Don't Look Past the Opponent
We said: "One challenge facing the Trojans this weekend is
overlooking the Stanford Cardinal."
The players and coaches say the things that mean they did not overlook
Stanford. But they have stuck to the company line, "It's all about us, how
we execute and how we play." That is the USC philosophy under Pete Carroll,
every opponent is the same, USC needs to execute. Clearly, USC did not execute.
Did they also overlook Stanford?
Recovering from Washington
We said: "The Trojans need to "right the ship" and not be
lulled into another game plagued with miscues, penalties and injuries."
The Trojans failed miserably, the game started off with a couple penalties
and went downhill from there.
Redeeming Booty's Role
We said: John David Booty needs to get his bearings back and steer the
Trojans to a more well executed game.
Another miserable failure. Booty had four interceptions and the Trojans had 5
turnovers.
Offensive Line Remix
We said: "The line needs to limit the penalties and return to solid
blocking shown previously."
On first look, it would appear that the blocking game has not returned to the
level achieved when Kristofer O'Dowd and Chilo Rachal was on the line.
Running Back Continuity
We said: "Washington needs to continue his strong running. A second
back needs to fill the void left by Johnson and Gable's injuries."
Yet another failure by the Trojans. Washington netted 75 yards. No other back
filled the void left by Stafon Johnson and C.J. Gable's inability to play due to
injuries.
Conclusion:
The Trojans failed on every key to the game. Can they pick up the pieces and
return to the hunt for the BCS Championship Series? Stay tuned.