November 2007 Archives

Defensive end Lawrence Jackson remembers his first USC-UCLA game.
``I’d never seen a crowd like that first game,'' he said. ``I was stumbling in warm-ups.’’

Today's Blood Bowl, the annual game between the Daily Trojan and Daily Bruin, was canceled because of the weather.

This installment is brought to you by the Coliseum, because where else would Caesar ever play for more than 2,000 years?

Cal returned 750 tickets for tomorrow's game at cavernous Stanford Stadium, which seats all of 50,000.

Can the Coliseum install FieldTurf for tomorrow's game?

Although Caesar is 23-0 in November, he's just 3-2 in December.

Here's the first batch of answers on a soggy Friday.

Staples Center will provide a shuttle service to USC tomorrow.
Here's the info:

Apparently we're not the only one to express support for No. 2-ranked West Virginia the past couple years.
``I've been telling the guys West Virginia is going to win it,'' USC guard O.J. Mayo said. ``They always say no one comes out of West Virginia.''
Except Jerry West. And O.J. Mayo. And . . .

Quarterback John David Booty doesn't mind criticism from last year's game.
href="http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_7595826"

In honor of last year's game, a bonus category will be number of John David Booty passes that are tipped.

Offensive guard Chilo Rachal, who was sick Wednesday, returned to practice Thursday. Defensive tackle Fili Moala (concussion) was also cleared to play. However, linebacker Keith Rivers (sprained ankle) was held back because of soreness but he is expected to be available for the game.

USC coach Pete Carroll joked about Saturday's game being the last at the Coliseum if the Trojans move to the Rose Bowl next season.
``That's our battle cry, `Going to the locker room the last time ever.' ''

After last year's nine-point performance against UCLA, has USC learned much the past year?
``By Year 2, you start seeing tendencies you don't notice as much the first year,'' offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said of the Bruins' defense.
We hear USC coach Pete Carroll's been a little edgier than usual this week with the Trojans, mindful of the coaching matchup. Earlier, this week, we wrote in the Daily News how he told the team Sunday he could personally matchup with the UCLA coaches.

USC-UCLA tickets are going for an average price of $247 according to TicketsNow.com. The cheapest ticket goes for $91.

Here's Coliseum commisision member David Israel in today's Daily News:
``If they’re serious and I hope they’re not – I hope it’s just a petulant threat. Then I’m thinking that Michigan job is looking pretty good for Pete Carroll.’’

If USC defeats UCLA, Karl Dorrell will be fired Sunday.

We did a little digging and found out Raiders coach Lane Kiffin is not interested in the Arkansas job.

It's the latest video report with Pete Carroll and special friends.
http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=53848@kcbs.dayport.com

It's time for questions!

Here's USC general counsel Todd Dickey on Tuesday: ``The Coliseum has not benefited from substantive physical upgrades or preventative maintenance for more than ten years because the Commission has focused on attracting an NFL team that would renovate the stadium.''

But here's Dickey last October: ``It's a great college football stadium. It was earthquake retro-fitted in the mid-'90s and should be good to go for decades.
``There may be some seats that need to be replaced, but it's in pretty good shape. I don't hear any complaints from our people about the quality of the Coliseum.''

Chilo Rachal did not practice because he was sick while Drew Radovich is also battling a stomach virus. Kyle Moore intercepted a tipped John David Booty pass, which drew comparisons to a famously tipped pass about a year ago.
While yesterday's practice bothered Pete Carroll for a lack of enthusiasm, today's was considered much better.

USC basketball coach Tim Floyd said MRI results on forward Kyle Austin's back did not look good and there is a chance he could redshirt.

UCLA agreed to let USC lease the Rose Bowl on game days provided USC lets UCLA lease Pete Carroll on game days.

We don't want to say USC's offense is predictable but a Pac-10 coach who faced the Trojans told us that when one personnel group comes in, it's a pass to Vidal Hazelton. When another personnel group comes in, the play is a bootleg. And when a third group comes in, it's a play-action pass.

