There was nothing fluke-ish about it.
USC (2-1, 0-1 Pacific-10 Conference) was soundly beaten by Oregon State (2-2, 1-1 Pac-10) on Sept. 25. The Beavers’ offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage all game long, and the defense made critical plays when it mattered most.
Where did this leave the Pac-10? In shambles. The only two ranked Pac-10 teams will meet at the Coliseum in Los Angeles on Saturday. And neither team is likely to make the national championship game unless some improbabilities turn into realities.
Still, USC remains USC. And the prospect of beating the Trojans in their home stadium after their embarrassing (to put it mildly) loss will require incredible effort, concentration and guile.
The Trojans under head coach Pete Carroll have a knack for not losing games. Carroll enters Saturday’s contest with a record of 78-15 in Los Angeles … a staggeringly high win record of 84 percent, and only once in Carroll’s eight years have the Trojans lost by more than a touchdown. This is aided by a steady flow of elite high school talent coming through the ranks; USC is consistently lauded with high rankings for its
recruiting classes.
Witness the team’s running back depth, where sophomore phenom Joe McKnight splits time with juniors Stafon Johnson and Allen Bradford, sophomore C.J. Gable, and redshirt freshman Marc Tyler, all of whom were heralded high-school athletes. McKnight leads the bunch with 175 yards on 25 carries in USC’s three games, but the Trojans have split 77 carries between the five. Though Carroll has instituted more competition in the wake of the loss to Oregon State, McKnight, a shifty runner and good receiver from the backfield, may see most of the carries against the Ducks. In case the Trojans are not satisfied with their backfield weapons, fullback Stanley Havili is used in both the running and passing games and is a strong blocker to boot.
At wide receiver, Arkansas transfer Damian Williams has been something of a revelation in the passing game, leading the team in catches and receiving yards. Fellow wideouts Patrick Turner, Ronald Johnson and Vidal Hazelton are all big and fast but can be inconsistent, and freshman tight end Blake Ayles could become more of a factor.
Junior quarterback Mark Sanchez has received mixed reviews during his first year as full-time starter for USC. Sanchez has completed over 66 percent of his passes for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns, and his offensive line – left guard Jeff Byars was USC’s only returning starter on the line from 2007 – has allowed two sacks thus far. Following up a 35-3 drubbing of then-No. 5 Ohio State with a loss to Oregon State – and throwing a costly interception in the fourth quarter – has led to questions of Sanchez’s consistency, which he has every opportunity to address in conference play.
What will the Trojans defense look like Saturday? The void at middle linebacker left by senior Rey Maualuga (who sprained his medial collateral ligament in his right knee) will be filled by redshirt freshman Chris Galippo, who is recovering from summer back surgery, and senior outside linebacker Brian Cushing, who broke a bone in his right hand against Oregon State but will play Saturday. Carroll will be looking to his defensive charges to pick up the slack, particularly the front seven; sophomore defensive end Everson Griffen and junior defensive tackle Averell Spicer were demoted to backups for their poor performances against the Beavers. But senior defensive tackle Fili Moala, who is expected to be one of the first defensive players taken in the 2009 NFL Draft, is a force inside, and former walk-on defensive end Clay Matthews (brother of Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews) leads USC with two sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Several eyebrows may rise at the fact that USC’s leading tackler is a member of the secondary, but the two safeties anchoring the defense – Kevin Ellison and Taylor Mays – are crucial to overall success. Ellison’s 21 tackles and four pass breakups are Trojan bests, and Mays’ size (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) and speed (4.4 40-yard dash) give the most disciplined offenses trouble. Mays has a tendency against playing up to his physical gifts; against Oregon State, he was flagged multiple times for horse-collar tackles.
Carroll, the architect of the potent USC defense (10th nationally in overall defense), is to college football cult heroism what Soren Kierkegaard is to philosophy. Carroll’s non-profit foundation, A Better L.A., aims to provide opportunities to inner-city residents, and a profile of Carroll in LA Magazine (aptly and humorously titled, “23 Reasons Why a Profile of Pete Carroll Does Not Appear in This Space”) revealed a personal side to Carroll that features an aversion to consuming liquids, an enthusiastic approach to recruiting, and an affinity for regular sojourns into rough Los Angeles neighborhoods … in the middle of the night, without a security detail.
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