USC Loses to Oregon State. OK so what next?

Alright time to pick yourself off of the pavement. This was tough. But I think there are some very good things to look forward to. And our BCS chances are not gone...as a matter of fact, I think if we win out we have as good a chance as anyone. Let's go down the top 12 Ranked teams and disect why each one could be overcome:

1. Ohio State/ 2. Michigan - one goes down in the final game of the season. Even if its super close, one will fall to #3 or worse if there is a solid team waiting to take over the #3 spot.

3. USC 11-1 - imagine us here if we beat Cal, Notre Dame, Oregon in succesive weeks

4. West Virginia (Losses to either Loisville or Rutgers knock them out for the count

5. Texas - Big 12 Title game (vs. Nebraska?) or sooner. Can't keep getting lucky against conference midlevels. Why does that sound familiar?

6. Louisville losses to either WV or Rutgers. Not unheard of this year. Their computer ranking is going to suck no matter what.

7. Auburn - They keep barely beating SEC shit teams (OLE MISS?!?!) the pollsters will finally put them where they belong - behind Arkansas.

8. Tennessee - They are a solid team. But not that solid. They can lose any of their final games pretty easily.

9. Florida Loss SEC title game (vs. Arkansas hopeully) if not sooner

10. Clemson- Already Dead

11. Notre Dame - All wins except USC from Here on out
12. California - All wins except USC from Here on out
13. Arkansas - All wins except USC from Here on out

None of these things is very unlikely, however all of them happeneing AND USC winning out isn't. But its still there. So we have something to look forward to. And this season is just starting to get good!

A must read for all ND haters...(like me):

An explanation for Weis on why ND got passed in polls

BCS - and the bad news..

So the news is out that Michigan jumped USC in the polls this week. USC must have done something wrong in the bye week to deserve this. Most of you are saying who the f@#k cares, OSU and Mich play each other and the loser will drop out.

The streak man, the streak. USC has been ranked in the top 2 of the BCS for over 2 years. OK. I'm petty.

Also, for the record, I don't think West virginia is going to win out....

Leinart picked (way) below where he should have gone?

Tim Laydon in CNNSI questions why Leinart went so low in the draft. An obvious mistake if you look how he's playing for St. Louis.

"If only the pundits and at least nine NFL teams only understood last April that Matt Leinart didn't win all those games at USC with a weak arm or a weak stomach. Leinart, cool five o'clock shadow and cool entourage in waiting, was allowed to drift embarrassingly close to the middle of the first round because it had been determined by the draft machinery that he lacked arm strength, foot speed and some other intangibles (toughness, intelligence ... which of these things had Leinart not proven over and over again at USC?) of some sort.

Two recollections: First time I talked to Leinart. He was a couple weeks shy of his first start as a sophomore at USC. Taking over for Carson Palmer, Leinart was walking into the plains of Auburn, untested, thrown to the Tigers. I talked to him and he was as cool and confident as he is today. Didn't seem to mean much at the time, but you look back and there you go. It was no act.

Right after Leinart's senior year, I spent time with USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow. We watched some of USC's dismantling of Oklahoma in the national championship game and Chow, who would soon leave for the NFL, raved about Leinart's progress as a quarterback. Still, nine teams saw a weak-armed Cali-boy.

If only we in the media -- and that's all media -- were a little more patient and not so quick to build and then jump on bandwagons, we might see the flaws in early-season flashes."

Displaced Trojan....great blogpost

Don't forget to check the picture at the bottom. :D

Interview with Jarrett on record touchdown

His heart is in the right place.

Good to see some campus shots as well.

Fight on the bye week.

Matt Leinart's 1st Pro Touchdown

I gave it to Reggie so I got to give it to Matt (Reggie's was more exciting)

Stewey! You are so Bi

..Polar

from the article:
Why do you write an inordinate amount about USC? I don't read your column (gotta be honest, I don't have much respect for sportswriters), but every other time I notice your column it's about USC -- they're the greatest ever, they're terrible, they're not cheating, etc. Did you go there or something?
-- Jason Deegan, Marietta, Ga.

OK, since you asked so nicely and since you showed such admiration for me and my profession, I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm a maniacal USC fan.

Stewy, you just can't stand it that a California team continues to rule college football, can you? USC is 6-0. They've won two national titles in the last four years and finished No. 2 and No. 3 in the other two years. Deal with it, Mandel. Deal with it.
-- Larry the Big Man, Gary, Ind.

I'm sorry, Larry, I can't. I just hate USC so much.

Some good footage and interview...well..no judgement here

Homework time kids...

For those of you looking forward to the games ahead, please to be enjoying a relatively small download of the Cal vs. Oregon State game torrent played a few weeks back. Yes Cal looks great and Oregon State looks bad.

