Oregon’s Job Is Not Complete

Oregon dominated the Trojans 47-20. The Ducks got a Freshmen QB in Matt Barkley at home, but so did Ohio State, California and Notre Dame. Oregon did what they were supposed to do and that was beat a USC team that is inexperienced and trying to find their way. This was a very impressive win by the Ducks. Oregon’s Chip Kelly is in his first season as the head coach and he accomplished what Jim Tressel, Charlie Weis and Jeff Tedford who are coaches with much more experience could not do and that is defeat the Trojans when you have them at home. USC was ranked #5 in the BCS and this victory should result in Oregon climbing up the BCS Standings.

The Trojans have lost games the last few seasons. Oregon State beat them 27-21 in 2008. Stanford got by USC 24-23 in 2007 and Oregon State slipped by the Trojans 33-31 in 2006. USC has not been beaten as soundly as the Ducks beat them today since Pete Carroll has been the coach. Oregon had 613 yards in total offense. The Trojans gave up 392 yards on the ground. USC could not find an answer for Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli. Masoli finished the game with 221 passing yards and 164 yards rushing. RB LaMichael James finished with 184 yards and averaged 7.7 YPC. The Oregon defense held USC to 4/14 on third down conversions.

What Oregon cannot do is assume they have the Pac Ten Conference wrapped up. The Ducks have a chance to be the first team to win the Pac Ten in the last seven years. Oregon must remember that in 2008 Oregon State had the opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl before the Ducks pounded them 65-38. Before the Beavers get to think about getting their revenge and denying their rival a berth to the Rose Bowl the Ducks have some very tough games coming up. They face the third place Stanford Cardinal on the road on November 7th and if Arizona can beat Washington State and Cal that could set up another major Pac Ten showdown when Arizona gets Oregon at home on November 21st. Assuming the Ducks win the next three games in a row they will be under tremendous pressure to beat Oregon State at home in the Civil War on December 3rd.

The Ducks have put themselves in a great position to qualify for their first Rose Bowl since 1994 and their first BCS game since the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. Now the Ducks will prove how well they deal with the media attention they will receive after blasting the Trojans and how they respect and prepare for the teams remaining on their schedule. If they remain focused with Masoli and James leading the way Oregon could be on their way to the Rose Bowl.

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A Lot On The Line At Autzen Stadium

On Halloween night the #5 USC Trojans travel to #10 Oregon Ducks. Before the season began California and Oregon were expected to challenge USC for first place in the Pac Ten. The Trojans defeated the Bears 30-3 and Oregon beat California 42-3. The Ducks could be the only team remaining on the Trojans schedule that has a shot at beating them. Autzen Stadium is a very difficult place for visiting teams to win. A lot of highly ranked teams have lost at Oregon. In 2006 # 15 Oklahoma lost 34-33. In 2007 #6 Arizona State lost 35-23. The Ducks have beaten USC four out of the last six games at Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks need to play this game at a fast pace and make this game a shootout. Oregon has a better chance of winning this game 42-35. A low scoring game would favor the Trojans. The Trojans defense in a two-week span held Washington State to 6 points and California to 3 points. The last couple of defensive performances by USC might have Oregon believing that it’s possible for them to put a lot of points on the board this Saturday. USC gave up 27 points to Notre Dame and 36 points to Oregon State. The Ducks are second in the conference in scoring at 34 PPG and USC is ranked #1 in the Pac-Ten in scoring defense allowing only 15.1 PPG

This game will come down to how well Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli can throw the football. Freshmen RB LaMichael James is averaging 105 yards per game on the ground for the Ducks. USC is only giving up 79 yards per game on the ground. The Ducks must find a way to move the ball through the air. In six games Masoli is only passing for 150.8 YPG. Expect USC to sell out on defense to stop the run and force Masoli to prove that he can win the game through the air.

USC is still hoping that Iowa and Texas drop a game so they can move up to #2 in the BCS standings. It is possible for the Trojans to move up, but getting past Oregon would be their most impressive win of the season. Matt Barkley has led his team to victories at Ohio Sate and Notre Dame, but the atmosphere at Autzen Stadium will be more intimidating than what he faced at those two venues. It will be important for the Trojans to keep the game close during the first quarter when the Ducks are feeding off their emotions and the fans excitement. This game might come down to experience and USC is use to playing on a big stage with a lot on the line. The Ducks must prove that they can handle the hype and what this game means to the BCS Standings and the Pac Ten race.

