in the other spot of the bowl, so instead of toothless Wyoming people taunting the Bruins, we'll have toothless Idaho people throwing potatoes at them. Good times all around.
9. Arizona State (4-8, 2-7) - Man that 10 win season feels like years ago, even though it was in 2007. Seems like Dennis Erickson has some of the pieces in place, they just need time to gel. At least they won't finish last in the conference for some time...
   
10. Washington State (1-11, 0-9) - At least they didn't finish winless, and they beat a team going to a bowl game! Looks like the only gimme on the slate for any team next year.

And the overall rankings (though I've failed to follow college football after USC lost to Stanford):

1. Alabama (13-0) - Had osme hiccups along the way, but they were able to pull out the close games and take care of teams they were supposed to. Up next is the BCS National Championship likely against Texas.
2. Texas (13-0) - Man that would have been awesome had Nebraska pulled off the upset. Oh well. Hard to pick against Bama winning it all though.
3. Cincinnati (12-0) - 3-5 don't really matter anymore. I just put Cincy up here since they've gone through a tough Big East slate (no joke) and beat Oregon State in Corvalis. Probably Sugar Bowl against Florida? Man the Cincy offense against Florida's D is a sick matchup.
   
4. Texas Christian (12-0) - Weak schedule (though you can't fault them, as they traveled to Virginia and Clemson), though hard to ignore their body of work against the Mountain West. Another dream match between TCU and Boise in a BCS game? Poinsettia had the game last year and it finished 17-16, TCU. Though the Fiesta Bowl was rumored to favor a TCU/Big Ten matchup with Iowa or Penn State.
   
5. Florida (12-1) - Hard to ignore being blown out by Alabama and only had one true test during the season (at LSU). Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati would be a fun one to watch.
   
6. Boise State (13-0) - Has the most impressive win of Cincy, TCU< and themselves in their win over Oregon, but hasn't done much to impress since. Probably get dragged out to the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech.
   
7. Oregon (10-2) - Rose Bowl bound against Ohio State. Terrell Pryor needs to be on target if the Buckeye offense wants to keep up with the Ducks.
8. Ohio State (10-2) - Rose Bowl bound against Oregon. Weird with the Buckeyes' dominance of the Big Ten throughout the decade that this is their first trip to the Rose Bowl in ages.
9. Georgia Tech (10-2) - Bounced back from being upset by Georgia by winning the ACC. Orange Bowl against Boise State is probable.
10. Iowa (10-2) - Will still get rewarded for a good season with a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.
    

First to 24 wins

Noticed a trend in USC games where the first team to score 24 points usually won the game. So looking back at the Pete Carroll era, I listed the score of the game when a team scored 24 points, then the outcome of the game. In 97 games where at least one team scored more than 24 points, only 3 times they did not win. In honor of Ralph Lawler's Law, the voice of the Los Angeles Clippers, here's Caesar's Law, the first to 24 wins, it's the law:

1. 09/13/01 - Oregon 24, USC 22 (final score)
2. 10/06/01 - Washington 24, USC 17 (Washington 27, USC 24)
3. 10/13/01 - USC 28, Arizona State 10 (USC 48, Arizona State 17)
4. 10/20/01 - Notre Dame 27, USC 16 (final score)
5. 10/27/01 - USC 24, Arizona 10 (USC 41, Arizona 34)
6. 11/10/01 - USC 28, California 10 (USC 55, California 14)
7. 11/17/01 - USC 24, UCLA 0 (USC 27, UCLA 0)
8. 09/02/02 - USC 24, Auburn 17 (final score)
9. 09/14/02 - USC 27, Colorado 3 (USC 40, Colorado 3)
10. 09/21/02 - Kansas State 27, USC 6 (Kansas State 27, USC 20)
11. 10/05/02 - Washington State 24, USC 14 (Washington State 30, USC 27, O/T)
12. 10/12/02 - USC 24, California 21 (USC 30, California 28)
13. 10/19/02 - USC 24, Washington 7 (USC 41, Washington 21)
14. 10/26/02 - USC 27, Oregon 19 (USC 44, Oregon 33)
15. 11/09/02 - USC 28, Stanford 10 (USC 49, Stanford 17)
16. 11/16/02 - USC 27, Arizona State 13 (USC 34, Arizona State 13)
17. 11/23/02 - USC 28, UCLA 7 (USC 52, UCLA 21)
18. 11/30/02 - USC 24, Notre Dame 13 (USC 44, Notre Dame 13)
19. 01/02/03 - USC 24, Iowa 10 (USC 38, Iowa 17)
20. 09/06/03 - USC 28, Brigham Young 18 (USC 35, Brigham Young 18)
21. 09/13/03 - USC 24, Hawaii 6 (USC 61, Hawaii 32)
22. 09/27/03 - California 24, USC 21 (California 34, USC 31, 3 O/T)
23. 10/04/03 - USC 24, Arizona State 17 (USC 37, Arizona State 17)
24. 10/11/03 - USC 27, Stanford 0 (USC 44. Stanford 21)
25. 10/18/03 - USC 28, Notre Dame 14 (USC 45, Notre Dame 14)
26. 10/25/03 - USC 26, Washington 14 (USC 43, Washington 23)
27. 11/01/03 - USC 29, Washington State 10 (USC 43, Washington State 16)
28. 11/15/03 - USC 28, Arizona 0 (USC 45, Arizona 0)
29. 11/22/03 - USC 24, UCLA 0 (USC 47, UCLA 22)
30. 12/06/03 - USC 28, Oregon State 7 (USC 52, Oregon State 28)
31. 01/01/04 - USC 28, Michigan 7 (USC 28, Michigan 14)
32. 08/28/04 - USC 24, Virginia Tech 13 (final score)
33. 09/11/04 - USC 28, Colorado State 0 (USC 49, Colorado State 0)
34. 09/18/04 - USC 28, Brigham Young 10 (USC 42, Brigham Young 10)
35. 09/25/04 - Stanford 28, USC 17 (USC 31, Stanford 28)
36. 10/16/04 - USC 28, Arizona State 7 (USC 45, Arizona State 7)
37. 10/23/04 - USC 24, Washington 0 (USC 38, Washington 0)
38. 10/30/04 - USC 28, Washington State 0 (USC 42, Washington State 12)
39. 11/06/04 - USC 28, Oregon State 13 (USC 28, Oregon State 20)
40. 11/13/04 - USC 28, Arizona 9 (USC 49, Arizona 9)
41. 11/27/04 - USC 27, Notre Dame 10 (USC 41, Notre Dame 10)
42. 12/04/04 - USC 26, UCLA 17 (USC 29, UCLA 24)
43. 01/04/05 - USC 28, Oklahoma 7 (USC 55, Oklahoma 19)
44. 09/03/05 - USC 28, Hawaii 3 (USC 63, Hawaii 17)
45. 09/17/05 - USC 28, Arkansas 7 (USC 70, Arkansas 17)
46. 09/24/05 - USC 24, Oregon 13 (USC 45, Oregon 13)
47. 10/01/05 - USC 24, Arizona State 21 (USC 38, Arizona State 28)
48. 10/08/05 - USC 28, Arizona 14 (USC 42, Arizona 21)
49. 10/15/05 - Notre Dame 24, USC 21 (USC 34, Notre Dame 31)
50. 10/22/05 - USC 27, Washington 10 (USC 51, Washington 24)
51. 10/29/05 - USC 28, Washington State 6 (USC 55, Washington State 13)
52. 11/05/05 - USC 24, Stanford 0 (USC 51, Stanford 21)
53. 11/12/05 - USC 28, California 3 (USC 35, California 10)
54. 11/19/05 - USC 27, Fresno State 21 (USC 50, Fresno State 42)
55. 12/03/05 - USC 24, UCLA 0 (USC 66, UCLA 19)
56. 01/04/06 - USC 24, Texas 23 (Texas 41, USC 38)
57. 09/02/06 - USC 30, Arkansas 7 (USC 50, Arkansas 14)
58. 09/16/06 - USC 28, Nebraska 10 (final score)
59. 09/30/06 - USC 28, Washington State 15 (USC 28, Washington State 22)
60. 10/07/06 - USC 26, Washington 20 (final score)
61. 10/14/06 - USC 28, Arizona State 21 (final score)
62. 10/28/06 - Oregon State 30, USC 10 (Oregon State 33, USC 31)
63. 11/04/06 - USC 28, Stanford 0 (USC 42, Stanford 0)
64. 11/11/06 - USC 28, Oregon 3 (USC 35, Oregon 10)
65. 11/25/06 - USC 28, Notre Dame 10 (USC 44, Notre Dame 24)
66. 01/01/07 - USC 25, Michigan 11 (USC 32, Michigan 18)
67. 09/01/07 - USC 28, Idaho 3 (USC 38, Idaho 10)
68. 09/15/07 - USC 28, Nebraska 10 (USC 49, Nebraska 31)
69. 09/22/07 - USC 27, Washington State 7 (USC 47, Washington State 14)
70. 09/29/07 - USC 24, Washington 17 (USC 27, Washington 24)
71. 10/06/07 - Stanford 24, USC 23 (final score)
72. 10/20/07 - USC 24, Notre Dame 0 (USC 38, Notre Dame 0)
73. 10/27/07 - Oregon 24, USC 10 (Oregon 24, USC 17)
74. 11/03/07 - USC 24, Oregon State 3 (final score)
75. 11/10/07 - USC 24, Cal 17 (final score)
76. 11/22/07 - USC 27, Arizona State 17 (USC 44, Arizona State 24)
77. 12/01/07 - USC 24, UCLA 7 (final score)
78. 01/01/08 - USC 28, Illinois 10 (USC 49, Illinois 17)
79. 08/30/08 - USC 24, Virginia 7 (USC 52, Virginia 7)
80. 09/13/08 - USC 28, Ohio State 3 (USC 35, Ohio State 3)
81. 09/25/08 - Oregon State 27, USC 14 (Oregon State 27, USC 21)
82. 10/04/08 - USC 27, Oregon 10 (USC 44, Oregon 10)
83. 10/11/08 - USC 28, Arizona State 0 (final score)
84. 10/18/08 - USC 27, Washington State 0 (USC 69, Washington State 0)
85. 11/01/08 - USC 28, Washington 0 (USC 56, Washington 0)
86. 11/15/08 - USC 24, Stanford 17 (USC 45, Stanford 23)
87. 11/29/08 - USC 24, Notre Dame 0 (USC 38, Notre Dame 3)
88. 12/06/08 - USC 28, UCLA 7 (final score)
89. 01/01/09 - USC 24, Penn State 7 (USC 38, Penn State 24)
90. 09/05/09 - USC 28, San Jose State 3 (USC 56, San Jose State 3)
91. 09/26/09 - USC 27, Washington State 0 (USC 27, Washington State 6)
92. 10/03/09 - USC 30, California 3 (final score)
93. 10/17/09 - USC 27, Notre Dame 14 (USC 34, Notre Dame 27)
94. 10/24/09 - USC 28, Oregon State 16 (USC 42, Oregon State 36)
95. 10/31/09 - Oregon 24, USC 17 (Oregon 47, USC 20)
96. 11/14/09 - Stanford 28, USC 14 (Stanford 55, USC 21)
97. 11/28/09 - USC 28, UCLA 7 (final score)
    

