Notre Dame
Bumped...P The Sark Virus Dictionary: vac·cine (văk-sēn', văk'sēn'), n. A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen, such as a bacterium or virus, or of a portion of the pathogen's structure that upon administration stimulates antibody production or cellular immunity against the pathogen but is incapable of causing severe infection. Paragon commented below on Chip Kelly's visits with Jon...
more »
(0)
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller No changes this week, which may be a first this season. 1. Oregon: The Ducks left no doubt against USC. None. Zero. Now, can they maintain the focus that got them here -- the Pac-10 title within sight -- or will they start to do most-muscular poses in their bathroom mirror? Because if they start to get...
more »
(0)
The Trojans have survived tough road environments this year at Ohio State, Cal and Notre Dame. However, the biggest test of the year will be Saturday night at the toughest place to play in the Pac-10, Auzten Stadium, where the Trojans will battle the 10th ranked Oregon Ducks.
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)
(3)
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller The big one is in Eugene but every game matters. Three teams are chilling at home. 1. Matt Barkley thinks Autzen Stadium is going to be a barrel of monkeys: Matt Barkley told the LA Times that he's looks forward to playing in Autzen Stadium -- "the energy is going to be awesome and...
more »
(0)
With Anthony McCoy nursing a sore ankle, here's some of his biggest competitors for the Mackey Award. These are the eight weekly Mackey Award winners this season: Week 1 Cody Slate Marshall Week 2 Zack Pianalto North Carolina Week 3 Kyle Rudolph Notre Dame Week 4 Ed Dickson Oregon Week 5 Dennis Pitta BYU Week 6 Tony Moeaki Iowa...
more »
(0)
HeismanPundit.com Heisman Poll, 10/27 Total Points with first place votes in parantheses 1. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama–56 (9) 2. Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame–26 (1) 3. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas–25 4. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida–23 (1) 5. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska–15 (1) 6. Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame–10 (1) Case Keenum, QB, Houston–10 8. Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State–8...
more »
(0)
Observations from the Coliseum and a few injury updates:
Mike Riley is a great coach: Riley proved once again that he is one of the most underrated coaches in the country. Why Tennessee (Riley has southern roots) or programs that have the infrastructure to be consistent top 15 teams have not intensely pursued him blows my mind. Riley and the OSU coaching staff had the Trojans number for the second year in a row on Saturday and he made one of the best defenses in the country look very pedestrian. Oregon State never quit and was one possession away from possibly winning the game.
The Rogers brothers aren’t too bad either. . .307 total yards and 2 touchdowns against the best defense in the Pac-10…
USC game MVP’s= Alan Bradford and Jeremy Bates: Is Lendale White back playing for the Trojans? Alan Bradford sure brought back memories of the former great Trojan tailback. The Trojans are starting to develop a mini Thunder-Lightning package which is going to really help keep opponents guessing. Bradford’s bruising style of running is complemented by deceptive top end speed that allows him to break off big runs like the 46 yard touchdown run in the second half. When Bradford is running hard it gives the Trojans offense a power mentality that fires everyone up and is the perfect compliment to a finesse style of offense.
Jeremy Bates called another fantastic game. With the exception of calling a long pass play in the 4th quarter up 13 points which was intercepted, Bates mixed up his play calling brilliantly and took advantage of a porous Oregon State pass defense. Bates continued to utilize the Tight Ends while allowing the running game to get into a rhythm.
(More on Bates and other observations after the jump)
(1)
Sign up with BetUS... they've got our game.
Straight Bet $25 to win $22.73
Miami (-5) over Clemson
Straight Bet $25 to win $150
Stanford (-7.5) over Arizona St
Straight Bet $25 to win $22.73
USC (-20.5) over Oregon St
Three Team Parlay $25 to win $150
Miami (-5) over Clemson
Stanford (-7.5) over Arizona St
USC (-20.5) over Oregon St
Dr. Bob thinks USC should put up 40 points and is a good bet ATS. Analysis after the jump.
(0)
(Photo of Michael Morgan by Icon Sports Media)
License to kill Beavers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill Beavers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote…
We are in the second half of the season. This week the Trojans face the Oregon State Beavers. A team that shocked USC last year. The loss to Oregon State was the only thing that kept Trojans out of the national championship game. The Beavers are a well coached team under Mike Riley and have some dynamic players on their roster. The Beavers won’t roll over and quit Saturday night. So how do the men of Troy win this game? In the words of Carl Spackler, with superior intelligence and superior firepower.