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Notre Dame’s Future Success Is Tied To Clausen

The Irish had an opportunity to send the game into overtime, but once again the Trojans found a way to get past Notre Dame 34-27. The Fighting Irish can only state with confidence that they are superior at the QB position and WR position. Matt Barkley is not better than Jimmy Clausen and it can be argued that Golden Tate is better than Damian Williams. At every other position on the field USC is just flat out better than the Irish. Notre Dame did a very good job of containing Joe McKnight holding him to 79 yards on 19 carries and 1 TD, but all three Notre Dame’s RB’s only combined for 70 yards on 20 carries and 1 TD. USC DE Everson Griffen was in the Irish backfield for the majority of the game. It was hard for Notre Dame to create pressure without blitzing. WR Damian Williams hit the Irish defense for a 41-yard TD on a WR screen when Notre Dame was caught blitzing at the wrong time. Even with the departure of players like Mark Sanchez, Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Kyle Moore and Fili Moala Notre Dame still lacked the talent level to compete with USC.

If Notre Dame wanted to win this game their key players Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate had to have big games and they did. Clausen finished the game 24/43, threw for 260 yards and had 3 TD’s. Golden Tate finished with 8 receptions, 117 yards, 2 TD’s and 62 yards on kickoff returns. Notre Dame only has two playmakers and the Trojans have six or seven players that can change the outcome of a game. One major concern that needs to be addressed is how did ND allow Matt Barkley to throw for 380 yards. This was the first time this season that Barkley passed for more than 283 yards. Before this game Trojan TE Anthony McCoy’s best game was 3 catches for 64 yards against San Jose State. McCoy finished with 5 catches for 153 yards. Notre Dame can’t allow players who are seldom heard from to have the best performances of their career in a game of this magnitude.

If Notre Dame expects to have a chance against USC in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 2010 they will need Clausen and Tate to return for their senior seasons. If Clausen and Tate enter the 2010 NFL Draft the Irish do not have equal talent at QB or WR to replace those two players. With this season being used as a chance to get Matt Barkley some playing experience by next season Barkley will not only be considered one of the best QB’s in the Pac Ten, but he will be one of the best returning QB’s in the country. If USC faces Notre Dame next season without Clausen on the field the Trojans will have a major advantage at the QB position. When Notre Dame faces the Trojans in December of 2010 that game could have National Championship implications on the line for USC and the only way a BCS berth will be on the line for Notre Dame is if Clausen and Tate can be convinced to stay in South Bend for one more year.

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Will Irish Have Any Luck Against The Trojans?

Charlie Weis has not beaten Southern California and the last two games Notre Dame lost by a combined score of 76-3. A lot of people feel that Weis is best known for almost beating USC in 2005 when the Trojans got by the Irish 34-31 with the famous Bush Push, but the bottom line in College football is you have to beat your rival. Athletic Directors, Boosters and Fans pay strict attention to rivalry games. Ohio State vs. Michigan. Alabama vs. Auburn. Miami vs. Florida State. These are games that coaches must win. Notre Dame has not beaten USC in seven years. This game is a million times more important than Notre Dame’s win over Nevada, Michigan State, Purdue and Washington. At some point in time Weis must beat USC.

In the past Notre Dame has faced more experienced QB’s when they played USC. Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty and Mark Sanchez have all taken their turns defeating the Irish. This season Notre Dame gets freshmen Matt Barkley in South Bend. After leading the Trojans on a game winning drive over Ohio State, Barkley should not be intimidated by the atmosphere this Saturday. USC has not hit their stride yet this season. If Notre Dame cannot beat a Trojan team that is still trying to find their way, it will be next to impossible to beat them with Barkley under center for the next two seasons.

The country will find out on Saturday if USC still has more talent on their roster than Notre Dame. The recruiting process has a direct effect on which team is successful in this rivalry. USC gets better recruits than Notre Dame every year, but the Irish have a very big advantage at the QB position. Jimmy Clausen is light years ahead of Matt Barkley at this point in time. This season Clausen has 12 TD’s, 2 INT’s, 1,544 passing yards and he is completing 67.6% of his passes. Notre Dame also has the best player at the WR position in their match-up against Southern California. WR Golden Tate has 33 receptions, for 602 yards, 4 TD’s and Tate is averaging 18.2 YPC. Clausen and Tate must have gigantic performances if they plan on beating the Trojans.

Notre Dame defensive coordinators Corwin Brown and John Tenuta must come up with a scheme that will shut down USC RB Joe McKnight and confuse 1st year QB Matt Barkley. A big reason the Trojans lost to Washington earlier this season was, because the Huskies had the superior QB and their defense was able to give USC fits. Charlie Weis was brought to South Bend, because he was regarded as an offensive genius. Weis should have the superior offensive playbook and he has the best QB. Now all he has to do is beat the Trojans for the first time.