Record - 94-3 (96.9%)

Ding-dong the Witch is Dead: Ducks end Trojans' Pac-10 Reign

Well no more excuses. The Trojans got beat, and they were beat badly. In the past, USC could look at one stat or point to a key injury to explain their loss. Here? The lack of coaching adjustments, especially on defense (understatement of the year) led to USC's demise and likely end of the Trojans' reign of terror over the Pac-10. Although not mathematically eliminated, USC would need to win out and have Oregon to lose three of their final four games to return to Pasadena. No sugarcoating 392 rushing yards allowed. No pointing to turnovers (only one late Barkley INT) or excessive penalties (6 false starts, the Autzen Stadium didn't get to Barkley, but it sure got to his O-line). Maybe point to injuries (TE Anthony McCoy, WRs David Ausberry and Travon Patterson, FB Stanley Havili, RB Stafon Johnson, C Kris O'Dowd missed action), but how the hell do we suffer so many injuries? It seems like we always have a rash of injuries with bite USC at the wrong time, but you don't hear the elite teams having the same problems. Maybe it's our training regiment:



But unlike USC's other losses, I'm not upset over this one. In fact, I saw this coming: from my season preview:

"USC will probably split the Oregon/Cal road games, both of which could decide the Pac-10 crown this year. Cal is a dangerous team with prolific runner Jahvid Best, and the Oregon schools always give USC trouble in the state of Oregon:

October 24, 1998 - L @ Oregon State (17-13)
September 25, 1999 - L @ Oregon (33-30, 3 O/T)
September 30, 2000 - L @ Oregon State (31-21)
September 22, 2001 - L @ Oregon (24-22, Oregon made field goal with 12 seconds left)
October 26, 2002 - W @ Oregon (44-33, trailed 19-14 at the half)
November 6, 2004 - W @ Oregon State (28-20, fell behind 13-0 to start game)
September 24, 2005 - W @ Oregon (45-13, fell behind 13-0 to start game)
October 28, 2006 - L @ Oregon State (33-31, trailed 33-10 midway through third)
October 27, 2007 - L @ Oregon (24-17)
September 25, 2008 - L @ Oregon State (27-21, trailed 21-0 at halftime)

3-7 in the last 10 games in the state of Oregon, and trailed in every game? Not good..."

I also said USC would most likely finish 10-2 (8-1) with losses to Ohio State and Oregon. And right now? I would trade losing to Washington to lose to Ohio State in a heartbeat, as that extra loss to the Huskies will keep us out of the Rose Bowl. But maybe this is a good thing long term for the program. Having a change of pace; no longer being the king of the conference. No longer having the target on their back. No longer being favored to win every game by 20+ points. Then again, I hoped we would have the same change after the 2007 Stanford game, but no dice there.

Back to the game, what happened to the defense? Is there one thing we can point to that occurred after USC jumped up 34-14 on Notre Dame? From that point on, the Trojans have allowed an astonishing 96 points in 9 quarters. USC allowed 93 points in 12 regular season games last year. But in a span of 9 quarters, I've gone from feeling comfortable with the defense on the field to having the offense on the field. I went from knowing the Trojans would hold the opposition to less than 20 points on a gamely basis to hoping the defense can hold to a field goal. Oregon marched the ball down the field, with the USC defenders just being pesky on their way to the end zone. It seems that teams have made adjustments to USC's defensive scheme and USC hasn't made changes to what they've done. Maybe because Pete Carroll was content with winning shootouts. But that's not USC football. And that's not how you win big games on the road.

I remember back to the 2004 Rose Bowl game, when USC made it's mark on the football world. The defense was spectacular that day, with their takeaways and sacks on Michigan QB John Navarre. Especially on those sneaky corner blitzes. And their dominance over Oklahoma in the 2005 Orange Bowl. The Wolverine and Sooner offenses were so basic and simple compared to what Oregon ran today. It seems Pete Carroll has stayed the same while everything around him has changed. Teams are going to spread offenses with quarterbacks that can run and throw. We saw seeds of doubt of our defense sown against Washington State, when freshman QB Jeff Tuel, pushed into relief, moved the Cougars down the field on what was a stout defense. The Cal game aside, USC has allowed at least 27 points in their last three games. Not good.

But again Oregon was the much better team on the field. They were more prepared, made the correct adjustments, and deserved this win. This is why I'm not too upset with this loss. USC didn't give this game away. Oregon won it on the field. On to the Pac-10 Rankings:

1. Oregon (7-1 overall, 5-0 Pac-10) - Have fun in Pasadena Duck fans. Keep up the Pac-10 dominance over the Big Ten please. Just don't shit the bed. I'm pulling for you guys to either finish 8-4 or 11-1. The latter is more likely and more deserving.
   
2. Arizona (5-2, 3-1) - Scary offense will give fits to teams down the road, led by QB Nick Foles. Then again, you don't really need a good QB to give Washington State a hard time.
3. USC (6-2, 3-2) - With the Rose Bowl berth out of reach, will the Trojans finish strong the rest of the season to play for a BCS at large berth, maybe the Fiesta Bowl? All USC needs is 9 wins and a top 14 BCS rankings, not out of the question, depending on how far the Trojans fall after the blowout.
4. Oregon State (5-3, 3-2) - Almost let UCLA hang around too long. Then again, how did the Beavers defense allow two Bruin offensive touchdowns and two-point conversions? Washington State still remains on the schedule, so Oregon State should easily make another bowl game. Just no more 3-0 classics...
   
