SB Nation - Stafon Johnson

USC Football News and Notes 12/14 - Emerald Bowl Prep, Team Banquet and C.J. Gable News

Paragon SC — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:00:59 -0000

So, the team is back at it this week as they go into bowl prep.

A couple of interesting story lines are taking shape as the season comes to a close.

I noted yesterday that Safety Josh Pinkard is out for the Emerald Bowl because of a knee injury. That makes things very interesting as Pete Carroll will now be giving us a small glimpse into the future as to what players may have a role in 2010.

With Pinkard out, sophomore T.J. Bryant, who has been the nickel back, probably will start. But redshirt junior Shareece Wright and redshirt freshman Brian Baucham also are in the mix.

Wright, a projected starter, is expected to be available for the game after sitting out the regular season because he was academically ineligible.

Baucham, who was ahead of Bryant coming out of training camp, returned to practice Sunday after missing several weeks because of a foot injury related to a September motorcycle accident.

I am not really sure as to just how effective Wright will be after not playing for almost four months. His loss really became apparent in the second half of the season when SC's defense started to struggle. I was not pleased that Wright did not take his classwork seriously...his not being on the team really changed the dynamic of the defense.

The question I have for everyone is academically eligible does Wright deserve to play or should he wait for spring ball? Wright definitely should not start but should he see some playing time? Playing in a bowl game to me is privilege not a given. I know he is talented but is missing the regular season enough of a punishment? It is a fine line but what is the message that needs to be sent?

T.J. Bryant already has some playing time under his belt but we really have not seen anything of Baucham after his motorcycle accident...will he be game ready?

- - -

Last night USC held their Team Banquet and handed out a number of awards...

Sixth-year senior Jeff Byers was named offensive lineman of the year, while Christian Tupou and Jurrell Casey shared defensive linemen of the year honors. Senior quarterback/wideout Garrett Green was recognized as special teams player of the year. And, for the third consecutive year, Green also won the Howard Jones/Football Alumni Club Academic Award for having the highest GPA on the team.

The night wasn't lacking thrills. Cedric the Entertainer performed standup comedy and linebacker Marquis Simmons led a rendition of "Lean on Me" -- along with the tear-jerking presentation of Johnson's award by Jake Olson.

Here's a look at the full list of winners from the 2009 USC football awards ceremony on Sunday night:

Most Valuable Player: Wideout/punt returner Damian Williams

Most Inspirational Player: Tailback Stafon Johnson

Linemen of the year: Center/guard Jeff Byers (offense); defensive tackles Christian Tupou and Jurrell Casey (defense)

Special teams player of the year: Quarterback/wideout Garrett Green

Service team players of the year: Center Michael Reardon (offense); linebacker Marquis Simmons (defense)

Player of the game versus Notre Dame: Tight end Anthony McCoy

Player of the game versus UCLA: Tailback Allen Bradford

Jack Oakie "Rise and Shine" Award (year's biggest hit): Safety Taylor Mays

Howard Jones/Football Alumni Club Academic Award: Quarterback/wideout Garrett Green

Bob Chandler Award (underclassman with outstanding athletic ability, academic achievement and character): Defensive tackle Christian Tupou

John McKay Award (underclassman with the most competitive spirit): Linebacker Devon Kennard

Courage Award: Cornerback Josh Pinkard

Co-Lifters Award: Offensive lineman Jeff Byers, safety Will Harris, safety Taylor Mays

Recognition of the 22 graduating seniors

The awards for Stafon Johnson, Garrett Green and Damian Williams are no surprise.

Speaking of Garrett Green...

Garrett Green has been cleared to hold on placements despite a torn ACL in his right knee.

How cool is that! He definitely deserves it. He has probably been the most under the radar player on this team over the past few seasons. It sucks that he won't have a bigger role on kick returns like he has had but at least he will get a chance to have a hand in his final game as a Trojan.

- - -

So, what about C.J. Gable?

No player has been as much as an enigma as Gable has during his time at USC.

He had the hot hand before going out with an abdominal injury and he had a pretty good season in 2008 until he saw the bench after putting the ball on the turf against ucla and Penn St. At times his attitude has been questioned in the press but that is hard to really know. He made some statements in the past that probably put him in the doghouse but this season he has been completely off the radar.

Last season there were some rumblings that he might go pro but he stuck it out...

But with the season almost over the questions are now being asked...will he stay or will he go?

Gable is one of several draft-eligible Trojans underclassmen who must decide by Jan. 15 whether to go pro or return to school. Unlike many of the others, Gable has played only a bit role this season after being a major contributor a year ago.

Gable started all but one game last season and tied for the team lead with 10 touchdowns. This season the redshirt junior has no starts and just 21 carries as Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford have shared most of the workload.

"It’s been frustrating," Gable said Sunday after USC’s second practice in preparation for the Dec. 26 Emerald Bowl. "Anybody would be frustrated. … Why would you play if you don’t care whether you get in or not?

"I care because I want to play. But I can’t do anything about it but keep on doing what I’m doing, which is work hard and let everybody see what I can do."

Gable made quite an impression Sunday, when, according to USC coach Pete Carroll, "he was the best guy on the field." But being a good practice player — and a good soldier after complaining about playing time last season - hasn’t translated into a greater role during games.

We have heard how great players have performed in practice only to see them disappear when game time comes around so I am not taking Gables strong performance as nothing more than just a snapshot in time.

Personally, I think he goes pro. SC will still have a glut of running backs, four off the top of my head, and that is before LOI Day where SC is in the mix for a couple of more top RB's

Here is a little more for the DN...

After rushing for 617 yards on 107 carries with eight touchdowns last year, Gable has been buried behind Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford in the running back rotation during his redshirt junior season, causing him to contemplate whether he'll return to play for the Trojans in 2010 or explore his value in the NFL draft in April.

"(In the past) I've always been basing my decisions off anger, but now I'm thinking clearly," said Gable, who has seen action in 11 of 12 games, but has rushed for only 98 yards on 12 carries with no scores.

"The most important thing is graduating. I've learned that football isn't everything. There is life after football. It's been difficult, but I just get in a rhythm in practice and I forget that I'm not playing anymore. I don't talk about it unless somebody brings it up."

Gable needs three more classes to graduate, but intends to sit down and talk with coach Pete Carroll following the Dec. 26 Emerald Bowl against Boston College in San Francisco about his future prospects.

"Allen is coming back too, but it also depends on who they might bring in," Gable said. "The only thing I know I'll benefit from by coming back is that I'll graduate. But (this year) they were better than me. The best man won the position."

Gable's mature approach hasn't been lost on Carroll, especially following the Trojans' second practice in as many days since a 21-17 loss to Arizona on Dec. 5.

You know Carroll is going to try and get him stay...but he may be in the same as Mark Sanchez. He can take those three classes and be done next semester so his commitment in my eyes is fulfilled...he has no obligation to stay once he has his degree...

It should be interesting.

Stafon Johnson heading to the NFL not quite a done deal...

Paragon SC — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:51:01 -0000

Pete Carroll disputes the report that Stafon Johnson is headed to the NFL...

From CFB Talk.

This afternoon following practice, however, head coach Pete Carroll said no decision had been made.

Carroll, who speaks regularly with the injured tailback, said Johnson will apply for a draft evaluation and is planning on making an announcement this week about his playing status. Johnson suffered a life-threatening throat injury while weightlifting on Sept. 28 but has now been medically cleared to resume working out.

Carroll also added that whatever Johnson decides, "I'm going to support him."

To me the draft evaluation is a simple formality. I still have a hard time seeing Stafon coming back to SC.

Why take the risk?

Stafon Johnson headed to the NFL?

Paragon SC — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:24:25 -0000

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I am on the record of saying that I doubt he would ever play again because of the nature of this injury.

That being said...

