Mark Sanchez: Have a good bye week, Thomas?

Thomas Jones: Yup.

Sanchez: Who we got this week? Jacksonville? They kinda suck.

Jones: Yup.

Sanchez: But who are we to talk, right? Can’t believe we got swept by the Dolphins.

Jones: Yup.

Sanchez: Think Coach Ryan is pissed?

Jones: Well, he doesn’t really get pissed, does he? Losing just makes his ass crazier.

Ryan: HOW THE FUCK YOU DOIN’, BOYS?

Sanchez: Good, coach.

Ryan: Oh, men, OH, MEN. Men… guess what I did last night. Go on. Guess. TELL ME WHAT I DID, JALAPENO.

Sanchez: Did you…

Ryan: Hell yes I did! I FUCKED MY WIFE! FUCKED HER CRAZY! You boys ain’t the only ones who get to have all the fun! I grabbed her hair and made her call me Daddy all night long! She was making Africa sounds by the time I was finished! Nothing like waking up the day after you laid wood to the missus. What about you? You boys clean up that pussy while you had your little week off? Well, did you?

Sanchez: Well, I…

Ryan: OHHHHHHHH, you did! Jalapeno, your new nickname is POON TANGO! That’s Espanolish for sloppy pussy! Now, men. MEN. We got business to tend to. First order of business for the day: THE BOOM BOX. Now, I know some of you like rock, and some of you like country, and some of you like that rap shit. BUT EVERYONE LIKES NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN. That’s why I put that symphony in the CD player and glued it shut. BECAUSE IT MAKES YOU WANT TO KILLLLLLLLLL! It makes me feel like a fucking DEMON. A giant, murderous, pussy-stomping DEMON! Are you a demon, POON TANGO?

Sanchez: Yes, sir.

Ryan: Good! Next order of business: the Jaguars. We got those assholes from Gainesville coming in this week.

Sanchez: Jacksonville.

Ryan: Whatever. It’s all shithead country, if you ask me. Men, I don’t think your minds were clear two weeks ago. I don’t think you had your heart and soul in the game. I DIDN’T SEE YOUR KILLER EYES! DO YOU HAVE KILLER DEMON EYES, POON TANGO? LOOK AT ME LIKE A KILLER!

Sanchez: How’s this?

(furrows brow)

Ryan: Son, you look like you’re squeezing out a gravel shit. Men, when you play for a Rex Ryan team, you don’t hold back. You understand me? YOU ARE ANIMALS. YOU ARE WILD FUCKING ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN OUT IN THE DESERT FOR WEEKS, AND ARE STARVED FOR BLOOD. Louie, bring in the jaguar!

Sanchez: Holy shit!

Ryan: Did you know jaguars kill different than any other animal? It’s true. Let me read this to make sure I got it right: “It bites directly through the skull of prey between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain.” Now, how do you like that? Look in his eyes, men. What do you see? I SEE A KILLER. You wanna beat a jaguar? YOU BETTER BE READY TO SKULLCHOMP THAT FUCKER RIGHT BACK. YOU BETTER BE READY TO BE A FUCKING PREDATOR.

(takes out knife, Ho Ho)

Ryan: Okay, Poon Tango. Take the knife.

Sanchez: What?

Ryan: You wanted to be a MAN in this league, right? You wanted to be King of the Mountain? You take this knife.

Sanchez: What am I gonna do with it?

Ryan: I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do with it. You’re gonna bring me ITS BALLS.

Sanchez: WHAT?

Ryan: You can handle a football? You can handle a KNIFE. You take that cat’s balls and you bring them to me.

Sanchez: But I can’t possibly…

Ryan: HE’D DO THE SAME TO YOU IF HE HAD A PAWKNIFE OF SOME SORT. He wouldn’t hesitate. Not for a second. Men, I know what we do out on that field is unnatural. I know you’ve been told all your life to be nice to people and not to hurt them. But that’s not really who you are. You wanna be a killer? You’re gonna have to have the sack to shed your civility and BE THE FUCKING KILLERS YOU REALLY ARE. NOW, DO IT! CASTRATE THAT FUCKER, JACKIE SHERRILL STYLE! BRING ME HIS BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS!

(smears war paint on Sanchez’s face)

Everyone: BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS!

