Of all the freshman who are redshirting, please list three of them who you think have the most upside. Thanks

Do the coaches consider Mitch Mustain's previous college game experience to be an asset for him or do they think it does not matter in regards to a USC game situation?

What's wrong with Patrick Turner? So far he is not living up to the expectation.

Who will play the parts of Scott Wolf and Mark Sanchez in the upcoming made-for-TV movie, "The Quarterback Who Made Everybody Forget John David Booty"?

After USC’s performance against Notre Dame...do YOU think that USC will pull off the “upset” and beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium on Saturday?

Scott:

Was Carroll angry when he heard Sanchez told the media after the Notre Dame game that he should start over a healthy Booty? Wasn't it all about his playing until Booty was healed, then making a public slip by not being a team player and admitting his motives were selfish?

Scott,

Could C.J. Gable be moved to Cornerback, and Bradford be moved to LB or Safety next year? They were both recruited as athletes, and with Tyler, Green, Johnson, McKnight, and hopefully Darrell Scott on next year's roster, this might be the best move for both of them...your thought's please!

Thanks Wolfie, love the blog! But, I really don't agree with or understand your AP ranking ballots. What is the primary reason or contrast in perception that motivates you to vote SC at #14 while the human polls have us in the top 10? And, to drill down to a finer level of detail, why did you rank a 2-loss Texas team whose best win is against 4-3 UCF ahead of USC? Did you see any highlights of UT's blowout home loss to KSU? Do you have your own proprietary system that factors in strength of schedule or something? If we win in Eugene, do you think that you may move us into your top 10?

So, in general, how do you complete your ballot, why is it frequently much different than the human polls, and why does it frequently contain glaring inequities like the UT ranking?

Thanks again and love the blog. Don't know how I would vent my mid-week game anxiety without it! Beat the Ucks!

Week 9 DIS-honorable Mention -- Scott Wolf,

Los Angeles Daily News (posted 10/24/07)

Scott Wolf was actually this week's top vote getter on Pollspeak. However, the votes were much more evenly distributed this week so we will keep this one short and make many small observations in the Quick Hits section below. Here are some highlights from Wolf's week 9 ballot.

1) Wolf ranks Arizona State #15, which is the lowest of any voter. As mentioned above, Ohio State, Boston College, Arizona State and Kansas are all in the same boat...and it's a boat only big enough for a few teams. When making unbiased decisions, these four should be floating right near each other. Of course, if a ballot was the Titanic, then it would be OK for first-class passengers to get in the lifeboats instead.

2) Texas at #12. Wolf gives the highest ranking for Texas. While this is notable, it wouldn't qualify as a concern except when combined with #1... two-loss Texas ranked over undefeated Arizona State and undefeated Kansas (#13).

3) The third concern is a general tendency to rank losers of head-to-head match-ups over winners. See the explanation of Rule #1 from last week. Wolf ranks Cal over UCLA, Kentucky over South Carolina, Alabama over Georgia, and West Virginia over South Florida. Wolf isn't alone in doing some of these, and one could make good cases for some of those decisions, but the fact that the loser is ranked higher in every case is concerning. The WVU and South Florida rankings seem like an obvious error...but several voters still agree with Wolf. Pollspeak theorizes that these rankings sometimes happen because people feel obligated to only move teams up or down a certain number of spaces each week instead of re-addressing the entire ballot each week. That causes some strange rankings of teams with the same record, but with winners ranked behind losers. Cal over UCLA was another common one. Also, Wolf not only put two-loss Georgia behind two-loss Alabama (who Georgia beat), but he also put them behind three-loss Auburn.

There are other items that could be pointed out, but these are the highlights. We'll let you discuss the rest on our FORUMS.

www.pollspeak.com

Scott,

My friends and I are thinking of starting a Euro soccer blog. We've got Serie A and Bundesliga covered, but need someone for either Premiership or Liga.