USC senior RB Stafon Johnson, who has missed most of this season after crushing his larynx in a freak weightlifting accident, will not apply for a medical hardship and will turn pro. His uncle, Kregg Anderson, said Johnson has notified USC coach Pete Carroll of the decision.

Johnson could have petitioned the NCAA for another year of eligibility because of his injury. He instead opted for the NFL and has begun training in suburban Los Angeles.

Anderson said Johnson has been medically cleared and that his weight is up to 214 pounds after dipping to 188 following the accident in which he dropped a barbell on his throat while bench pressing. Johnson’s playing weight was around 220, and the only residual effects of the accident are to the volume of his voice.

In Johnson’s initial public comments, he raspily said: "God has a plan. Run, Stafon, run."

What does one consider medically cleared?

Anyway this is not surprising...We all saw him come out with the seniors on senior day.

But, until I actually see him take a bone crushing hit I will be skeptical that he will be able to play. This is definitely the right move for Stafon. He may only get one shot at this so he has to make the jump!

I hope I am wrong. I hope he makes me eat my words. I hope you all ridicule me for being wrong...that is how bad I want to see him play again but I just have a tough time seeing it happen.

Lets hope for the best.

FIGHT ON STAFON!!

USC Recruiting: The struggles of the 2009 team and the correlation to the recruiting class of 2006

Paragon SC — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:19:30 -0000

The Stable

The obvious struggles of this years team has made a few people take a closer look at the make up of this team. It is easy to point to the loss of all the talent on defense as well as the loss of Mark Sanchez last season but does that tell the whole story? There is a lot of talent on this team and many of those players are from the recruiting class of 2006. The overall expectations and production of the class of 2006 as we now know it has been less than what we have been used to from previous years. The class of 2006 may not be a bust but they haven't been lights out either.

This post is not meant to be inflammatory towards any player currently on the roster or any player who has departed the program for any reason or at any time, good or bad. This post is more a general observation.

So much has been made of Pete Carroll's recruiting prowess that it almost seems automatic that PC will haul in a top 5 class year in and year out. That isn't always the case, but I am more concerned about quality over quantity. Pete Carroll has not over recruited like some programs have but he isn't innocent either (I believe he over recruited by 3 or 4 players in 2003, I could be wrong on the year though).

There is no question that Pete Carroll has stockpiled a ton talent, almost to a fault, but he gets a lot out of his talent...but not always the most. That is what is frustrating many fans. Right or wrong, good or bad it is a perception that has taken root among many.

There have been some interesting discussions on the message boards about this subject and when you look a little closer you see some things that just jump out at you.

Here is one observation...

The 2009 USC Trojans is probably the least great of the CPC teams since 01 and will most likely lose 1-2 more games before its all said and done.

One over looked reason for this is this is the senior year for the disappointing class of 2006, which was CPC least accomplished in his tenure. The recruiting was excellent, its just the players either didn't live up to expectations or the coaching was too impressed with the * system and mythical recruiting championship as opposed to building the team around chemistry and functionality.

The 2 following classes 07 and 08 have already produced more dividends than the senior class this year.

Of the 06 class, only Taylor Mays is all conference. Stafon Johnson is a solid running back-but many of the other players failed out, transferred or just didn't pan out for whatever reason.

I have every reason to believe that this paradigm has lead to the dip in overall production and performance. The next few years with substantially better and now more mature skill players, we will be back on the top again.

The class of 2006 was a huge recruiting class for USC as they came off the loss to Texas in the BCS Title game. This class was dripping with talent...some real and some imagined. There were also some head-cases in this class as well. These guys were supposed to get us back to the tile game. They were supposed to fill the void left by the greatest offensive production ever seen in college football...Matt/Reggie/LenDale.

It just has never seemed that this class has ever reached its full potential and that is not something that many of us have been used to seeing from Pete Carroll during his tenure at USC...

And here they are.....(taken from Rivals)

Kenny Ashley	RB	5-8	210	4.45	5.8	Venice, CA
Walker Ashley	DT	6-4	295	4.96	-	Eden Prairie, MN
David Ausberry	WR	6-4	213	4.64	6.0	Lemoore, CA
Allen Bradford	LB	5-11	219	4.54	6.1	Colton, CA
David Buehler	DB	6-2	217	4.5	-	Santa Ana, CA
C.J. Gable	ATH	5-11	180	4.6	6.1	Sylmar, CA
Garrett Green	QB	6-2	190	4.5	5.7	Sherman Oaks, CA
Stanley Havili	RB	6-0	208	4.5	5.8	Salt Lake, UT
Vidal Hazelton	WR	6-3	193	4.47	6.1	Chatham, VA
Zack Heberer	OL	6-4	269	5.2	5.8	San Pedro, CA
Jamere Holland	ATH	6-1	175	4.35	6.0	Woodland Hills, CA
Stafon Johnson	RB	5-11	200	4.4	6.1	Los Angeles, CA
Vincent Joseph	DB	5-8	165	4.57	5.7	Long Beach, CA
Butch Lewis	DT	6-6	280	4.85	6.0	Aurora, CO
Taylor Mays	ATH	6-3	218	4.59	6.1	Seattle, WA
Anthony McCoy	TE	6-4	240	4.6	5.8	Fresno, CA
Emmanuel Moody	RB	6-1	195	4.44	6.0	Coppell, TX
Michael Morgan	LB	6-2	200	4.5	6.0	Dallas, TX
Alex Parsons	DT	6-4	260	4.9	5.9	Irvine, CA
Travon Patterson	WR	5-8	160	4.4	5.7	Long Beach, CA
Antwine Perez	DB	6-1	199	4.53	6.0	Camden, NJ
Alfred Rowe	DB	6-0	187	4.5	5.6	Long Beach, CA
Derek Simmons	DE	6-4	268	5.12	6.0	Fairfield, CA
Joshua Tatum	LB	6-0	219	4.66	6.0	Oakland, CA
Gerald Washington	TE	6-6	253	4.6	-	Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Shareece Wright	DB	5-11	180	4.53	6.0	Colton, CA

As you can see Pete Carroll was able to go after some incredible players...and if you buy into the recruiting rankings there are a lot of stars there!

We also know there was a fair amount of attrition from that class...

K. Ashley
W. Ashley
A. Perez
V. Hazelton
J. Holland
E. Moody
J. Tatum
A. Rowe
V. Joseph
G. Washington

What is left on that original list has either not panned out at all or has not lived up to or come close to their potential.

Obviously, recruiting is a crapshoot...

You can't take what the recruiting services say completely seriously. They get it wrong almost as much as they get it right. The fact is regardless of the amount of stars a player has next to their name that has never shown how hard a player is going to dedicate themselves to improving their game. It doesn't show how hard they are willing to compete. It doesn't show how much of a team player they will be within the program.

Pete Carroll did a great job of selling the benefits of playing at USC to the class of 2006 but it is clear by looking at some on this list that they were either not as talented on the field as advertised or they simply were not prepared to dedicate themselves to the high standards of USC.

I don't have all the answers here. There are some that will say that the coaching staff can't coach players up. Others will say that the coaching staff turnover is to blame and then there are those that will say that Pete Carroll plays favorites or that he got greedy when he took all those running backs.

Who knows...

Others are a lot smarter than I am when it comes to studying and evaluating the individual talents and attributes of the players Pete Carroll recruits. I offer this up simply because it has been a topic of conversation elsewhere and I do think that it is an interesting topic. It is relevant...many continue to point to the loss of Norm Chow as the main reason that SC didn't hang a few more MNC pelts on their wall. Others will talk about the losses of Davis or Coach O. I think those are valid questions but other than Chow all of PC's former assistants went on to blaze their own trail, chase their own dreams of running their own show or trying their hand in the NFL. A successful program will have a lot of attrition of assistants and this has happened to SC.

There is no magic bullet when recruiting top talent. There are always some players who don't pan out or who don't live up to expectations.

