Stanford comes into the Coliseum as a hot team with Rose Bowl aspirations. The Cardinal’s defeat of the 8th ranked Oregon Ducks 51-42 put the nation on notice that Stanford football can compete at the highest level and Head Coach Jim Harbaugh is one of the best young coaches in the game.
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.
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
Matt Barkley completed 15 of 25 passes for 202 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. In light of the interceptions, he has improved tremendously since the home opener against San Jose State. And it sure is nice having Ronald Johnson back on the field, too!
Allen Bradford rushed for a career high 147 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sharing number 21 and being a solid, bruising back, he looked liked LenDale White. Joe McKnight rushed for 65 yards on 11 carries and left the game near the end of the 1st half due to a hand injury; it is unknown what his status for next week is at the moment. With McKnight's speed and explosiveness combined with Bradford's bull-like qualities as a running back, will this tandem be Thunder and Lighting version 2.0?
Here are some of the defense "highlights" against the Beavers. USC struggled defensively against Oregon State last year, so it should have been no surprise this year considering they returned a veteran quarterback in Sean Canfield and the notorious Jacquizz Rodgers, along with brother James. Enjoy the few clips of the defense stopping the Beavers' offense. If any other team expects to beat Oregon State, it must be done with a good offense. No matter how good a defense is, it is hard to prepare for the Beaver offense.
Matt Barkley passed for a career high 380 yards with a pair of touchdowns, Anthony McCoy had arguably the best game of his career, and we are all happy Damian Williams transferred to USC.
The McKnight-Bradford duo is working well for the Trojans.
The Trojan defense kept the Notre Dame offense in check. The referees assisted the Irish all the way to the end of the game, but even that wasn't enough. Statistically speaking the Irish offense, led by ostrich Jimmy Clausen, is one of the better ones in college football. The Trojan defense is lights out!
This is the best Notre Dame team USC has played since the Trojans barely escaped South Bend in 2005 with a win. Quite a few experts are picking a Notre Dame victory due to the Irish being led by Heisman Trophy candidate Jimmy Clausen, the Trojans playing back-to-back road games (please note the bye in between) and this being a landmark game for the Irish program.
The experts who are predicting a Notre Dame upset must also think the Trojans are going to revert back to penalty and turnover laden football. If the Trojans keep penalties down and win the turnover battle, they will win the game. Unless the Trojans get up big early, I expect it to be a tight battle that will come down to some classic 4th quarter drives.
1-- Play Disciplined Football: #1 priority every week! Limit turnovers and penalties.
2-- Contain ND's running game: Though Jimmy Clausen has thrown 12 TD's only 2 Int's and leads the nation in passing efficiency, he will only have success against the best secondary in the country if the Trojans give up over 120 yards on the ground. If the Trojans put Clausen in obvious pass situations, he will make mistakes. The throws he has gotten away with against much lesser defenses will not happen against the Trojans.
3-- Don't Let the Golden One get loose in the Red Zone: Wide Receiver Golden Tate is having a phenomenal year. He is a big and athletic and Clausen loves to throw him fade routes and he is great at catching high passes. The Trojans need to make sure he is well covered in the red zone and force other ND players to make plays when it counts.
4-- Stay aggressive and balanced offensively: QB Matt Barkley is playing with a swagger after the Cal game and the Trojans need to take advantage of that. Barkley seems to have his hands around most of the playbook and with Ronald Johnson back, the Trojans need to stretch the field early. Even if some of the deeper throws are incomplete, it will soften the ND defense up and the Trojan running game should be able to have a great day. The Trojans should be able to run for over 200 yards.
5-- Avoid the 2nd and 3rd quarter lull: The Trojans cannot suffer some of the 2nd and 3rd quarter lulls they have had this season. The best case scenario for the Trojans is to get up early on the Irish and not let them back in the game for a 4th quarter run. The Trojans are best to avoid the 4th quarter magic that Clausen has been mastering this season.
More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP about 1 month ago: San Jose State wide receiver Kevin Jurovich, right, is bought down by Southern California linebackers Chris Galippo (54) , Malcolm Smith (6) and Michael Morgan (17) during the first half of a NCAA college football game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) Browse... more »
Despite a very emotional week due to the unfortunate accident to Running Back Stafon Johnson, the Trojans put together its most complete performance of the year and routed Cal 30-3 in Strawberry Canyon.
On Friday, I wrote about the 5 keys to setting a “Bear” trap and the Trojans hit on all the points and proved once again that the only team capable of beating the Trojans is the Trojans themselves. When USC does not turn the ball over when it matters, commits few penalties and stays balanced on offense to compliment one of the best defenses’ in college football, it will be very difficult for any college football team to beat them.
A quick review of the keys to victory:
1- Contain Cal's running game: The Trojans held the vaunted Cal rushing attack to only 86 yards. Former Heisman Trophy candidate Jahvid Best was held to 47 yards rushing and only 5 yards receiving. The Trojans forced Kevin “I don’t like big games and throw a high ball” Riley into passing situations that he is not equipped to handle which allowed the Trojans to dominate the Time of Possession 36:46 to 23:14.
The game was basically over when Trojan Safety Taylor Mays ran down Jahvid Best from behind in the backfield in the second quarter. The statement was made that USC’s best defensive player was not going to let Cal’s best offensive player get loose.
(More analysis and some team notes after the jump)
In a battle between last place teams in the Pac-10 standings, the 12th ranked Trojans (2-1) face an overmatched Washington State Cougars (1-2) team on Saturday at 7:15 pm in the Coliseum.
Though the Cougars are coming off an exciting come from behind overtime win against SMU, they are limping into the Coliseum and will have a tough time putting up much of a fight against the Trojans.
The main goals for the Trojans are to work on eliminating crucial mental mistakes that plagued the team in Seattle (penalties and turnovers) and making progress in the passing game.
Six things to look for in the Coliseum on Saturday:
1-Dominant defensive performance: The Cougars started the season with the dubious distinction of having the least amount of talent in the Pac-10 and just three games into the season they are already down 4 starters on the offensive side of the ball. They have lost two starting offensive lineman, the #1 Wide Receiver left the team to focus on track and the starting Running Back injured his knee against SMU and is out for the year.
USC’s Defensive Line will absolutely dominate the line of scrimmage allowing them to pressure the QB while being able to drop the Linebackers into coverage. The Trojans should also be able to man-up the Wide Receivers in tight coverage allowing the Linebackers and Safeties to make plays on the ball. The Trojans should come up with at least 2 to 3 turnovers.
AP Photo Quarterbacks Terrelle Pryor and Matt Barkley will be the focal point for Saturday's Ohio State-USC throwdown. Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg and Ted Miller All eyes will be on Columbus this weekend as No. 3 USC visits No. 8 Ohio State (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET). Before the two teams lock horns on the banks of the Olentangy... more »
Big Anthony McCoy with a new take on the traditional straight arm; this looks like a forearm shove to the dome! (Make sure to watch the X-MO replay.)
***EDITOR'S NOTE*** T-Wire fan "Amos" brings to our attention the reaction of the SJSU cheerleader in the background during the X-MO replay. Check it out.
More of Saturday's action, including all of Matt Barkley's debut highlights, big runs from Bradford, McKnight, Tyler, and a frighteningly fast defense after the jump.
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