Would you be interested?

Wolfie,
The WR's seem to have dropped more passes this year than before. Is this due to:

1) poor pases from JDB
2) bad coaching

Their recruiting ranking don't matter. Stanford's WR's weren't as highly ranked but ran routes well and catch.

What's coach carroll's explanation and solution? (coach change, let them play, etc?)

thanks

Is the "student body right" back in the playbook? and is Stafon Johnson the only one they run it with?

How you think Caesar ranks among active NCAA football coaches. The Best? Top 5?
Overrated? Who is his biggest threat nationally to the Best Mantle? Tressle, U. Meyer, Saban, Tedford, Dorrell?

If PC coaches another 5-10 years and enjoys 2-3 more NC's, 7-8 BCS victories where would he rank all time? With Bear Bryant and Knute Rockne? Paterno and Bowden territory?
Or is John Wooden a better comparison?

how much money does USC make from football? I hear a lot of successful ncaa athletic programs merely break even because they have to cover the costs of the non-revenue sports, but I was thinking USC football is so lucrative that the athletic department, as a whole, has to be in the green...

I believe that Rocky Seto is the "eye in the sky" on defense. Does he have alot of input during games about what defensive adjustments to make? It seems that Carroll does spend a lot of time talking to him over the headset when the defense is off the field. And he has always been up in the booth as far as I know.

After Joe, who is the fastest running back on the squad - is there truth to the rumor Chauncey Washignton ran down Reggie Bush in a practice their freshman year?

Since you did not answer my question in the "lightning" round, I did my own research and found the answers. Oregon injuries include their top 3 receivers and #2 tailback. This should help SC and the defense. Feel free to use my answer in your report.

When did Pete Carroll start the tradition of Rocky Seto leading the team in a short prayer during a game's walk-through?

blackjack:

Last year's football costs were:

Made: approx $28 million

Costs: approx $19 million

Athletic Department budget: approx $65 million

So the football team is hardly raking in a lot compared to overall costs of the athletic department. They make about $9 million more than they spend.

If basketball were to be successful, they can, theoretically, be more profitable than football. With costs around $5 million, Kentucky basketball makes over $20 million a year. So their profit margin is far greater than our football team's. Hopefully with OJ Mayo, there will be much higher tickets sales and television revenue.

Basketball can end up being a real money maker for USC.

SW, step in to the minds of the Trojan coaching staff for this week. What do you think is the key to a victory on Saturday (big plays and no turn-over's from the "O", or domination by the "D" by stopping Oregon's "O"). Fight On!

How much do you attribute injuries to the notoriously tough and intense Carroll-led practices versus putting blame on the training staff?

Sounds like a lot of the injuries have been more of the muscle-strain and sprained ankle variety versus injuries caused by hitting, etc.

Do you have a medical update on Broderick Green?

wolfness,

1. SC emphasizes their strength and conditioning & their coach, Chris Carlisle gets a lot of pub for having a supposed amazing program.

2. SC has A LOT of injuries. (More than most teams every year)

Is this due to or in spite of the job coach Carlisle has done? Is this guy a hack? Or would the numbers be more if this guy wasn't a stud at what he does?

Why do you keep spelling Dayne Crist's last name with an H (i.e., Christ)? Is it a joke, like referring to Pete Carroll as Ceasar? If so, what is it about him that prompted the spelling? Or is it just a typo?

Scott- Notre Dame prides itself on marching out across the field and playing the other team’s fight song after the game. However, last weekend in South Bend, the ND band stood on their side of the 50 and did not play the SC fight song. Judging by the face of Art Bartner, he was pretty surprised by this and started up the SC band before ND was done playing. Do you know what went on? What this retaliatory for what occurred 2 years ago when our players and band celebrated on the field and did not let the ND band march out in formation and play? Thanks.

Since both Booty and Sanchez have had many problems with batted down passes in games this season, has Mustain had the same problem when you have seen him in practice?

