Here is how some Trojans are doing at this years NFL combine:
Joe McKnight ran a 4.47 40 yard dash. This was fifth-best among running backs. McKnight had a 10'0" standing broad jump mark and 36.5 vertical leap
Everson Griffen bench pressed 225 lbs. 32 times and ran a 4.66 40, second best time among defensive linemen.
Damian Williams bench pressed 225 lbs. 19 times, fourth best among WRs. Williams also had a 38.0 vertical leap and ran the three-cone drill in 6.79 seconds, eighth best for WRs. He also ran the 40 in the low 4.5 range.
Jeff Byers bench pressed 225 lbs. 33 times, sixth best among offensive linemen.
Anthony McCoy logged the fourth best vertical jump among tight ends with a 35.5, fourth best among tight ends. McCoy also had a 4.79 40 and 19 bench reps.
Charles Brown had a 31.5 vertical leap and 21 bench press reps.
Taylor Mays ran an unofficial 4.24 40 yard dash (video above). Most scouts clocked his 40 at 4.32 seconds. They then changed the official time to 4.43. Mays benched 225 lbs. 24 times and had a 41.0 vertical leap, second best among safeties.
Kevin Thomas benched 225 lbs 19 times, third best among cornerbacks.
Stafon Johnson courageously bench pressed 225 lbs. 13 times. To watch the video, click here.
In news outside the realm of USC, Tim Tebow is at the combine, and NFL scouts report that he is still a virgin.
Our final top 30 player rankings from 2009 will start from the bottom and work up to No. 1. Click here for Nos. 14-30. Preseason rankings are here. 12. Taylor Mays, S, USC (1): While it's hard to quantify what Mays might have gained socially, intellectually and emotionally from returning for his senior year, it's fair to say he... more »
Damian Williams, Jeff Byers, Charles Brown and Taylor Mays were all named to the All-Pac-10 first team. Williams was selected twice as a wide receiver and punt returner.
Everson Griffen, Josh Pinkard, Kevin Thomas and Garrett Green were selected to the All-Pac-10 second team. Green made the team as a special teamer.
Trojans receiving honorable mention were Allen Bradford, Jurrell Casey, Chris Galippo, Will Harris, Butch Lewis, Anthony McCoy, Joe McKnight, Tyron Smith and Christian Tupou.
To see full list of the All-Pac-10 teams click here.
More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP Browse more photos » With tomorrow's final regular season game at home against Arizona there a re number of story lines that we need to keep an eye on... Who Staying and Who is going? Stanley Havili is going to stay... Several USC juniors will consider making themselves available for the... more »
The defense looked like the defense Trojan fans are accustomed to. Interceptions, fumble recoveries, sacks, blocked passes, tackles for loss of yards was a common sight. Awesome performance!
The offense still sputtered, but it was enough to win the game and that's all that matters. Matt Barkley's 48 yard touchdown pass to Damian Williams late in the 4th quarter capped off a great win over the crosstown rivals. Rick Neuheisel's arrogance and refusal to accept a merciful loss offered by Pete Carroll and USC completely backfired on him. You want to play some football, Ricky? You got it!
The UCLA Bruins were a touchdown away from tying the score for most of the game, and they could have taken pride knowing they hung in there until the final minutes of the 4th quarter. Now the Bruins have nothing to take pride in, thanks to Rick Neuheisel poking a stick at the wasp nest that is Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans. Even the Toilet Bowl is no guarantee for these little cubbies. At least USC is going bowling and their dominance over the finest Westwood has to offer continues.
And basketball, once a source of refuge for the bRuins after a crappy football season, is now a sore subject. UCLA hoops is a laughing stock and to consider them the best team in Southern California is a tasteless joke. Whatever you do, please do not mention Cal State Fullerton or Long Beach State when talking about UCLA basketball.
But come on, it's UCLA! Things are not all bad, right? After all they are the first to 100 NCAA Championships. Even though most normal college sports fans care about the successes of football and basketball and to a lesser extent in baseball, let them take pride knowing their women's cross country team or their men's synchronized diving team just won another NCAA title. It's enough to make you not care.
Since 2001, with the exception of one loss, USC has owned the battle of Los Angeles over UCLA in every phase of the game. The total score since 2001 is USC 285 and UCLA 113. The Bruins have not come close to giving the Trojans much of a game in the Coliseum since that time with UCLA’s one shocking victory and the other close battle in 2004 happening at the Rose Bowl.
Despite this record of dominance over the past eight years, it seems like a distant memory to the faithful fans of both teams. While the Trojans have been struggling the last four weeks, the most they have in the Pete Carroll era, UCLA is coming into the Coliseum on a 3 game winning streak with hopes of capturing a bowl bid and sending a message to recruits that UCLA can beat the once vaunted Trojans on their home turf and be the new sheriff in town.
UCLA Head Coach Rick Neuheisel’s passion bucket is full to go with two top 15 recruiting classes and he has his team believing that great things are on the horizon for Bruin football.
The Trojans are coming off a much needed bye week after surrendering the most points ever to an opponent in losing 55-21 to Stanford.
The bye week could not have come at a better time for the reeling Trojans. It helped some of USC’s most important weapons (WR Damian Williams and TE Anthony McCoy, DE Everson Griffen) heal from injuries that have kept them from playing or not playing near full strength and it gave the coaches’ time to work on correcting schematic faults plaguing the young team.