Monte Kiffin, the father of Lane Kiffin and defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (and Pete Carroll's mentor) was contacted by Nebraska about the head-coaching position. At the same time, Lane Kiffin's name is being thrown around for the Arkansas job.

UCLA quarterback Ben Olson contacted USC when he transferred from BYU and then-offensive coordinator Norm Chow recommended taking him but the Trojans eventually decided against it.

The first full practice of rivalry week did not have the usual enthuasiasm in Caesar's opinion, at least compared to last week's stated perfect practices before the Arizona State game.

OK, time to address the USC-to-the-Rose Bowl announcement. This really smells like a negotiating ploy by USC to pressure the Coliseum into agreeing to its demands for improvements. But it's not just improvements, because who is against improvements?
There's no doubt revenue-sharing plans (like luxury suites) that are really holding this thing up.
I question the timing. For one thing, it detracts attention from the USC-UCLA game, which I guess is the point. But the next time a coach says the players are being distracted by media attention, they should be reminded that USC chose to distract its own players the week of the biggest game of the year with this annoucement.
``I don’t think it’s right,'' Coliseum general manager Pat Lynch said. ``The focus should be on the game and the players.''
Remember, UCLA has exclusive rights to play at the Rose Bowl, so the Bruins would want something (money) to let USC join them for two years. And USC did not address how it would host Cal on Nov. 8, when UCLA hosts Oregon State.

O.J. Mayo said he has turf toe but does not think it will affect him for Thursday's game against Oklahoma. Kyle Austin is undergoing an MRI this week. Marcus Simmons (sprained ankle) is not expected to play this week.

So USC is talking to the Rose Bowl about a two-year lease starting next year?
``It's kind of been our second home since we've been here,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said.

The USC-Arizona State telecast on ESPN earned a 3.4 rating, representing an average of 3,270,000 households, the network’s highest rating for college football on Thanksgiving since 1993 (Texas A&M at Texas earned a 4.0) and its most-watched game on the holiday since 1992 (Texas at Texas A&M was seen by 3,304,000 homes, based on a 5.4 rating).

Linebacker Kaluka Maiava did a nice job with 10 tackles against Arizona State while filling in for Keith Rivers and he did it with a cast on his broken wrist.
``I've been missing that feeling since high school,'' Maiava said.
Rivers, who has a sprained ankle, is expected to play this week.
``Back to special teams,'' Maiava said.

Here's some quotes from USC assistant coach Ken Norton, when he played linebacker for UCLA on November 19, 1986.
``I'm not really sure why they chose USC. We're just going to beat USC so bad. Well, they've got a really good band. I think that's what carries the school,the band.
``It's always fun to play a team with a good band.''

We hear UTEP coach Mike Price was already offered the Washington State job.

We've already addressed this issue but it keeps coming up. Former USC assistant coach Ed Orgeron, recently fired by Ole Miss, is going to wait-and-see what job opportunities exist. USC does not have an opening for him right now. The best bet is that Orgeron goes to the NFL as an assistant.

Here's the keep-a-straight face quote from Pete Carroll regarding UCLA's defense.
``They shut down Oregon,'' he said. ``A top team in the conference.''

From the Weekend Forum. Freshman lineman Kris O'Dowd could not redshirt because he played in 25 percent of the games. Ironically, he hit the 25-percent mark by playing two series against Washington. If he got hurt, the week before, he would redshirt.
The point became moot on Thanksgiving when he came in at the end of the Arizona State game.

Freshman center Mamadou Diarra said he will return to practice tomorrow, after being out several weeks with a hernia. Diarra said he's lost 13 pounds since the surgery and down to 223.

A Pac-10 coach told me today he thinks Joe McKnight will be a factor against UCLA and someone the Bruins will need to spend a lot of time on in their game plan. We'll just be happy if he doesn't fumble.

There has never been a Pacific-10 Conference champion with three conference losses. It would take upset wins by Arizona and UCLA for a 3-conference loss champion in 2007.