Hey TommyT,

The ND band played USC's "Fight On" twice on game day: first at the Concert on the Steps in the middle of campus, then on the field during the pregame show.

I and others have posted their thoughts that the coaches made a poor decision to play Booty in the second half of the Stanford game when they knew he had a broken finger, and didn't yank him after any of the four 2nd-half interceptions. (Hindsight is 20/20 after all.)

I would appreciate any insight as to why they didn't bring in Sanchez to replace Booty (e.g., no confidence in Sanchez at that point, not enough prep time for Sanchez, Booty was throwing the ball okay, etc.) Any input on that issue is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the open forum, it is always appreciated.

Is there any inside commentary as to why ND has fallen so far?

What is the view Charlie Weis?

wolfman:

you keep writing PC and you have a great relationship.

Do you see this friendship ending when PC realizes your myopic vision lead to you voting USC with the 2nd lowest poll position in the nation last week? (Lowest: Mandel, SI)

Does PC also know about your strong contention that no NC without NC?

thanks

Scott:

Thank you for answering these Q's.

Does Carroll ever! listen to what the "public" has to say or what they think re: a particular issue? Does he take any of what "we" say into consideration?

Scott:

With certain people alienating the Trojan Family with their choice of mouth guards and others not playing due to broken fingers, this raises some questions that impact the future of Troy:

1) Does this not open the path to Mustainland, which not only does not offend or alienate anyone, it actually manages to bring everyone together in something we can all support - the powerful locomotive that is our hero Mitch Mustain, the savior of Troy?

2) The more other lesser players see the field, does that not reveal their deficiencies and highlight the all around strength of our hero Mitch Mustain?

3) Is Mustainland not the only legitimate marketing tool for next year? How could anyone not want to be a member of this nation?

4) Is our hero Mitch Mustain the only player who does not seem to embarrass himself to the media by trashing other players, but lets his own play do the talking? Is that not only the sign of a leader, but also of a hero?

5) Is it not true that our hero Mitch Mustain will come in to save the day for USC, not for his own gain but because he is a team player? Does that not prove that he is not only a savior, but confirm, once and for all, that he is, in fact, the Chosen One?

These are the wandering days for the Trojans and our hero Mitch Mustain before he takes his rightful place as the King of Troy, while we all become citizens of Mustainland. Are these days not proof that his coming is part of some divine intervention before our hero Mitch Mustain returns us to the Promised Land?

Fight On!

Since you’re sticking with the vast majority of media pundits who are picking Oregon, how many touchdowns will the Ducks beat USC by?

Why do you think USC is not respected or liked in the national media? The Trojans seem to be the team/school that people like to hate. USC main campus is one of the most used colleges for location shooting in tv, movies, and commercials. However, I've noticed in tv shows and movies when college football is mention in the plot, other big time schools (ND, Penn St, OU, UCLA) may get mentioned but not USC, nor do characters wearing SC gear (t-shirts, hats). Its as if writers and producers/directors have a bias against SC.

Now that Brendan Beal has officially committed to Florida, which of these two do the Trojans stand a better chance of landing-Etienne Sabino or Arthur Brown?

“Why do you think USC is not respected or liked in the national media?” - PacTrojan83”

Scott, I will take this one...

You ask why the national media does not like USC? Are you kidding me? Do you watch sports? Lakers, Yankees, etc... historically everyone loves or hates whoever is on the top of the mountain (especially if they are from New York or LA)...and the haters can’t wait to knock them off. I am sure if you ask anyone from SEC Country they would say USC’s recent dynasty (althought they wouldn’t say dynasty) has gotten more love than any other college football team in the country over the last few years.

As far as respect...USC was No. 1 in the country in EVERY single preseason college football pool (including the media’s)... and then they lost to lowly Stanford...at home. Pounding a 1-5 Notre Dame team does exactly help gain national respect back...winning at Oregon (this weekend), at Cal and Arizona State does. So hold onto your horses.