5. California (6-2, 3-2) - Screwed around after taking a 14-0 lead over Arizona State before needed a field goal in the final minutes to pull out the win in Tempe. Can't fool around with Oregon State, as this game may help round out the bowl pecking order.
6. Stanford (5-3, 4-2) - Finishes with a brutal stretch of Oregon, @ USC, Arizona, Notre Dame. Not sure where win #6 lies in that schedule.
   
7. Arizona State (4-4, 2-3) - Their reward for coming close to upsetting Cal? A visit from a banged up Trojan squad, who will either be demoralized after being embarrassed on prime-time national TV, or be looking to bounce back to make a trip back to, ironically, Tempe for the Fiesta Bowl. The Sun Devils needs to steal one from USC, Oregon, or Arizona to become bowl-eligible.
   
8. Washington (3-5, 2-3) - After all the rebuilding Sark has done in Seattle, a loss to UCLA next week will put the Huskies in the 9-hole where they spent most of last year, except for the last few weeks they were #10 after losing in last year's Apple Cup.
   
9. UCLA (3-5, 0-5) - Shows how much respect Prime Ticket is showing UCLA this year, as their game against Oregon State was shown on a tape-delay in L.A., which is unheard of in this day and age. Even the USC/UCLA soccer game was on live on Prime Ticket Friday night. Last gasp to become bowl eligible starts with a win over Washington next week.
10. Washington State (1-7, 0-5) - Poor Cougs. I hope that paycheck they got for being the sacrificial lamb to Notre Dame on national TV (NBC) was pretty hefty. Side note: ESPN was making fun about how New Mexico State had to take a game against Ohio State late in the season to help pay for food for the team during summer camp. They were made light of it, but the truth hurts for the Aggies. Almost as bad as the University of Hawaii showers not having soap in them.

And the top 10:

1. Florida (8-0) - Alabama's struggles against Tennessee last week and their bye this week along with Florida's dominance over Georgia put the Gators back at #1. Rankings #1-3 don't matter unless one of Florida/Alabama/Texas loses, which won't happen unless something really bizarre happens.
2. Texas (8-0) - Early season struggles, but they've put it together in all three areas of the game and look ready to make it back to the BCS championship game. Just no Heisman for Colt McCoy in my opinion.
3. Alabama (8-0) - Byes shouldn't cause teams to fall, but Texas looked really good on the road against a decent Oklahoma State team. But it won't matter as long as an undefeated Florida meet an undefeated Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
4. Cincinnati (8-0) - Even with a backup QB, the Bearcats are taking care of business. Couldn't say the same about, oh, USC about 6 weeks ago. Still have to get past a very good Pittsburgh team, but I don't see them having a problem getting to 12-0.
5. Oregon (7-1) - Still impressed with how they demolished the Trojans. Which makes me wonder if they had played Boise State later in the season... Best one loss team, hands down. If something happens to #1-2-3, Oregon is more deserving than Boise or TCU to make the national championship. I'm just saying.
6. Texas Christian (8-0) - 12-0 TCU goes in over 13-0 Boise. Period. Even if Oregon goes 11-1, the Horned Frogs would have defeated Clemson (ACC Atlantic leader), Virginia, and BYU, and gotten past a very good Utah team. Boise?
7. Boise State (8-0) - Just that win over Oregon, which continues to be more impressive by the day. But if the Broncos had to play the Ducks' schedule, where would they be? Hard to answer.
8. Iowa (9-0) - Yeah, I dropped them after playing sloppy games, but an even an undefeated Iowa does not deserve to be in anything greater than the Rose Bowl, which they should be content with. But please, Terrelle Pryor, please show up for a big game. As much as the college football universe loves to see upsets, I'm a traditionalist and like to see the big name schools (Texas, Ohio State, Florida, USC....) be in the BCS bowl games.
9. Georgia Tech (8-1) - Triple option, triple option, triple option. Love to see it in play, would have a heart attack if the team I rooted for ran it every down. Knowing USC, the Trojans would fumble one out of every five laterals. Just saying.
10. Louisiana State (7-1) - Can rock the world by knocking off Alabama in Tuscaloosa next weekend. Would make the season more interesting when we can say the #4 and #5 teams have a shot of being in the national championship game. But it would lead to a boring slugfest in the SEC championship game. Oh well.
    

Trojans jump to big lead, hold on against Irish

USC freshman QB Matt Barkley went 19-29 for a career-high 380 yards, 2 TD, and an INT as the Trojans held on against Notre Dame, 34-27. The Trojans needed three incompletitions from Irish QB Jimmy Clausen from the USC 4 in the final 9 seconds to preserve the win. Anthony McCoy added 5 receptions for 153 yards, and Damian Williams had 4 catches for 108 yards and 2 TDs. Joe McKnight ran for 79 yards and a score, while Everson Griffen led the defense with three sacks. In a polar opposite from their past games, the offense was on a roll while the defense struggled to hold the scrambling Irish offense, desperate to overcome a 20 point fourth quarter deflict.

After McKnight ran in a score from one yard out, it looked like another Trojan blowout in this series. But instead of fading away like Irish teams from the past, Clausen and Notre Dame WR Golden Tate did their best to turn the tide in their favor. Tate was in beast mode all game, with 8 receptions for 115 yards and 2 TD, including a sick 45 yard pass from Clausen midway through the third. With the aid of several bone-headed Trojan personal foul penalties, Clausen led the Irish methodically down the field into scoring range. But after falling asleep in the previous two drives, the Trojan defense held their ground. On first and goal from the USC 4 with nine seconds remaining, Irish TE Kyle Rudolph juggled a Clausen pass before gaining control of the ball out of bounds. On second and goal, Clausen missed on a slant on what appeared to be the game's final play. The USC sideline rushed the field before replay officials determined that one second remained for the Irish to pull off another miracle (see: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State; 2009, Notre Dame vs. Purdue; 2009, Notre Dame vs. Washington; 2009). But on third and goal, Clausen's 43rd pass of the day also fell incomplete and the Trojans were able to leave South Bend with another breath-taking victory.

The offense made plays all day. Barkley, playing in front of a third ranked road opponent, made key third down plays and limited his mistakes. His interception which led to Notre Dame's last score was partly on the Trojan playcalling; if there was EVER a time to call a safe draw play, it was there, up 14 on 3rd and 14 in your own territory. Punt the ball away there, as the defense, up to that point, was holding its own, or at least to the point where another Irish score would have eaten up the clock. But it seemed McCoy was coming up with big plays all day. The passing game was so brilliant, but don't forget about the running game, which produced a respectible 4.8 yards per carry (minus Barkley's numbers).

The defense kept pressure on Clausen all day, until the final drive. It seemed like the Golden Boy had all day to throw, and he did make some big plays, including his fourth down pass to Robby Parris which set up a first and goal from the 4. I didn't keep track, but it seemed like a majority of the Trojans' 8 penalties for 70 yards came from defensive personal foul penalties, which kept an Irish scoring drive alive. That lack of discipline has to stop sometime, right? And special teams... an average of 14 yards on kick returns, one punt return for 4 yards... you guys are saved by a HUGE blocked PAT. Why so big? I would have bet my life that Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis would have gone for 2 had they scored a touchdown, going for the win instead of overtime. Without the blocked point after attempt, Charlie was a TD and PAT away from the biggest win of his coaching career. But he goes for two in that situation. Even if I had lost that bet, I would be content with that.

Pac-10 rankings. Randomness again. There are three tiers in the Pac-10: The contenders (Oregon and USC), the bowl hopefuls (Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, Washington), and the Cougs (Washington State).

1. Oregon (5-1) - I don't think they overlook Washington (more on them later...) before USC comes into town on Halloween. But the Ducks only 5 point favorites? Geez.
2. USC (5-1) - Revenge game! Pete doesn't lose two in a row to anyone, right? Though Quizz remains a big question mark (no pun intended) for the Trojan D. Can they stop him? Then again, the Beavs have struggled in the Coliseum. Rose Bowl play-in game on Halloween should be fun (or not...)
   