Unfortunately the Class of 2006 has a higher than normal amount of disappointment. Real or imagined.

Every player has a different reason for picking the the program they choose. I certainly won't question it. And even though the class of 2006 was for the most part pretty much able to get along that has not necessarily meant success on the field.

Pete Carroll's methods and results are fair game...but I won't lie, while it hasn't always been pretty I am pretty happy with the overall result.

Think of the alternative...

USC 20 Oregon 47 - The Morning After...

Paragon SC — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:39:26 -0000

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I am going to take a couple of different paths with this post...

One of things that frustrated me about last night's loss was the lack of adjustments.

Whether it was before the game or during the game Pete Carroll has simply refused to make any adjustment away from the Tampa 2 bend don't break defense that he is so wedded to. Some of that has to do with being thin at some positions because of injury or eligibility issues, the rest is simply habit. You can never stay 100% healthy and you can’t get every recruit you covet so he has what he has…But that does not excuse the poor tackling technique and the numerous false starts that we all saw last night.

The Pac-10 has caught up to Pete Carroll in terms of how they scheme against his defenses, in how he recruits his players and they have taken advantage of how he develops his talent. Pete Carroll has always been seen as the master of adjustments but I didn't see any last night...or in the previous two games where the defense fell apart in the second half.

I guess we really shouldn't be surprised...many of us thought (myself included) that with all this talent on defense we would be able to keep the defensive production respectable even as we lost all that talent on defense to the NFL. I did not think that we would simply pick up where we left off after the win over Penn St. but I also didn't think that ANY Pete Carroll defense would get schooled like they did last night. Stated differently, I knew we would have some growing pains and maybe a few tough losses but not the type of performances that we have seen the last three Saturdays.

It makes me wonder...with all this talent is Pete Carroll really managing it effectively? Zoulou made a great point in his commnet in the post game thread...

If Galippo is the best LB recruit since the famous haul of 2005, then we are in a world of hurt for the next two years because Malcolm Smith is too small at the point of attack and Gallippo isn’t big enough to get off block or go around them. Morgan does what is does, he is servicable, but if your MLB and your SLB can’t make plays, the cover two is in trouble.

Yeap...PC has not adjust his schemes to match his talent. And the talent he has is not as aggressive as we have seen in the past. I could take Rey overrunning some plays because I knew he would come back and smash someone in the mouth. Galippo has that ability but for some reason he isn't doing it like we saw early on. We used to see Morgan blitz from the outside all the time early on but that has been lost too.

Unfortunately, PC is forever wedded to the Tampa 2 regardless of the talent. That’s fine, but if you don't tweak it here or there you live by it and you die by it. If PC wants to keep the play in front of the defense by using a soft zone then he better make damn sure that his players can tackle the ball carrier. This has been one thing that has been so alarming on this defense...we saw it bit last year but this is just unreal. USC's defense looked like ucla out there last night with their poor tackling. PC has relied too much on the stout play of the defensive line instead of blitzing more to confuse the QB. Because of the early success of the D line PC got complacent by not bringing Taylor Mays in from his center field position for run support or for blitzing, making Mays pretty easy to scheme against and now we see the result.

You can also see it when the LB's are backing off the LOS making it easier for the QB to take off and scramble...especially one like Masoli. Keeping the CB's off the receiver 5-8 yards allows the QB to make quick throws. Why not man up the receiver off the line every so often just to keep him honest? Especially if you do not want to bring Mays up for run support...he can back up the CB's as very little is going to get past him with his speed.

Now with all that being said...

It is fair to criticize and analyze last night's loss but people also need to have some perspective

Lono over on WeAreSC let me use this...

I am also going to use his words...

ALL OF THEM!

When we lost 10-11 guys to the NFL, folks believed "we'll just reload."

Those guys included arguably the greatest linebacking corps ever. Maualuga, Cushing, Matthews and Maiava. All doing great in their first years as pros.

The weakest part of this year's defense? I would beg to say linebackers.

Oh and another guy, Mark Sanchez left. We have a freshman quarterback taking his place.

We also lost Kevin Ellison (pros) and Shareece Wright (ugh).

To date this year, we have lost Stafon Johnson, Loni Fangupo and Marc Tyler.

We were without the services of McCoy, Havili, Ausberry and Patterson. Kris O'Dowd, the centerpiece of the O'line still is battling injury and did not even play. Brian Baucham is still hampered. Adam Goodman has been out.

Again, our linebacking corps is thin, and we are battling injury there.

If some of you think coaching can overcome this, you need to turn in your gameboys and x-boxes, because there is a bit called reality here.

We are very short on manpower.

And if you use the 'we are more talented than they are' cop-out, tell me, are Carswell, D.J. Shoemate and Ayles better than the folks they are replacing? Are they equal to the folks they are replacing? Are they even close to being Ausberry, Havili and McCoy? The answer is NO.

Oh yeah, this 'reloading' thing is so last year.

The Trojans are rebuilding this year. Get used to it.

Before the season started I put up a thread that we were going to lose 3 games.

Guess what?

No other program can make those claims!

For as pissed off as we get about these types of things think about the 118 other schools that can't even sniff those accomplishments listed above.

Sure Florida has two crystal balls but Urban Meyer has not come close to PC's accomplishments. Very few teams schedule, recruit and produce the results that USC has in the past 5 years.

WE ARE THE DOMINANT PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY!

That doesn't guarantee that our team won't play poorly at times. It doesn't guarantee that we won't get beat bad like we did last night...but it does mean that SC has set the standard that everyone has either tried to emulate or catch up to. Watch those clowns across as they can't even get out of their own way week in and week out and then tell me how bad last night was.

The injuries are a problem for us, but other schools have injury problems as well. It just goes to show us that depth is still the key to a successful program but it is a tough thing to manage. Players still need to develop and that takes some time...anyone remember Rey and Cush against Texas?

We should question some of things that we have ween the past few weeks. But USC can't be dominant like this forever. I agree with Lono that this is our re-tooling year. We have the talent we just have to develop it and PC has gone a little off track of late. I suspect he will right the ship.

I also agree with Zoulou...PC has been so good at recruiting top talent that sooner or later some of these guys just are not going to come this way because we have TOO MUCH talent. The linebacker corps is the perfect example of that.

Calling out Seto like I have seen in a few places is so way off base that it is hilarious. This is PC's defense, he calls the shots. He is also the final say on the offense...he is not yet ready to let Bates and Morton do it all by themselves so this is all on him and he will be roundly criticized for it. But if you think there is someone out there who could produce these same results you better call Garrett and Sample.

It is a crappy feeling for all of us to see this team get beat like a drum last night but it is only one game. There have been some close calls this season and this time it caught up to us. So, the team has to start all over again and focus on ASU. I may be disappointed about the performance of the past few games but I really could not be happier with the over all package that we have all enjoyed the past 8 seasons.

We should question Carroll for some of what we have seen but we should also trust him in how he addresses it, he has much more information than we have and he knows a lot more than any of us ever will regardless of his stubbornness not to change.

I AM STILL IN!!

FIGHT ON!

Closing the book on Oregon St.

Paragon SC — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:35 -0000

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Well, since Matt and Reggie left I never thought I would see the day where the offense would have to bail the defense out at USC.

Oh yeah, the defense definitely did their thing early on but I can't remember seeing a Pete Carroll defense get carved up by an opposing tight end like we saw Saturday. USC was so intent on stopping 'Quizz Rodgers that they totally forgot about OSU TE Joe Halahuni.

Halahuni had nine catches for 127 yards. I was stunned at how often he was open. Pete Carroll fell right into Mike Riley's trap and it could have had a terrible effect if it wasn't for Matt Barkely and the offense doing what they needed to do to keep OSU at arms length.

I don't think anyone was expecting to see the game we saw on Saturday.

On Saturday against Oregon State, USC for the first time found itself in a shootout at home.

