This is nothing new, but we came across these renderings on architectural firm RTKL's site.
RTKL made its name in sports by helping HOK Sport (now Populous) fit Camden Yards into inner-city Baltimore in the early 1990s, but since 1999 they've been cooking up the master plans behind LA LIVE, which reaches its completion in early 2010 with the opening of a 54-story building that houses a JW Marriott Hotel, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Residences and a 14-screen Regal Cinemas.
Back to the LA Coliseum... besides the NFL logos we can't help but see how this would be a drastic improvement to our Trojan sanctuary.
First there is respect for the original structure. The oversize jumbotrons plopped atop the Peristyle have been removed and replaced with jumbotrons exhibiting a more modern screen. The Miller Lite game clock removed to bare the Olympic rings. AT&T, Muscle Milk, and other garbage banners hanging from the colonnade are non-existent.
The roof canopy can provide shade to those in the bleeders and channel the awesomeness that is the noise of 93,607 down onto the field. Works for those fuckers up in Oregon.
The luxury boxes, eh... it's not really college football. But Ohio State's Horseshoe is a magnificent stadium. And it has suites and does a great job of balancing the modern with the classical, specifically the outer facade with the modern interior. Additionally, luxury boxes could open the way to bring booze back to the Coliseum. There's already booze at events that rent out the space below the Peristyle and just like the Founders Room at Galen Center, money would buy access to influence. And everyone lucky enough to know someone could go there at halftime and get back under the influence.
One more image of the improved Coliseum after the jump.
Saturday marks USC's sixth road game of the season, putting an end to the team's away schedule for the year. It's the earliest any Pac-10 team will wrap up its road slate, as all other conference teams have one, two or even three away games remaining after this weekend."We've had an amazing run on the road," Coach Carroll told... more »
The Trojans have survived tough road environments this year at Ohio State, Cal and Notre Dame. However, the biggest test of the year will be Saturday night at the toughest place to play in the Pac-10, Auzten Stadium, where the Trojans will battle the 10th ranked Oregon Ducks.
The Trojans will have to survive a real house of hunts with a raucous Halloween night crowd, rain and wind in the 1st half and an Oregon team that is operating at the top of its game.
The fourth ranked Trojans have not left the state of Oregon with a victory since 2005 and will have to play together and disciplined in all phases of the game to for them to leave with a victory.
5 things to keep track of plus the obvious:
1- USC’s Defensive Line vs. Oregon’s Offensive Line: Oregon’s offensive line is fairly inexperienced and has yet to play a top tier defensive line. The Trojans must get penetration early and break-up Oregon’s offensive rhythm. The key to stopping any spread attack is linebackers being able to stay home and cause havoc on the short passing game and mis-directional running plays.
The emergence of the spread offense has led defensive coaches to really focus on it in the offseason and will see if that hard work pays off on Saturday.
2- Force Oregon into obvious passing situations: The Oregon offense is very potent when they are running the ball 2/3 of the time and not forced into throwing situations longer than 10 yards. Oregon only averages 157 yards passing a game. The hurry up aspect of Oregon’s offense is based on a solid running game where they like to hand it off or throw a pass behind the line of scrimmage 85% of the time.
Oregon prefers to throw the ball less than 20 times and Masoli is a weak mid to deep thrower under pressure. Evidence of that was clear in USC’s 44-10 victory over Oregon in the Coliseum last year.
Oregon tailback LaMichael James might be the second best back in the conference behind Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rogers. He is a great cut-back runner and has the ability to make a big gain at the blink of an eye. Containing James will be the key to forcing Oregon into 3rd and long situations.
Barkley, 19, is living out his dream in becoming the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Trojans. "That is a goal of mine, to get to the point where I feel like I'm the best player in the country," he says. Matt Barkley made headlines Sept. 5 in a game against San Jose State at the... more »
USC's Taylor Mays rips the helmet off Oregon State receiver James Rodgers in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game at the L.A. Coliseum. "I didn't mean to rip the dude's helmet off," Mays said. A Pacific 10 Conference official has been suspended for not calling a facemask penalty on Mays. The league did not identify the official.... more »
Observations from the Coliseum and a few injury updates:
Mike Riley is a great coach: Riley proved once again that he is one of the most underrated coaches in the country. Why Tennessee (Riley has southern roots) or programs that have the infrastructure to be consistent top 15 teams have not intensely pursued him blows my mind. Riley and the OSU coaching staff had the Trojans number for the second year in a row on Saturday and he made one of the best defenses in the country look very pedestrian. Oregon State never quit and was one possession away from possibly winning the game.
The Rogers brothers aren’t too bad either. . .307 total yards and 2 touchdowns against the best defense in the Pac-10…
USC game MVP’s= Alan Bradford and Jeremy Bates: Is Lendale White back playing for the Trojans? Alan Bradford sure brought back memories of the former great Trojan tailback. The Trojans are starting to develop a mini Thunder-Lightning package which is going to really help keep opponents guessing. Bradford’s bruising style of running is complemented by deceptive top end speed that allows him to break off big runs like the 46 yard touchdown run in the second half. When Bradford is running hard it gives the Trojans offense a power mentality that fires everyone up and is the perfect compliment to a finesse style of offense.