3. Arizona (4-2) - A fluke away (pick-6 off a receivers foot which may have hit the ground) from being a legit contender to the Pac-10. Offense is scary good (two shootouts), and should get win number 5 hosting UCLA this weekend. That Iowa loss? Not so bad, eh?
4. Oregon State (4-2) - Can they overtake the angry Trojans? The Rodgers brothers will have something to say about that before the end of the day, but USC has too much depth to be worried about the Beavs.
5. California (4-2) - Look who's back? 45 points against UCLA's defense was really impressive. Not sure if anyone else will top that. Or top Jahvid Best's 93 yard run. Wazzu should help the Bears get back in the top 3 in the conference.
6. Arizona State (4-2) - A wowzer after the finish against the Huskies, but Oregon and USC shouldn't really worry about the Sun Devils. Stanford comes next for a game in bowl seeding.
7. Stanford (4-3) - No Toby Gerhart? A lot of problems for the Cardinal, even with Andrew Luck playing out of his mind.
   
8. Washington (3-4) - You douchebags. 1-3 since the USC game? Assholes. What a pathetic display on the ASU game winner too (50 yard TD pass in a tied game? Really Nick Holt? I guess it was Pete's call to play the bend but don't break D. Jackass).
9. UCLA (3-3) - An 0-3 start in conference play doesn't help, especially with a trip to Tuscon this weekend. May not be favored again until the Washington game, but a bowl seems out of reach at this point.
10. Washington State (1-5) - Poor Cougs...

And my national top 10 (cause ranking 25 teams takes too long) (rankings are BCS rankings):

1. Alabama (7-0) - Most impressive team in CFB right now. Good wins over #14 Virginia Tech and #24 South Carolina, as well as trouncing a good Ole Miss team. I would be shocked to see them lose or struggle until the SEC championship game against:
   
2. Florida (6-0) - I had Bama ranked #1 before the Gators struggled against Arkansas, needed a field goal with 11 seconds left to put the Razorbacks away. They will struggle, but should still make it to 12-0.
3. Texas (6-0) - I've always liked Oklahoma, but even without Sam Bradford, they had a chance to steal a game in this series. Now? Sun Bowl looks to be their destination.
4. Iowa (7-0) - Yeah they win ugly, but how many Trojan fans would want a ugly win over Washington now? Get past Ohio State, and they're in the running for the national championship conversation.
5. Cincinnati (6-0) - Run the table through the Big East, even if it is the Big East, and I don't mind them waiting to play in the national championship. As long as Bama/Florida and Texas don't screw around.
6. USC (5-1) - I still think this is too high, but three road wins against top 25 teams (the teams were ranked when they played) has to count for something, right? Maybe, maybe if they win a fourth against Oregon on Halloween (assuming they don't over look Oregon State)...
   
7. Boise State (6-0) - Can't take away the Oregon win, but can't ignore the rest of their schedule either.
8. Texas Christian (6-0) - Win at BYU this week, and they'll be ahead of Boise in most polls. A stronger schedule (with two OCC games against ACC teams) helps a lot when you have multiple undefeated non-BCS teams.
9. Miami (Florida) - Got punished quite a bit for losing to a not-so-bad Virginia Tech team (they were #4 entering last week's games), though the Florida State and Oklahoma wins lose some luster. Just have to keep winning, and taking the ACC crown will help.
10. Oregon (5-1) - Maybe the Ducks and Broncos should play each other later in the year... Hopefully (or maybe hopefully) Oregon doesn't over look Washington this week.
    

USC rolls over Wazzu and Cal

Two weeks ago, freshman QB Matt Barkley returned from a sprained shoulder to throw 13-22 for 247 yards and 2 TDs to as USC jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and sputtered to a 27-6 win. Joe McKnight opened the scoring on a 3 yard run to cap a very efficient Trojan drive. Barkley finally targeted Damian Williams as his #1 receiver, connecting on a 57 yard TD pass one play after the Trojan special teams recovered an onside kick. Nine seconds earler, Barkley connected on a beautiful 31 pass to Brice Butler, showing no ill effects from his sore shoulder. The game started to look like the 69-0 rout in Pullman from last year, but the Trojan offense couldn't get anything going after their fast start, failing to score until Stafon Johnson scooted in from 6 yards out.

The third stringers gave up a touchdown to Washington State in the closing seconds, but all day the defense had trouble containing freshman QB Jeff Tuel, as starting QB Marshall Lobbestael was getting sacked left and right. The defense allowed only a few completitions by Tuel until the Coug's final drive, but it seemed like the Wazzu running backs were gaining 6-8 yards on every first down carry. But when Tuel did drop back and pass, he was either sacked or hurried into a poor pass. The defense had problems getting the Cougar offense off the field as well, as they had possession of the ball for over 36 minutes, or 60% of the game.

And a lot of the problems that reared their ugly head against Washington reappeared against Washington State, as Joe McKnight lost a fumble and Aaron Corp fumbled on the only play where he didn't just turn and hand the ball to Curtis McNeal. The Trojans also committed 13 penalties for 115 yards, with 75 of those yards coming in the first quarter. This was not the bounce back performance that the Trojans needed after a sloppy loss to the Huskies. It looked like a long game ahead of us in Berkeley against Jahvid Best.

One positive, even though it was against the Washington State special teams, was Damian Williams' punt returns, as he had 6 for 80 yards, production we haven't had since Reggie Bush graduated. But despite the effort by Washington State to not get embarrased again this season, USC needed to make a point in this game that they were healthy and righted the ship. Instead, they floundered, scoring 0 points on two drives that got inside the Cougs' 2 yard line and Jordan Congdon proved reliable in missing a 43 yard field goal.

Despite the Trojans' struggles against Washington State, USC moved up from #12 to #7 in the AP poll thanks to upsets suffered by then-#4 Mississippi, #5 Penn State, #6 Cal, and #9 Miami, as well as #10 Oklahoma having a bye week. Not only did the Golden Bears lose, they were embarassed, 42-3, by Oregon, resulting in a huge loss of confidence by Cal. The game between USC and Cal two weeks ago looked to be one between two top five teams; now, it was a game to keep Rose Bowl dreams alive.

And the Trojans did just that. Joe McKnight ran for 119 yards and 2 TDs, and Damian Williams had 100 yards receiving and scored USC's first punt return touchdown since 2005 as the Trojans romped to a 30-3 win. The fragile mind set Cal was in after their shellacking against the Ducks shattered after they moved the ball down the field on the opening drive against USC, only for Cal QB Kevin Riley to throw an interception to S Taylor Mays from the USC 5 yard line. The offense did the rest, moving the ball quickly down the field and scoring on Joe McKnight's 38 yard run, aided by a poor tackle attempt by CB Syd'Quan Thompson. After Cal's next drive stalled, USC tacked on a short field goal by Jordan Congdon. The second quarter opened with Cal punting to Damian Williams, who broke free on a 66 yard punt return for a touchdown. It was the Trojans' first punt return for a touchdown since Reggie Bush did it against Washington in 2005. The stifiling defense, led by Mays' interception and 10 tackle performance, and Chris Gallippo's three pass breakups, held Cal scoreless until Vince D'Amato kicked a meaningless field goal to cut the USC lead to 23-3. Carroll's troops marched back down field and scored an "F-U" touchdown in response to Cal's field goal to close the scoring at 30-3. Cal tumbled from #6 in the nation to out of the polls on the heels of being outscored 72-6 in their last two games, which included a 65 point unanswered streak.

Well, this was the first game was pleased with the team's performance since the Rose Bowl against Penn State. The San Jose State game was a blowout, but it was still San Jose State. Ohio State showed the real problems we have on offense. Washington, well, you know. Washington State should have been San Jose State part deux, but le fail on that one. But Cal, even after being blown out by Oregon the week before, is still a good team. Jahvid Best could have broken off a touchdown on any touch, but the Trojan defense held him in check, to 47 yards on 14 carries, with about a third of those coming from the Wildcat formation. Riley missed a lot of receivers, including Shane Vereen on a trick play that he sailed over Vereen's head. The Cal defense gave up a lot of yards in between the 20s, but a better offense would have turned Congdan's three field goals into touchdowns. Blame it on the playcalling or on the young QB, but against Oregon, trips inside the opponent's 10 yard line need to be touchdowns. I guess with this defense, which has made leaps since the first quarter against San Jose State, field goals may be good enough. And good offensive balance, we haven't had a 100 yard receiver and rusher since the Washington game last year.

