Fight on.
October 2, 2007
For those of you who caught the USC-Washington game, I don’t need to tell you how big of a bullet the Trojans dodged on a day when five of the top ten teams in the country were upset. Following two dominating performances on the road at Nebraska and at home against Washington State, the Trojans showed that perhaps they shouldn’t be the number one team in the country by barely beating the Huskies 27-24.
On the bright side, USC was able to win a game in which almost everything went wrong. The Men of Troy committed 16 penalties for 161 yards, compared to Washington’s 190 total yards. Add those penalties to two interceptions thrown by John David Booty, the loss of two offensive linemen and the loss of yet another cornerback, and you have the makings of a close game. In pure productivity, the Trojans dominated the Huskies, putting up 460 total net yards, 224 of which were picked up on the ground mostly by tailbacks Chauncey Washington and Staffon Johnson.
This year’s USC squad, with a preaseason ranking of No. 1, is a team that was supposed to be defined by 10 starters returning on defense. Following a litany of injuries, the Trojans are down to their third or fourth string cornerback on one side and are missing their best pass-rushing linebacker, Brian Cushing. It’s nice, however, to see that if one aspect of the offense isn’t working for the Trojans, they can always fall back on the other. It’s a luxury that they didn’t have last year when Washington was often hurt and with four true freshman in the rotation.
People may think I’m crazy, but I still see this team easily handling Oregon and Cal. Stewart Mandel called their weekend matchup one of the best games of the season, but I still think that USC is a way more physical team on defense and offense. Many people question USC’s defense against Oregon’s deadly spread offense, citing that the Ducks would have beaten the Bears, if not for three turnovers in the red zone on their last three drives. Stewart Mandel makes an excellent point on how to beat the spread following SFU’s victory over former No. 5 West Virginia. Pete Carroll has gone on record saying this is his speediest defense yet…
I think Arizona State looks to be the toughest game for the Trojans. Football fans know that Dennis Erickson, no matter where he’s coaching, should not be underestimated. The Sun Devils have shown that they’re a physical team and that they can play tough through four quarters. They’ve played two games this year where, in the first quarter they were down by at least two touchdowns, only to fight back and win. One of these wins came against a Colorado team that just downed former No. 3 Oklahoma. ASU’s next two matchups will show a lot about what type of team Erickson has. The Devils play on the road at Washington State, a team they should beat easily (the test is that it’s on the road), and at home against Washington and the future of the Husky program, quarterback Jake Locker. For those unfamiliar with Jake Locker, he’s called the Tim Tebow of the west…