Jeremy Bates called another fantastic game. With the exception of calling a long pass play in the 4th quarter up 13 points which was intercepted, Bates mixed up his play calling brilliantly and took advantage of a porous Oregon State pass defense. Bates continued to utilize the Tight Ends while allowing the running game to get into a rhythm.
(More on Bates and other observations after the jump)
License to kill Beavers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill Beavers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote…
We are in the second half of the season. This week the Trojans face the Oregon State Beavers. A team that shocked USC last year. The loss to Oregon State was the only thing that kept Trojans out of the national championship game. The Beavers are a well coached team under Mike Riley and have some dynamic players on their roster. The Beavers won’t roll over and quit Saturday night. So how do the men of Troy win this game? In the words of Carl Spackler, with superior intelligence and superior firepower.
The superior intelligence will first need to come from our coaches. We all know that Pete is the man. He loves his job and it shows with the passion and joy he brings to it every week in everything he does. His football intelligence is starting to rub off on our new coaches. I thought Jeremy Bates called a hell of a game last week. He is finally taking advantage of his weapons and it is fun to watch. Matt Barkley looked phenomenal. What was the key to his success? In my opinion it was the play calling. On most of his passes, Trojan receivers were wide open. That is what we are used to seeing at SC, wide open receivers down the field. I hope the tradition continues on Saturday.
The superior intelligence will also have to rub off on the players. If USC plays smart football they can run the table. I think after last weeks game, the Trojans are finally starting to learn that the biggest enemy and obstacle they face each week is themselves. They are their own worst enemy. USC had five personal fouls in the second half last week. That trend cannot continue. When the Trojans limit their mistakes, no one can beat them.
We will save the superior firepower portion of thoughts of the day for our finale after the jump…
After coming off an emotional win over Notre Dame and staring at a potential top 10 match-up against Oregon next week, the Trojans ability to focus on the task at hand will be severely tested in this quintessential trap game. On Saturday night at the Coliseum, The Trojans face a well-coached Oregon State team that is 4-2 including a close loss to now #5 Cincinnati.
Despite being heavily favored the Trojans are facing the best skill position players they have seen all year and will have to play a disciplined game to get the victory.
5 Keys to avoiding the Beaver Trap :
1- Avoid 15 yard penalties and turnovers: The #1 key every week. If the Trojans avoided the big 15 yard penalties against the Irish (especially Griffen’s penalty in the 3rd quarter) and didn’t throw an interception in the 4th quarter, the score would have been more like 34-10 instead of 34-27
2- Stay at home on defense and force Oregon State into obvious pass situations: Last year All Pac-10 Running Back Jacquizz Rogers burst onto the scene against the Trojans. His cut-back style and low center of gravity (he’s only 5’7) was a nightmare for a Trojan defense that consistently overpursued him. He ended up rushing for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Rogers is a very patient running back that uses his lack of height as an advantage when waiting for holes to develop. Linebackers and Defensive Lineman can lose track of him when he is behind the line of scrimmage.
The Trojan linebackers and Secondary need to communicate and make sure they stay in the proper gaps to contain Jacquizz and his brother James who is a Wide Receiver. The Roger’s brother’s account for 60% of Oregon State’s offense and stopping them and OSU’s run offense will require a total team effort.
If the Trojans are able to force Oregon State into obvious pass situations, they can take advantage of a young offensive line that has already given up 19 sacks this year. The OSU quarterback has a tendency to force throws when he is under pressure and that should create turnover opportunities.
USC fullback Stanley Havili will miss the No. 4 Trojans’ game with Oregon State Saturday night at the Coliseum with a shoulder injury, USC coach Pete Carroll said after Thursday night’s practice. Ronald Johnson will start at split end in place of David Ausberry, who is questionable with a calf injury, Carroll said. Johnson played for [...]... more »
There are some interesting stories out there over the past few day that are putting a lot of pressure on Charlie Weis and Notre Dame to beat USC. Moment of truth for Weis, Clausen - Wetzel Notre Dame's aim: Win USC game to regain name - Dodd Notre Dame and QB Jimmy Clausen must rise to occasion against sixth-ranked... more »
Before the game in 1973, the Irish hadn't defeated the Trojans in six years and hadn't been within single digits since a tie in '69. After losing by 23 in the Coliseum the year prior, the Irish knocked off the sixth-ranked Trojans (HMMMMM?) at home en route to a Sugar Bowl date with Alabama.... more »
The offense got off to a strong start, but they were inconsistent and fumbled more than they should have, but on the bright side, coaches opened up the playbook and allowed Matt Barkley to complete some deep passes. However this offense, and the receiving game in particular, needs to play better. Trojan fans eagerly await the return of the fastest receiver, Ronald Johnson, who suffered a shoulder injury in the scrimmage game in August.
This defense is impressive. They almost held the Cougars to a shutout if it were not for Aaron Corp's fumble late in the game. Defensive back Marshall Jones and defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo each suffered season ending injuries in this game. Injuries are part of the game, and this is why it never hurts to have depth like USC does. Pete Carroll and coaching staff "stockpile" talent, and given the current waves of injuries, this is when the depth is tested.
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