Arkansas
How distrustful are Southeastern Conference coaches of league officials? At the moment, it's off the chart. Tennessee's Lane Kiffin acknowledged that he decided against running another play before his team set up for a field goal that would have beaten Alabama because he was fearful officials would have found another way to penalize his team. Tennessee was one of...
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USC could make a strong claim to be "America's Team."The Trojans have become the antithesis of a provincial program, as the roster and, most notably, the starting lineup are loaded with players from around the country.Nine of the Trojans' 22 starting roles are filled by players from out of state, continuing a recent trend of USC putting non-Californians in...
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(Photo by Icon Sports Media)
This is the best Notre Dame team USC has played since the Trojans barely escaped South Bend in 2005 with a win. Quite a few experts are picking a Notre Dame victory due to the Irish being led by Heisman Trophy candidate Jimmy Clausen, the Trojans playing back-to-back road games (please note the bye in between) and this being a landmark game for the Irish program.
The experts who are predicting a Notre Dame upset must also think the Trojans are going to revert back to penalty and turnover laden football. If the Trojans keep penalties down and win the turnover battle, they will win the game. Unless the Trojans get up big early, I expect it to be a tight battle that will come down to some classic 4th quarter drives.
1-- Play Disciplined Football: #1 priority every week! Limit turnovers and penalties.
2-- Contain ND's running game: Though Jimmy Clausen has thrown 12 TD's only 2 Int's and leads the nation in passing efficiency, he will only have success against the best secondary in the country if the Trojans give up over 120 yards on the ground. If the Trojans put Clausen in obvious pass situations, he will make mistakes. The throws he has gotten away with against much lesser defenses will not happen against the Trojans.
3-- Don't Let the Golden One get loose in the Red Zone: Wide Receiver Golden Tate is having a phenomenal year. He is a big and athletic and Clausen loves to throw him fade routes and he is great at catching high passes. The Trojans need to make sure he is well covered in the red zone and force other ND players to make plays when it counts.
4-- Stay aggressive and balanced offensively: QB Matt Barkley is playing with a swagger after the Cal game and the Trojans need to take advantage of that. Barkley seems to have his hands around most of the playbook and with Ronald Johnson back, the Trojans need to stretch the field early. Even if some of the deeper throws are incomplete, it will soften the ND defense up and the Trojan running game should be able to have a great day. The Trojans should be able to run for over 200 yards.
5-- Avoid the 2nd and 3rd quarter lull: The Trojans cannot suffer some of the 2nd and 3rd quarter lulls they have had this season. The best case scenario for the Trojans is to get up early on the Irish and not let them back in the game for a 4th quarter run. The Trojans are best to avoid the 4th quarter magic that Clausen has been mastering this season.
More notes after the jump...
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That’s what it’s going to be like this Saturday, possibly the most important day on this season’s Heisman schedule. Between Texas-Oklahoma, USC-Notre Dame and Florida-Arkansas, the action will include TWO current Heisman winners, THREE major candidates for the 2009 Heisman, an undetermined number of future Heisman challengers (among the various underclassmen on the rosters), and FIVE traditional Heisman powers with a...
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A glorious week ahead. Five days of football, starting Tuesday night with Arkansas State at Louisiana Monroe. The Red Wolves open as 3-point favorites.On Wednesday, Boise State is at Tulsa. This could be one of the last major challenges for the Broncos, who are trying to go undefeated and earn a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game. Boise...
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Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller The backup quarterback is just a bruised shoulder or broken jaw away from taking over the most critical position on the field -- just ask USC or UCLA. There's already been plenty of quarterback movement in the conference -- injuries, depth chart changes, etc. -- so it seemed like a good time to see...
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• Out of the woods. Doctors said the neck and throat injury USC running back Stafon Johnson sustained while lifting weights Monday would have killed a normal person without Johnson's marbled neck, but he was alert Tuesday after a marathon seven-hour surgery, communicating nonverbally with visitors and attempting not to laugh at Pete Carroll. And, assuming his recovery goes...
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In a battle between last place teams in the Pac-10 standings, the 12th ranked Trojans (2-1) face an overmatched Washington State Cougars (1-2) team on Saturday at 7:15 pm in the Coliseum.
Though the Cougars are coming off an exciting come from behind overtime win against SMU, they are limping into the Coliseum and will have a tough time putting up much of a fight against the Trojans.
The main goals for the Trojans are to work on eliminating crucial mental mistakes that plagued the team in Seattle (penalties and turnovers) and making progress in the passing game.
Six things to look for in the Coliseum on Saturday:
1-Dominant defensive performance: The Cougars started the season with the dubious distinction of having the least amount of talent in the Pac-10 and just three games into the season they are already down 4 starters on the offensive side of the ball. They have lost two starting offensive lineman, the #1 Wide Receiver left the team to focus on track and the starting Running Back injured his knee against SMU and is out for the year.
USC’s Defensive Line will absolutely dominate the line of scrimmage allowing them to pressure the QB while being able to drop the Linebackers into coverage. The Trojans should also be able to man-up the Wide Receivers in tight coverage allowing the Linebackers and Safeties to make plays on the ball. The Trojans should come up with at least 2 to 3 turnovers.
-What to look for offensively after the jump!
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T-Wire's BetUS PICKS is back!
We would have scratched last week, but in the words of Bobby Bowden, Gah dammit, we just couldn't lay off and lost $50 on Florida State.
Here are our picks after 5 minutes of thought before we head to the airport for Columbus.
Three Team Parlay $25 to win $150
Notre Dame (-4) over Michigan
USC (-7.5) over Ohio State
Nebraska (-22) over Arkansas St
If you care to join us, or show how much better you are at this than us, sign up with BetUS... they've got our game.
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Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller I apologize I forgot to tell you last week to watch the post-game at Boise State. I talked to more than a few folks who clicked their TVs off either late in the fourth or at the final bell and missed all the, er, fun. As for this week, we've got three marquee nonconference...
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Texas A&M Football To Play USC & Oregon Texas A&M has added two perennial football powers to its future football schedule in USC and Oregon, Director of Athletics Bill Byrne announced late Wednesday. "I am happy to report we will be adding two west coast schools to our football schedule, the USC Trojans and the Oregon Ducks," Byrne said. "When...
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Safety Josh Pinkard is currently playing on the kickoff and punt return. Hopefully he will not be on those teams if USC is ahead of San Jose State by 40 points, like in that blowout victory over Arkansas in 2006....
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