Forbes magazine ranks USC as the 14th-most valuable college football program.
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I wanted to become invisible for the holiday weekend, so I pretended I was on TrojanTV. And remember, the Weekend Forum is sponsored by Roman Meal, because it takes an infinite amount of bread to pay Caesar.

BCS analyst Jerry Palm now projects USC to play Illinois in the Rose Bowl. How underwhelming would that be?

USC is now 66th in strength of schedule and projected to finish at 65th after playing UCLA. Meanwhile, Hawaii remains dead last at 120th, Kansas is 81st and Ohio State is 49th.

For six years, USC coach Pete Carroll said he never understood how the Bowl Championship Series worked . . . until now.
``It’s about who’s had the most attractive season rather than who had the best team,’’ Carroll said. ``It just dawned on me that’s how it works.’’
Carroll’s opinion might be influenced by the fact USC dismantled Arizona State, 44-24, on Thanksgiving and the Trojans appear to be hitting their stride, albeit 11 games into the season. He might have felt different after the Stanford game.
Carroll said he did not want his comments to be construed as sour grapes because USC is not going to play in the BCS title game. But he believes the Trojans would hold their own if college football held a playoff.
``I would love to be involved with a discussion of who is the best team in the country at the end of the season,’’ Carroll said.

We hear UCLA quarterback Pat Cowan, the hero of last year's game for the Bruins, might make a surprise return for this week's game against USC.

USC tight end Fred Davis is no fan of the current BCS title-game matchup.
``Missouri-West Virginia? I don’t like that,’’ Davis said. ``That’s a whack bowl game. But I think Oklahoma will beat Missouri anyways.''

Pete Carroll is meeting with the Trojans right now, a rare Sunday night film session to get an early start on UCLA week.
Tight end Fred Davis, who went home to Ohio for the weekend, returned as planned Sunday night. During his freshman year, Davis came back late on several occasions. Carroll did not forget either, since he announced Davis’ prompt return during the meeting.

One other scenario if USC loses to UCLA is that the Fiesta Bowl selects the Trojans.
However, BCS anaylst Jerry Palm believes the Trojans' chances of remaining in the top 14 are slim if it loses. A loss to a 6-5 UCLA team would probably be judged harshly by the computers and poll voters.

If USC defeats UCLA, the Trojans will finish as the Pac-10 champion (or co-champion with Arizona State if the Sun Devils defeat Arizona). In either case, USC will go to the Rose Bowl, as it beat ASU.

If USC loses to UCLA, USC will finish in either a 4-way tie for first place in the Pac-10 (if Arizona defeats Arizona State) with UCLA, Arizona State and either Oregon or Oregon State OR in a 3-way tie for second place (if Arizona State defeats Arizona) with UCLA and either Oregon or Oregon State. In the 4-way tie scenario, UCLA would go to the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 representative based on the Pac-10 tiebreaker.
In the 3-way tie scenario, Arizona State would go to the Rose Bowl as the outright Pac-10 champion.
In either tie scenario, USC­-in order of selection­-could be chosen by the Holiday, Sun or Emerald Bowls (or possibly the Las Vegas Bowl, if the Emerald decides to take the Pac-10’s fifth team instead of its fourth).

If an eight-team college football playoff were held by today's BCS rankings, the Trojans would face Missouri in a first-round game. Of course there is still one more week of games, but a USC-Missouri sounds a lot more appealing than one game against Ohio State.

Defensive end Lawrence Jackson was named a Walter Camp national player of the week along with Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden. Jackson, who had four sacks against Arizona State, also made some interesting comments about why USC doesn't always get as many sacks as it did against the Sun Devils.
``A lot of people don’t understand things about the offenses we face,’’ USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson said. ``They pitch and catch and play a quick game. It’s hard to be the defense they want when we face those teams.’’
It’s not just short-passing schemes that limit the sack numbers. USC’s defense is geared to give up short passes and prevent deep balls, so teams are invited to throw quickly.

Here's this week's ballot for the AP poll.