With the help of tailback Allen Bradford and another big punt return from Damian Williams, the fourth-ranked Trojans outlasted Oregon State, 42-36, in front of 89,718 at the Coliseum.

"This was a different game than we hoped to have," USC Coach Pete Carroll said. "We were scrambling trying to slow them down."

The victory improved USC to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference and kept the Trojans on track for a possible berth in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

But on a warm night, playing at home for the first time in four weeks, the Trojans got all they could handle from an Oregon State team determined to show that last season's upset of the then-No. 1 Trojans was no fluke.

I really did not know what defense I was watching on Saturday but the offense seems to have finally found its stride and they are going to need to be hitting on ALL cylinders next week when they travel up to Eugene to play the Ducks. The defense looked lost out there because they were so focused on stopping the run and OSU put the pressure on the secondary by spreading them out when SC committed to stopping the run. That left Halahuni open to run wild underneath. I was surprised that OSU did not use their motion blocking more like the did last year. James Rodgers had one play where he broke through for a big gain. SC still has fit s with that and because 'Quizz was not in the game for most of the second quarter OSU had to adjust their game...

It could have been really ugly.

Barkley did not have his best game even with the nice throws to Damian Williams and Ronald Johnson. Barkley even described his game as mediocre.I would agree with that assessment. Yes, Barkley threw for two TD's and rushed for another but his 2 INT's kept the Beavers hanging around...

Barkley passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another in the first half. However, he finished with two interceptions. And another interception was nullified by a penalty on Oregon State for a late hit on Barkley.

"I didn't think he was as sharp as he’s been," Coach Pete Carroll said. "We went after these guys pretty good. He was called on a lot to throw downfield. ... He just had a couple miscalculations."

I realize it isn't always going to be perfect this year, so as long as he progresses in his overall performance and as long as we win I am fine with a stinker here or there.

SC had a hard time putting these guys away...and they will be tough to beat next year in Corvallis.

The Trojans took a 19-point lead after Williams returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but that didn’t keep Oregon State from clawing back into the game.

"We couldn’t separate," Carroll said. "We had so much momentum on offense, and then there was the punt return, but we just couldn’t stop them. It just made for a frustrating night. We couldn’t get them off the field."

Oregon State scored two consecutive touchdowns to make the game a one-score possession before Barkley and the offense ran out the clock.

"I’m very proud of our team for their effort," Oregon State head coach Mike Riley said. "Nobody blinked. A lot of times, it looked like when USC scored, it would be hard to get back into the game, but we always kept trying…

"USC is very impressive."

Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass despite an ankle injury, and his brother, James Rodgers, gained 194 all-purpose yards and scored on a seven-yard pass. Beaver quarterback Sean Canfield completed 30-of-43 passes for 329 yards and three scores in the losing effort.

More than a few think that there are a lot more questions on defense than there are on offense.

We're usually convinced by now.

Shoot, we're usually convinced before the first hamstring of spring ball is stretched.

But here it is, Halloween week, and we're still trying to figure out just how good USC's football team is this season.

Good enough to go 6-1 with road victories over a ranked Ohio State and a ranked Notre Dame? To be sure.

Good enough to get strangely pushed around by Notre Dame late and Oregon State throughout? To be sure.

I was definitely having a Maalox Moment towards the end of the game.

One of the keys to Saurday's win was Allen Bradford.

Two years ago the rumors were flying under the radar that Allen Bradford was going to transfer form USC. I got a tip that his lack of playing time was was frustrating his family and that there was some pressure for him to transfer. I had a story all ready to go...but he never pulled the trigger.

I have in the past questioned why we heard all the great things he was doing in camp and in practice but never making it on the field.

Then there was his hip surgery that shut down his season last year. I was skeptical about whether or not he would be effective after this surgery but he kept on working and Saturday it paid off.

For months, for years, Bradford, frustrated with his lack of playing time in USC's tailback by committee rotation, openly talked of quitting, and leaving USC. And for months, for years, the voices talked Bradford out of running away.

Saturday evening, Bradford looked into the eyes of a fallen teammate and was finally given wings. Stafon Johnson didn't say a word, couldn't say a word. He didn't have to.

"I went to go see him I almost cried, I almost teared up because of just the energy that he brings," Bradford said of the pregame appearance of Johnson, recovering from emergency throat surgery last month after a weight-lifting accident. "We all got love for him and when he was in there I just felt like I'm going to run hard for him."

If there was ever a definition of the Trojan Family this is it...

Many of us have wanted to see Bradford get a fair shake and on Saturday we got our wish with his break out game.

I do not know what the future holds for Bradford but no one can deny that we are all happy to finally see Bradford get the touches.

The other person who came back to life was Ronald Johnson...

Johnson, a junior who suffered a broken collarbone during training camp, made a diving catch for a touchdown in the Trojans' 42-36 Pacific 10 Conference victory over Oregon State on Saturday night at the Coliseum.

Johnson missed the first five games of the season before returning last week against Notre Dame.

He had one catch against the Fighting Irish on a pass that tipped off the hands of fellow receiver Damian Williams, but otherwise struggled to play at his regular game speed.

Last Tuesday, Johnson remained sore and said he was still struggling to regain his pre-injury form.

But on Saturday night, Johnson looked like he was at full strength early in the second quarter when he dived to grab a Matt Barkley pass for a 22-yard touchdown and 14-6 lead.

He's Baaaaaack!

One final note...the Pac-10 suspended one official for missing the the face-mask call on Taylor Mays' hit on James Rodgers in the end zone when he scored in the 4th quarter.

The Pac-10 Conference has suspended an official for one game for missing a facemask call on Taylor Mays during the USC-Oregon State game on Saturday.

Mays ripped off James Rodgers‘ helment in the end zone, but no call was made. The Pac-10 did not name the official who’s being suspended, but Commissioner Larry Scott did issue this statement:

"Our members expect a high level of officiating in all our sports, and the conference office shares that expectation. We have taken this action in light of the blatant and dangerous nature of the missed call. We have full confidence in our highly trained and qualified staff of football officials, but they, like the coaches and players, are accountable and must meet the high expectations placed upon them."

What about the non-calls in the ND game?

Up next...Oregon!

Closing the Book on Notre Dame

Paragon SC — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:00:32 -0000

by Michael Conroy - AP

View full size photo »

I am a day late on this due to my travel schedule yesterday...

So, after having a couple of days to chew on this win the only thing that I really came away with is that the USC - ND rivalry is alive and well!

I do not know what the future of Charlie Weis is but his players did find find a way to dig down deep and make this game interesting. But there is a difference in the ND fan base. From what I have read in numerous spots the fans are happy they didn't get blown out which begs the question...Since when is not getting blown out OK?

On the postgame walk from the press box to the interview room, weaving through throngs of exiting Notre Dame fans, this is what I heard over and over and over again:

At least we didn't get blown out.

Not exactly "Play like a champion today'' or "Win one for the Gipper,'' is it?

That, however, tells you just how far Notre Dame has fallen. Its once-fickle fan base, who used to demand not only victories but lopsided victories that covered the spread, has been reduced to finding solace in outcomes like Saturday's dramatic 34-27 loss to USC at Notre Dame Stadium.
When it comes to facing the best college football program in the country not named Florida, it's enough now for Notre Dame to avoid abject embarrassment. It's enough to look like the Irish belonged on the same field with mighty USC, something that wasn't the case in lopsided losses the past two years. It's enough to take the Trojans down to the final play, the final second.

Sounds like a moral victory to me...

I think you have to lay this right at the feet of Charlie Weis. Once again a coach talking smack without having ever won anything dumbs down the fan base when they have been crushed the last few seasons. The fans are powerless over Notre Dame football. They have no say in the future of this team, all they can do and watch and hope that it gets better SC dominated this game on offense for most of the game but their lapse in judgment on defense with stupid penalties and their taking the foot off the gas in the second half let ND get back into the game.