Sanchez: I can’t.

Ryan: THE ZOO NEEDS THIS DONE ANYWAY! NOW BECOME THE ANIMAL! KILLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!

Sanchez: AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

(cuts jaguar’s balls off)

Sanchez: HOLY SHIT, I DID IT!

Ryan: HOLY SHIT, HE DID IT!

Jones: HOLY SHIT, HE DID IT!

Everyone: HOLY SHIT! HE DID IT!

Ryan: Poon Tango, you ain’t no rookie no more. You are now a fucking LEADER OF MEN. Men, this is exactly how we’re gonna play on Sunday. When you go out on to that field, I don’t want you to be human. I don’t even want you to remember how to fucking TALK. I want you to be a FUCKING ANIMAL, AND AN ANIMAL FUCKING. The same way Poon Tango here was when he lopped off Chester’s nutsack. The same way I was when I banged the shit out of Mrs. Ryan last night. That’s what it takes. That’s how you get to the top. You don’t ask. YOU RUTHLESSLY FUCKING CLAW FOR GLORY. YOU ATTACK. ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK KILLLLLL!!!

(everyone cheers)

Men, you are fucking WINNERS. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Poon Tango here didn’t think he could cut off a jaguar’s balls, but he did! He was a winner, and he didn’t even know it. Now, it’s your turn. You’re going to go out there, and you are going to lose control, and you will become DEMON FUCKING ANIMAL KILLERS. Are you ready? ARE YOU FUCKING READY TO KILL?! ARE YOU READY TO DELIVER A FATAL BITE TO DAVID GARRARD’S SKULL?!

Everyone: YES!

Ryan: LEMME HEAR YOU ROAR! RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Everyone: RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Ryan: Are we gonna win?

Everyone: YES.

Ryan: Are we gonna kill?

Everyone: YES.

Ryan: Are we gonna cut those fuckers’ balls off?

Everyone: YES.

Ryan: GODDAMN RIGHT WE ARE. WE WILL KILL, AND WE WILL WIN, AND THEN WE’RE ALL GOING OUT FOR CHICKEN AND HOOKERS! Fucking bring it in!

(everyone brings it in)

Ryan: Fucking KILL on three. ONE TWO THREE…

Everyone: FUCKING KILL!

Ryan: Hoo wee! That was good! I gotta go change my undies!

Sanchez: What do I do with these balls?

Ryan: Put them in your pants! It’s good luck!

Sanchez: Okay.

For four out of seven weeks of this NFL season, a USC rookie has won the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week award. Mark Sanchez won the award three times and Clay Mattews won in week 6. This week Brian Cushing is nominated. Cushing had 10 tackles, one sack and an interception last week vs. the Bills. Houston defeated Buffalo 31-10.

To vote for Brian Cushing click here.

Week 8 nominees for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week [nfl.com]

How bout some USC Alumni NFL highlights…. Carson Palmer had a big day on Sunday going 20 of 24 for 233 with 5 TD passes. Other former Trojans featured in the highlights are Clay Matthews, Troy Polamalu, Reggie Bush, Fred Davis, Steve Smith, Terrell Thomas, Justin Fargas and Mark Sanchez.

The NFL 2010 Pro Bowl ballots are now available online. Click here to vote for any of your favorite Trojans.

2010 Pro Bowl Ballot [NFL.com]

Rhoda appears to have moved on to Sean Avery. Mueller is still in college. Enter Madix (seen more photos of her here and on her Myspace; follow her on twitter if you like):

… The Jets quarterback was seen swapping numbers with a blond bartender at Johnny Utah’s on Monday night. Sanchez was celebrating his brother’s 30th birthday with his family. The barkeep was model/actress Ariana Madix, who played for the New York Majesty team in the notorious Lingerie Bowl. A spy said, “They were talking about football, and Ariana asked for his number.” …

Five touchdowns. Ten interceptions. Three prospects. Not a bad first year in the Big Apple. [Page 6]

Here is a video of Keyshawn Johnson interviewing Mark Sanchez on ESPN’s Sunday Conversation. Sanchez and the Jets play the Miami Dolphins tonight on Monday Night Football. Kickoff is at 5:30 pm PDT.