But one huge, HUGE positive from the last time I posted has been the stark improvement in special teams. I ragged on coach Brian Schneider after the loss to Washington, but he had proved me wrong since. Starting with the Wazzu game, getting 80 punt return yards from Williams, and the onside kick after they noticed that the Cougar blockers turned their backs to the ball a few moments too soon. Some people were critical of the onside kick, but I loved it, and it will make teams down the road prepare for it and not turn too early to set up the blocking for the return. And other teams like Cal, Notre Dame, or Oregon did not have the same vunerability as Wazzu, so this was maybe the only time to unleash it. And Williams' 66 yard punt return. Putting D-Will back there has paid off, both in his catching (no more fumbles from McKnight) and elusiveness (McKnight is fast, but he cannot break tackles). It helps having two blockers on the opposing team's lead gunner, and there was at least once when we sent a man for a block attempt, a welcome sight. Now if we can only find a long distance kicker. Didn't we used to do that? In 2006? David Buehler 49 yard field goal against Cal to tie the game? Anyone? Buehler ~= Jacob Harfman? No? Ok...

Pac-10 rankings. Might as well put the 10 teams, er 9 teams (Wazzu at the bottom) in a bag and pull them out at random. Oh well.

1. Oregon (4-1) - That Boise State game feels like such a long time ago. Hopefully QB Jeremiah Masoli can be healthy for the game at UCLA this weekend, as them Bruins are always scrappy under Rick Neuheisel.
2. USC (4-1) - A much needed bye week before heading to Notre Dame with WR Ronald Johnson and DE Armond Armstead returning from injuries. The Irish have eeked out their last few games, but will this be another blowout? Jimmy Claussen needs to overcome his turf toe while Josh Pinkard vs. Golden Tate will be a matchup to watch.
3. Stanford (4-1) - Wait, Stanford? 3-0 in conference play? Stanford? Well, they still have to play Oregon and at USC, but a win at Oregon State will push them into the top 25. RB Toby Gerhart has been in beast mode all year, and if QB Andrew Luck can find his touch, watch out.
4. Arizona (3-1) - Lost to a good Iowa team but upset Oregon State two weeks ago. Game at Washington will tell a lot for the two teams. Too bad they won't have TE Rob Gronkowski at all this year.
   
5. Oregon State (3-2) - Acutally off to a decent start compared to years past, and got a huge road win at Arizona State. Best matchup of running backs in the Pac-10 this weekend: 2008 Offensive Player of the Year Jacquizz Rodgers against 2009 (probably) Offensive Player of the Year, Toby Gerhart. Should be an exciting game.
6. UCLA (3-1) - Kai Forbath is tied for first in the nation in field goals made with 12. Not a good stat to be leading. Offensive woes will continue against Oregon, who unveiled a sneaky good defense in the past few weeks. Can the UCLA defense and special teams keep the Bruins in the game? Hard to tell against the explosive Ducks defense.
7. Washington (2-3) - Will they have a USC hangover all season long? Blown out by Stanford two weeks ago, and lost a heartbreaker to Notre Dame this past weekend. They have to regroup quickly for a trip to Arizona to keep their shots at a bowl game alive, or their win over USC will mean nothing.
8. Arizona State (2-2) - Haven't shown much, but that's good in terms of being ranked ahead of Cal and Washington State. After a win over the Cougars (come on), they have a tough stretch to finish the season: Washington, @ Stanford, Cal, USC, @ Oregon, @ UCLA, Arizona. No sure things there, with the toss ups being against the Huskies, UCLA, and Arizona to get to six wins.
9. California (3-2) - Dang, how could we have been so wrong about this Cal team? Not the best time to have a bye week, mulling on two blowout losses, even though they were against the class of the Pac-10, but they have to get ready for a trip to UCLA in two weeks in a game that will define both team's bowl hopes.
10. Washington State (1-4) - Don't see a win for the rest of the season on their schedule. Rebuilding this team will take a while for Paul Wulff. But I miss (and still heart) Bill Doba.

And the top 10 for this week:

1. Florida (4-0) - Tim Tebow or no Tim Tebow, the Gators should beat LSU. But don't count the Tigers out of the game is close in the fourth quarter, as this season has shown.
2. Texas (4-0) - Wake me up when they play Oklahoma... oh wait. The Sooners can make their season by runing the Longhorns one, but I wouldn't count on it. We can only hope for K-State to upset Texas this year like in 2006 and 2007. Oh wait they don't play each other this year. Crap.
3. Alabama (5-0) - Ole Miss should prove to be a minor road block in the Tide's path to the SEC championship.
4. Louisiana State (5-0) - crept up after the upsets, but it will be for naught if they can't knock off Florida.
5. Virginia Tech (4-1) - Hey! Look who's back. Struggled with Duke, but if they can stay focused, they should be on the doorstep for the BCS if any team ahead of them loses.
6. USC (4-1) - Trojans haven't lost to a ranked opponent who was ranked lower than them since the 2005 Rose Bowl. ag24ta3abahuaq3y24arnahG21@!#%U)*
7. Boise State (5-0) - That Oregon win keeps on looking better and better for them. Too bad eggs like they laid against UC Davis will hurt their cred.
8. Ohio State (4-1) - Defense has been solid, but they still have to play Iowa and Penn State down the road. Can't read too much into blowing out weak teams.
9. Cincinnati (5-0) - Big East street cred? Maybe...
10. TCU (4-0) - Will they pull a Houston and lose in their MWC opener? I think the Frogs are used to the attention and should be in good shape until BYU game.
    

Dodgers Baseball!

So I got to go to a few more Dodgers games this year, probably due to having a car and a little more money to spend on baseball tickets, not to mention a couple of free box seats from NGC. Quick rundown of the games I've attended:

• April 18, 2009 - Dodgers 9, Rockies 5. Notable: My buddy Kenny's first trip to the all-you-can-eat bleachers in right field. Andre Ethier went 2-5 with 2 HR and 4 RBI on his way to a 30-100 season. Manny Ramirez went 2-3 with 2 HR and 2 RBI about three weeks before he was suspended for 50 games for a fertility drug.
• June 28, 2009 - Mariners 4, Dodgers 2. Notable: First of three games this year where Hiroki Kuroda was the starting pitcher. Pretty average game otherwise as the Dodgers were cooling off from their hot start.
• August 5, 2009 - Brewers 4, Dodgers 1. Notable: First of two games sitting in the Baseline Box Seats at Dodger Stadium, which included all you can eat food at the Baseline Restaurant and preferred parking. Came day after Prince Fielder tried to enter the Dodger locker room after he was hit by a pitch in a 17-4 L.A. win. Crowd was hot for Fielder throughout the game. Trevor Hoffman picked up the save, first of two future Hall of Fame closers I saw this year.
• August 9, 2009 - Braves 8, Dodgers 2. Notable: Braves are 2-0 in games I've seen in person. Atlanta won the series 3-1. Jeff Weaver pitched three innings of perfect ball. Manny Ramirez hit a bloop double over Adam LaRoche. Braves scored 5 in the ninth to put the game away.
• August 20, 2009 - Dodgers 7, Cubs 2. Notable: Second game sitting in Baseline Box Seats. Jeff Weaver was the starting pitcher, but did not figure in the decision. Russell Martin, in a slump all season, hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to break open a 2-2 tie.
• September 6, 2009 - Padres 4, Dodgers 3. Notable: Picked up the first Manny Ramirez bobblehead after the game. Kuroda started and got the loss, Weaver pitched two innings of shutout ball in relief. Other than that, nothing too interesting.
• September 16, 2009 - Dodgers 3, Pirates 1. Notable: Picked up the second Manny Ramirez bobblehead (Curtain Call) at the game. Kuroda started and got the win, Broxton with the save. Matt Kemp homered to lead the Dodgers "B-team" (Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Manny Ramirez, Russell Martin all got the day off).
• September 18, 2009 - Mariners 3, Yankees 2. Notable: First game saw out of state of California (Dodgers, Angels, Padres). Mariner fans still despise Alex Rodriguez. Mariano Rivera with a rare blown save as Ichiro hit a walk-off home run to end the game. Felix Hernandez pitched a complete game for the win.
• September 20, 2009 - Dodgers 6, Giants 2. Notable: Bizarre game as we arrived in the bottom of the fifth due to traffic and late arrival from Seattle, missing Tim Lincecum, who was pulled after four innings. Ethier eclipsed the 30-100 mark with a home run in the 3rd.

