What a surprise! USC had another post-big game letdown entering Pac10 play.
Don't go into hibernation just yet; there are positives to be taken away from this game shown in the highlights.
Joe McKnight rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries, upping his current season total rush yards to 305. Could he be the first Trojan since Reggie Bush to rush for over 1000 yards in a season?
The offense struggled with the passing game, but there were some great runs by Stanley Havili, Stafon Johnson, and Allen Bradford.
USC's young defense did a great job containing Jake Locker and holding the Huskies to 16 points. If only the offense would have scored another touchdown or two. Sophomore Jurrell Casey and redshirt freshman Nick Perry set up camp in the Huskies' backfield.
Road games at Ohio State, Washington, California, Notre Dame, Oregon, Arizona State and for some reason the media thinks the world is going to crash down upon the Trojans. Articles like "Tough road slate could derail USC in '09" and "Don't be surprised if ... USC's run of seven consecutive Pac-10 titles ends in 2009", cast a shadow of gloom upon the 2009 season. And why? New quarterback in Aaron Corp, bunch of defensive leaders gone to the NFL, a situation that USC has never faced before under Carroll. The last time Pete Carroll has faced such an extraordinary predicament was way back when...in 2008.
Here we are, only minutes away from the '09 draft. But before the clock starts running, how about a look back to the Trojans of '08. How did they fare in their rookie seasons?
Sedrick Ellis, 7th overall, Saints: 30 tackles, 4 sacks. Keith Rivers, 9th overall, Bengals: 37 tackles (in 7 games), a forced fumble and an interception before being eliminated from the season by a crushing block from Hines Ward. Sam Baker, 21st overall, Falcons: Started 5 games, played 7. Integral force in Matt Ryan and the Falcons impressive post-Vick turnaround. Lawrence Jackson, 28th overall, Seahawks: 29 tackles, 2 sacks. Chilo Rachal, 2nd round - 7th pick, 49ers: Started 6 games, played 8. Fred Davis, 2nd round -17th pick, Redskins: 3 receptions for 27 yards. If Sanchez lands there, Davis may get a increase in passes thrown his way. Terrell Thomas, 2nd round, 32nd pick, Giants: 45 tackles, a blocked kick, a forced fumble and an interception. John David Booty, 5th round, 2nd pick, Vikings: Has yet to get his feet wet. Thomas Williams, 5th round, 20th pick, Jaguars: 1 tackle, 1 forced fumble. Chauncey Washington, 7th round, 6th pick, Jaguars: 4 carries, 9 yards. 1 reception, 9 yards.
So the big winners last year were Terrell Thomas and Keith Rivers until...
It's Monday, January 5, 2009. You're probably sitting at your desk right now. Welcome back. The holidays are over and odds are you're reflecting fondly on the food, the family gatherings, and, of course, the football. In order to brighten your day in the office, here's a look at some of the pageantry from the 2009 Rose Bowl between... more »
Troy Polamalu (S, Pittsburgh) had one of the crazier weekends in the NFL. His three tackles (one for a 4-yard loss) and 4-yard interception return were pretty typical. His broken-up lateral returned for a touchdown was not. Referees incorrectly overturned the play, and later admitted their mistake. The Steelers pulled out a 11-10 victory over San Diego, the first... more »
Matt Cassel (QB, New England) isn't getting sacked as much, and that means he can get his job done. He's doing so well, some are considering him as the Pat's MVP. On Sunday he threw 23-of-34 for 234 yards. On the ground, he picked up 22 yards on 9 carries, as well as a touchdown. He fumbled once. New... more »
Some familiar names are on the ballot for this year's NFL Pro Bowl. Check out the former USC players under consideration: Ryan Kalil (C, Carolina) Deuce Lutui (G, Arizona) Sam Baker (T, Atlanta Falcons) Matt Cassel (QB, New England) Carson Palmer (QB, Cincinnati) Justin Fargas (RB, Oakland) LenDale White (RB, Tennessee) Reggie Bush (both as RB and Kick Returner,... more »
Matt Cassel (QB, New England) was the most watched Trojan in week two. Nothing spectacular, no mistakes, it was a simply a solid performance that got the job done. He completed 16-of-23 for 165 yards and picked up 7 yards on 2 carries. As he pointed out in a post-game interview, all that matters are W's. He earned one... more »
Reggie Bush (RB, New Orleans) is up to his old tricks, taking 8 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown in addition to 51 yards on 14 carries. His score was the game winner (24-20 over Tampa Bay), and his longest playes were 26 yards on the ground and 42 in the air. Fellow running back Deuce McAllister did... more »
College Football News ranks the different units from around the country. USC makes a splash on defense but not surprisingly they struggle to get a lot of recognition on offense. I am not going to comment on this too much as this is pretty accurate from an SC standpoint. This is more for just general knowledge. 2008 CFN Unit... more »
The last two starters at nose tackle -- Mike Patterson and Sedrick Ellis -- were All-Americans. Now it's up to Averell Spicer or Christian Tupou to assume the responsibilities of anchoring the line. The nose tackle's job -- on a lot of teams -- is pure grunt work. Absorb blockers, clog the middle, let the linebackers run free.... more »
The big man is worth his weight in gold. Or actually 11x his weight in gold really. After missing 6 days of training camp and twelve practices, 7th overall pick DT Sedrick Ellis is on his way down to New Orleans to attend today's afternoon session. And was the hold out worth it? As reported by The Saints Beat, Ellis signed a five-year, maximum $49 million dollar contract with $19.5 million in guarantees. Ellis' agent, Eugene Parker, had this to say of the contract hold-out:
"Sedrick's very mature, and he knows that this is part of it. I mean, here's a guy that stayed for his senior year when he could have been a top-10 pick last year. So he has patience. And he knew this was necessary and it was important...He's excited to get started doing what he loves to do."
We're excited to see Ellis do what he does best. Unfortunately for Matt Leinart, that looks like it will be disrupting his passes when the Saints take on the Cardinals in Arizona, August 7th. And lucks on our side, Trojan fans. That game will be one of the few televised preseason games, 8:00pm on ESPN.
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