One of the followers of the tao of Leinart, ironically, is Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who appeared to be on the wrong end of the 44-10 slaughter USC committed against the Ducks Saturday night. You may have thought you were watching a bigger, faster, stronger team right its season by outgaining a capable but overmatched Oregon outfit 598 yards to 239, holding the Duck offense to a punt or turnover on eight straight possessions and intercepting Masoli to set up the final, dagger touchdown from Mitch Mustain to David Ausberry in the closing minutes.

Oh, ye feeble minds. Let the wise Masoli reveal to you the reality behind the mirage:

"We feel like we're the better team."

"Tonight they played better than us, and the score indicated that. But I still feel like we're the better team, we just gave that one away."

"We just made some mistakes that we usually don't."

"I feel like our football team is better all-around, but they played better tonight, so they got the 'W'.''

You can assess an abstract philosophical question like "who's better?" in any number of closed-minded, "factual" methods. Head-to-head: the Ducks were outscored by 34 points and outgained by 359 yards Saturday, and have lost four of five to the Trojans since 2002 by an average of 19 points. Against the rest of the Pac-10: USC is 41-6 to Oregon's 29-19 and has won or shared six straight conference championships since '02 to Oregon's zero. In the polls: the Trojans have finished six straight seasons in the AP's year-end top four, at least ten spots better each season than the Ducks, who haven't finished in the top ten since 2001, Pete Carroll's first season in L.A. and Jeremiah Masoli's first year in middle school.

But you're thinking about results, man. You need to expand your mind. Instead of talking about wins and losses, you need to think about the essence of Oregon. Think about what would happen on a neutral field, if everyone was healthy, if the Ducks executed every block, threw tight spirals, stopped dropping passes, didn't hold, blow coverages, miss field goals, go for the ball instead of the tackle or commit stupid penalties. Picture what would have happened Saturday night if the game was exactly the opposite of how it actually went, in reality. Who's the better team now?

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Photo of Masoli via Getty Images.

Pete Carroll watching his team kickoff.

Your obligatory USC Song Girls shot.

No catches for David Ausberry this day, but we're glad we caught this moment.

Actually, they are still going with Corp. Bradford gains 2 yards on a carry.
Corp escapes a sack and gains about 19 yards on a scramble. Joe McKnight jukes a couple times and gains 14 yards. Corp's pass in deflected by Taylor Mays. McKnight then drops Corp's pass to avert a potential good gain.
Corp calmly rolls out and finds Damian Willaims for 12 yards. Corp then fumbles the snap and Stafon Johnson picks up the ball, lose of five. Corp's pass is deflected, looks like Wes Horton got it. On 3rd and 16, Corp's pass is incomplete.
Time to catch a breath. Corp looks calm, his arm is not the strongest but he plays under control and can avoid the rush.
Mustain back in the game. Green loses a yard. Mustain throws to Adam Goodman, who can't hold on to it. Mustain then throws incomplete to David Ausberry, who is well covered.
Garrett Green in at QB. B. Green carries for a loss of one. Green then throws to Blake Ayles, but for no gain and follows with an incomplete pass.
Mustain throws to Goodman for 9 yards. Bradford then loses a couple yards. Mustain throws behind Ronald Johnson, incomplete.
Corp back in and throws an incomplete pass. He then finds Travon Patterson open for about 17 yards. He throws a nice ball to Scott Stephens, who drops it, but pass intereference is called. Corp is sacked by Derek Simmons. Corp finds Patterson for 19 yards.
Corp scrambles for 10 yards. Corp fumbles another snap and this time the defense recovers.
Looks like its halftime. We've got some center-QB snap issues with both quarterbacks and the running game is not impressive.
Second half. Mustain in. B. Green gains no yards and Mustain finds Brandon Carswell for about seven yards. Mustain to a diving D.J. Shoemate for about 4 yards. Marc Tyler enters and gains a yard. B. Green then gains 2 yards. Mustain then finds Tyler for 13 yards, but it's called back. Mustain throws a short pass to Carswell, who drops it.
Corp in and gets sacked. He then scrambles for five yards when the protection breaks down.
Corp throws to McKnight, who is hit hard by Kevin Ellison and drops. That hit leads to some unsportsmanlike conduct on both sides for offsetting penalties.
Garrett Green back in. He throws incomplete, then finds Blake Ayles, who gains 11 yards and looks like he has the wheels to maybe break some runs off passes this season. Green finds a wide-open Stephens for 7 yards.
TOUCHDOWN -- Green down sideline to Carswell for 42 yards.
Mustain at QB. McKnight gains about six and then Mustain finds Rhett Ellison for 14 yards. Mustain then hits Ellison again for seven yards. A defensive penalty on a play where Ellison catches a 3 yard pass.
Mustain then throws to Bradford, who gains 18 yards. McKnight gains 6 yards. Mustain's pass is intercepted in the end zone, maybe by Brian Baucham.
It's over!