Steve Smith just wants to be the best he can be. Which right now is the number one receiver in the NFL in both receiving yards and touchdown passes. But there's a lot more season to go. Check out the After Party video as Smith discusses his relationship with Eli Manning, as well as his thoughts on Mark Sanchez' first loss of the season.

Two nominations, two wins by Mark Sanchez for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. Lets make it three straight. On Sunday, he led the Jets to 24-17 win over the Titans completing 17 of 30 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Sanchez is the first quarterback in the past 40 years to lead his team to a 3-0 start. To vote for Sanchez for Rookie of the Week click here.

Week 3 Pepsi Rookie of the Week nominees [nfl.com]

The time for them to pine for the past when USC doesn't live up to expectations. We hear it constantly from the insufferable Scott Wolf. We recently heard it from the insufferable Matt Hayes. And now Chris Dufresne has joined the chorus (circus?). It really is a spectacle to watch, a supposed impartial press he can seem to get over the fact that the two big egos in the room were never going to last.

This week Dufresne opens up the mailbag...it just so happens that all of the answered mail seemed to always want to discuss Norm Chow or Pete Carroll's deficiency with running the offense. Of course Dufresne led with the  Chowista's to set the tone for effect.

My first response was Really? No Kidding?

There was no second response because I wasn't really shocked at all.

Here is a sample...

Question: Do you think Norm Chow was chuckling to himself at some point on Sunday? You know, we never see people wide open with regularity at USC since Norm departed. The art of the mismatch has left the building.

Patrick K. Gallagher

Long Beach

Answer: Norm isn't that kind of guy, but if it was me, I'd be Chuckles the Clown.

What's playing out in Los Angeles right now is fascinating. USC has not won a national title since Chow left the staff after the 2004 season, and we know why he left.

Pete Carroll had two young whiz kids on his staff, Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin, who were getting antsy for larger roles as outside job offers were coming in.

So Carroll took Chow to lunch in the South Bay and said he wanted to promote him to assistant head coach.

Hey, that's terrific! Except, he was going to take away play-calling duties -- the thing Chow does best -- and make the kids co-coordinators.

Next thing you knew Norm was in Nashville.

For what it's worth, now back in town, Chow called a nice game Saturday as he nursed backup quarterback Kevin Craft to UCLA's victory against Kansas State.

Also, in the critical moments of this year's Tennessee game, Chow called a quarterback sneak for Kevin Prince on third down with UCLA holding a six-point lead pinned against its own end zone.

Rick Neuheisel overruled Chow and ordered the bootleg play that ended up getting Prince's jaw broken in two places.

Hindsight is always perfect, but Rick should have listened to Norm.

Q: USC's problems Saturday were symptoms of very poor hiring decisions by Pete Carroll that began after Chow was pushed out. . . . As it is, the most successful period of the Carroll legacy is the "Chow Era." Ironic, isn't it?

Steve Rodriguez

A: I don't know if it's ironic or interesting. I always get that mixed up.

These sorts of questions, of course, is what some of the USC fan base thinks...those who can let go of the past. Those who constantly dream of what if's. Those who think Norm Chow would have cured all the ills of USC's bad performances the last few years.

I don't claim to be a football expert but digging up the numbers on some of USC's past bed wettings point to some things that Chow could have had very little to do with...lets come back to that later.

Lets pick the one game that gives the fan base the most angst...the one game that would have cemented Pete Carroll's legacy forever...Texas. If USC wins that game Chow was as good as gone, Chow would have leveraged that into a head coaching job.. Sure the voices in the wilderness would have said that there was nothing more that Chow had to prove that the time was right for him to go to stake his own claim. IF everything else stayed the same there would still be in the some out in the wilderness claiming that PC had not won anything without Norm Chow.

We are where we are...

There are some that continue to whine and cry about Chow's departure claiming it all because of Sarkisian and Kiffin. Whatever...Chow has some mud on his shoes here too...like trying to woo Mark Sanchez away from USC when he thought he had the 'furd job locked up. Say what you want about Sark or Kiff running Chow out there isn't one specific reason that led to Chow leaving...it was a little bit of everything. People seem to forget (or miss) that BOTH Pete Carroll and Norm Chow have big egos so there is no guarantee that Chow would have lasted much longer than 2005.