Yes, Jimmy Clausen made some great plays like the TD pass to Tate but he was under pressure a lot on Saturday so while there was some great theater at the end of the game, the fact remains that SC's lapse in execution and bone headed penalties gave ND a breath of hope.

It is clear that there is still some holes on the ND defense and there were some holes on the ND offensive line that resulted in five sacks so while Weis continues to grab top talent it becomes more and more obvious that he has a hard time coaching them up. The ND O line has been together a long time and they still slow as hell.

Who knows if Weis survives at the end of the season but you can now hear the rumblings that it is time to cut him loose. There are calls that Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly has to replace Charlie Weis. I doubt that will happen...But you can see things are not well in South Bend. Heck, Pete Carroll is already thinking about 9-in-a-row!

As for USC it is hard not to like what we are seeing with Matt Barkley.

Barkley played a pretty good game even with the pick he threw that gave ND some life it is hard not to be impressed with calm demeanor. The running game is still a bit of a concern, you can see how we miss Stafon Johnson. The Oline is doing a great job at giving Barkley the protection he needs but there are some plays where they aren't blowing open the holes like we need to see to let the running backs run wild.

The passing game is coming along nicely with Damian Williams and Anthony McCoy the most important targets that Barkley has. RoJo still needs some time to get back in sync and Brice Butler is starting to emerge.

The defense played great but the secondary does concern me a bit. Taylor Mays needs to focus more on making the play than making the hit. I am not seeing him as a top 5 pick just because he is hard hitter with speed. He was late getting over on the Tate TD and it was his responsibility to catch the ND player sitting on the sideline on the fake FG. I know that they play is outlawed in the Pac-10 but as a senior safety on this team that is his job. I would agree that his being flagged for those penalties was crap but that second penalty involving Parris does not get called if he simply wraps him up and takes him down instead of going for the big hit.

Was it just me or did KeTo look like he was giving TOO MUCH cushion to the ND receivers? I know PC likes to play the bend don't break defense that keeps everything in front you but it just seemed that there was too much room in front.

The D line was great! they got pressure on Clausen and the slow ND O line all day. Yes, there were some bone headed penalties on Griffen, Jackson and Horton but it is hard to criticize them because they have played so well. Same goes with the LB's Galippo has really become one of the leaders on this team, his stop on 4th and goal was a key defensive play.

SC still has some issues but I think they are coming together. I think a scare like this one sometimes gets players to take a second look...it will be interesting to see ho the team responds against Oregon State.

- - -

Here are some links that you may have missed from over the weekend...

Jurrell Casey and Matt Barkley earn recognition - Los Angeles Times

Carroll questions several calls - OCRegister.com

Sunday Leftovers From USC-Notre Dame -- NCAA Football FanHouse

Trojans hang on against Notre Dame, but it's hard on the ticker -- latimes.com

For USC, it's a fright at the finish against the Irish -- latimes.com

USC's Barkley has big day on big stage - OCRegister.com

USC's Anthony McCoy has game of his career -- latimes.com

Rivals.com - Barkley takes center stage

Hail, hail, Notre Dame's feel-good loss of the year - Dr. Saturday

Instant analysis: USC 34, Notre Dame 27 - College Football Nation - ESPN

USCFootball.com - Trojans bend, don't break, at ND

Notre Dame's greatness: Fact or Irish myth? from OC Register

Notre Dame hosting top recruits for USC game, but it might not be the best timing - ESPN

RADIO...

Scott Wolf on PMS discusses the game

Pat Haden on the Dan Patrick does the same

Inside the Pac-10: A Day Without Defense + Who's Going Bowling?

Avinash — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:00:17 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

Shane Vereen's TD scamper was the first of many examples of Pac-10 offenses humiliating Pac-10 defenses this weekend.

Browse more photos »

Ponder this question in the comments along with your thoughts on the teams and the conference: How many Pac-10 teams will become bowl eligibile, with already nine teams sharing three wins and seven teams with four? Which ones?

Maybe it was because the Oregon schools were off, but it sure seemed a lot like every Pac-10 team was brainwashed into believing they were playing in the Holiday Bowl. Seven Pac-10 teams gave up a combined 3000 yards of total offense to each other and Emu Jimmy Clausen on a ridiculous 6.3 yards per play clip (only 10 teams in the country have given up that much this season). They also gave up 11 offensive touchdowns of 40 yards or more, including TWO OF THE WORST DEFENSIVE PLAYS I'VE EVER SEEN on the game-deciding drives.

And this was with USC playing and Washington State NOT playing! What happened? We look Inside the Pac-10.

California 45, UCLA 26

Cal got the defensive drubbing started on the first drive. I felt the Bears would win if they got to 30 points, and I was ultimately right, but boy did they make things difficult for themselves.

More on this, the rest of Cal-UCLA, plus recaps of the other three games (with video of aforementioned worst defensive plays ever) after the jump.

Let's look at the bright side--outside of one play (like with USC), the run defense remains excellent. The defensive line played great and the linebackers stepped it up in run control after that Franklin TD run, giving up 2.8 rushing yards/carry. If we can keep this up against better backs like Jacquizz, Nance, the Wildcat platoon, and Gerhart, this bodes well when we face better Pac-10 QBs.

The pass defense was, as expected, a struggle. However, despite the whining and bitching about BBDB and all the talk of how Gregory is a Duck saboteur with chainsaws for hands, the Cal pass defense did a lot more in this game than people will give them credit for. There were a lot of periods during the game where they played straight man up (like "men do", as some of the biggest Gregory-detractors have latched onto as their big phrase). It just happened Syd wasn't there for much of the game, it was poor Josh Hill or Bryant Nnabuife (good tacklers, especially HIll, but he still has a bit to learn about covering man). Still, when you go up against Norm Chow, you can expect him to take advantage of the available mismatches, which in this case were those linebackers. He went right at them on several throws, and it was clear they're going to have their growing pains as the year goes along.

Let's also give credit to Prince; he made some GREAT throws even against man coverage! And yes, you'll say those throws wouldn't have been completed against heavy pressure and a youthful Bruin front. But like I said before, Prince still only completed half of his passes against us, Not an overwhelming performance, but efficient enough.

via calbearsonline.com

Although the weakness of the pass rush saddens me, we should probably accept that Cal blitzing too much could burn them. We don't have a pass-rushing linebacker, and sending two or three guys in leaves too much of a responsibility for the other linebackers to handle at this point. Send in a corner or safety blitz leaves us vulnerable deep. The Bears don't have fast coverage men who can get to the quarterback, just solid ones, and we should be happy with that for now. And we still got three sacks.

Finally, despite the lack of defense impressiveness at the end, there were individual playmakers leaving big marks on this one. Darian Hagan re-emerged and stepped up big with several critical deflections, especially in the absence of Syd'Quan. Trevor Guyton forced a huge turnover that gave the Bears a cushion they would hold for most of the day. And the mere threat of Tyson Alualu was not something UCLA wanted to deal with. His one tackle on the day wasn't surprising because he was double-teamed and held up much of the game, as the Bruins tried to do anything outside of the Vulcan nerve pinch to hold him at bay.

Scoring-wise, the pass D still held the Bruins to 19 points and 1 touchdown out of five trips to Bear territory. And although I know people want us to pitch shut-outs like the Florida's and USCs of the world, I'll trade touchdowns for our team with field goals for their teamall day long. Although I agree that 10 man defense was horrifying.

Ultimately, Cal's pass defense didn't play its greatest, but that's been the norm all season, so I wasn't terribly bummed about it. What WAS surprising was the total folding of UCLA's defense, giving up a handful of devastating plays. Credit a great gameplan by Andy Ludwig (who out-Chowed Chow), which ruled the start of the game and left the Bruins reeling with 35 first half points.

via calbearsonline.com

Alterraun Verner, perhaps the best pro prospect corner in the conference, got burned twice on those Jones touchdown catches, even though Verner did everything right in terms of coverage. Good defense, better offense. Kudos to Ludwig for taking advantage of Marvin's skill, as he seems to be assuming the mantle of #1 receiver.