Maybe I'll get to go to more baseball games next year. Looking forward to the Clippers starting at the end of October!

Air Corp grounded, Locker drives Huskies to upset

QB Jake Locker drove the Huskies on a 10 play, 63 yard drive over the final four minutes of the game, leading to a Erik Folk 22 yard field goal with three seconds remaining as Washington upset #3 USC, 16-13. Not much went right for the Trojans, as QB Aaron Corp, in his first career start, went 13-22 for 110 yards and an interception, though he was lucky not to throw more as Corp consistently locked on to his first option, and RB Joe McKnight had 11 rushes for 100 yards and USC's lone touchdown, but also fumbled twice. USC committed 8 penalties for 75 yards and fumbled the ball four times, with FB Stanley Havili and RB Stafon Johnson losing one each. The 110 yards passing by Corp was the lowest total in the Pete Carroll era.

I guess I'll look at the good before diving into the ugly. The defense, save for the final drive, did well without its leader, S Taylor Mays, holding the Huskies to 56 yards rushing. DE Nick Perry was the player of the game, with four tackles and two sacks. MLB Chris Gallippo continues his steady play, as he had 8 tackles and one pass breakup. And the other bright spot? K Jordan Congdon, who hit a 42-yarder to put USC up 10-0 early in the game and tied the game late with a 25 yard field goal. He also had the range on the field goal after time expired in the first half. But other than that? Ugh.

So what went wrong? Let's start with the QB, Air Corp. 13-22 for 110 yards is unacceptable for a USC QB. Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty, and Mark Sanchez were rolling in their graves. Probably didn't help that he had to step into freshman Matt Barkley's shoes after his game winning drive at Ohio State with a sprained shoulder. But no more second guessing on my part. Carroll was right on in naming Barkley the starter to start the season, as Barkley showed that he could lead a team, while Corp puttered around against a Washington team that gave up 349 yards passing to Idaho. IDAHO! But the guy named starter out of spring camp could only muster 110 yards against the same defense. Unreal. Can't really put much on the receivers, as Corp would force the ball to his first option, even if the receiver was covered well, but Damian Williams has to step up and be a leader on offense, because Steve Smith, Mike Williams, Dwayne Jarrett, and Fred Davis aren't walking through those doors.

But all can't fall on Corp's shoulders. At least he wasn't a heralded group of running backs who combined for four fumbles. Fumble McGee McKnight had two fumbles, at least one of them he was stripped on, including on the Trojans' final drive, but USC recovered both. But the usually reliable Johnson fumbled on a 4th-and-1 run that he converted, which was a scoring drive, and Havili tried to make a play which he fumbled on as well. The most damaging thing about these turnovers, including Corp's turnover, was that they were all committed inside the UW 35 yard line, meaning those are points we fumbled away. I guess that would lead to the team scoring only 13 points against a Husky defense that was giving up 27 per game.

Penalties were killer as well, committing 8 for 75 yards. Remember last week when after the Ohio State win that I was happy with the fact that USC did not have too many penalties and only one turnover? Well BANG BANG, those things really came back to bite us in this game, and some of that has to go on the coaches, especially the minus-3 turnover ratio. What happened to the ball hawking defense? It seems we've gone vanilla on defense, the bend but don't break mentality leads to no big plays (only one play of more than 20 yards by Washington on offense), but no turnovers, and giving up a 3rd and 15 which would have given USC the ball back with a chance to win the game (or at least go to overtime). USC is minus-3 on the season in turnovers, a number which has to improve. But why the lack of takeaways? Is it the coaching? Is it the lack of ballhawking players on defense? Even the great Taylor Mays doesn't do much in the turnover game. Was it Nick Holt who took his strip play on defense with him to Washington? How could we not force one fumble, or turnover in this game?

But I guess in the long run, this game goes on the coaching. Carroll for not naming Corp the starter during the week. Brian Schneider for not improving the special teams, as it seemed on every single return, we would get a blocking in the back penalty, and our punter, Billy O'Malley, fails to punt the damn ball longer than 40 yards, I guess because it would hurt our punt coverage, which is terrible anyway. Not to mention our non-existant punt return game, outside of Williams' Reggie Bush-like return in the fourth quarter to set up Congdon's game tying field goal. Hey Pete Carroll, can I get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to coach special teams? Or even just a $100,000, as I have only one thing to coach the special teams units on: If you can see the opposing player's name on his jersey, DO NOT TOUCH HIM, DO NOT BLOCK HIM, JUST RUN AWAY. You already fucked up by letting him get past you on the return game. Good lord, these players may have talent, but not much for knowledge of the game. And having Jake Harfman just focus on kickoffs, when he hasn't had one touchback this season? Oh yeah, Schneider now has a chance to fuck up Mitch Mustain's future by having him punt as well. Fuck you guys.

Oh, but I haven't got to Jeremy Bates yet. I think I could have got more than 110 yards passing out of Air Corp. After three games, I've got Bates' offensive strategy down pat. Game one, find something that works, go with it, then dump it for the rest of the season (boot slide with a full back or tight end as the QB's safety valve). Game two, go with a QB sneak on every single 3rd- or 4th-and-1, then go with a HB dive with your FB on 3rd-and-1 with time running out in the first half with no timeouts left. WHERE THE FUCK WAS THE QB SNEAK THERE!?! Or even better, Pete, why not kick the field goal on third down? We lost yards anyway, and Congdon nailed the field goal that didn't count as time expired. On a play that was so successful against a more stout Ohio State defense, why not do it once? On a play that is deemed safe for our young QBs, why not call the boot slide more often? The boot slide is so safe because you have the FB or TE short, and if he gets open, the WR deep. But I think we've called that play twice in the past two games. For game 4, I don't know what Bates can neglect, as nothing went right on offense. Even the run game, which did net 250 yards, most of it in the first quarter, was nullified by the crafty Holt putting eight in the box, daring the shaky Corp to throw deep on them.

But even with all my complaining, I can't take away from the coaching performance put on by Coach Steve Sarkisian. He did a tremendous job getting his guys ready, and has transformed Jake Locker into a perfect dual threat QB. They deserved this win, and too bad he had to get his first marquee win over us. I will "Bark for Sark" the rest of the season. Though I will be thoroughly pissed if they shit the bed at Stanford next weekend. Just saying.

Oh well, here's the top 10:

1. Florida (3-0) - Tennessee did all it could to not get blown out by the Gators, always dangerous
   
2. Texas (3-0) - a win is a win in revenge games, even over an average Tech team
   
3. Alabama (3-0) - Arkansas showed spunk against Georgia, but won't be able to hang with Bama
   
4. California (3-0) - finally took care of those road woes, though they have to travel to Eugene next, always a tough place to play, just ask Utah
5. Penn State (3-0) - revenge game part deux! Lions should roll to a 21-3 win...
6. Mississippi (2-0) - good test at South Carolina in a short week
7. Louisiana State (3-0) - creeping up the polls, scrappy Bulldog team next
8. Boise State (3-0) - lone BCS buster team remaining, fun shootout against Fresno
9. Miami (Florida) (2-0) - astronomic rise up the polls, top 5 material if they beat Va Tech and:
10. Oklahoma (2-1) - next week, should be the game of the week (enough of College Gameday going to revenge games, unless they go to Oregon State/USC later)

And the Pac-10 rankings (yeah, no continunity, whatever):

1. California (3-0) - don't mess this up Bear fans, this is your year to make the Rose Bowl, especially with USC limping up to Berkeley next weekend
2. UCLA (3-0) - the defense is super scary, and I see more special teams touchdowns in their future
3. Oregon (2-1) - recovered from the Boise game, can make some waves with win over Cal
4. USC (2-1) - offense has shown nothing: "USC made Jay Leno's monologue last night when he said it stands for Unable to Score Consistently." Ugh
5. Washington (2-1) - please don't have a USC hangover and lose to Stanford
   
6. Oregon State (2-1) - P.S. to unranked Pac-10 teams who knock off USC, please do SOMETHING in OOC play, like beat Cincinnati at home. 
7. Arizona State (2-0) - Georgia rolls here
8. Arizona (2-1) - Fun fact: QB Willie Tuitama is now a waiter at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Tuscon
9. Stanford (2-1) - can they catch the Huskies snoozing? I think Sark is too good of a coach
   
10. Washington State (1-2) - nice comeback against SMU, and my lock of the week: they will cover the 44 spread at USC this week.