This whole situation is symbiotic...Pete Carroll went out and got the talent and PC, Ed O and Chow (with others) worked together to get it firing on all cylinders. Chow has never done it on his own. He always needed someone to go out and get his players. He is not a recruiter. Nothing wrong with that but lets not make the man something more than he really is...

So lets look at those game I mentioned.

The MNC against Texas - USC scores 38 points and gains over 500 yards. If not for a patchwork defense that was put together with spit and toilet paper because of youth and injuries I am not seeing how much more Chow would have or could have done. Yes, there will be those that say that not having Bush in the game on 4th and 2 was a critical miscue but SC ran that play all night with success. Texas knew it was coming, SC knew Texas knew and the Texas defense held, case closed. We could dissect that until the end of time...

Against Oregon St. 2006 - USC scores 31 points and gains almost 500 yards...it was the 4 turnovers and a punt return for a TD that sunk USC that day...Not sure how Chow being in the booth changes that.

Against ucla 2006 -  Last time I checked Norm Chow didn't coach the O line and that game saw Booty on his back a lot in that game. If the QB doesn't have any protection you might as well throw the play book in the trash.

Against Stanford 2007 - USC scores 23 points but gains over 450 yards. You could make the argument that SC could have made better use of its time in the redzone but 5 turnovers and the USC defense allowing a conversion on 4th and 20 is what killed them that fateful night.

Against Oregon St. 2008 - That was a complete defensive debacle in the first half. SC never recovered...I am not sure that Chow knows anything about defense in regards to coaching it.

As good as Chow is, I am not sure he would have addressed some or any of those issues listed above...I simply refuse to think that Norm Chow would have cured all of SC's ills in those games. I can understand and accept some of the criticism that has been heaped on Pete Carroll for letting his ego get in the way of how this team is perceived to be run. I can see where some will criticize some of his coaching moves as OJT for some who have come and gone from the staff but that is a different issue. The issue I am addressing is Norm Chow.

Everyone wants to point to the fact that Pete Carroll has won nothing since Norm Chow left...

I will take the flip side to that coin, what has Norm Chow won or accomplished since he left Pete Carroll and USC?

Not Much...

Until I actually see a crystal ball in the Morgan Center I am not convinced that ucla will ever be a national contender...I mean one MNC (split) in 50 years does not make you a national power house. I don't care who the HC or the OC is. There are already rumblings that Chow and Slick Rick are having some clashes...not surprising. When Chow took the job across town my 3-year old could have pointed out that sooner or later there would be tensions between the two. Slick Rick's ego is as big as Pete Carroll's...we already know Chow has a big ego.

Only time will tell...but I have moved on.

Last week Mark Sanchez won the Pepsi NFL rookie of the week award. Sanchez is again nominated for this honor along with former USC linebacker Brian Cushing.

Sanchez led the Jets to a 16-9 win over their hated rival the New England Patriots. Sanchez finished the day 14 for 22 with 163 yards and one TD. Cushing helped the Houston Texans defeat the Tennessee Titans 34-31 by recording 10 tackles (two went for losses) and deflecting a pass. To vote for either Mark Sanchez or Brian Cushing, click here.

(Photo by Icon Sports Media)

Harvin among nominees for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week honors [nfl.com]

I have a feeling this will be a weekly honor for Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez this season. Sanchez completed 18 of 31 passes for 272 yards with a TD pass and one interception. He led the Jets to a 24-7 win over the Houston Texans. To vote for Mark Sanchez for NFL rookie of the week click here.

Jets' Sanchez among nominees for Pepsi Rookie of the Week [nfl.com]

• No. 2 on No. 2. Truly elite athletes have a unique insight into one another's psyches and physicality that goes far beyond the slack-jawed, pedestrian awe of those us wiping tortilla chip crumbs from our shirts. So when USC's superfreak safety, Taylor Mays, describes Ohio State's superfreak quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, as a flying reptile of the late Triassic and Cretaceous --

"He’s tall and long, like a pterodactyl," Mays said, referring to the prehistoric winged bird.