Corp to Travon Patterson for 2 yards. Corp in the shotgun, throws for a yard to D.J. Shoemate under a strong rush.
Mitch Mustain is in with a new group. He rolls out and finds Patterson for 9 yards. Broderick Green carries for no gain on the next play. Mustain throws a little pass to Green, who runs 16 yards.
More Green on a rush, for no gain. Green again for a couple yards. Mustain gets sacked on the next play. Change of possession.
Corp finds Anthony McCoy over the middle for 8 yards. Allen Bradford loses 1 yard on a carry. On 3rd down, Gerald Washington blocks Corp's pass. Next!
Actually, they are still going with Corp. Bradford gains 2 yards on a carry.
Corp escapes a sack and gains about 19 yards on a scramble. Joe McKnight jukes a couple times and gains 14 yards. Corp's pass in deflected by Taylor Mays. McKnight then drops Corp's pass to avert a potential good gain.
Corp calmly rolls out and finds Damian Willaims for 12 yards. Corp then fumbles the snap and Stafon Johnson picks up the ball, lose of five. Corp's pass is deflected, looks like Wes Horton got it. On 3rd and 16, Corp's pass is incomplete.
Time to catch a breath. Corp looks calm, his arm is not the strongest but he plays under control and can avoid the rush.
Mustain back in the game. Green loses a yard. Mustain throws to Adam Goodman, who can't hold on to it. Mustain then throws incomplete to David Ausberry, who is well covered.
Garrett Green in at QB. B. Green carries for a loss of one. Green then throws to Blake Ayles, but for no gain and follows with an incomplete pass.
Mustain throws to Goodman for 9 yards. Bradford then loses a couple yards. Mustain throws behind Ronald Johnson, incomplete.
Corp back in and throws an incomplete pass. He then finds Travon Patterson open for about 17 yards. He throws a nice ball to Scott Stephens, who drops it, but pass intereference is called. Corp is sacked by Derek Simmons. Corp finds Patterson for 19 yards.
Corp scrambles for 10 yards. Corp fumbles another snap and this time the defense recovers.

Q: With regard to receivers, how do you rate them on your depth chart?

A: Barring injury, Vidal Hazelton and Patrick Turner should start in the coaches' eyes. The No. 3 spot will be most intriguing initially because it could be Ronald Johnson, David Ausberry or Damian Williams. Each is different. Johnson will be the fastest receiver so there is always going to be some role for him. Ausberry's size makes him attractive while Williams could be the best total package. And there's no reason each of them could not become a starter.

Q: Do you know why Matt Barkley won't be attending? Is there truth to the rumor he'll be coaching?

A: I've seen conflicting information on whether he will be attending. I'm not sure why he wouldn't. Of course, there's always been a rivalry between his passing coach, Steve Clarkson, and the camp's passing guru, Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson. I'll find out next week if there's more to it.

Q: Are the USC Fly Girls selected under a different criteria than the Song Girls?http://www-scf.usc.edu/~flygirls/

A: They are a completely different dance team and not under the direction of the IM-REC dept. or the selection process that governs the song girls. They do practice at Heritage Hall but that's about the only similarity.

