In football, just as in many other aspects of life, it is the bottom
line that counts. In that respect, this game was a huge success. In
front of a sellout crowd of some 92,000 people, the top ranked USC
Trojans defeated the 7th ranked University of California Golden Bears,
23-17. Having said that , I am not sure the best offensive team or best
defensive team won this football game. I am also not sure that the team
with the best schemes on both sides of the line of scrimmage won this
game. The team that gained the most yards, dominated the time of
possession , and ran some 84 plays to the victor's 54 plays, lost this
game. What I am positive of is the following. USC won the battle of
turnovers 3 to 1, they performed better, much better on special teams,
and a somewhat surprising hero of this game, (at least in my opinion),
was none other than the oft maligned USC place kicker, Ryan Killeen. In
this era of some noted parity in college football, winning any game is
something that should not be taken for granted, nor should any WIN every
be minimized.. At the end of this long afternoon, the University of
Southern California Football team is 5 and 0 and they managed to
avenge the only loss suffered in last year's National Championship
season. Simply put--I'll take that any day of the week.
Coming into this game, there were many questions that needed to be
answered. First, does Cal's coach, Jeff Tedford really have Pete
Carroll's number, so to speak? Could USC move the ball against the
highly rated California defense? Could the highly touted SC Defense
manage to slow down the nations highest scoring football team, the Cal
Bears? How would USC adjust to the absence of rush end Jeff Schweiger
and would USC's secondary show major weaknesses without budding star
strong safety, Darnell Bing? Would Cal once again be the only team to
manage to run the ball very effectively against the SC defense and who
would win the battle of the highly ranked quarterbanks. The individual
kids themselves, Matt Leianart for USC and Aaron Rodgers did not
publicly make much of the battle, but the press and many posters did.
Would Cal really be able to contain Thunder and Lightening better than
most had so far? Would the tight end finally emerge as a star in the
USC offense, now that Dominique Byrd was returning?. And would SC's young
receiving corp finally emerge and play as well as the more highly touted
Cal receivers, namely, McArthur and Lyman.
It is certainly hard to make a case that one coach has another's number,
when his record in head to head games is now 1 win and 2 losses. Having
said that, it sure does seem that Tedord manages to devise offensive
schemes that have relatively little trouble making major yardage against
Pete Carroll's defenses. Today, at times it seemed as if SC was in over
its head. At one point in the game, Cal had marched from their own 20
yard line and scored on two successive drives with seeming ease. Aaron
Rogers put on one of the all time amazing displays that I have ever
seen by a college quarterback. Last week I asked if anyone could play a
much better game than Stanford's Trent Edwards played against the
Trojans in the first half. I honestly did not think so, but boy oh
boy was I wrong. This kid Rogers is a star and he was on fire. At one
point he had hit 24 consecutive passes and ended up tying Tee Martin for
the NCAA record. The kid is simply amazing. He threw strike after strike
and it was obvious that for the most part SC could do little if anything
to stop him. Now since Cal ended up scoring only 17 points, some might
consider any criticism of the defensive scheme unfair and unwarranted
and just another example of a know it all fan mouthing off. Even if
that is the case, I can 't help but wonder something. Why didn't SC
bring heat more often? Time after time USC rushed only four guys and
Rogers had more than enough time to complete his passes. On those few
times when SC really brought heat, they finally got to the Cal qb and
one time it helped lead to a fumble. I certainly realized that an
all-out blitz on most every down would have failed, but when the
opposing qb is literally carving up a defense, one can't help but wonder
what there was to lose by trying?
With Rogers hitting almost every pass he threw, (ending up with 29 of 34
for 267 yards,) it certainly kept the SC defense off balance and it also
helped California to continue its excellent running game. Arrington was
able to go for 112 yards on 21 carries while Lynch also ran for some 36
yards on 8 attempts. All told, the California offense dominated time of
possession but in the end, it was the Trojans who held them out of the
end zone more often than not and the Bears could muster only 17 points.
As this season progresses and as the Bears continue to play lights out
offensive football, I believe that will end up being one of the D's
major achievements for this year. I also think it is worth commenting on
the play of a few specific guys. I tought Scott Ware played a nice ball
game. On first glance I did not notice any major lapses on his part and
he laid the wood nicely on a few occasions. Each person can judge for
himself how well the corners played. They did not give up the long
ball, that is for sure. For the most part they were in reasonable
position. I can say that I like Eric Wright's speed and athleticism and
I hope we get to see more of him as the season progresses.
