2008 CFN Unit Rankings

Defenses

1. USC
When linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing decided to forego the NFL Draft for one more year, it ensured that the Trojans would have one of the nastiest back sevens in the country.  Not only are the two seniors All-America-caliber, but the secondary is sensational. Safeties Kevin Ellison and Taylor Mays are among six players with starting experience.  Even without current pros Sedrick Ellis and Lawrence Jackson, the defensive line will be just fine. On the outside, speedy Everson Griffen is good enough to make folks forget about Jackson. On the inside, senior Fili Moala is about to shed his anonymity while making a strong push for All-American honors and a spot in the first round of next year’s NFL Draft.    

Offenses

10. USC
Mark or Mitch? The battle between Mark Sanchez and Mitch Mustain to replace John David Booty at quarterback isn’t exactly over. Sanchez got the nod in April, but he got hurt and is questionable for the start of the season. Mustain has done nothing but impress the staff since transferring from Arkansas. Whoever gets the ball will have gobs of speed and explosiveness surrounding him. After getting a taste of action as a freshman, RB Joe McKnight is on the tarmac and preparing for national lift-off. The receivers are a year older, with the size, athleticism, and addition of former Hog Damian Williams to dominate opposing secondaries. The line loses four starters, putting the onus on sophomores Kristofer O’Dowd, Butch Lewis, and Zack Heberer to perform like vets.         

Defensive Backs

2. USC
SC has had the Pac-10’s best pass defense two years running. There’s more than enough returning talent and former prep All-Americans to run that streak to three, although a few more interceptions would be nice. In Kevin Ellison and Taylor Mays, USC is home to a couple of hard-hitting enforcers with All-America potential. If Josh Pinkard is even close to where he was a couple of years ago, no program in the country will be able to match them at the position. Sure to get picked on early, Shareece Wright needs to give opposing quarterbacks a reason to not look to his side.

Defensive Lines

3. USC
Sedrick Ellis and Lawrence Jackson were two of the first 28 picks in April’s draft, yet the Trojans are going to be more than fine up front. Fili Moala and Everson Griffen are the new headliners of a front wall that’ll rely on a deeper group of players this fall. The Trojans are so quick and strong up front, opposing backs are rarely able to get to the second level. Of course, not that things get any easier there. Moala is going to make himself plenty of money this fall, and Griffen and Kyle Moore are big enough on the outside to be valuable assets in run support.

Linebackers

1. USC
Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing are a pair of NFL-ready linebackers still hanging around the Pac 10. Their presence will help ease the transition of Luthur Brown or Kaluka Maiava into the lineup, while giving the program a couple of intimidating defensive players who opposing coaches will have to account for every Saturday. Led by Maualuga and Cushing, this group has a nose for the football and a gift for fighting through blockers to get to the ball carrier. With the front seven that USC will be rolling out this year, the only tackles the safeties and corners make will be on completed passes.

Running Backs

6. USC
Even after Emmanuel Moody transferred to Florida, there isn’t a school in the nation that features four backs as talented as the ones in this backfield. The Trojans are basically injury-proof, meaning even if one or two players went on the shelf, the running game would survive. As is the case with many USC positions, Pete Carroll will be forced to do a juggling act to be sure that all of his gifted runners are well fed throughout the season.  It’s going to be a challenge.  While Joe McKnight is the star-in-waiting, Stafon Johnson might actually finish the year with the most carries.

LOS ANGELES -- USC coach Pete Carroll told reporters Sunday who he thinks is going to start at Virginia on Aug. 30.

"It could be Mitch [Mustain], Aaron [Corp] or Mark [Sanchez]," he said. "We don't know yet. Right now Aaron and Mitch are so close that the difference is not that obvious -- to you guys or anybody that's watching."

The key new piece of information: When asked if he thought injured starter Mark Sanchez, who's nursing a dislocated knee cap, would take snaps this week, Carroll said, "Probably not." Then he added that Sanchez could "surprise everybody" and return this weekend.

In other words, the early optimism that Sanchez could be fully recovered by the opener has been watered down just a bit, and Corp, a redshirt freshman, has narrowed the gap between himself and Mustain, a sophomore.

Mustain, the No. 2 coming out of spring practices, has been unable to step up and assert himself with Sanchez sitting in a golf cart, watching practice. That's allowed Corp, who said his comfort level with the Trojans offense has improved, to chip away at the gap between the two over the 10 days since Sanchez hurt his knee, including outplaying Mustain in Saturday's scrimmage at the Coliseum.

"I've had days where I've looked really good and I've had days I've struggled," Mustain said. "I have no idea how they've evaluated it."

Carroll made one clear evaluation with reporters after Monday's practice. On his own, he brought up an interception Mustain threw as he scrambled out of the pocket.

"Those types of decisions are game-crushers," Carroll said.

The emphasis for the Trojans defense during the preseason is forcing turnovers. But Carroll doesn't want his quarterbacks to make things easy on them.

With a defense that's going to be tough to consistently score on, Carroll wants his QB to manage the game, not get fancy.

"A big part of this evaluation is who's ready to handle the game and make good choices and give us a chance to win the football game," Carroll said. "We're not looking for our quarterback to be spectacular and carry the whole load. We never have."

On the other hand, if Carroll has to choose between Mustain and Corp with Sanchez sidelined, he likely will look favorably on Mustain's experience, which includes eight starts as a true freshman at Arkansas.

It's appears, however, that Carroll wants to push Mustain toward more consistency, and if Mustain doesn't respond to said pushing, Carroll's prepared to go with Corp.

"Everything is still up in the air," Carroll said. "There's no rush yet."

You'd think -- considering Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Virginia all rank in top 15 schools for spending on recruiting athletes in all sports. In 2006-07, Tennessee led the nation at $2 million. The Irish were second at about $1.75 million, the Buckeyes 10th at $1,236,800, and the Cavs 15th at $1,112,000.

With most of the costs going to travel, the median Division 1 program spent $632,600 on sports recruiting in 2006-07. Twenty one schools spent over $1 million. The findings are published in a report from the Chronicle of Higher Education which is dated August 1, 2008.

USC spent $903,799 on recruiting in that same period, of which $268,449 was spent on women's recruiting.

Some other familiar football opponents made the top-20 in spending, including Auburn, Nebraska, Arkansas, Illinois, Texas, and Oklahoma.

Of the six BCS conferences, the Pac-10 spent the 5th most on recruiting, $834,700,000 -- an increase of 80% from ten years before. Oregon led the league at $1,077,300, 19th highest in the country.

So who does Phil say has the most difficult schedule? Georgia

See if you can find a trend in Steele's top 10 difficult schedules:

1 - Georgia
2 - Florida
3 - Arkansas
4 - UCLA
4 - Alabama
6 - Auburn
7 - Ohio State
7 - Kentucky
9 - Colorado
9 - Baylor
9 - Washington
9 - Oregon State

Again, I don't think this is the proper way to rank strength of schedule, but... it's a Monday in May and ya take what you can get, ya know?

Comment on Ranking the 2008 schedules...

A few highlights....

Champs Sports Bowl ... Virginia vs. Illinois
Meineke Car Care Bowl ... Florida State vs. Pitt
Texas Bowl ... Colorado vs. Rutgers
PetroSun Independence Bowl ... Nebraska vs. Arkansas
Alamo Bowl ... Michigan State vs. Kansas
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl ... Texas vs. Oregon
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl ... Wake Forest vs. Alabama
Chick-fil-A Bowl ... Boston College vs. South Carolina
Outback Bowl ... Michigan vs. LSU
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl ... Miami vs. Notre Dame
Capital One Bowl ... Penn State vs. Auburn
AT&T Cotton Bowl ... Oklahoma vs. Tennessee

Rose Bowl presented by Citi ... Wisconsin vs. USC
CFN is basically rubber stamping the winner of USC - Ohio State into the National Championship game. From the outcome of this prediction, I guess CFN is throwing in with the Buckeyes. This one looks dead on to me, unless USC ends up in the championship game, then this one becomes tOSU against the Sun Devils.

Allstate Sugar Bowl ... Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
By putting the Bulldogs into the Sugar, CFN is calling the WLOCP the defacto SEC championship. Take that as you will, Georgia fans. Va Tech looks like the class of the ACC, but CFN pulls them into the Sugar as an at-large. If there's one conference that has proven itself to be way to whacked out to predict, it's the ACC. I think Georgia/Arkansas are safe SEC picks, but give me Clemson from the ACC side.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl ... Missouri vs. West Virginia
The Fiesta gets its traditional first pick of the at-large teams and takes the 'Eers. I'm not sure that Missouri will be the Big XII champs. CFN is hedging, with Texas Tech as their second choice, but... I wouldn't count out the Sooners... ever. I think Oklahoma - West Virginia makes more sense.

FedEx Orange Bowl ... Clemson vs. Texas Tech
If there is one prediction that I think is off the mark, it's CFN's prognostication for the Orange. I would be willing to take the field here at any odds, because I don't see a Tigers - Red Raiders matchup in Miami. I think the Hokies are the most likely candidate here for the ACC, versus an at-large team. For my prediction, give me VaTech (ACC Champs) versus Arizona State (at-large) or maybe even Utah (at-large).