As far as the media is concerned...you clearly do not watch enough television...Leinart and Bush have been in more TV commercials than any other athlete (Peyton Manning may be the exception).

Did Weis actually not allow Jimmy Clausen to play in the game because of his statment that USC was guaranteed to lose if he were the ND quarterback or was he genuinely "too beat up" to play as per the game announcers?

SW,
Thanks again for the open Forum, I absolutely Love it and appreciaite the insight!!

It seems that recently our offense has been Really conservative. With the exception last weekend, we haven't really "Aired it out" Since Matt left. Besides the running game, the play calling has consisted of a pleothra of Screen plays, Flat Routes, and short yardage passes (thus the emergence of Freddy Davis). Sanchez did attempt a few downfield passes against ND, albeit in garbage time, but it'd be nice if we could turn one of highly touted receivers (that make one handed catches in practice) in to a Star.
My question is haved you noticed this Conservative approach, and why do you think SC is playing so passively?? Do you think this having an effect on the voters?
Do our coaches not have faith in our Long Ball Passing/Receiving game?

I did not mean to make it seem like i had a lot of precious time in my last post. Im a retired alumnus of USC. I was wondering what makes you different from any other reporter? It seems like most of the news you report is recycled info from the press conference or news from usctrojans.com.

Scott,

The Rose Bowl loss in '05 denied the Trojans a National Championship, and the fucla game in '06 way-laid a NC game appearance.

Had Lofa Tatupu and LenDale White stuck around for their senior seasons, do you think it would have made a difference in the outcomes? More so or less than Norm Chow leaving?

Just curious how you might compare Johnson-McKnight-Bradford to McCullough-Fargas-Mackenzie in 2002 and Dennis-Bush-White in 2003? Seems like Kennedy Pola and/or "The Norm" had a much better knack for pushing each button at the right time.

could you please do a daily video update after weekday practices?

HI WOLFIE:
ON MON. Q AND A, YOU SKIPPED OVER MY QUESTION. NOT SURE IF IT WAS AN OVERSIGHT, OR IF IT WAS ONE YOU DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE, SO, ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT--I WILL ASK IT AGAIN, AND IF IT'S SKIPPED AGAIN, I'LL GET THE MESSAGE.
HERE IT IS: DID YOU - OR DID ANYONE IN THE MEDIA THAT YOU KNOW--KNOW THAT BOOTY WAS PLAYING WITH A BROKEN FINGER IN THE STANFORD GAME? [BEFORE IT WAS OVER].

ALSO, ON THE OPEN FORUM LAST WEEK, YOU DIDN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION ABOUT WHICH ASST. USC COACHES YOU WOULD KEEP FOR 2008. LOOKING BACK, I KNOW THE QUESTION WASN'T TOO TOUGH FOR YOU, BECAUSE NONE ARE,BUT I CAN READILY SEE WHY YOU CHOSE NOT TO ANSWER IT. SO, CAN I HAVE A MAKE-UP OR CATCH-UP QUESTION? I KNOW YOU ARE MERCIFUL SO HERE GOES:

ANY IDEA WHY REGGIE SETTLED WITH MICHAEL MICHAELS, AND GOT A CONFIDENTIALLY AGREEMENT, BUT CHOSE NOT TO WITH THE OTHER AGENT, LAKE? FOR EXAMPLE, MAYBE HE THINKS LAKE HAS NO CREDIBILITY OR LACKS ANY DOCUMENTATION. ANY THOUGHT YOU HAVE HERE WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

I HAVE A GREAT JOKE FOR YOUR COLUMN, WOLFIE.
LES MILES, WHO IS KNOWN TO LOVE DELICIOUS FISH, GOES INTO THE MOST EXPENSIVE FISH BISTRO IN NEW ORLEANS, AND ASKS THE HOSTESS "DO YOU SERVE HALF-BAKED CRABS HERE?" THE HOSTESS, RECOGNIZING HIM, SAYS "YESSIR, MR. MILES, WE SERVE ANYBODY HERE--WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ORDER?"