USC coach Pete Carroll on the Stanford loss.
``I’m the one that can’t get over that. The players are fine.''

Ole Miss fired Ed Orgeron today. While fans might center on his ill-fated fourth-and-1 call at the 49-yard line yesterday that set off a 17-0 run for Mississippi State, his image as a disciplinarian also took a hit.
Ole Miss ``disciplined'' 20 players for stealing radios and pillows from two different hotels this season and Orgeron suspended at least six players this season for different violations. For Ole Miss, the whole episode shows the danger of hiring a position coach as head coach.
Before the chorus begins to bring back Orgeron to USC, remember his previous title (assistant head coach) is taken by Steve Sarkisian and the title he coveted before he left USC (defensive coordinator) is taken by Nick Holt.

No. 2-ranked Kansas plays No. 3 Missouri tonight and its worth mentioning that the Jayhawks' defensive coordinator is Bill Young, who was USC's defensive coordinator from 1998-2000. Young was one of the nicest assistant coaches to work at USC the past 12 years and his '98 defense ranked first in the nation in takeaways while the '99 defense was No. 2.

Here's an excerpt from my story in today's Daily News with some interesting quotes from John David Booty.

``Even as he came off the field at Arizona State on Thursday night, USC quarterback John David Booty mentioned his regret at playing against Stanford with a broken finger.
``Looking back on it, I don’t know that it helped us to stay in the game,’’ Booty said. ``You could easily tell it affected the way I threw the ball. I tried to play it down because I wanted to compete. I probably shouldn’t have been in there against Stanford. When you’re not 100 percent it’s hard.’’
It’s the first time Booty blamed himself for playing against Stanford, a game that currently ruins USC’s resume a lot more than a loss to Oregon when it had quarterback Dennis Dixon.''

Here's this week's grades.

Some of you asked about Stafon Johnson's health. Caesar just said he was fine and his few carries (four) were the result of so many pass plays.

Research today revealed Lawrence Jackson's 5.5 tackles for loss was a USC record.

With LSU losing, the BCS will have a record third No. 1 team this season after the weekend. There's already been a record five No. 2 teams in the BCS polls this season, with No. 2 Kansas still to play.

In case you missed it, here's one of the better quotes from Pete Carroll after the game.
``I would like to finish this season and make people wonder who the best team in the country is.''

With the short week, we didn't do an Open Forum before the game, but now you can post questions all weekend.

USC's had three punts blocked this season. Quarterback John David Booty is 8-0 in his career against ranked opponents.

Pete Carroll is 23-0 in November at USC.
``We’re a November team,'' tight end Fred Davis said. ``That’s the one thing we don’t lose in November.''

This was a game that perfectly illustrates Pete Carroll's theory that in big games, the team that wins is the one that stays calm and plays within itself. Teams that get too excited try to do too much and start making mistakes.
Here's a quote from Arizona State safety Troy Nolan on all the missed tackles.
``We were just too excited and overwhelmed,'' he said. ``We were just moving too fast and getting out of position on plays.''

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter was sacked six times tonight, which is not surprising because the Sun Devils allowed the most sacks in the Pac-10.
``They came to hit tonight, that is the one thing they do,’’ Carpenter said. ``They hit me and they hit me good.’’

``This is the team we knew we could have at the start of the season. It's frustrating but we had our opportunity (to win a national title).''
-- USC safety Taylor Mays

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter and USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson exchanged words during the coin toss and after Jackson's third sack gave Carpenter a bloody lip.
``I actually didn't hear what he was saying but I heard a couple curse words,'' Jackson said of the post-sack exchange. ``He's a feisty guy. We were having a few words at the coin toss. I just let him know we were going to come after him. I didn't think he liked when he had the blood on his lip. He had some not-so-nice things to say.''

Do people still think we ranked Arizona State too low this season?

John David Booty's passed for 227 yards and two touchdowns while Rudy Carpenter's been sacked three times. How about that 7-1 USC lead in penalties?