-- it's best not to ask questions and just trust the natural connection that exists between physical absurdities. (Although technically, Taylor, I think you mean pterosaur, unless you're referring specifically to a member of the suborder Pterodactyloidea, a distinction appreciated by pterosaur linguist Arian Foster. And I'm sure that you -- unlike the L.A. Times, apparently -- realize that the species in question could hardly be a bird, since it lived before the first birds or any other vertebrates capable of powered flight. I'm not even going to start on the redundant adjective "winged" here. This is what happens when you fire half your copydesk, Times.)

• Turning Barkley into Boeckman. SC quarterback Matt Barkley turned 19 Tuesday, and celebrated by inviting 100,000 noisy Ohio State fans to "bring it on." The freshman is confident he can handle his first road start in one of the toughest environments in the country, but even old, grizzled Buckeyes are smelling blood in the water:

"I think the thing that's different for a freshman coming in here is the crowd and the blitzing," former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce said Tuesday. "And the hitting him right in the chin. If we don't hit that kid real hard on the first series, then we haven't gone after the quarterback. You have to attack him. You have to take his confidence away and put him on the defensive a little bit thinking about it.

"You've got to rattle him, make him unsure of what's happening. If this would happen to him, if he would have an interception for a touchdown on the second series of the game and get hit at the same time so hard his teeth chatter, he will be dubious from there on in."

A game-changing interception that rattles the quarterback early and makes him dubious for there on? Where might Coach Bruce have concocted such a template? I wonder ...

Barkley is not untouchable: He was sacked once in the first quarter against San Jose State with the score still 0-0, and backup Aaron Corp was sacked in the second half of that game. But the Buckeyes only got to Mark Sanchez once in last year's game and are still waiting for the emergence of a consistent pass rusher -- i.e. hitting the kid at any point is going to take a heavy dose of blitzing.

• Do I have to show that clip again? On the complete opposite end of the "freshman confidence" spectrum, excitable Ohio State noobs looking forward to the big game have had to take a crash course in pessimism:

After the Buckeyes beat Navy 31-27 Saturday, several freshmen were perplexed and came to Worthington with questions:

We won, didn't we? We've got an awesome game coming up this week with Southern California, right? So what's with all the negativity around town?

As a fifth-year senior and grizzled veteran of many similar experiences, Worthington only chuckled and filled them in on what to expect from the Ohio State faithful.

Forgive the kids if they don't know much about the Buckeyes' five-game losing streak against other top-10 teams: Jim Tressel, known for using past failure as motivation before previous big games, hasn't brought up last year's game and seems pretty intent to avoid referencing anything about the '08 catastrophe if he can help it. The new mantra is "stay in the moment." And if that moment happens to be one of dispiriting physical humiliation, just move on to the next one.

Tale of the Tape of the Day. The Chose One vs. The Chosen One.

The numbers never lie: Somebody's having his breakout/justify-the-hype game Saturday night, but I defy you to guess who.

Plausible Scenario of the Day. USC creates a turnover for an early touchdown and the stadium groans with a sense of "Here we go again ..." The Buckeyes respond with a field goal, but are kept off balance by the Trojans' balanced offense and fail to put any significant pressure on Barkley, who shakes off a slow start for a pair of touchdown drives in the second quarter, including one right before the half that puts SC up three scores at the break. Demoralized, the Buckeyes fail to score again until late in the fourth quarter and go down to another disastrous defeat as Barkley emerges as the next superstar quarterback.

- - -
Previous editions of the Trobuckalypse: Tuesday.

TrojanWire has crossed enemy lines and will be publishing a Cal grad's weekly betting analysis for USC football.

Dr. Bob will be helping TrojanWire make weekly picks at the BetUS Sportsbook.

You can get Dr. Bob's Best Bet of the Week by subscribing to his service. Watch the ESPN video after the jump to see how Dr. Bob actually applied the BUAD 310 lessons you slept through.

------------------------------------------------

USC and Florida were about even in my ratings at the end of last season and it's a shame that the two best teams didn't get to face each other in the National Championship game. The reason for the Trojans' exclusion was a late September loss at Oregon State by a 21-27 count in a game in which USC out-played the Beavers 6.1 yards per play to 5.0 yppl but were -2 in turnover margin. USC may be able to afford one loss this season given the enhanced strength of the Pac-10 this season and the tougher non-conference schedule (at Ohio State and visiting a ranked Notre Dame team). While the Trojans could make it to the National Championship game with one loss, they should be favored to win each and every week, including at Ohio State (although they may not be).