HA HA HA ???

I JUST REALIZED THAT, SINCE I DIDN'T GET MY LAST TWO QUESTIONS ANSWERED, I MAY HAVE THREE QUESTIONS COMING TONIGHT! OF COURSE, I DON'T WANT TO PUSH MY LUCK, BUT THEN AGAIN, MAYBE YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO ANSWER THE MEDIA QUESTION ABOVE, OR WHATEVER, SO IF YOU ARE IN A GOOD MOOD,LIKE YOU ALMOST ALWAYS ARE, I DO HAVE ANOTHER QUERY, IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS RE IT.

AFTER THE STANFORD LOSS, BOOTY SEEMED RATHER BLASE ABOUT IT, AND LATER, HE AND HIS FRIENDS WENT OUT NIGHT-CLUBBING. THIS REALLY UPSET ME,AS I COULDN'T EVEN EAT THAT NIGHT, I WAS SO DISGUSTED.
SOME READERS AGREE WITH ME-OTHERS FEEL THATS JUST HIS STYLE--OTHERS SAID THE PLAYERS OF TODAY ARE JUST CONCERNED WITH HOW MUCH $$ THEY CAN MAKE IN PRO FOOTBALL,AND ARE NOT THAT MUCH UPSET IF THE TEAM LOSES. I WAS WONDERING WHAT YOUR TAKE ON THIS IS. MAYBE I AM OLD-FASHIONED, BUT I WAS REALLY MAD AFTER THAT GAME.I THINK CARROLL IS A GREAT COACH, BUT IN THAT ONE GAME, IT WAS NOT REALLY GOOD COACHING, BOTH IN PREPARATION[LIGHTS TURNED OUT EARLY IN THE OFFICE OF THE COACHES] AND ALSO IN DECISION MAKING,I.E. LEAVING BOOTY IN, NOT GOING FOR THE FIELD GOAL BEFORE THE HALF, THE DEFENSIVE PLAY-CALLING ON STANFORDS' LAST DRIVE, ETC. AND ETC.

ANY QUESTIONS YOU CHOOSE TO ANSWER WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED,SCOTT, AND MANY THANX AGAIN FOR HAVING THE OPEN FORUMS! SORRY IF I ASKED TOO MUCH--IN THAT CASE, JUST IGNORE. THANX AGAIN!!!!!

Tirebiter1 has a full pot of coffee tonight!

Any commit predictions for the 2008 Trojan recruiting class among uncommitted prospects?

HEY USC MIKE==I KNOW YOU STAY UP LATE--JUST WAITING FOR MY OPEN FORUM JOKES! SO, WASSUP WITH YOU LATELY? WE HAVEN'T TALKED SINCE LAST WEEK-- DID YOU LIKE MY LES MILES JOKE?

Scott-

Since we already know what the QBs that are currently eligible are capable or incapable of doing (sadly, mostly incapable), what does Mitch Mustain bring to the table that sets him apart?

Thanks in advance.

Uh oh, Tirebiter1 is in trouble with Uncle Scotty! I loved the Les Miles joke. His name his perfect for him. Keep up the good work!

HI USCMIKE:

YEAH, I AM NOW IN DEEP DOODOO WITH SCOTTY--GUESS HE WON'T MIND , THO , IF I USE ALL CAPS HERE. HOWEVER I TOLD HIM I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HONOR HIS REQUEST WHEN I REPLIED TO OPEN FORUM PART THREE OR WHATEVER THE LAST ONE WAS. DID YOU NOTICE HE DID NOT REFER TO MY LES MILES JOKE?I DON'T KNOW WHY--ANY IDEAS, HEH HEH? TAKE CARE, OL' PAL.