USC Continues a Disturbing Pattern

First off, congrats to WA - in particular to Sark and Holt - for upsetting Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans!

Here is my breakdown of the game:

• Having seen Aaron Corp up close and personal for 2 years prior to taking over the WA Huskies, Sark and Holt came up with the perfect gameplan to upset the USC Trojans. They stuffed the box and dared the Trojans to beat them with the passing game. SC just couldn't do it.
• The playcalling by SC left me scratching my head. I could be wrong, but the team didn't run a single "play action pass" play the entire game. Seeing that WA was stuffing the box to stop the SC running game, why wouldn't you call a play action pass? Get the WA secondary to bite on a fake running play to allow your receivers to steal a step for a big pass play. Also, I don't understand why SC did not try to move the pocket or run some bootlegs (playing to Corp's strength, his mobility) to give him time to find open receivers or to run the ball himself?
  (Note: I am a big Norm Chow fan. I don't find it coincidental that SC has not won a BCS Championship since he left. I'm just saying...)
  
• Turnovers: USC 3, WA 0. To make matters worse, all 3 turnovers were in the red zone for the Trojans. Just one of those turned into a score would have been the difference.
• Time mismanagement: not getting off the field goal at the end of the 1st half was horrendous. This was the direct result of running a running play on 3rd down when the team had no timeouts remaining. SC doesn't get the first down to stop the clock and time runs out before they can attempt the field goal. Again, questionable playing calling that took 3 points off the board for SC.
  
• SC could not convert on 3rd down situations (see point above), while WA could. Prolonging possessions gave WA more opportunities to control the game and the game clock.
  
• Aaron Corp looked like he hasn't played in a long long time. Or maybe he just isn't that good? This may explain why Coach Carroll didn't want to name Corp the starter during the week and was hoping that Barkley could play this game. Aaron just did not look like a leader as he did not instill any confidence in the offense.
  
• As I said last week, the SC offense not being able to score would be a big problem. Little did I know that it would cost SC the game against WA. Imagine what the score will be when SC plays Cal or the D'oh-mers.
• Punting is still a major problem for the Trojans. If the offense can't move the ball, SC is going to need better production from the punting game as you can't average only ~35 yards per punt. WA was getting good to excellent field position from almost every SC punt.
  

It'll be interesting to see how far the USC Trojans drop in the Top 25 standings. If the drop is like Oklahoma State, the Trojans will be in the teens. The only saving grace is that WA played LSU tough as well. If not for that, the Trojans may be dropping into the twenties next week.

Well, just like the last few years, SC loses a game it had no business losing. The disturbing pattern continues...and the toughest games are yet to come. It may be a long season, SC fans.

USC vs Ohio State - What a Game!

Wow wow wow...



It was the game I expected and it was the game I didn't expect.

First off, the things I expected:

• The Buckeyes played one hell of a game! I had a feeling they would...given 1) the score from last year's game and 2) OSU wanted to shut their critics up. My hat is off to the Buckeyes...there is nothing to be ashamed about from this loss. They left it all on the field. No one can ever say that OSU can't play with the top ranked teams.
  
  
• The SC defense came to play and thank goodness for that!
  

The things I didn't expect:

• The SC offense was dreadful (other than the final game-winning drive). Of course, this had a lot to do with the way the Buckeye defense played as the Buckeyes pushed the SC O-line and pressured Matt Barkley all night long. However, this was supposed to be the strength of the team, so this was very disconcerting. Only scoring 18 points is not going to cut it against Cal or Notre Dame.
  
  
• The SC special teams was even more dreadful than the offense (poor punting, missed tackles on returns, screwing up a punt for a safety, etc.). Is this what we can expect with the special teams even though we have a Special Teams coach this year? Not a very good return on investment on the coach's salary (if you ask me)!
  
  
• Matt Barkley was calm and poised tonight. That game-winning drive will go down in SC Football lore just like Matt Leinart's drive against Notre Dame in 2005 (you know, the Bush Push).
  

The team gets to enjoy the victory tonight and then immediately starts to prepare for the Washington game next Saturday. I have a feeling it'll be a tough game against the Sark offensive playbook and the Holt defensive schemes. It's basically a battle between the teacher (Coach Carroll) vs his pupils (Sark and Holt).

Fight On!

Update 9/13/09:

The Barkley drive and Leinart drive for your viewing pleasure: