• QB Mark Sanchez (New York Jets, 1st round, 5th overall pick) • 12 starts, quarterbacking a 6-6 squad that's one game out of the AFC playoff race
• LB Brian Cushing (Houston Texans, 1st round, 15th overall pick) • 12 starts, 5th in the NFL with 102 tackles (No. 1 among rookies), 3 INTs, 12 passes defended (best among all LBs)
• LB Clay Matthews (Green Bay Packers, 1st round, 26th overall pick) • 9 starts (appeared in all 12 games), 13th in the NFL with 7 sacks (No. 1 among rookies), 2 forced fumbles
• LB Rey Maualuga (Cincinnati Bengals, 2nd round, 38th overall pick) • 12 starts
• DL Fili Moala • (Indianapolis Colts, 2nd round, 56th overall pick) • Appeared in 6 games
• WR Patrick Turner (Miami Dolphins, 3rd round, 87th overall pick) • Appeared in 2 games
• LB Kaluka Maiava (Cleveland Browns, 4th round, 104th overall pick) • 3 starts (appeared in all 12 games), 33 tackles, 2 forced fumbles
• DL Kyle Moore (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4th round, 117th overall pick) • Appeared in 4 games
• K David Buehler (Dallas Cowboys, 5th round, 172nd overall pick) • Appeared in all 12 games, 20 touchbacks (No. 4 in the NFL) in just 60 kickoffs, 66.6 yard kickoff average
• CB Cary Harris (Buffalo Bills, 6th round, 183rd overall pick) • Appeared in 2 games
• S Kevin Ellison (San Diego Chargers, 6th round,189th overall pick) • 6 starts (appeared in 9 games), 36 tackles
  
  

TrojanWire has crossed enemy lines and will be publishing a Cal grad's weekly betting analysis for USC football.

Dr. Bob will be helping TrojanWire make weekly picks at the BetUS Sportsbook.

You can get Dr. Bob's Best Bet of the Week by subscribing to his service. Watch the ESPN video after the jump to see how Dr. Bob actually applied the BUAD 310 lessons you slept through.

------------------------------------------------

USC and Florida were about even in my ratings at the end of last season and it's a shame that the two best teams didn't get to face each other in the National Championship game. The reason for the Trojans' exclusion was a late September loss at Oregon State by a 21-27 count in a game in which USC out-played the Beavers 6.1 yards per play to 5.0 yppl but were -2 in turnover margin. USC may be able to afford one loss this season given the enhanced strength of the Pac-10 this season and the tougher non-conference schedule (at Ohio State and visiting a ranked Notre Dame team). While the Trojans could make it to the National Championship game with one loss, they should be favored to win each and every week, including at Ohio State (although they may not be).

Yes, USC must replace 8 defensive starters that were selected in April's NFL draft, including 4 in the first 2 rounds, but the Trojans' secondary is going to be just as good and most of the replacements along the defensive front 7 are going to be headed to the NFL when they're done kicking ass for the Trojans. FS Taylor Mays returns to lead the unit after earning 1st Team All-American honors last season and replacing departed defensive backs Kevin Ellison and Cary Harris will not be difficult, as new starters Shareece Wright and Kevin Thomas are better NFL prospects than either Ellison or Harris (both 6th round draft picks). In fact, Thomas defended more passes (7 broken up and 3 interceptions) as a back up last season than either Ellison or Harris did as starters. The question on the defense is the front 7, which employs 6 new starters and has to replace 4 players drafted in the first 2 rounds. There is always talent waiting to fill the holes at USC, but the holes are pretty big this year and the lack of experience may be a minor problem early in the season (we'll find out on September 12th). I don't expect the USC defense to be historically good as it was in 2008 (allowed a miniscule 3.7 yards per play to a schedule of teams that would combine to average 5.7 yppl against an average stop unit), but the Trojans should still rank among the best defensive teams in the nation.