FedEx BCS National Championship ... Ohio State vs. Florida
The Buckeyes and Gators in the National Championship game... where have we seen that before? This one is just as likely to be USC-Florida, which would probably be the highest rated college football game ever. If Florida gets to the BCS title game and wins, I think you will have seen the last of #15 in orange and blue. Just sayin'.

Comment on CFN posts its 2008 Bowl Game Predictions...

Based on an initial count, NFL teams drafted 10 players from USC over the weekend, more than from any other college. That included four players in the first round and seven in the first two rounds. Those figures also ranked first for this draft. Virginia Tech had eight players drafted, followed by LSU (seven), Michigan (six), Arkansas (six) and California (six). Miami had three players taken from the 31st through 71st overall spots, but that was it.

While much of the country hasn't begun to thaw out, the Trojans started spring practice under beautiful SoCal skies. At first it seemed like there might be a little rust, but then Joe McKnight would take a fast step or Christian Tupou would show some muscle and the team looked sharp as always.

All eyes are on the battle at quarterback battle but there's little to report on that front. Mark Sanchez is still the leader and Mitch Mustain is hot on his tail. Aaron Corp, who used to look pretty lanky, seemed much more solid (he's added 18 pounds since coming to USC). Coach Pete Carroll remained noncommittal on whether he'll even name a starter by the end of the 15-session camp. Regardless, the fact that USC has a trio of five-star recruits competing for quarterback should frighten the bejebus out of their opponents in 2008.

Yet another five-star quarterback, Matt Barkley, was also on the practice field. He was just stopping by since he's only a junior in high school. The youngest ever Gatorade National Player of the Year has already committed to the Trojans.

There will be several other compelling position battles to watch. Ricky Rosas, special assistant to Pete Carroll and Gatorade bartender extraordinaire, said he plans on paying special attention to the tailbacks and wide receivers. Similar to last year, USC has an embarrassment of riches in their backfield. In the receiving corps, transfer Damian Williams from Arkansas was a breath of fresh air and looks ready to make a big impact.

Speaking of Ricky and Barkley, both are nominated in the 2008 Southern California Sports Awards put on by ESPN 710.

LA Times football writer Gary Klein stopped by after practice to talk shop -- click play to get some more reflections on USC's first day back in the trenches:

You can also catch a few minutes from Pete Carroll's post-practice media gaggle:

UPDATE: If you listen to the audio above, Carroll doesn't get pinned down on naming a quarterback by the end of camp, merely saying, "That'd be nice ... I don't care when it happens." But offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian left little doubt that it will happen by April 19. I wouldn't call that a discrepancy, just more specificity.

(Pete’s last-known Facebook photo)

• MJD of YAHOO SPORTS gets a paper cut, as he finds the form to attend Duke University Flopping Camp.

• The COLUMBIA TRIBUNE shows how Missouri football is fast-becoming a big-time program, as a sophomore Tigers linebacker gets arrested for pulling out a gun.

(more…)

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From LATimes.com:

What's your relationship like with Mitch?

It think it's similar to the way John David and I were at the beginning when I first came in. We're cordial. We don't go out of our way to hang out around campus or anything like that but if he ever needed a ride or I needed a ride we can talk to each other about whatever. We're good friends. . . . There's no hatred. As much as [people] try and put you against each other it's not like that at all. We both obviously want to play just like any quarterback would. And the toughest part is that it's not like a receiver or a lineman or a running back where you rotate. There's one quarterback.

What do you think is Mitch's best attribute?

He has a great arm. He can throw the ball through a brick wall; he really has a strong arm. His experience at Arkansas will help him because he played just as many if not more games than me in a big-time conference at a major Division I school. It's not like there were any slouches. He was playing against good players and good teams.

Definitely worth reading the whole thing.  Tomorrow, Gary Klein is posting his interview with Mitch Mustain.  The media is already hyping the battle between the two QB's but I don't buy it, I think the battle will be a tug-of-war for Pete Carroll's patience.  As far as I'm concerned, Mark will be the starter at Virginia unless he absolutely tanks in epic proportions during Spring/Fall.  Whether he gets 1, 2, or 3 bad games on his insurance card is what I believe is truly at stake during Spring/Fall camp.

I've said numerous times before that I've watched Mark since he was at MVHS and I believe he will not only be a Heisman finalist (and possible winner) before he leaves SC, but will also lead us to the NC (whether we win depends on the opponent).  A lot of SC fans seem to be jumping on the Mustain bandwagon, but I'm sticking with Mark through and through.  Only time will tell...

USC 12

Virginia Tech 11

Arkansas 8

LSU 8

Cal 7

Oklahoma 7

Texas 7

Michigan 7

Baylor 0