The announcer says, "After all, it takes a special kind of man to be wanted for sexual harassment, drug trafficking, tax evasion, prostitution, child abuse and destructive flatulence."

Before we get into some of the issues that are plaguing the Trojans, USC fans must tip their cap to Jim Harbaugh and the Stanford program. Harbaugh inherited a program that was 1-11 in 2006 and in his third year he has Stanford in a position to possibly go to the Rose Bowl. In the last two weeks, Stanford scored 106 points in victories over Top 10 teams and physically beat up the opponent. Harbaugh did exactly what Pete Carroll did when he came to USC. He loaded his staff up with experienced and hungry coaches and has given his players every opportunity to excel.

After seven years of “always competing” and finishing stronger than anybody, the Trojan program is in peril. USC only has 3 losses and you don’t want to overreact but the way the Trojans have lost and the fact the Trojans could easily have 5 or 6 losses at this point is very concerning with the amount of talent they have.

The issues can be addressed and the ship can be turned in the right direction but if you truly want to Win Forever you have to continually evolve, innovate and not let ego get in the way.

Discussion points for the water cooler and IM chats:

1- No Hunger- With seven consecutive AP top 4 finishes and ending the season with a bowl win 6 of those 7 years, the Trojan program and its fans seem to be living on its accomplishments of the past. The program seems to have forgotten how bitter losing can taste and do not play with the attitude “WE MUST WIN THIS GAME”.

An example of that was clear when after suffering one of the worst losses in USC history, some players were seen after the game smiling, laughing and carrying on like it was no big deal. Like some of the "new” LA fans that have joined the bandwagon the past 5 years, I wonder if some of the supposed “5” star recruits just wanted to be along for the ride and not put the necessary work in to become a high caliber player. When you’re the top dog with everyone gunning for you, especially with a young team, you have to outwork everyone else.

(lack of depth/experience, coaching attrition, Pete's focus after the jump)

It was just two years ago that Harbaugh inherited a football program that was one of the worst in the country and used the biggest upset in college football history against USC (Stanford was a 42.5 point underdog) that year as a stepping stone to building a top 25 team.

The heart and soul of Stanford is Toby Gerhart, a 6’1, 235 pound physical powerhouse running back who is one of the best in the nation. He is one of the few backs in the country that can and will carry the ball over 30 times a game and beat defenders up. His mentality has crossed over to his teammates who thrive off playing a physical brand of football.

Another key to Stanford’s success is they play intelligently and usually will not beat themselves. The development of Redshirt Freshman Andrew Luck has been tremendous and gives Stanford the balance on offense that makes them dangerous anywhere on the field. In the past 3 games, Luck was 50-83 for 910 yards and 5 TD’s against only 1 interceptions and that included games against two top 25 teams (Oregon and Arizona) and against one of the best defenses in the conferences Arizona State.

The banged up Trojans will have to play far better than they have the past 6 quarters to leave the Coliseum with a victory. It is going to be tough as the offense will need to come to life without #1 wideout/punt returner Damian Williams (high ankle sprain) and Wide Receiver Ronald Johnson and Tight End Anthony McCoy not operating at 100%.

The Stanford defense is vulnerable to a balanced attack and the Trojans offense is not only going to have to generate at least 24 points of offense but also grind away at the game clock to rest the defense which will be involved in a very physical battle.

4 Keys to the Game:

Hold Gerhart to under 4 yards a carry: It is going to be difficult to completely shut down a back as physical as Toby Gerhart. The Trojans have to look to contain him and not allow him to frequently gain over 5 yards a carry. The Defensive Line will have to play very physical and win the line of scrimmage battle.

The shift of Defensive Lineman Devon Kennard to Linebacker could be a huge factor. Kennard looked great in practice this week and has the size and strength to handle a guy like Gerhart. He gives the undersized linebacking core a physical presence that is sorely needed in a game like this. USC coaches are very enthusiastic about Kennard's physical and mental attributes. He can be a “55” type linebacker. However, a lot is being asked of a freshman who has not played the position before.

More keys and injury updates after the jump

The Trojans will need to play well in all phases to successfully defend the Coliseum turf against 3 tough opponents (Stanford and Arizona are ranked and in the Rose Bowl race and you have the crosstown rivalry with UCLA). If they are able to win the final three, another trip to Pasadena is still very much alive. If they struggle, a match-up with Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl is easily be in the cards.

The Pac-10 is extremely strong this year and any 1 of 5 teams would represent the conference very well against a top 15 team on a neutral field. This type of quality is why a team with two losses in conference could play in the Rose Bowl.

Notes and Analysis for the Water Cooler and IM Chats:

Barkley in a slump: Matt Barkley was 7-22 for 122 yards against Arizona State. If you take away the short pass to Damian Williams that was turned into a 75 yard touchdown, Barkley was 6-21 for 37 yards. In the second half against Oregon, he was 5-16 for 49 yards. Did Raider quarterback Jamarcus Russell take over for the Trojans?
Hopefully the offensive coaches are doing some self scouting to help Barkley make adjustments to his tendencies. Opposing defensive coaches have enough film on Barkley to truly dissect his game and it is showing. Arizona State has a great defense but his throwing numbers were awful considering Cal QB Kevin Riley threw for 351 yards the week before.

*More Barkley, offensive line, Williams injury after the jump

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.

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.

(More of what to look for after the jump)

"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.