What seemed like the longest first quarter in history is over. The good news for USC is John David Booty's completed two passes to four different receivers. The bad news is that special teams remains an issue. Who's the special teams coach again?
ASU students are enjoying Thanksgiving, because there are a few thousand empty seats for this marquee matchup.

USC enjoyed its normal pre-game meal of chicken, pasta and steak on Thanksgiving. The Trojans ate turkey on Wednesday.

Former USC baseball player Aaron Boone and his father, ex-Angels catcher Bob Boone, are on the USC sideline tonight.

It wants to go to the Rose Bowl. Quarterback John David Booty completes a deep pass to wide receiver Ronald Johnson.
Tailback Chauncey Washington proves the Cal game was not a fluke. Tailback Stafon Johnson gets 10 carries and tailback Joe McKnight loses less than 10 yards. McKnight does not fumble a punt return. The Trojans refuse to run on third-and-eight situations. The defense demonstrates it can handle a mobile quarterback who can also throw. USC remembers it is facing Dennis Erickson and not Dirk Koetter.

Former USC players Matt Leinart and Deuce Lutui at the team hotel Thursday night.

Some USC players who did not make the trip flew home for Thanksgiving, including freshman defensive end Trey Henderson, who is from Vancouver, British Columbia.
``I need to remember by student visa,'' said Henderson, who has not been home since July. ``I remember the first time, they thought I didn't have it and acted like they were going to arrest me.''
Henderson went to the airport with fellow freshmen, wide receiver Brandon Carswell, who flew home to Oakland.

Oregon State is negotiating to play at Penn State next year.

Arizona State’s defense allowed an average of 1.2 points in the fourth quarter this season. But perhaps just a important, the Sun Devils are also playing the seventh of eight home games this season against only four road games.

Three of this year's biggest upsets were Stanford defeating then-No. 2 USC, Colorado defeating then-No. 3 Oklahoma and Kansas State defeating then-No. 7 Texas.
Since those upsets, Stanford, Colorado and Kansas State are a combined 5-13.
The Cardinal (3-7) has won once. The Buffaloes (5-6) have won twice and the Wildcats (5-6) have won but twice.

I'll get things started with the first prediction: USC 27, Arizona State 24.

The idea that freshman defensive end Everson Griffen would start over junior Kyle Moore was not earth shattering because of Moore's bruised nerve in his arm, except for one thing: No one told Moore. Or Griffen.
``I didn’t know that,’’ a disappointed Moore said.
Griffen's emotions were exactly the opposite. ``To be able to start in Arizona, I can’t wait,’’ he said.

USC's season is about to be defined.
href="http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_7520734

USC commitment Malik Story at Monday night's Gahr-Fairfax scrimmage. Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart on the USC campus.

Freshman guard Marcus Simmons reinjured his sprained ankle in practice and might not play in the Trojans' Thanksgiving night game against San Diego at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Kaluka Maiava starts at linebacker for the ailing Keith Rivers, who is officially available. Sam Baker starts at tackle and will be backed up by Butch Lewis. Everson Griffen starts at defensive end for Kyle Moore, who will play but is still bothered by a bruised nerve in his arm.

From today's Pete Carroll press conference.
Q. The idea is that you might one day go to the Chargers…?
Carroll: Honestly there's no time to talk about any of that stuff. They're working their tails off to have a good season down there right now. First place as a matter of fact. They're doing pretty good.
Q. What about New England?
Carroll: No, I think that job is filled, too.

John David Booty looks forward to playing Arizona State this week because of the field.
``They probably have the best field in the Pac-10,'' Booty said. ``And the student section is always loud. It's a fun place to go to for a game. I always look forward to it.''

Cornerback Shareece Wright is another player who's gained muscle since the start of the season, going from 173 pounds in late August to 184 today.