I do agree with some that say that the Bears did struggle to get any consistency going CBKWit did talk about Brian Price being a major disruptor, and I do agree he should get his dap--he disrupted a good deal of the run plays even when facing constant double teams and totally blew up our inside run. Jahvid Best should be happy this is likely his last encounter with the big 92, because outside of that one run he got nothing on the inside or the outside.

However, some of that goes hand-in-hand with line play. I feel Cal's offensive line is going to be up and down the rest of the season--there was bad run blocking everywhere, something Hydro will get to later in his postgame thoughts. Thankfully, the list of good defenses we face the rest of the season is short--Arizona State, Oregon State and Arizona are the best rush Ds left, but the latter two struggle against the pass, so I'd say the Sun Devils are the stiffest test left for this offense on paper.

UCLA did their job on 80% of their plays. Cal's offense won big-time on the other 20%. The Bruins still have a talented defense that could definitely upset a few Pac-10 squads down the stretch, but they let too much go in this one.

Postgame reactions
Great article from Bruins Nation about the logistics of Neuheisel going for it on 4th and short on three times: "However I do think that we should have gone for at least the first and the last situation, short-yardage deals where the odds of converting are slightly higher (see the gap between 4th-and-1 and 4th-and-everything else on that middle graph). For what it's worth here is their graph of what to do/not do on 4th down, based on these findings. Here is a graph that has all three of the above ones merged, you can clearly see that there were higher expected points at the 6, 28, and 46 yard lines for going for it (colored lines) than kicking (black line). Interesting to note that 4th-and-2 is almost always a better decision than kicking from anywhere on the field, and 4th-and-1 is always a better decision, according to this data."

One commenter seems unhappy with his defense: "The absence of a "team" feeling seems especially apparent on defense. On defense I think we do have some very good players. We have some stars actually. But for all the talent I think we have, I wouldn't put $10 on our ability to stop a decent-to-good team on a consistent basis. It's as if the players can't get past the hype that surrounds them. And unfortunately, this has been going on for years. Walker's defenses were always "the strongest unit" on the team, yet we couldn't expect them to win games for us. And great defenses can win games for teams, even with bad offenses. Sometimes it seems our guys think the UCLA logo on the helmet means they are the real deal. Turns out, its just a logo, and means squat on the field."

Bears With Fangs: "Let’s not fully kid ourselves. Saturday’s win over UCLA has confirmed that this team still has a number of issues preventing it from being an elite team. And it’s clear we still have overestimated talent to a certain extent and have underestimated a number of key deficiencies. And it most certainly doesn’t cover up the fact that this team really for the lack of a better word, faceplanted in their two losses against USC and Oregon. But today’s win sure does feel good."

Bear Insider: There was a lot of apprehension among Cal fans coming into the game about how the team had been affected by the two consecutive decisive losses; this victory did a lot to answer those doubts."We're a lot tighter as a family now after what we went through," said Best. We're doing a lot of team bonding and doing everything together and that's been elevated a lot the next couple weeks.
"Coach Tedford pushed for us, when the defense was on the field for the offense to be engaged, rooting them on and not just sitting on the bench," said Best. "It definitely felt like the whole team was behind us this game."

"It was a team effort," said Tedford. "We made a lot of plays on both sides of the ball and played really well together. That was the main focus coming into this game for the last two weeks -that we need to stick together. "As naysayers and critics step up, the players in the locker room believe in each other. They're playing hard for each other and hung in there and kept battling. When they came back we answered and never panicked."

#6 USC 34, #25 Notre Dame 27

via assets.nydailynews.com (Image from Getty)

Didn't see much of this game, as I doubt many Cal fans did, so I can't comment on this much. All I know is USC had a 34-14 lead with about 13 minutes to go into the 4th, and when I switched over, the Trojans were punting up 7. Say what? (It should be noted the Trojans received the good fortune of a missed Irish extra point. Who's to know how much tighter their team would've played on the final drive if Notre Dame had been going for the win rather than the tie?)

People might not realize it, but Pete Carroll, for all the supposed defensive intensity that some Golden Bears yearn for, plays the exact same schemes as Gregory does--BBDB, just with better athletes. And his version gave up 367 yards (not bad, but far from dominant), two touchdowns in the 4th quarter (although one was after a costly Barkley pick) and nearly gave up the game-tying one. There were two or three questionable calls (a Taylor Mays late hit and an extra second put back on the clock for an extra play at the goal-line are the ones that stand out), but USC showed why they are a vulnerable team this year at the end. Oregon better not start looking ahead to Halloween and take care of business next week, because their shot to win the Pac-10 will come down to their tilt in Autzen otherwise.

Anyway, Clausen made a few errant throws and misreads at the end zone, and it was enough for USC. Crisis averted for the Pac-10 and the BCS (11 win Irish team, bleh), and Catholics are sad. Just the way Martin Luther wanted it.

Postgame reactions
Conquest Chronicles: "There is no question that the USC offense has really come together. Barkley once again went into a very hostile stadium and came away with the win. I can probably count 3-5 plays that Barkley made that I could see where he was still a freshman but he managed the game nicely...I cannot get mad at Matt Barkley over that INT. Not after a 370+ yard passing performance with 2 TD's. The O line did a great job for most of the game in giving him pass protection but my concern is the running game...SC had a very difficult time establishing the run. The red zone offense was also a concern. Even though we did get some TD's in the red zone it just did not look crisp. You can tell we miss Stafon..."

Jeff Miller, OC Register: "What was Pete Carroll thinking at that precise moment? After pulling his players off the field in mid-celebration? Having recalled one giant exhale? Knowing victory now would require goal-line stand, the sequel? "Trying to enjoy the heck out of it," Carroll explained, sounding serious and certainly sober. "It was a great moment. Whether we had to go back again or not, that just doubled the fun of trying to get it done...Unfortunately, we made it real dramatic and fun...Stuff happens. Stuff happened.""

USC-Notre Dame highlights, courtesy of Trojan Wire.

I would link to some excellent Notre Dame blogs (Rakes of Mallow and Blue Gray Sky come to mind), but no post-game reactions exist yet...I guess they're either in mourning or do take Catholic Sunday very seriously.

Arizona 43, Furd 38

Welcome to your Defensive Craptacular.

Yeah, that's exactly what it looks like...and it's exactly what these defenses sucked for most of the game.

71% of passes completed, including 78% by Nick Foles. 8 offensive yards per play. Nearly 10 yards per passing play for the teams combined. When the Wildcats keyed to shut down Toby Gerhart (who still rushed for 123 and 2 TDs), Andrew Luck made them pay by nearly throwing 12 yards per attempt. Almost half of the 3rd and 4th downs were converted, and six of those conversions went for touchdowns. 1,137 total yards of offense.

Give credit to Andrew Luck (who led a valiant but failed comeback attempt in the final seconds, and his receivers like Chris Owusu dropped some critical passes that could've sealed the game) and Nick Foles, who do look like the future of Pac-10 quarterbacks right behind Barkley. I don't envy playing them this season and I wholly dread them in the years to come.

Arizona's pass defense, to be frank, sucked. Nine receivers caught a pass for at least ten yards, seven caught one for at least twenty yards, five caught one for at least thirty yards and three caught one for at least forty yards. These receivers included the quarterback, who caught one on a wide receiver pass. Maybe we should run the Wildcat pass, Best to Riley against these guys.

Furd's pass defense wasn't much better, totally helpless against the Airraid attack and Foles dictating it, giving up an unprecedented 78% completion rate.