Though the game does not feature a battle for the Pac-10 title or a spot in the Bowl Championship Series, it is one of the most intriguing USC-UCLA games this decade.
The momentum which usually finds itself on the side of the Trojans this decade is clearly in favor of the Bruins.
Will the Trojans step up with an inspired performance to keep a firm hold on the rivalry or will the Bruins be the next in line to beat up the Trojans physically and put an exclamation point on the fall of Troy in 2009?
Hear what Taylor Mays, Allen Bradford, Matt Barkley, Everson Griffen and Coach Carroll are thinking about the UCLA game in this free video feature from USCTrojans.com, produced by Mark Haas.... more »
Fullback Stanley Havili practiced yesterday and is expected to start on Saturday. Havili injured his shoulder vs. Notre Dame last month.
Defensive end Everson Griffen got some work in yesterday and said that he will play on Saturday. Griffen missed the ASU game because of turf toe.
Tight end Anthony McCoy is close to returning to practice. He did some light rehab work yesterday and is going to try to practice on Tuesday or Wednesday. He is anxious to get back on the field.
The Bad News:
Our all world receiver, Damian Williams, has a boot on his ankle after injuring it against ASU. Williams leads the team in catches with 45, receiving years with 688 and five TDs. He is also the most clutch player on the team, delivering big plays (two punt returns for TDs) when the team needs them most. If Williams can’t play, look for Brice Butler to start opposite Ronald Johnson. Travon Patterson and Jordan Cameron will fill in at the third receiver spot.
The Trojan football program is venturing down a road it has avoided for a very long time. Since 2002, USC has always followed up a loss with a string of victories to continue the Trojans unmatched success for the past seven years. However, USC has not suffered a loss of this magnitude in the Pete Carroll era. The 47-20 loss to Oregon was the first time the mighty Trojans got severely outplayed and out-coached in all phases of the game.
In the past, one could review the game and say the Trojans were just unlucky or if they played with a little more discipline they would have won. Not this time. If anything, the amount of injuries the Trojans suffered on the defensive side of the ball is a clear indication of how manhandled they were by the Oregon offense.
Saturday's game against Arizona State will provide great insight into the psyche of both the coaching staff and the players. Was the Oregon game just a set of unfortunate circumstances they can easily put behind them and continue Pete Carroll's perfect November record and put themselves in contention for a BCS bowl game? Will the Trojans fight though injury issues like they have in years past and put together a great performance or will the shaken confidence of a defense that has given up over 1500 yards of offense in 3 games lead to a debacle in Tempe?
Arizona State is not going to make it easy on the Trojans. They are led by the best defense in the Pac-10 and are fighting for Head Coach Dennis Erickson's job. This is also the second of back-to-back road games for the Trojans which are always tough.
However, this is a game the Trojans should win and be able to gain some confidence and swagger back on the defensive side of the ball. ASU has one of the worst offenses in the Pac-10 and doesn't possess a game-breaker close to the ability of Jacquizz Rogers, James Rogers or LaMichael James.
Keys to the game...
1-Trojans need to pass to set up the run: Cal Quarterback Kevin Riley threw for 351 yards last week in a narrow 23-21 victory over ASU. ASU does a great job of applying pressure and making it difficult to run with one of the best run defense's in the country. The Trojans should come out throwing the ball to send an early message to ASU's secondary which is susceptible to mid-range throws.
Once ASU's defense is worried about the pass, the Trojans should have success running the ball with McKnight and especially Bradford provided his knee is okay. Bradford fits the mold of Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart who ran for 125 yards against ASU.
Here are several injury updates for Saturday's game following team doctor visits tonight: DE Armond Armstead (wrist): Probable WR David Ausberry (calf): Out RB Allen Bradford (knee): Probable LB Chris Galippo (neck): Probable DE Everson Griffen (toe): Probable FB Stanley Havili (shoulder): Probable LB Jarvis Jones (neck): Questionable S Drew McAllister (hip): Out TE Anthony McCoy (ankle): Questionable RB Joe McKnight (ankle): Probable DE Nick Perry (knee): Questionable LB Malcolm Smith... more »
While watching the Trojans lose control of a football game for the first time in the Pete Carroll era and reflecting on the last 9 quarters of football USC has played, the beginning of Buffalo Springfield’s song “For What It’s Worth” started playing in my head “There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear, there’s a man with a gun over there telling me I have go to beware…”
The Trojan nation will remember where they were Halloween night 2009 for many years to come after watching a true horror movie being played out in Auzten Stadium as Oregon dominated the Trojans 47-20 and literally beat them up as the Trojans suffered quite a few injuries on the defensive side of the ball. For the first time in his SC tenure, Coach Carroll seemed to doubt his own game plan of stopping Oregon’s run offense because of a few early completions to the Oregon slot receiver early and chaos ensued.
Oregon proved they are one of the best teams in the country and Head Coach Chip Kelly has done a masterful job of getting his team to rebound from an early loss against Boise State.
It is easy to beat up on the Trojans right now and quite frankly some of it is deserved. However, if they can pull it together they still have an easy shot at another top 10 season, a potential BCS at-large bow bid and the chance to carry quite a bit of momentum into next season with a very young team. Even faint hope remains for the Rose Bowl.
We will learn a lot about the Trojans from the coaching staff down in terms of how they rebound from this type of loss over the next few weeks. The invincibility factor of the SC jersey is no longer going to give them a mental edge in 2009.
After the jump is a quick analysis of the keys to the game from Friday's Skinny and an injury report
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