Will the USC-UCLA game be for the Rose Bowl . . . for both teams?
If Arizona State loses its final two games and UCLA wins its final two, the Bruins will go to the Rose Bowl. That means the Trojans would defeat Arizona State and UCLA would beat Oregon, giving USC the result it needs to control its own destiny for Pasadena. The Bruins would also need Arizona to defeat Arizona State to play on New Year's Day.
If the Bruins defeated the Trojans in this scenario, it might deprive the Pac-10 of a BCS top 14 team, which would mean no BCS bowl for the conference besides the Rose Bowl.

a href="http://www.dailynews.com/usc/ci_7511262"

We confirmed that Beverly Hills point guard Percy ``Romeo'' Miller is indeed receiving a full scholarship next year. Hey, we didn't want to take the word of his public-relations firm.
Now everyone knows just how much USC wanted his best friend, Compton guard DeMar DeRozan. This was a package deal. In fact, you could argue DeRozan got coddled much more than O.J. Mayo during the recruiting process since none of Mayo's buddies got a scholarship.
USC coach Tim Floyd clearly is doing whatever necessary to build a successful program. This is even shrewder than the one-year scholarship offers Keith Wilkinson and Collin Robinson received as freshmen.
Does Miller, with five albums, a TV show and movie on his resume, stay on scholarship after DeRozan leaves early for the NBA?
Floyd's quotes today were amusing. Besides saying Miller had ``tremendous upside,'' he said the Beverly Hills team is ``one of the better high schools in the area.''
We spoke to a local basketball expert at one of our sister papers tonight who said Beverly Hills would not make a top 20 ranking of Southern Section teams.

Pete Carroll raved Sunday about how he ``would not hesitate'' to put freshman linebacker Malcolm Smith in against Arizona State. We've heard talk like that in past seasons regarding Clay Matthews, that rarely resulted in playing time.
And sure enough, when pressed today, Carroll said Smith could play ``depending how the game goes'' and that Keith Rivers, Kaluka Maiava and Thomas Williams were the first three options at weakside linebacker.
But if there is a silver lining, maybe it means Smith could be a factor next season when Rivers and Williams are no longer on the team.

Linebacker Keith Rivers remains a question mark after some light practicing.
``He's going to have to do some running tomorrow,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said.
Rivers actually has a low-and-high ankle sprain, which is worse than the sprain he suffered two days before the Washington game, when he played.

We forgot to mention that Kansas ranks 99th in strength of schedule.

Kansas received three No. 1 votes in the AP poll Sunday. The Jayhawks have not played a team currently receiving any votes in the top 25, or the other teams receiving votes, for that matter.

BCS guru Jerry Palm now has USC playing Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Palm picks Oregon to play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and West Virginia-LSU in the BCS title game.

Here's today's answers.

We knew there was more to the story when USC coach Pete Carroll and UCLA assistant Eric Scott attended last week's Crenshaw-Sylmar playoff game.
The backstory is Scott was present during an emotional home visit Carroll and assistant coach Ken Norton made to defensive lineman Brian Price's house last year before he signed with UCLA. At the time, Scott was not on UCLA's staff.
Anyway, Carroll and Scott posed for a picture with Crenshaw coach Robert Garrett, and Scott even flashed the ``Fight On'' sign with his fingers.

Freshman linebacker Malcolm Smith got a plug from Pete Carroll after practice as a possibility for playing time if Keith Rivers cannot play. Kaluka Maiava would start if Rivers is out.
``I wouldn't hesitate to put Malcolm in the way he's been playing,'' Carroll said.

Former USC basketball player Reed Doucette was named a Rhodes Scholar, the fourth athlete to earn the honor.
The other athletes were James O’Toole (track, 1966), Pat Haden (football, 1975) and Desmond Koh (swimming, 1995).

USC just concluded a foggy practice and linebacker Keith Rivers (sprained ankle) did some light drills but is ``iffy'' for the game according to Coach Pete Carroll.
Carroll said the practice was spirited following a two-day break and that offensive tackle Sam Baker (hamstring) appears likely to play.

Freshman defensive end Everson Griffen's gained 14 pounds since the start of the season and currently weighs 273.

USC moved up to 70th in strength of schedule this week. Undefeated Hawaii remains last at No. 120.