The superior intelligence will first need to come from our coaches. We all know that Pete is the man. He loves his job and it shows with the passion and joy he brings to it every week in everything he does. His football intelligence is starting to rub off on our new coaches. I thought Jeremy Bates called a hell of a game last week. He is finally taking advantage of his weapons and it is fun to watch. Matt Barkley looked phenomenal. What was the key to his success? In my opinion it was the play calling. On most of his passes, Trojan receivers were wide open. That is what we are used to seeing at SC, wide open receivers down the field. I hope the tradition continues on Saturday.
The superior intelligence will also have to rub off on the players. If USC plays smart football they can run the table. I think after last weeks game, the Trojans are finally starting to learn that the biggest enemy and obstacle they face each week is themselves. They are their own worst enemy. USC had five personal fouls in the second half last week. That trend cannot continue. When the Trojans limit their mistakes, no one can beat them.
We will save the superior firepower portion of thoughts of the day for our finale after the jump…
(1)
After coming off an emotional win over Notre Dame and staring at a potential top 10 match-up against Oregon next week, the Trojans ability to focus on the task at hand will be severely tested in this quintessential trap game. On Saturday night at the Coliseum, The Trojans face a well-coached Oregon State team that is 4-2 including a close loss to now #5 Cincinnati.
Despite being heavily favored the Trojans are facing the best skill position players they have seen all year and will have to play a disciplined game to get the victory.
5 Keys to avoiding the Beaver Trap :
1- Avoid 15 yard penalties and turnovers: The #1 key every week. If the Trojans avoided the big 15 yard penalties against the Irish (especially Griffen’s penalty in the 3rd quarter) and didn’t throw an interception in the 4th quarter, the score would have been more like 34-10 instead of 34-27
2- Stay at home on defense and force Oregon State into obvious pass situations: Last year All Pac-10 Running Back Jacquizz Rogers burst onto the scene against the Trojans. His cut-back style and low center of gravity (he’s only 5’7) was a nightmare for a Trojan defense that consistently overpursued him. He ended up rushing for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Rogers is a very patient running back that uses his lack of height as an advantage when waiting for holes to develop. Linebackers and Defensive Lineman can lose track of him when he is behind the line of scrimmage.
The Trojan linebackers and Secondary need to communicate and make sure they stay in the proper gaps to contain Jacquizz and his brother James who is a Wide Receiver. The Roger’s brother’s account for 60% of Oregon State’s offense and stopping them and OSU’s run offense will require a total team effort.
If the Trojans are able to force Oregon State into obvious pass situations, they can take advantage of a young offensive line that has already given up 19 sacks this year. The OSU quarterback has a tendency to force throws when he is under pressure and that should create turnover opportunities.
(3 more keys to victory after the jump)
(0)
By SCOTT M. REID, OCREGISTER.COM,
USC
Ronald Johnson is pursuing a degree in sociology at USC. This week, however, the junior Trojan wide receiver majored in chemistry. Johnson, publicly frustrated with both his role and his performance in the No. 4 Trojans’ 34-27 victory at Notre Dame, spent most of this week trying to reconnect with freshman quarterback Matt Barkley. “We’re just trying to [...]...
more »
(0)
(Photo by Icon Sports Media
SC 34 – ND 20. That is what the score should have read at the end of regulation last Saturday. After reviewing the game film the Pac-10's coordinator of football officials, Dave Cutaia, said the Pac-10 crew working the game should have called a penalty against Notre Dame’s fake field-goal that led to an eventual score. Cutaia said:
"It appears a foul should have been called for using substitutions to deceive.”
If the officials followed the rules correctly, Notre Dame deserved a five-yard penalty for this illegal substitution.
Another call the refs mucked up last Saturday, Taylor Mays’ personal foul for crushing a ND player near the sideline. It was obvious to me and anyone with semi decent vision that the Notre Dame player was still in the field of play. Cutia noted that the ND player was inbounds when Mays hit him and he should not have been flagged for an out-of-bounds late-hit penalty.
Cutaia also questioned Mays’ penalty on Notre Dame’s last drive, the “defenseless” player flag. Cutaia said Mays “led with his shoulder, went over top of the receiver and did not contact the receiver above the shoulder.” In his eyes this was a very questionable call.
Refs need to recognize that Mays is bigger, stronger and faster than everybody on the field. When he hits people, bodies are going to get jacked up. Wake up officials! Get your learn on and read some Taylor Mays facts. News flash Pac-10 refs, Mays is big, fast and lights fools up.
Is it me or do officials call the game differently when the Trojans take the field?
Reversing some penalty calls [uscripsit]
Trojans are in recovery mode in practice [LAT]
(4)
Previous Headlines