While the defense has to replace many stars, the offense only has to replace one. Quarterback Mark Sanchez had an excellent season as the starter and will now be starting for the New York Jets. It's tough to imagine sophomore Aaron Corp or freshman Matt Barkley being as efficient as Sanchez was last season, but the same was said of Matt Leinart when he had to replace Carson Palmer and of John David Booty when he followed Leinart. The only bad year for the USC pass attack was in 2007 when the receiving corps lacked talent and experience after Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett left campus, but the Trojans' pass attack has rated between +1.8 yards per pass play better than average and +2.8 yppp in the other 6 seasons since 2002 and the average new starter during that time had a rating of +2.3 yppp. The receiving corps is loaded with talent and experience heading into this season and WR Damian Williams is poised for an All-American season after nabbing 58 balls at 15.0 ypc and 9 scores as s sophomore last season. I expect the new USC quarterback to be about 2.3 yards per pass play better than average, which is down some from the +2.7 yppp rating of Sanchez last season. The rushing attack, meanwhile, should be even better than last season. The top 4 backs return to run behind the nation's best offensive line, which returns 5 starters (although C O'Dowd is questionable to start the season) and the Trojans could average over 6 yards per running play after averaging a stellar 5.6 yprp last season behind an inexperienced line that returned just 1 starter. Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight, and company should enjoy running through the holes that this year's Trojans' offensive line should create. USC averaged 6.7 yards per play in 2008 (against teams that would allow 5.1 yppl to an average attack), and I think they could be even better this season.

USC's special teams were a mixed bag last season, as the punting (33.0 net average) and punt returns (opponents averaged 36.7 net) were bad while the kickoff team was the 2nd best in the nation (21.8 yard line average opponent field position after kick-offs) and the kick return unit was good (26.5 average return). The Trojans must replace the punter (no problem there) and kicker David Buehler but the kick and punt return specialists are back. The departure of P Woidneck is likely to be a positive, but Buehler did a great job on kickoffs (although a bit worse than average on field goals) and I doubt the Trojans can repeat their great kick-off coverage stats. However, I expect more out of the punt return team and the kick returns should continue to shine. USC should once again be good overall in special teams.

The Trojans rank as my #2 rated team behind Florida entering the 2009 season, but that rating is contingent on Corp or Barkley continuing the recent tradition of great USC quarterbacks. The first big test is at Ohio State on September 12th, but I think the Trojans will be better than the Buckeyes on both sides of the ball even if the new quarterback isn't quite ready to play at typical USC standards. The Pac-10 schedule presents tough tests at Cal and at Oregon and a non-conference road game against a Notre Dame team that for once may actually be pretty good (although still likely to lose by 10 to 14 points to the Trojans). It will be a tough task for USC to come away from those 4 challenging road games with 4 wins, but I'd favor the Trojans in each of those games. An 11-1 season and another BCS bowl win is the most likely outcome (unless that BCS bowl game is against Florida), as USC tends to slip up in one Pac-10 game every year.

WR Patrick Turner, 3rd round, 87th overall, Miami
OLB Kaluka Maiava, 4th round, 104th overall, Cleveland
DE Kyle Moore, 4th round, 117th overall, Tampa Bay
PK David Buehler, 5th round, 172nd overall, Dallas
CB Cary Harris, 6th round, 183rd overall, Buffalo
S Kevin Ellison, 6th round, 189th overall, San Diego

*DL Fili Moala was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in 2nd round (56th overall pick) on Saturday.

**UCLA did not have anyone drafted for the first time since 1997. FUCLA!

Former Trojans participating in today’s Pro Day at USC:

QB Mark Sanchez
WR Patrick Turner
LB Brian Cushing
LB Clay Matthews Jr.
LB Rey Maualuga
LB Kaluka Maiava
S Kevin Ellison
CB Cary Harris
DL Fili Moala
DL Kyle Moore
DL Gerald Washington
P Greg Woidneck
K David Buehler
TB Hershel Dennis
TB Desmond Reed
WR Jason Mitchell
TE Dominique Byrd

There will be around 100 representatives from the NFL. Players will be evaluated in the weight room and then on the field for running agility drills and individual workouts. All activities are closed to the public.

Hopefully the Penn State offense will soon be joining you all in popping numerous Advils to help ease the pain that will be inflicted upon them by the almighty Trojan D.

Full game diary after the jump.

Starting cornerback Shareece Wright will miss “a number of weeks” because of a neck injury, Trojans coach Pete Carroll announced after practice Monday.

Tests revealed a hairline fracture in one of Wright’s vertebrae. He originally suffered the injury against Ohio State on Sept. 13 when he collided with a teammate.

Senior Josh Pinkard will start in Wright’s place opposite Cary Harris when USC visits Oregon State on Thursday. Pinkard started three games in 2005 at cornerback and the season opener in 2006 at free safety. He missed most of the past two seasons because of knee injuries.

Kevin Thomas, who moves up to the No. 3 cornerback spot, is also a former starter. Both he and Pinkard played extensively in the first two games.

“Luckily we have some depth this year at that position, so hopefully there’s no drop-off,” defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. “I feel comfortable with whoever’s in there.”

USC will miss Wright on its punt-coverage team. Carroll called Wright “a great gunner.” Receiver Ronald Johnson will get first crack at that spot, with Thomas also in the mix, against Oregon State’s Sammie Stroughter, who returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown when the teams met in 2006.

Wright participated in non-contract drills Sunday after sitting out the previous three practices but reported lingering soreness. Carroll said that if the injury is like other broken bones, it could take six weeks to heal.

Carroll said Wright would have played against Oregon State if healthy despite facing a felony charge of resisting a police officer in connection with a party that got out of hand earlier this month.

Freshman T.J. Bryant will serve as the fourth cornerback against the Beavers.

Related links:

• LBs Brown, Galippo won’t play at Oregon State
• Garrett Green nudges ahead of Corp, Mustain

“The past Sunday when I got out of bed I could barely walk. I rehabbed all day,” he said. “On Monday morning I felt good. I was running.”

His status was uncertain for much of this week after he suffered a strained hip flexor last week that extended to his groin and abdomen.

He spent Sunday and Monday doing lunges and other strength drills, while sitting out practice. With the Trojans four-deep at cornerback, he might not have been able to afford to miss another day.

Wright, along with cornerback Cary Harris, is listed ahead of former starters Josh Pinkard and Kevin Thomas.

(more…)

Ted Miller has a spot-on look at the entire Pac-10. It is concise and worth a read.

In it he sites USC possibly owning a Firstary?

He is talking about the Seconday. He is talking about Kevin Ellison, Taylor Mays, Cary Harris and Shareece Wright. (Josh Pinkard could be in the mix as well, but we expect to see him lose a step or two from not playing for the past couple years due to injury.)

This physical crew gave up only nine touchdown passes a year ago -- the second-best total in the (Pac-10) conference was 17.

This is arguably the best secondary Pete Carroll, a DB himself, has ever had.

We sat next to USC's Firstary coach, Rocky Seto, at the A Better LA charity event a couple weeks ago. He spoke modestly of the group, but agreed it could be the key component to USC's defensive success.

As the night wore on, and the drinks kept coming, all we could say is more CB blitzes, more CB blitzes, more CB blitzes. It really is the most exciting defensive play. And a balls out, risk everything moment that captures the spirit of recent Trojan championship teams.

Breaking down the Pac-10 [ESPN]

Probably the best moment of the game came when RB Hershel Dennis scored his last touchdown for the Trojans. Dennis, a 6th year senior who battled knee problems and an ever-growing line of 5 star running backs never gave up and ended his Trojan career on a good note. I know I wasn't the only USC Sports Talk contributor who had a tear in the eye when Hersh scored. If he had scored on the last play of the game, I might have erupted in tears in joy.

Fight On!

"When they were beating people, they had a swagger when they went on the field. It's missing a little bit, like they've been wounded a bit. They have plenty of playmakers, but when they had Reggie Bush and those guys they had a determination."

USC is now missing a national title hope too. A long shot, but USC could still win the Pac-10 title if Oregon loses 2 of its final 4 conference games.

Otherwise, USC fans are rooting for Oregon to play in the national title game so USC could have a chance to play in the Rose Bowl.

Time to reminisce about better times...

It was a historic day for the Irish and one they would likely wish to forget. The USC Trojans beat Notre Dame 38-0 Saturday, in what has become the worse loss suffered by the Fighting Irish against the Trojans in their 79-year rivalry. And to pile it on it was the Trojans' sixth-straight win over the Irish, setting a new school record.