"This was like [Fuckin'] Mortal Kombat, Its fatality time [, bitches]"

CNNSI's (and USC Alumni)Arash Markazi, delves deep into the interworkings of USC's huddle on their final drive of their game against Arizona St. Apparantly C-Wash and Ryan Kalil made a pact in Blood that they were gonna take it down the field.

Sounds plausible.

Markazi goes on to drop a bunch of celebrity names and devolve the article into how he hangs out near cool people. Who knew?

But make no mistake: Leinart's still aces.

Justin Doom over at CNNSI has plenty of good things to say about Matt Leinart

If anyone saw the Monday Night Football game they understand that the Cardinals are chokers in the biggest way but obviously have a bright future ahead of them. Matt's game was superb against the best defense in the league and if it weren't for stupid mistakes would have won the game. As SC fans, we know he's got skills. I am glad to see him doing well in the NFL.

2005 Notre Dame Game Torrent

Get Some

BCS, BCS, BCS

Unless you've been hiding out under a rock (or internetless in Paris) you know that this years 1st BCS rankings came out on Sunday and yes USC is #2. Ohio State and Michigan who play each other the final week of the season are # 1 and 3 respectively so that means USC, if they can win out, have a direct shot at the National Chamionship.

Now you MAY recall that USC has had some somewhat lackluster performances over poor teams over the past few weeks. The pollsters have really come down hard on them. But not the Computers (I love technology). Thanks to USC's "toughest schedule in the nation" we ranked #1 in 4 of the Computer polls and 2nd in the other. As long as USC wins out, nothing can change that. No matter if the game is a blowout or a cliffhanger.


So will USC win out? A resounding no from the pollsters.

For me, if the team that played the 1st quarter vs. Arizona St. shows up, I'll see you at the BCS championship!


And one more thing!

IF USC loses to Cal...the computers would still have USC #2...who would have to lose for us to still not make the BCS finals?
Cal probably. Auburn? no. We kicked Ark. they got kicked by them. Florida? Nope - strength of schedule. W. Virginia - they are gonna have trouble with Rutgers and Louisville....who are shit teams. Wouldn't hurt for Ark. to win the SEC title - go HOGS!

You heard it hear 1st. USC goes into the national title with one loss vs. M...no I won't say it!

Stuart Mandel's "What's wrong with USC"

Oh Stuey! You did your homework. Yes there are plenty of things not going right with USC and you've looked at them all here.

If I may, however, I would like to point out some big picture items:
1. USC has the toughest schedule in the country
2. Every team that plays against USC is playing their game of the year
3. USC is 5-0 after losing more talent than most College football teams see in 10 years.
4. Pete Carroll always has his teams prepared to win.
5. Even though they are young the team knows how to win and what is on the line.


So will it be surprising to see Ohio State/Michigan vs. USC for the national championship?
Answer:No

Reggie Bush's 1st Pro touchdown

Reggie! Reggie!



I think the Onion put it best but yes Reggie scored his 1st NFL Touchdown in grand fashioned winning the game for the Saints.

Memories :')

Washington - USC Game Torrent

As promised, I have discovered last weeks Washinton-USC Game on Bittorrent. I know it ain't pretty, but its less stressful when you know how its going to come out. Now, anyone able to find the Trojan Rewinds?

Torrents

For those of you who love torrents, I was hoping to put up trojan related postings here. Last year there was a site called USCtorrents.com that was fantastic - usually games would be up within a week. this year - no such luck. Anyway - I found last years rose bowl on BitJunkie, my new favorite torrent site Click here to download.

I will definitely be looking to post much more (and upliting) games and Trojan rewinds and such.

Washington Close scores...

The last 2 games vs. very talented Washington teams have looked very bad for SC even though they came out with wins in both. However, this may be a blessing in disguise.

One thing that's certain is that USC isn't going to be overconfident going into the middle of the season. All of USC's Pac-10 opponents have played better than expected and have shown that any team can beat USC on any given Saturday. So as USC goes into its most important part of the year...with Jarett and others becoming healthy, USC knows that it must play every game out. There are no gimmees.

The skinny:
- Running back position has solidified. Fullbacks have stopped breaking legs.
- We have (when healthy) 3 world class recievers and a great Tight end
- Booty has shown signs of greatness. He needs to solidify this and get his confidence level up. Having healthy recievers and continuing to get good protection is key
- Linebackers started out the season otherwordly. Obviously someone in Washington has been watching some tape... A few missed tackles and open short yardage plays explosed some weakenesses.
- secondary - Taylor Mays is getting some good experience which is so important. by the end of they year he's going to be incredible. the other guys need to step up and get some INTs
- D-line. Not as dominant as the 1st few games. They need to make some plays (sacks, tackles for loss) that force fumbles and punts. Just not happening in the last few games.
- Special Teams. Breakout Day vs. Washington. A phenominally executed fake field goal and blocked punt and a great kickoff returnvs. Washington. Kudos for saving the game. Hopefully a sign of things to come.