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Huskies Fall In OT In South Bend

The Washington Huskies had their chances to put Notre Dame away and they could not do it. At the end of the third quarter Washington had an opportunity to go up by more than 10 points, but QB Jake Locker was stopped on a 4th down QB sneak. The thing that sticks out the most about this game is that Steve Sarkisian has the Huskies headed in the right direction and he has not been in Seattle for a full year yet. Sarkisian is instilling an aggressive attitude that may not pay dividends until next season. The Huskies went for it on fourth down three times converting 1/3 fourth down attempts. Going for it on fourth down is something that Pete Carroll did on a regular basis when Sarkisian was on the staff depending on where the ball was and the situation in the game. The attitude and fearlessness that makes up the Trojans program is being poured into the Washington Huskies by Steve Sarkisian and former Trojan defensive coordinator Nick Holt. Washington just lacks the horses right now.

Washington has been very impressive this season. Washington fans have not forgotten their 0-12 record from 2008. This season the Huskies lost 31-23 to the now #4 ranked LSU Tigers. They beat Idaho 42-23. The following week the Huskies shocked the college football world with a 16-13 win over USC who was ranked #3 that week. They had an emotional let down and lost to the Pac Ten’s first place Stanford Cardinal 34-14. Today they went down to Notre Dame 37-30 in OT. Once Steve Sarkisian has a couple of recruiting classes under his belt the Huskies will have better talent on the field that will result in a lot more wins.

The Washington coaching staff has began to pull the natural ability out of QB Jake Locker. In 2007 Locker only completed 47.3% of his passes. In 2008 Locker completed 53.8% of his throws. After the first four games this season Jake is completing 58.1% of his passes. Other than Locker, Washington does not have many playmakers on the roster. RB Chris Polk has been relied upon a lot this season and has produced some good numbers. Against the Irish Polk had 22 carries for 136 yards and 6.2 YPC. Sophomore WR Jermaine Kearse finished with 8 catches for 94 yards. The Huskies defense could not slow down Notre Dame. WR Golden Tate finished the game with 9 catches for 244 yards and he averaged an insane 27.1 YPC. Irish QB Jimmy Clausen only had one good leg, but the lack of talent on the Huskies defense could not stop him from completing 23/31, for 422 yards and 2 TD’s. Irish fans need to be concerned. Charlie Weis is in his fifth year in South Bend and this season Notre Dame has already lost 38-34 to Michigan, got past Michigan State 33-30 and held on to beat Purdue 24-21. Washington has the ninth ranked defense in the Pac Ten and Notre Dame couldn’t put the Huskies away until OT.

If Washington can make a Bowl game this year it will be a big step forward for the program. The next three games the Huskies get Arizona at home, Arizona State on the road and Oregon at home. The Huskies have to win two out of the next three games to put themselves in a good position so they can make a run at their first bowl appearance since the 2002 Sun Bowl. The Huskies have shown that they are well coached and they play with enough effort to get at least four more victories this season.

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UW Proves Trojans Lack Playmakers

Before today’s 16-13 loss to the Huskies, a lot of people thought that QB Aaron Corp would be allowed to throw the ball more than Matt Barkley did at Ohio State. Corp finished the game 13/22 for 110 passing yards, 1 INT and only 5 yards per completion. Head Coach Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Nick Holt were familiar with all things USC, but Washington does not have the talent that the Trojans possess and this game should not have been close. The one position that matters is the one that the Huskies had an advantage at and that is the QB position. QB Jake Locker went 21/35, threw for 237 yards and no turnovers.

It is very hard to ignore the turnover margin, which was 3-0 in favor of UW, but the Trojans couldn’t get anything going with the passing game for the second week in a row. Joe McKnight is not a huge part of the passing game despite USC’s plan to utilize him the same way that they used Reggie Bush. McKnight finished the game with three receptions for six yards. McKnight only touched the ball a total of 14 times. Steve Sarkisian found a way to get the ball to his RB Chris Polk 28 times. Pete Carroll continues to lose quality coaches and it might finally be catching up to the USC program.

Despite the loss of WR Ronald Johnson, USC still has WR Damian Williams, FB Stanley Havili and the under utilized Joe McKnight that should be making an impact in the passing game. Nine different players caught passes for the Washington Huskies. Freshman WR James Johnson finished the game with seven catches for 72 yards for UW. The one stat that contributed to the Trojan loss was going 0/10 on third down conversions.

Pete Carroll has to get his offensive coaches going in the right direction. USC plays at California and at Notre Dame in October and the 15.5 points the Trojans have averaged over the last two games will not be enough to beat those teams. As good as USC recruits RB’s and defensive players they have not reeled in an abundance of talent at the WR position and it will be interesting to see if they address this problem this recruiting season.

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