Q: Where do you see D.J. Shoemate fitting into the rotation this year, whether it be with the running backs or the wide receivers? Any chance he will be playing defense, perhaps corner? As always thanks for the blog!

A: There's always a chance someone with his ability could play defense but initially he will be a wide receiver, ideally in a slot back role. He could easily line up at tailback and catch passes out of the backfield. When he first committed, that was considered to be his top role. But he's versatile, so USC will probably try to move him around the field. The question is whether he is good enough to actually merit having that done. We will find out.

From a practice this week, here were the 40 times for USC's wide receivers:

1) Ronald Johnson 4.43
2) Damian Williams 4.46
3) David Ausberry 4.48
4) Brandon Carswell 4.49
5) Vidal Hazelton 4.52
6) Garrett Green 4.56
7) Patrick Turner 4.64

Track star Travon Patterson, who did not run, would probably be the fastest. And speed will not play much of a factor if the ball is not delivered or the ball is not caught (something that has plagued USC in the last year).

The wide receivers [Inside USC]

From SCPlaybook.com:

Q: USC has a lot of very talented receivers on the roster. How do you see yourself fitting into the rotation?

A: I am just going to try and be an all-around guy and try and fit in wherever they need me to play. I will learn the playbook and try and learn all three positions so hopefully wherever the gap is they will throw me in there. Eventually maybe I will make it to a starting spot. That’s what we are all out here for, to try and make that starting spot.

Q: How would you describe your style as a wide receiver and what would you say is the strength of your game?

A: I like to be pretty well-rounded. I am pretty intelligent so it's easier for me to pick up things like learning coverages and stuff like that. Basically if you can read the coverages and you know what to do you will make it on the field at some point and then my athleticism can take over from there. I just basically try to get on the field and produce. That’s all I ever try to do.

Every time I've seen Damian, I've walked away impressed.  He isn't as explosive as RoJo, tall as Patrick Turner, or physically built as David Ausberry, but he's just a solid all-around receiver.  Not sure if he'll be able to crack the starting line-up this year, but he'll definitely see some time on the field.  Worth reading the rest of the interview here. 

I left the TV for about a minute to get my second-plate of Thanksgiving dinner sometime in the third quarter. By the time I got back to the TV, Arizona State had their backup quarterback in the game, and their starter, Rudy Carpenter, was on the sideline cursing and spitting up blood.

It was that sort of night for Carpenter, who was sacked six times. Four of those sacks belonged to defensive-end Lawrence Jackson, who delivered the lip-busting hit in the third. #11 USC Trojans went on to beat the #6 ASU Sun Devils, 44-24.

David Ausberry might have been the most dominant Trojans receiver in spring and fall camps. He caught as many superlatives from USC coaches as he did passes from USC quarterbacks. So far, most of Ausberry’s glory has come on the practice field. He started and caught five passes in USC’s season opener against Idaho, but he lost his starting job shortly thereafter and has caught no more than three balls in any game since… continue

The game plan was simple. The USC defense was to limit Oregon's stellar offense; the Trojan defense would do the heavy lifting. All the Trojan offense needed to do was keep the field for as long as possible, keep control of the ball, and keep pace with the Ducks scoring.

The Trojan-D played their part, limiting the Ducks total offense to 339 yards. That doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment, until you take into consideration that Oregon had been averaging more than 200 yards plus that amount previously this season. Still, everything seemed to start in the Trojans favor. Two Oregon first-half special teams turnovers, one on the opening drive, gave USC near red-zone field position. All the Trojans needed to do was put the ball in the end-zone and dance.

But USC's offense, led by backup Mark Sanchez, couldn't capitalize on Oregon's mistakes. Those two turnovers led to a mere 3 points for the Trojans. Not enough when trying to match the juggernaut yardage of Oregon. And unfortunately for USC, Oregon didn't have the same problem capitalizing on Trojan turnovers.