But nothing the pass coverage gave up on both sides was as galling than the game-deciding scores at 5:15.

1st play: 3rd and 1, Furd up by 12 defending on their own 43, stupidly stack seven on the line against five (can I just rehinge how stupid you have to be to stack seven this far from the end zone--if they decide to run and Nwoko gets to the second level, he is gone), simple draw play to evade the pass rush from the edges for a 43 yard touchdown. Simple play against a dumb defensive scheme.

2nd play: 3rd and 17, Furd up by 5, defending on Arizona's 43, AND THEY STACK SEVEN ON THE LINE AGAIN!!! I was literally dumbfounded watching this on the screen when they did the second stupid thing and all rushed toward Foles again. And then Arizona nearly outstupids them by RUNNING THE BALL instead of taking advantage of single coverage everywhere. But after Grigsby breaks a weak leg tackle from the Furd edge rusher, since everyone rushed, there's no one standing between him and the first down. And because their defenders are slow at the edge, the Cardinal give up ANOTHER DRAW PLAY for a 57 yard game-deciding touchdown. The Furd gave up 100 rushing yards on those two plays after giving up 38 the rest of the game.

Oh well, guess they aren't the Cardinal for nothing.

Postgame reactions

Ted Miller, ESPN: "We're kind of changing the offense to [Foles]," Stoops said. "He's very comfortable with it. He can distribute the football and make the reads and calls. We look a lot more like Texas Tech than we ever have." Foles has progressed from backup best known for his long, 70s rock star hair to perhaps being the frontrunner for first-team All-Conference quarterback. Yes, his coaches are a little surprised by what they suddenly find themselves with at the position. "Nick is not the best practice player," Dykes said. "He's learning to be one, but he's not as good as he should be. We did notice that when he got into games -- even the spring game -- that he's kind of a gamer. He can improvise well and he has a really good feel for making decisions and staying calm."

Ken Roe, Oregonian: "The play call looked disastrous when the Wildcats came to the line, because Stanford was massing for an all-out blitz. Every gap would be filled. Tailback Nic Grigsby, the designated ballcarrier, was going to be swarmed by white jerseys before he ever got out of the backfield. Arizona center Colin Baxter turned to quarterback Nick Foles and begged him to check out of the play. But Foles, as he told the Arizona Daily Star, figured maybe Grigsby could make something happen. Guess what? Grigsby took the handoff, swerved around a blitzing defender and popped through the line of scrimmage and, because of the blitz, found no second level of defense. He went 57 yards for the go-ahead touchdown . "Really honestly," Dykes told the Daily Star, "it was a bad call that just worked.""

Bobby Stover, Daily Wildcat: "Head coach Mike Stoops — normally stoic and business-like following games, win or lose — strolled into the room with a grin on his face as he took his seat in front of the microphone with the Arizona backdrop behind him. As he began detailing the game from his view, he seemed relieved and elated. The reporters’ questions were more casual and Stoops’ responses more light-hearted than usual. After the head coach finished, defensive and offensive coordinators Mark Stoops and Sonny Dykes, respectively, entered and spoke with similar tones. Mark Stoops got the reporters laughing at one point after telling them he gave all the offensive players and coaches a kiss for bailing out his defense that allowed 584 yards of offense from the Cardinal."

Here is the Furd reaction:

Arizona State 24, Washington 17

Don't let that score fool you. This game had 842 yards of offense. Jake Locker struggled with his accuracy and threw a bad red zone pick, but also threw 8 for 10 for 121 yards and a TD on the two second half scoring drives and by sustaining his drives after the first quarter, made sure that Arizona State didn't have great field position for much of the game (well, until the end, but more on that later).

It was a big help to the weak UDub defense, which simply doesn't have the depth yet to stop Pac-10 teams who can both run and pass. That USC game is looking more and more like two coordinators knowing their old coach's tendencies and Aaron Corp being bad bad bad. They gave up 464 yards in all, 169 on the ground to guys like freshman Cameron Marshall and elder statesman Dmitri Nance. Danny Sullivan is not a great quarterback (ASU is 98th in passer rating and 93rd in completion percentage in D-I), but he completed to seven receivers, all with at least one catch of nine yards or more.

All of this production though, was undone because both teams played mind-numbingly stupid football. There were 21 penalties for 223 yards. 223 yards!!! And most of them weren't even of the negative type--there were at least a half-dozen personal fouls, most on that crazy Sun Devil defense. And Washington's coaching staff got penalized again, leading me to wonder if Pete Carroll let Nick Holt go gracefully because he knew that his ex-DC had recently been released from a mental ward.

There was a hilarious drive in the 2nd quarter by the Huskies which went 82 yards, with six penalties in 13 plays, five of those penalties coming in a six play span, giving the Huskies 45 net yards, yet it still ended with a Locker interception. After the turnover, the Sun Devils went 89 yards, only to fumble it twice, recovering it the first time, and losing the second one into the end zone Cameron Colvin style for a touchback.

Vontaze Burfict might be a beast of a defender, but he also might be legitimately insane--he was involved in about half of those penalties, throwing forearms, trash-talked everyone on Washington, and seemed to be trying out for a part in a 50 Cent music video during the middle of the game. The biggest thing I fear about Tempe is the stupidity quotient, where the relative IQ and inebriation of the Sun Devil fanbase and football team infects the Golden Bears as the game goes along, because as some of our commenters noted, Washington sure seemed like they got dragged down to their devilish level. Thank God we're not playing this on Halloween night.

In one of many curious coaching decisions not involving Mike Stoops, with 1:17 left in a tied game, Steve Sarkisian tries to run out the clock (he gets it down to :13), but also does the second dumbest thing by passing on 3rd and 1. If he runs the ball and gets the first down, you go to overtime, and do you trust Sullivan or Locker more to score a touchdown? Rookie coaching mindfuck. Wonder if Tedford had any in 2002.

All of that led to this. Ladies, gentlemen, I present to you, the worst football defense of 2009.

I have no words left.

Postgame reactions

House of Sparky: "Vontaze Burfict is extremely talented, but he needs to check himself before he wrecks himself: He runs around like he is about to kill whoever gets in his way, and I love having him on our side. But at times last night, he was literally out of control. We cannot have him committing so many penalties. It makes us look bad and ruined several good defense stops. In time, he will be considered one of the best. For now, he needs to realize what is important- making plays before the whistle blows."

UW Dawg Pound: "I listened to the past game show and Bob Rondeau asked all the right questions and Coach Sark gave all the right answers. The thing I really like about Sarkisian is he didn't make excuses and took immediate responsibility for the clock management on that last series.

"Hindsight is 20/20, but if I had to do it again, I would've run the ball," Sarkisian said of the third-and-one play. "That's on me. It eats at me because I felt like I could've managed the ballgame better," Sarkisian said. "I try to pride myself in doing that stuff, but I didn't do it tonight."

On the miraculous Arizona State TD play Sark had these comments:

"We jumped a route, a crossing route, and left the middle of the field wide open."

When you look at that final play on film you see a series of broken assignments and a defense that was confused about what it was supposed to do on what should have been the last play before overtime."

Only Bears fans care about these

Penn State 20, Minnesota 0

Reading the gamethread from The Daily Gopher, people were not happy at all with the gameplan and coaching.

Virginia 20, Maryland 9

Testudo Times: "I like Chris Turner a lot, and I can respect what he's done as QB for the better part of three years, but he's been having a rough go of it lately. Yesterday was no exception. First off, his arm was noodle-y and weak, most evidenced by the Torrey Smithunderthrow. Second, he was rarely on target, even with open receivers. And this wasn't just the rain: Jameel Sewell looked better than he did for most of the game. Worst of all, he rarely even looked Torrey Smith's way. Like I said in the recap, Smith was isolated, one on one coverage, with no safety over the top several times, and he was never even glanced at. Turner's gotta get some of that blame."

