On rankings

I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it is to be Stewart Mandell, or any AP poll voter for that matter. While the Bowl Championship Series has made major college football more of a national sport than it ever was in the pre-BCS days, it still remains largely a regional sport. As a voter, is it really possible to know enough about the 120 major football programs to be able to pull the 25 top teams and put them in order?

Consider Mandell’s recent “Five Things We Learned This Weekend” post. He notes that “reports of the Pac-10’s ascendancy were premature,” based on recent losses Cal has suffered to Oregon State and UCLA as well as USC’s loss to Stanford.

This is quite puzzling, considering that the common justification of the strength of the SEC is that it’s almost impossible for teams to make it through the season undefeated. It certainly was the rational last year, when a one-loss Florida team creamed Ohio State in the National Championship game.

The general consensus of the Pac-10 the past few years has been that it’s USC and nobody, therefore it’s easy for the Trojans to get to the big game. Yet this year, when any Pac-10 team can beat any other on a given Saturday, it’s just proof that the conference is weak.

Let’s just ignore the fact that previously No. 6 South Carolina, who was leading the southeastern division of the SEC, lost to lowly Vanderbilt(see photo). Let’s also ignore the fact that two-loss UCLA, in their loss to Notre Dame (ND’s only win on the season), was starting a walk-on at quarterback because of injuries.

Fans and the media alike were floored by USC’s loss to Stanford, yet they seem to conveniently forget (or are simply unaware of) the large number of injuries the Trojans had picked up in the last few games. They’d loss several linemen, two running backs (including their leading rusher, Stafon Johnson), two great linebackers and a number of cornerbacks.

The Pac-10 is tough this year, I guarantee that. Just wait until bowl season.

Failure, thy name is Booty.

I didn’t think it would happen this year, but USC lost. Not only did they lose, but they lost at home. And it was to Stanford, the worst team in the Pac-10. How did this happen, you ask? Three words (names, actually): John David Booty.

I’ll never understand why quarterbacks try to play through injuries that clearly affect the way they play. Sam Keller did it a few years ago for ASU, when he played with two broken fingers against (again) Stanford. The Devils ended up losing. Booty did the same thing, playing through the majority of the game with a broken middle finger. While the Trojans crushed the Cardinals in total yardage, Booty threw four interceptions, one of which led to Stanford’s last scoring drive.

Many of Booty’s passes ended up sailing high over receivers’ heads, which is saying a lot considering two of them are around six-foot four-inches tall. I’ll admit that the Trojan’s woes are not all Booty’s fault. Junior wideout Patrick Turner hasn’t matured as quickly as his predecessors Dwayne Jarrett or Mike Williams did. However, I have had some definite problems with Booty since about this time last year when USC lost to Oregon State.

First: Booty has a problem with touch. He throws the ball with the same velocity in almost every situation; receivers could be five yards away, and he still chucks it like he’s throwing down field. Because of this, his passes tend to be low enough that linemen can knock them down at the line of scrimmage, which is what ended game-winning drives against UCLA and Oregon State last year.

Second: I think opposing coaches have figured out how to play Booty – blitz the hell out of him. He panics under pressure and has trouble moving out of the pocket unless the play specifically calls for a bootleg. A lot of quarterbacks are immobile; the better ones will stand tall in the pocket and deliver a catchable ball knowing that they’ll get hit. Booty, however, is content to get rid of the ball just to avoid getting hit.

For example: Former Heisman Trophy Winner and USC quarterback Carson Palmer was injured in the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Steelers when he held onto the ball as long as necessary to allow Chris Henry to get open along the sideline. Palmer completed the pass, a 66-yard bomb that went for a touchdown, but tore his ACL and MCL when hit by Kimo von Oelhoffen. Following successful surgery and physical therapy, Palmer returned and is now considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Third: I don’t think Booty has “it.” If you look at the collegiate careers of both Palmer and Matt Leinart, you’ll notice that they were both able to make plays when the game was on the line. In recent memory, consider Leinart’s audible to get the Trojans out of 4th-and-9 in their own territory against Notre Dame or even his quarterback sneak to win the game. Booty has yet to show that he’s a confident leader who can make plays to win games.

This loss also falls on the coaching staff. There is absolutely no reason that Booty should have been left in the game. Even if they’d pulled Booty after interception number three, the defense is good enough to hold on to win a game against a team like this. Giving a team a short field is the worst thing you can do when your offense isn’t clicking.

I’m sure it’s hard for Coach Pete Carroll to move away from Booty. The guy left high school a semester early to come and join the team, thinking that he might get the start over Leinart; since then he’s waited patiently for his time in the spotlight. And perhaps the standards have been set too high, following two Heisman-winning quarterbacks.

By the way, the picture of Booty was taken from a facebook group. Hilarious.