What happened to the USC offense? The Trojans netted only 205 yards,
gaining a modest 164 through the air and 41 on the ground. Of course,
the rushing statistics are a bit skewed for a few reasons. First, they
lost 30 yards on sacks and sometimes they had a relatively short way to
go to score since they recovered 3 fumbles and got excellent field
position thanks to a great kickoff return by Reggie Bush. That not
withstanding, to my eye, this offense was out of sync much of the night
and Cal came in well prepared. At the beginning of the year, I felt
that the team could go only as far as the Oline would take it. It may
sound somewhat harsh, but it looked like the Oline took a step in the
wrong direction in this game. Leinart was sacked four times and he was
visibly rushed on several other occasions.Watching the game on
television, it was apparent that the Right Tackle got schooled on more
than one occasion as did the Left Tackle and it was also obvious that
there were some real missed assignments. Truthfully, this was to be
expected this season and credit the Cal Staff for exposing some
problems. At times it looked like SC could move the ball at will, but
for whatever reason, SC could never establish any real prolonged
offensive rhythm. It sure seemed like SC had to settle for 3 field goal
attempts on drives that should and could have resulted in touchdowns. I
have learned not to question Norm Chow, and I am sure that at the Monday
Morning Quarterback Luncheon, it will be explained why this and that
occurred. Having said that, my friend and I both wondered somewhat
loudly, (HMHM-that is being kind) why we never really tried to pound it
into the endzone on some of those drives. It really looked like we
would go away from Lendale if on one attempt he did not make it all the
way. It also looked like California exposed a real USC weakness. The
Trojans did not handle the pressure well at all. Matt did not move
around especially well and there seemed to be far too many negative type
plays on several of the offensive series. In the end, the final score
ended up as SC had hoped, and I realize some will once again say that
any such criticisms are unwarranted, but I have to say that SC's
offensive production was nothing to write home about.
Despite the problems with some aspects of the offense, there were some
real bright spots. It was terrific to see Dominique Byrd back on the
field. I hope that as the season progresses, he becomes more and more
integrated into the scheme of things. It never hurts to have a massive
guy such as he who can run hit and catch. I also am just thrilled with
the emergence of Dwayne Jarrett. He is now holding onto the ball and he
made some very "Mike Williams like catches today," with one being as
acrobatic and amazing as just about any I have seen as of late. On the
pic that Leinart threw later in the game, it sure looked to me that
Dwayne was hit every bit as hard as Groots hit the California reciever
when he was called for pass interference.. The difference, of course,
was that Cal got the call and SC did not. In some ways, one might argue
that could have been up to a 14 points swing. However, bad and good
calls are part of the game and nothing can be done to change that, at
least not without instant replay. I also thought Steve Smith once
again stepped way up and until he got hurt, he was huge. SC fans can
only hope his leg injury is not too serious because next week against
ASU, if he is not there, he will be missed with a capital MISSED.
It's about time to congratulate this number one rated team with regards
to the play of the special teams. Tom Malone punted twice and averaged
a much needed 57 yards and that was huge. Ryan Killeen had a career
day. He made 3 field goals without a miss, and perhaps almost as
importantly, he boomed every kickoff and Cal was unable to return a
single kick. Considering that Reggie Bush ran one back some 80 plus
yards to set up a golden scoring opportunity, that accomplishment by
Killeen must not be minimized. California has a fine returner
themselves in Lynch and it is frustrating as the dickens for the Cal
guys when they never get a shot at a return of their own. USC also won
that battle of turnovers. Although the Trojans fumbled once, they never
lost possession. Cal, on the other hand, fumbled 4 times and lost
three. As stated previously, it was the margin of turnvovers and the
special teams that really allowed SC to win this ballgame. Many many
times those aspects of games have not gone SC's way and otherwise not so
close games, have been far too close for comfort. This time, although SC
lost the battle of the statistics, with the help of the above, SC won
in the only way it really counts---on the scoreboard.
As I look forward to next week, I can't help but reflect on something
important. Although this game had some real negative aspects, I have
not had to write an opinon about a losing effort for over a full year.
That is not a trivial point. Last year, we lost to Cal, and this year,
even without Mike Williams, Keneche Udeze, Keary Colbert and a verteran
offensive line, this team was able to do something last year's
championship team could not do. This team beat the University of
Calfornia. For that, congratulations are in order for the team, the
players, the staff and everyone involved with this effort. Even in the
heydays of the 1970's , I can't recall going this long without losing.
Obviously this team reflects the personality of the Head Coach and they
are trying to have fun while always competing and trying to bring home
the W. After viewing today's victory, it is as if they simply refuse to
lose, even if all did not go as desired. In contrast to the Hackett
teams which found ways to lose, this Pete Carroll team finds ways to
win. To be less than a total hypocrite, I have to say that I was not all
that complementary about many apsects of this game while it was in
progress. One might even say I was "out of control". See, that is what
high expectations and success can do. Five years ago, I had acclimated
myself to SC losses against fine teams such as Cal. And make no mistake,
This California Team has a better offense than any other team I have
seen all year long. They are really tough. Yet now, I get a headache
and bent out of shape even when the Trojans beat the number 7 team in
America. Yep, one just has to love what Pete has brought to the table
at USC.
The Sun Devils might be just as tough as the Bears. They also have a
real gunslinger, (the Pac-10 is loaded) and it will not be a gimme. If
any coaching staff in America can will its team to improve and avoid a
letdown after a big win and week such as this, it is the SC staff. I am
sure Pete and company will work on the schemes and try to improve on the
weaknesses exposed in this game. On the other hand, they will also
emphasize that tough, never say die attitude and terrific Defensive
talent that held on in the end to seal the deal and victory today. It
is going to be an exciting rest of the season and to quote Pete, "It
ain't gonna be easy."