One final note, other than the loss to the Huskies, had a wonderful time in Seattle. People are so nice there, as we were wearing our USC gear and received nothing but well wishes for the game. Even walking back from the stadium to where we parked our car, we didn't get much hecklers or any fans trying to instigate anything. And the day we arrived was a beautiful day, sun shining and temperature in the 80s. Of course it had to rain on gameday, but that was expected. Good experience, hopefully I'll be able to go back and spend more time there, without the stress of a football game attached to it. And also got to strike a few things off my MLB list: see the Yankees, see Mariano Rivera pitch, and see a walkoff home run (Ichiro!). But I think the loss will make the Cal trip a little better, as we don't have to stress about losing anymore, since a national championship is no longer in reach, and Cal is the better team this year. And it's always nice travelling to the Bay Area.

Barkley, McKnight drive USC to comeback win against Ohio State

USC freshman QB Matt Barkley went 15-31 for 195 yards, including going 6-8 for 97 yards in drives that ended the first and second half, RB Joe McKnight had 105 all-purpose yards, including 54 in the game-winning drive and catching a 2-point conversion swing pass, and RB Stafon Johnson scored the game's first and last touchdowns as the Trojans overcame an sputtering offense for a come from behind win, 18-15. The offense was so bad, in fact, that when USC fell behind 12-10 on a high snap that sailed through the end zone, a lot of Trojan faithful felt like that could be the deciding margin.

I guess look at the bad first. Barkley didn't show much of an arm against San Jose State, rarely throwing down field. In this game, he didn't show off his arm either, and even then he only went 15-31. Not sure if it was the play calling, as a lot of the "safe" rollout plays that QB Coach Jeremy Bates called for against the Spartans were not seen against Ohio State. And there were no sustained drives either, other than the ones to end each half. USC's first touchdown was gift wrapped by MLB Chris Gallippo, who returned a Terrell Pryor pass 51 yards to the OSU 2, but even then it took the offense 4 plays to punch it home. In the second half, the Trojans had a miserable time trying to turn the field around, as it seemed the Buckeyes were always starting their drives in USC territory. But part of that could be on the dismal punting unit. P Billy O'Malley averaged 37.6 yards per punt with a long of 41, which was actually a touchback. So we have a punter who can't get distance and who can't coffin corner a team from 40 yards away? If he only has a 35 yard punt in his leg, why can't we have the punt unit get down there in time? And that's the second problem. The punt coverage and return units were terrible as well. They only allowed 14 punt returns, but that's back to O'Malley's weak leg. But the more telling stat was USC getting 0 punt return yards on 6 chances. There were several times where OSU P Jon Thoma "pooched" his kicks inside the 20, landing four of his punts there and still ending up with a higher average than O'Malley, who found himself trying to kick the stuffing out of the ball from his own endzone. But on every OSU punt, there were several Buckeyes surrounding Damian Williams before he could catch the ball, leaving him no choice but to signal for a fair catch. And staying with special teams... how can the #3 team in the nation not get a kicker that can kick a field goal from 44 yards straight away? And even if we did know that Jordan Congdon doesn't have a leg outside of 40, we do have a long distance kicker in Jake Harfman... where was he? We need to hire a special teams coach... oh wait...

But now for the positives... the defense, save to two long pass plays in the first quarter, we solid all game long. In fact, outside of a 54 yard pass to Dane Sanzenbacher and a 36 yarder to DeVier Posey, Pryor threw for only 87 yards. Both teams struggled to run the ball, due to the dominant defensive lines of both teams, as the longest run by an Ohio State running back was an 8 yard run by Dan Herron. But the defense had to play with a short field throughout the second half and gave up only 3 second half points. Another positive was that despite the struggles of the offense, the unit wasn't sloppy. Aside from Barkley being picked off in the second half, the offense stayed (relatively) penalty free, with 4 penalties for 30 yards, and no fumbles. That's a big plus, as in past games the Trojans have struggled in, it was due to numerous turnovers and penalties, so seeing USC not shoot themselves in the foot was nice to see, especially with a freshman quarterback in a hostile environment. Hmm, another positive... oh yeah, how 'bout those two drives to end each half? Nothing flashy, yet both were still things of beauty. It was part Barkley managing the game, part the running backs taking over, and part the offensive line parting the Buckeye defensive line. Barkley made a couple of throws to start the drive, but USC rode the back of McKnight, and Barkley snuck his way to two first downs behind Kris O'Dowd, and Johnson finished the drive from two yards out.

There has been a lot of criticism of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who many said he was too conservative and called bad plays on offense. First, I agreed with him punting before USC's final drive, as the Trojan offense showed nothing all game, and pinning them on the 14 yard line was better than going for a 53 yard field goal. But I can't agree with his choice to kick a field goal on 4th-and-goal from the 1 to start the second quarter. That's the game right there. The Buckeyes convert, they win. If they don't, well, they lose anyway. Tressel had to answer Big Balls Pete, instead he let his shrivel up as he sent out his kicker for an 18 yard field goal. And on offense, having Pryor pass the ball at all in the fourth quarter when they should have been trying to run out the clock instead of trying for the knockout punch. I cringed every time Ohio State ran the ball because of the precious time we lost on each run.

So even with the negatives about a sputtering offense and a horrific special teams (who wouldn't trade USC's special teams unit for UCLA's in a heartbeat?) I love this win. USC did not give away the game as much as yanked it away from Ohio State's grip. Barkley managed the final drive so beautifully. As much as the 14 play, 86 yard drive over 6:10 of the fourth quarter played with my heart, watching it again and again makes me smile:


But now on to Washington, or USC Northwest. Another tricky game with another mobile quarterback, this time with a better arm in another hostile environment. Another Pac-10 road opener... ugh I don't even want to relive that, but I guess I should:

• 09/25/08 - Oregon State 27, USC 21 (Oregon State led 21-0 at the half)
  
• 09/29/07 - USC 27, Washington 24 (3 turnovers, 16 penalties)
• 09/23/06 - USC 20, Arizona 3 (game was 10-3 to start fourth quarter)
• 09/24/05 - USC 45, Oregon 13 (Oregon jumped out to 13-0 lead)
• 09/25/04 - USC 31, Stanford 28 (Stanford led 28-17 at the half)
• 09/27/03 - California 34, USC 31, 3 O/T (Cal led 21-7 at the half, USC had 4 turnovers)
• 10/05/02 - Washington State 30, USC 27, O/T (10 penalties)
• 09/22/01 - Oregon 24, USC 22 (10 penalties, 4 fumbles, 3 interceptions)
• 09/30/00 - Oregon State 31, USC 21 (snapped USC's 26 game win streak over OrSt)
• 09/25/99 - Oregon 33, USC 30, 3 O/T (21! penalties)

 Ugh. Oh well, here's my top 10:

1. Florida (2-0) - won't have a test until Alabama/Ole Miss in the SEC CCG
2. Texas (2-0) - had the USC memorial slow start against Wyoming
3. Alabama (2-0) - cruising until Ole Miss game for chance to play Florida
4. USC (2-0) - still too many questions on offense and special teams
5. California (2-0) - I'm terrified of Jahvid Best
6. Penn State (2-0) - now the solid (if unspectacular) face of the Big Ten
7. Mississippi (1-0) - weak OOC schedule
8. Brigham Young (2-0) - another big test in first home game against Florida State
9. Boise State (2-0) - can we get BYU and Boise to schedule a home-and-home already?
10. Louisiana State (2-0) - by default, ugh

And the Pac-10 rankings

1. USC (2-0) - has Washington and Washington State to get ready for Cal
2. California (2-0) - can they finally win on the road? Minnesota will be a good test
3. Oregon State (2-0) - big test against Big East favorite Cincinnati
   
4. UCLA (2-0) - huge win over Tennessee, could be 3-0 entering Pac-10 play
5. Oregon (1-1) - rebounded against Purdue, Utah will be a test
6. Arizona State (1-0) - bye week hurt, but can't snooze on La-Monroe before Georgia
7. Arizona (2-0) - Iowa will show if Arizona will return to a bowl this year
8. Stanford (1-1) - blew 14 point lead at Wake, must recover against San Jose State
9. Washington (1-1) - finally broke that 15 game losing streak, but USC comes into town
10. Washington State (0-2) - 0-12 may loom for Pullman...
    