Backup quarterback Mark Sanchez could add another notch to his belt, after leading to the Trojans to a successful second-straight win as a starter. Sanchez replaced once Heisman-hopeful John David Booty, who has been resting his broken finger since USC's upset loss to Stanford weeks earlier.

But if you look at it closely, or did so at the end of Saturday's Arizona game, of the 16 original starters on that poster, guess how many were up and active, healthy and unscathed, at the end of the game?

Let's do the math.

Josh Pinkard and C.J. Gable are gone for the season.

Sam Baker limped off with a hamstring pull, more serious than the one that hit Terrell Thomas at the end of the game. Oh, and Kevin Ellison broke his nose. And Rey Maluaga had his hip speared by Cary Harris and is out with a painful hip pointer.

That's six.

Then there was John David Booty, out for the game with his fractured finger.

Brian Cushing didn't go either, with his ankle sprain that's kept him out more than 21 of the 24 quarters this season.

Neither did Chilo Rachal with his sprained knee.

Lost count by now? Well, it's nine.

That leaves the seven hanging in there: Taylor Mays, Chauncey Washington, Lawrence Jackson, Keith Rivers, Fred Davis, Patrick Turner and Sedrick Ellis.

And of that number, three (Rivers, Turner and Washington) have all missed time with injuries.

So when USC comes calling for the cover guys for next year's schedule poster, maybe you might just want to think twice.

Make that a thin cardinal line protecting USC's backfield, which also happens to be hamstrung by injuries. While every team looses players during the season (Cal lost to Oregon State without their starting QB, Stanford beat USC without their's), can anybody in the nation match up with the Trojan's carnage?

From USC football's weekly press release:

Already this season, 11 starters or projected starters have missed games with injuries:  S-CB Josh Pinkard (6 games), C Matt Spanos (3 games), TB C.J. Gable (3 games), LB Brian Cushing (3 games), CB Shareece Wright (2 games), OG Chilo Rachal (2 games), C Kristofer O’Dowd (2 games), QB John David Booty (1 game), CB Cary Harris (1 game), WR Patrick Turner (1 game) and TB Chauncey Washington (1 game).

Also, a number of key backups have missed games due to injuries: CB Kevin Thomas (6 games), OG-C Nick Howell (6 games), TB Broderick Green (6 games), TE Jimmy Miller (5 games), LB Chris Galippo (3 games), TB Stafon Johnson (2 games), WR Travon Patterson (2 games), OT Butch Lewis (2 games), OT Charles Brown (1 game), QB Mark Sanchez (1 game), S Will Harris (1 game) and CB Vincent Joseph (1 game).  Pinkard, Gable, Thomas, Howell, Green, Galippo, Patterson have season-ending injuries.

The impact of these injuries has been enormous. The team could be one fractured finger or a healed foot away from a 6-0 record.

Looking ahead to Notre Dame, here's more from the Sports Information Department:

POSSIBLE:  TB Stafon Johnson (foot), OT Sam Baker (hamstring), S Kevin Ellison (nose), OT Charles Brown (ankle), LB Rey Maualuga (hip), OG Zack Heberer (shoulder), QB John David Booty (finger), LB Brian Cushing (ankle), OG Chilo Rachal (knee), CB Shareece Wright (hamstring), C Kristofer O’Dowd (kneecap), TE Jimmy Miller (back).

OUT:  TB C.J. Gable (abdomen), WR Travon Patterson (foot), LB Chris Galippo (back), S-CB Josh Pinkard (knee), OG-C Nick Howell (hernia), TB Broderick Green (foot), CB Kevin Thomas (shoulder), OT Martin Coleman (shoulder), DE Trey Henderson, WR Damian Williams (shoulder).

That ignores all the players who are just dinged up (see Jeff Byers, pictured above) and leaves out two recently announced injuries to Kyle Moore and Terrell Thomas (hamstring).

Here's what John David Booty's hand looked like after practice today. He didn't throw at all, but he's supposed to try tomorrow with a glove.