Ohio State

Rory MacDonald, TrojanWire

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This is nothing new, but we came across these renderings on architectural firm RTKL's site.

RTKL made its name in sports by helping HOK Sport (now Populous) fit Camden Yards into inner-city Baltimore in the early 1990s, but since 1999 they've been cooking up the master plans behind LA LIVE, which reaches its completion in early 2010 with the opening of a 54-story building that houses a JW Marriott Hotel, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Residences and a 14-screen Regal Cinemas.

Back to the LA Coliseum... besides the NFL logos we can't help but see how this would be a drastic improvement to our Trojan sanctuary.

First there is respect for the original structure. The oversize jumbotrons plopped atop the Peristyle have been removed and replaced with jumbotrons exhibiting a more modern screen. The Miller Lite game clock removed to bare the Olympic rings. AT&T, Muscle Milk, and other garbage banners hanging from the colonnade are non-existent.

The roof canopy can provide shade to those in the bleeders and channel the awesomeness that is the noise of 93,607 down onto the field. Works for those fuckers up in Oregon.

The luxury boxes, eh... it's not really college football. But Ohio State's Horseshoe is a magnificent stadium. And it has suites and does a great job of balancing the modern with the classical, specifically the outer facade with the modern interior. Additionally, luxury boxes could open the way to bring booze back to the Coliseum. There's already booze at events that rent out the space below the Peristyle and just like the Founders Room at Galen Center, money would buy access to influence. And everyone lucky enough to know someone could go there at halftime and get back under the influence.

One more image of the improved Coliseum after the jump.

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John Skinner, TrojanWire

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)

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Freerdo, TrojanWire

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(Photo by Icon Sports Media)

Jeff Fellenzer, a professor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, sat down with Matt Barkley for a very candid Q & A session. Here is a link to that interview and two excerpts

Fellenzer: Have you experienced any special moments when your older teammates really showed faith in you as a leader?

Barkley: At Ohio State, right before we got the ball back for that fourth-quarter drive, [linebacker] Chris Galippo and [safety] Taylor Mays each came up to me at different times, saying, 'We're gonna get the ball back for you. We believe in you.' That was confirmation for me right there, getting all the guys in the mind-set that it doesn't matter who we are or what age we are, hey, we can do this. But I'll remember those two guys coming up and saying that stuff. That was pretty cool.

Fellenzer: What stands out among the things you've learned so far from Pete Carroll?

Barkley: I love everything he says and I try to apply everything, and even try to echo him in interviews . . . just because they're the right things to say. [Laugh] We have three rules: 'Be early' -- it can apply to everything, to class, to outside settings, but especially for football. It shows respect. 'Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses,' from Coach [John] Wooden. These all can apply off the field, too. 'Protect the team.' It's simple, but it goes a long way. Also 'protect the ball' is a huge part of the philosophy. It's made me change for the better, just being mindful that if we have control of the ball, obviously they don't . . . and they can't score. That's been a huge thing. Competing is another central theme of the program. I've always been a competitor, but just to hear that reinforced every day, and to have the defense hearing it, too, so they're competing right back . . . it's making me a better player. Being even-keeled, not underestimating your opponents, treating them the same every week. I love all that stuff he says.

There is no goal that USC's Matt Barkley won't pursue [LAT]

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John Skinner, TrojanWire

When Jimmy Clausen threw an incomplete pass in the end zone and the clock showed 0:00, the USC football team and its fans were celebrating much like the Irish fans celebrated when they thought Notre Dame had won in 2005. When the PA announcer announced that 1 more second should be on the clock, the celebrating USC fans felt exactly like the Notre Dame fans in 2005 with a feeling of panic and disbelief.

Many fans immediately thought about 2005 when more time allowed the famous “Bush Push”. Would this be the same situation in reverse? Fortunately for the Trojans, the usually clutch Clausen threw his 4th straight incompletion inside the 10 yard line and the Trojans hung on to win 34-27.

After performing a pretty disciplined and dominating 3 quarters, the Trojans almost let it slip away in the 4th quarter. Fortunately the phenomenal effort of true Freshman Matt Barkley, who threw for 380 yards and 2 Touchdowns in leading the Trojans to a 34-14 lead was preserved despite untimely unsportsmanlike penalties and mental mistakes that helped Notre Dame score two consecutive touchdowns in the 4th quarter.

Thoughts on Barkley, Bates and McCoy after the jump…

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By Paragon SC, Conquest Chronicles
There are some interesting stories out there over the past few day that are putting a lot of pressure on Charlie Weis and Notre Dame to beat USC. Moment of truth for Weis, Clausen - Wetzel Notre Dame's aim: Win USC game to regain name - Dodd Notre Dame and QB Jimmy Clausen must rise to occasion against sixth-ranked... more »

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By Jay Christensen, The Wiz of Odds
A look at how prognosticators from around the country view this week's games. Tim Sullivan, New York Post: Texas keeps plodding along. Oklahoma is 0-2 in its only true tests. Yes, Sam Bradford is back, but that's not enough for the Sooners. Take the Longhorns and give the points in the Red River Rivalry.Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News:... more »

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With all but one computer ranking available, BCS guru Jerry Palm's rankings are: Florida, Alabama, Texas, Virginia Tech, Boise St., USC, LSU and Ohio State. The sixth computer will not be available until next week, when the official BCS numbers are released for the first time this season. The computers rank USC anywhere from 8th-15th. The Trojans are doing... more »

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More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP 19 days ago: In this Sept. 5, 2009, file photo, Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley (7) and coach Pete Carroll shake hands during practice before an NCAA college football game against San Jose in Los Angeles. Carroll is hoping the return of perhaps USC's two most important players will put the... more »

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Andrew Orr, TrojanWire

Offense highlights:

Defense highlights:

History repeats itself for the Golden Bears; they enter the season with lots of hype, only to fold like a bad hand in poker. Time for them to enter hibernation!

Cal's Heisman hopeful tailback, Jahvid Bust, was held to a season-low 47 rushing yards against USC. Meanwhile Joe McKnight looked the best out there, rushing for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

Cal's quarterback, Kevin Riley, really outdid himself this time. Just when you thought his passing completion rate of 38.7% against Oregon could not get any worse, he sunk to a new low against the Trojans with a completion rate of 37.5%.

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Rory MacDonald, TrojanWire

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Penn State (-7) over Illinois

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Alabama (-17) over Kentucky

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Miami (+7) over Oklahoma

Illinois lost to Ohio State 30-0. And over 80% of people on Covers.com are taking Penn State. Florida drubbed Kentucky at Kentucky 41-7. Why should Alabama at Kentucky be any different? Miami is bad ass. Just go their website. Does that look and sound like a team that is going to lose to sissy ass Oklahoma sans Sam Bradford at Land Shark Stadium by more than a touchdown?

Staying away from USC because this Cal grad (Dr. Bob) is jinxing us (after the jump) and we think Barkley pulls out another barnburner that is closer than the spread.

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• Out of the woods. Doctors said the neck and throat injury USC running back Stafon Johnson sustained while lifting weights Monday would have killed a normal person without Johnson's marbled neck, but he was alert Tuesday after a marathon seven-hour surgery, communicating nonverbally with visitors and attempting not to laugh at Pete Carroll. And, assuming his recovery goes... more »

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By Paragon SC, Conquest Chronicles
It is hard to say just how much USC will open up the playbook if Matt Barkley isn't able to chuck the ball down field. Clearly USC's problems on offense last weekend against UW made a lot of people take notice and scratch their heads. Today's game against Washington St. is the perfect medicine to try and get things... more »

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