Poll

How many Pac-10 teams will make it to bowls this season?

Less than 5

6 votes

5

44 votes

6

84 votes

7

41 votes

More than 7

3 votes

178 votes | Poll has closed

Raking The Muck: USC vs. Notre Dame Anticipation-Is-Killing-Me Version

CW — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:09:47 -0000

First, you'd think that the Southern Cal players would be a little tense about Saturday's game. Maybe? Just a little? Uh, Nope.

(I love how PeteCarrollTV goes to bars before the video ends. Dammit. Just dammit.)

For the Irish to win Saturday, they're going to have to put some pressure on Matt Barkley, both with large men chasing him and by putting points up on the board. Everything you'll watch and read about Barkley leads you to believe he's not easily rattled. The Tribune and the LA Times weigh in.

ESPN is giving the game wall-to-wall coverage, anchored by this Ivan Maisel piece. If you have Insider, check out the Scouts, Inc. preview. (Also, ESPN, do we need to automatically start videos on every page? What a great idea.)

From the South Bend Tribune, a fun little A to Z on the series (did anyone clear it with Orson?). I barely made it past A, but it's solid.

While the Irish are getting some players back from injury, the Trojans are maximizing the bye week as well. Ronald Johnson will make his season debut for the wide receiving corps, while Armond Armstead will be entering the already terrifying defensive line rotation after missing the first five games with a broken bone in his foot.

Stafon Johnson won't be playing on Saturday - although he is out of the hospital now - but that doesn't mean he won't be on the minds (and helmets) of his teammates:

USC Football News and Notes 10/14

Paragon SC — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:00:20 -0000

Mustain now #2

One interesting development this week was that Mitch Mustain moving into the #2 spot on the QB depth chart...

Mustain, now the Trojans' No. 2 quarterback behind Matt Barkley, said Tuesday that his recent stint working as a punter helped him focus and perform better at his primary position. "Actually having something to do that was at least halfway constructive helped a lot," he said.

Mustain is clearly buoyed by his elevated status, which was evident last week when he took most of the second-team snaps during the Trojans' off week.

The junior, who started eight games for Arkansas in 2006, said it was a "huge boost" in morale to be No. 2 instead of No. 3.

Competition is apparently still king on Howard Jones Field. It doesn't really matter to me as long as whomever is on the field gives us the best chance to win. Aaron Corp really didn't show us all the things we heard about during camp. And even if Pete Carroll does have a man crush on Barkley it is clear that Barkley has shown that he is the guy.

Aaron Corp on the other hand can move back up if he can get his head on straight ...

Today, Corp is USC's third-string quarterback, left with no other option but to try to battle his way back up the depth chart.

"I was told we're still competing," Corp said Tuesday. "That's the way I'm looking at it."

Unfortunately for Corp, the third-string quarterback gets precious few practice reps during game weeks, and USC is waist-deep in preparation for Saturday's game at Notre Dame. So for the second consecutive day, Corp had to watch while Matt Barkley took the first-team reps and surging Mitch Mustain the second.

When he learned about his demotion Monday, Corp (Orange Lutheran High) said he "didn't really say anything. I'm not going to say what I thought. It is what it is."

Corp acknowledged he wasn't happy about it and lamented a blown opportunity at Washington, where he struggled in relief of an injured Barkley in a USC defeat.

"I was given a shot," Corp said, "and I didn't perform well."

Yeap...

The opportunity slipped right through his grasp. There really isn't anything else that can be said...

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Matt Barkley looks to write another chapter in his scrapbook...

Matt Barley continues to ready himself for another tough road game in South Bend.

When sixth-ranked USC plays No. 25 Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium, Barkley has a chance to make his mark in the sport's most intense intersectional rivalry.

Pat Haden and Carson Palmer are among the Trojans quarterbacks who struggled in defeat in starts at a stadium built in 1930. Paul McDonald, Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez are among those who flourished in victory.

Barkley was typically poised when asked if he was looking forward to playing at Notre Dame.

"I'm stoked," he said Tuesday before quickly adding, "But I'll say this a million times: It's no different than any other game.

"I'll probably look back after I finish here realizing what a great tradition this is between these two schools. But to me, I'm not doing anything out of the norm to prepare for this."

According to Haden, who played on two national championship teams and now works as a broadcaster on Notre Dame telecasts, Barkley's preparation before arriving at USC will help him block out the pressure that quarterbacks of earlier generations felt playing at Notre Dame Stadium.

We really already know this...

Barkley has proven himself under pressure in two other tough stadiums...The 'Shoe and Memorial at Cal. Notre Dame is just another game in Barkley's head. I am sure he knows about the tradition and history but he can handle The 'Shoe then I see no reason why he can't handle South Bend. It won't be easy but I really can't think of another young QB that I would rather have in this position.

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Stafon comes home...

I am sure you all saw this today but Stafon Johnson held a presser today when he left the hospital.

I am just glad that he is OK and progressing ahead of schedule!

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USC's Linebackers look to make their own legacy

We have read a few similar stories like this already this season...

Poor ole USC. Five games into the season, its no-name defense -- other than fancypants safety Taylor Mays -- only ranks fourth in the nation in scoring (8.6 points per game), sixth in total defense (238.6 yards per game) and fifth in run defense (64.8 yards per game). It has surrendered no -- zero -- touchdown passes. It's the only team in the nation with a clean sheet.

Seems like these no-names aren't half-bad, particularly the linebackers.

"You can't say enough good things about their defense," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said. "And they're losing all those -- everyone's, 'Oh, they're losing all these guys to the NFL from last year!' and it doesn't seem like they've missed a beat."

Weis has reason for concern as he prepares for a visit from the sixth-ranked Trojans on Saturday. Sure, his offense averages 33 points a game and ranks 10th in the nation with 470 yards per contest, but the Fighting Irish have scored three points against USC in their past two meetings and haven't faced a defense that even approaches the Trojans' depth and talent level.

You bet he is scared...

This defense is actually ahead of where they were last season...

Blue-Gray Sky has some of the most honest commentary I have read on the game.

Even though they will show up in South Bend led by a true freshman at quarterback, he already has a 4th quarter comeback win on the road at night over Ohio State to his name. And despite losing nearly their entire defense to the NFL, this year's squad is actually ahead of the dominating pace set by last year's crew. Sure, they hit a pothole against Washington, a team that ND just beat, but the transitive property has little value in college football and shouldn't be much solace for Notre Dame fans.

More than SC's strong stats and deep depth chart is the unavoidable fact that the past few years worth of matchups have been a horror show of Irish ineptitude. The players and staff just don't know what it is like to experience success against Southern Cal. I can think of no better way to sum it up than with this unfortunately 100% true statement:

70% of the scholarship players on Notre Dame's roster were not a part of the program the last time Notre Dame scored a touchdown against Southern Cal.
Re-read that statement a few times and you might find yourself looking to make other plans for Saturday.

And yet....despite the odds favoring the Trojans and the unpleasant thoughts of what another loss means for Charlie and the future of ND football, I found myself today looking up last minute airfare to Chicago. Maybe it's because today is 100 years to the day that my grandfather was born, the man that decided to head to college, picked a small school in northern Indiana, and was in the Stadium the first time the Trojans came to visit in 1931. Or maybe I just want another chance to tailgate and catch up with friends. But I think the main reason is that I'm getting the feeling that I don't want to be anywhere other than Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.

Now that is a fan! My hats off to him...

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More ND News!

Here are a few other links on this weekend's game...

All Pac-10 USC-ND Preview

Southern Cal-Notre Dame Preview | TideSports.com

Clausen, Notre Dame will keep pace with USC - Coppock on Sports

Weis confident in his Fighting Irish

USC maintains Carroll's plan - South Bend Tribune
There's achieving success. And there's maintaining success.

USC-Notre Dame rivalry should be back to old form - LA Daily News