Freshman Barkley leads Trojans to romp

USC true freshman QB Matt Barkley went 15-19 for 233 yards and a TD as the Trojans relied on a heavy but balanced running attack to blowout the San Jose State Spartans 56-3. USC slept-walked through the first quarter, as RB Joe McKnight and TE Anthony McCoy both lost fumbles, and P Billy O'Malley shanked a punt 24 yards, which led to a Spartan field goal to give them a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Barkley struggled with his reads, though to his credit, did not make any bad decisions out there.

The offense exploded behind the ground game, as RB Stafon Johnson scored on two short touchdown runs and RB Allen Bradford exploded for a 43 yard scoring run as well. McKnight redeemed himself with a short score to extend USC's lead to 28-3 at the half as the rout was on. McKnight added a 54-yard touchdown run two plays into the second half, and Barkley tossed his first touchdown pass to TE Rhett Ellison midway though the third at the Trojans led 42-3 after three quarters. RB Marc Tyler scored from one yard out after ripping off a 63 yard run, and backup QB Aaron Corp converted a late fourth-and-goal with a 13 yard scoring pass to D.J. Shoemate to end the scoring at 56-3.

Besides the first quarter, could not really find a fault with the play-calling, which included a heavy emphasis on the run game with McKnight, Johnson, and Bradford getting most of the early reps, and safe passing plays, which meant a lot of boot slide plays where Barkley was moved out of the pocket as the outlet receiver, whether it be a fullback or tight end, would slide into the open area. The defense, with a lot of new faces, was suffocating, though that probably was partially due to the playcalling by the Spartans. The Trojan D held the Spartans to 121 yards of offense, including a paltry 9 yards rushing, for an average of 2.0 yards per play. San Jose State called a lot of QB read plays, where the running back would run in front of the QB, who had the option to hand off or keep the ball for a run. But the QB always would hand off to the RB, and the defense picked up on that right away.

Nice to see a solid win by the Trojans, but there were a lot of intriguing stories in the first week of the 2009 college football season.

• #14 Boise State defended their home turf by defeating a sloppy #16 Oregon team, 19-8, in a game that will be remembered more for LeGarrette Blount's antics after the game, where he sucker-punched a Boise State player and got into an altercation with some Boise fans. Blount's defenders will say he was provoked, but those same people will also say the punch was an overreaction, and I applaud the University of Oregon for acting quickly and swiftly, suspending Blount for the rest of the year. I hope USC would do the same if any of our players behaved in a similar fashion, as it reflects poorly on the university, and Oregon will have to do a lot to reverse the perception that the nation has of the school for a long time.
• In the game of the week, #5 Alabama flexed its SEC muscle over #7 Virginia Tech, 34-24, in a game that the Tide dominated in offensive yards. A valiant effort by the Hokies, but it was just another black eye for the ACC in a poor showing by the conference. One game remains on the week 1 ACC schedule, but the damage has been done. A quick look at what has happened:
• #5 Alabama defeated #7 Virginia Tech 34-24 in Atlanta.
  
• Baylor, the perennial basement dweller of the Big 12, defeated Wake Forest on the road, 24-21.
• Division 1-AA (FCS) William & Mary defeated Virginia in Charlottsville, 26-14.
• Another FCS school, Richmond, defeated Duke in Durham, 24-16.
• Maryland failed to showup to Berkeley as the Golden Bears rolled, 52-13.
• #15 Georgia Tech, #21 North Carolina, and Boston College defeated their FCS opponents, meaning the ACC went 3-2 against FCS competition, worse than Pac-10's 0-4 banner day against the Mountain West last season.
• South Carolina defeated North Carolina State on the road, 7-3 in the first game of the 2009 college football season.
• Clemson holds the ACC's lone win over FBS competition, a 37-14 victory over something called Middle Tennessee State.
• Speaking of those pesky FCS teams, remember when scheduling an FCS team meant an automatic win? Not so fast my friend:
• @ #22 Iowa 17, Northern Iowa 16 (Iowa blocked two UNI field goals in the last seven seconds)
• @ Central Florida 28, Samford 24
  
• Richmond 24, @ Duke 16
  
• @ East Carolina 29, Appalachian State 24
• @ Hawaii 25, Central Arkansas 20
• @ Indiana 19, Eastern Kentucky 13
  
• @ Kansas State 21, UMass 17
  
• @ Marshall 31, Southern Illinois 28
• @ Southern Methodist 31, Stephen F. Austin 23
• Villanova 27, @ Temple 24
  
• William & Mary 26, @ Virginia 14
  
• @ West Virginia 33, Liberty 20
• @ Wyoming 29, Weber State 22
• @ Air Force 72, Nicholls State 0 (ok, maybe not...)
  
• #20 Brigham Young pulled off the upset of the week, rallying for a 14-13 win over a shell-shocked #3 Oklahoma in the gorgeous Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.  The Sooners lost the reigning Heisman Trophy winner QB Sam Bradford with a shoulder at the end of the second quarter, and lost all of the swagger they had entering the game. Another early season blunder by coach Bob Stoops, and it will take a lot of repairing by Oklahoma for them to return to the Big XII title game.
• Washington gave #11 LSU all it could handle in Seattle in coach Steve Sarkisian's coaching debut. The Tigers won 31-23 after the Huskies scored a touchdown as time expiried, but LSU looks far from being a national title contender.
• #6 Ohio State almost got caught looking ahead to their date with USC, as Navy almost pulled off the shocker, instead they fell 31-27 after the Midshipmen's attempt to tie the game on a two point conversion was intercepted and returned for a safety. But despite Navy's heroics in closing the game to a two point game, their playcalling on the conversion was terrible, calling for a drop back pass instead of running from their base triple option offense. Ugh, the Buckeyes knew that was pass all the way. But Ohio State, who needed a late punt return to pull away from Ohio last year, 26-14, again struggled with their opponent before the USC game. And USC looked terrific against San Jose State. That said, I still give the slight edge to Terrell Pryor, who made some big legs with his arm and legs today.

And my top 10 (too early to know how to rank 25 teams...)

1. Florida (1-0) - failed to cover that 73 point spread, but Urban Meyer knows there are bigger fish to fry down the road, say Tennessee in two weeks
2. Texas (1-0) - giving up 20 points to Louisiana-Monroe probably not a good sign for the defense, and McCoy only converted 72% of his passes. Weaksauce.
3. Alabama (1-0) - give them credit for showing up huge in a big game in the first week of the season. The defense, despite the score, shut down the Hokies all day.
4. USC (1-0) - looks more like the #4 team than before today's romp. I had them slightly lower.
5. Oklahoma State (1-0) - the best team in Oklahoma? Gasp. But shut up those SEC supporters, so they get some extra points.
6. California (1-0) - are they the real deal this year? They looked like it in a romp over Maryland today
7. Ohio State (1-0) - very shaky against Navy, but could get back on track with a huge win over USC next week
8. Penn State (1-0) - jumped out 31-0 and went on cruise control, though may have to start impressing voters with their weak schedule
9. Mississippi (0-0) - ditto here, a blowout over Memphis on Sunday will keep them in top 10, if not, other teams will come knocking, like
   
10. Brigham Young (1-0) - Has a much bigger win on their resume than Boise State, and could be in the national championship hunt with their formidable schedule (Florida State, Utah, TCU remaining)

And the Pac-10 rankings

1. USC (1-0)
2. California (1-0) - though more like 1a. Very impressed with them. October 3rd can't get here fast enough for them.
3. Oregon State (1-0)
4. Arizona State (1-0)
5. Stanford (1-0) - finally get to a bowl?
   
6. UCLA (1-0) - looked promising when they fell behind 14-3, but proved to be too much for the Aztecs by scoring the game's final 30 points
   
7. Oregon (0-1) - ugly offense, uglier post game antics
   
8. Washington (1-0) - great effort should translate into a win against Idaho
   
9. Arizona (1-0) - struggled to score against Central Michigan
   
10. Washington State (0-1) - not expected to leave this spot all year