Yes, USC must replace 8 defensive starters that were selected in April's NFL draft, including 4 in the first 2 rounds, but the Trojans' secondary is going to be just as good and most of the replacements along the defensive front 7 are going to be headed to the NFL when they're done kicking ass for the Trojans. FS Taylor Mays returns to lead the unit after earning 1st Team All-American honors last season and replacing departed defensive backs Kevin Ellison and Cary Harris will not be difficult, as new starters Shareece Wright and Kevin Thomas are better NFL prospects than either Ellison or Harris (both 6th round draft picks). In fact, Thomas defended more passes (7 broken up and 3 interceptions) as a back up last season than either Ellison or Harris did as starters. The question on the defense is the front 7, which employs 6 new starters and has to replace 4 players drafted in the first 2 rounds. There is always talent waiting to fill the holes at USC, but the holes are pretty big this year and the lack of experience may be a minor problem early in the season (we'll find out on September 12th). I don't expect the USC defense to be historically good as it was in 2008 (allowed a miniscule 3.7 yards per play to a schedule of teams that would combine to average 5.7 yppl against an average stop unit), but the Trojans should still rank among the best defensive teams in the nation.

While the defense has to replace many stars, the offense only has to replace one. Quarterback Mark Sanchez had an excellent season as the starter and will now be starting for the New York Jets. It's tough to imagine sophomore Aaron Corp or freshman Matt Barkley being as efficient as Sanchez was last season, but the same was said of Matt Leinart when he had to replace Carson Palmer and of John David Booty when he followed Leinart. The only bad year for the USC pass attack was in 2007 when the receiving corps lacked talent and experience after Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett left campus, but the Trojans' pass attack has rated between +1.8 yards per pass play better than average and +2.8 yppp in the other 6 seasons since 2002 and the average new starter during that time had a rating of +2.3 yppp. The receiving corps is loaded with talent and experience heading into this season and WR Damian Williams is poised for an All-American season after nabbing 58 balls at 15.0 ypc and 9 scores as s sophomore last season. I expect the new USC quarterback to be about 2.3 yards per pass play better than average, which is down some from the +2.7 yppp rating of Sanchez last season. The rushing attack, meanwhile, should be even better than last season. The top 4 backs return to run behind the nation's best offensive line, which returns 5 starters (although C O'Dowd is questionable to start the season) and the Trojans could average over 6 yards per running play after averaging a stellar 5.6 yprp last season behind an inexperienced line that returned just 1 starter. Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight, and company should enjoy running through the holes that this year's Trojans' offensive line should create. USC averaged 6.7 yards per play in 2008 (against teams that would allow 5.1 yppl to an average attack), and I think they could be even better this season.

USC's special teams were a mixed bag last season, as the punting (33.0 net average) and punt returns (opponents averaged 36.7 net) were bad while the kickoff team was the 2nd best in the nation (21.8 yard line average opponent field position after kick-offs) and the kick return unit was good (26.5 average return). The Trojans must replace the punter (no problem there) and kicker David Buehler but the kick and punt return specialists are back. The departure of P Woidneck is likely to be a positive, but Buehler did a great job on kickoffs (although a bit worse than average on field goals) and I doubt the Trojans can repeat their great kick-off coverage stats. However, I expect more out of the punt return team and the kick returns should continue to shine. USC should once again be good overall in special teams.

The Trojans rank as my #2 rated team behind Florida entering the 2009 season, but that rating is contingent on Corp or Barkley continuing the recent tradition of great USC quarterbacks. The first big test is at Ohio State on September 12th, but I think the Trojans will be better than the Buckeyes on both sides of the ball even if the new quarterback isn't quite ready to play at typical USC standards. The Pac-10 schedule presents tough tests at Cal and at Oregon and a non-conference road game against a Notre Dame team that for once may actually be pretty good (although still likely to lose by 10 to 14 points to the Trojans). It will be a tough task for USC to come away from those 4 challenging road games with 4 wins, but I'd favor the Trojans in each of those games. An 11-1 season and another BCS bowl win is the most likely outcome (unless that BCS bowl game is against Florida), as USC tends to slip up in one Pac-10 game every year.