Here's this week's AP ballot.

Arizona State averages just 3.7 yards per game, but that includes the Pacific-10 Conference-worst 43 times the quarterback’s been sacked for a loss of 292 yards. If you eliminate sack yardage, the Sun Devils average 4.3 yards per carry.
It also means quarterback Rudy Carpenter's taken a beating this season.

Get your questions answered, if you can post comments.

USC coach Pete Carroll and UCLA assistant Eric Scott were both at Thursday's Crenshaw game.

Pete Carroll attended the Orange Lutheran-Mission Viejo game on Friday night. He might go to a JC game today before USC returns to practice tomorrow.

DeMar DeRozan and Romeo Miller announced today they will sign with USC on Monday during a press conference in Beverly Hills. Point guard Donte Smith signed on Wednesday.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis offered to resign but was told it would not be accepted.

Boy, I really hate this new blog software, it really cut down on questions and made me feel like I work for TrojanTV.
On a serious note, I hope things settled down on that front and I will conduct a Weekend Forum for stragglers. And I'd like to thank you all for continuing to view the blog at high levels despite all the glitches. A loaf of Roman Meal bread to all! Hail Caesar!

Caesar will attend the Crenshaw-Sylmar game tonight then go to the Dorsey-San Pedro game.

In today's paper, I wrote about offensive line coach Pat Ruel saying he would return next season. He received job offers from NFL teams the past two years.
``What I really want is another championship. I want to be back in that atmosphere,’’ Ruel said. ``It crushed me that we didn’t make it back last year.’’

It's not every year you can't have both, but that could be the choice facing USC.
The Trojans' only chance to be conference champion again rests on having Oregon lose at least once. But if Oregon only loses once, USC does not go to the Rose Bowl. And how likely is it that Oregon will lose twice? So, the most likely path to the Rose Bowl for USC involves both the Trojans and Ducks winning out (with the Ducks and Trojans probably needing Missouri to beat Kansas to reach their respective goals).

ASU coach Dennis Erickson was asked today if the Sun Devils are getting to the same point as USC.
``We¹ve got a lot of work to do. That¹s our goal, to try to get to a point in our program where we can compete with USC. We¹re going to try to work toward that.''

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And since my Wolverines are facing the evil Buckeyes this week, Go Blue!

It's the mother of all video reports with a very special guest.
href="http://cbs2.com/video/?id=52757@kcbs.dayport.com"

USC's basketball team flew to South Carolina on Wednesday and finished practice at 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time at The Citadel.

USC received a letter of intent from point guard Donte Smith yesterday. They are still waiting for Compton guard DeMar DeRozan to make his formal announcement, which should occur this week. Guard Malik Story, formerly of Artesia High, is awaiting a test score and must go through the USC admissions process. That may or may not happen during the early signing process.

Let's see if those new comment functions really work.

Safety Taylor Mays wore a boot on his sprained ankle Tuesday night but took it off today because he got sick of everyone asking him what was wrong.
``I got asked all day,'' Mays said.
Mays originally sprained the ankle against Notre Dame.

I know comments have been a bit topsy-turvy over the past six days. We upgraded our blog server software and ran into some unexpected problems, but it should all be worked out now. Comments are 100% functional again. But we've had to abandon typekey, which we were using for authentication. We're now using an internal authentication system. So that means if you already registered to post on this site, you now have to register again. I'm sorry about that. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. Thanks for your patience.

One of the keys could be Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber, who is 19 of 20 for the year on field goals. He had his first miss from 32 yards at Oregon, then hit a 50-yarder in Eugene, and added a 53-yarder in the UCLA win last weekend.
Said coach Dennis Erickson, ``He was very inconsistent through training camp, and about a week before the first game, he really started hitting it. He's been unbelievable. I don't know that I've been around one that's had the year he's having right now.''

Last night one of the kicker's sent a ball sailing over the fence at Howard Jones Field. No problem, but a manager was forced to chase a kid through a parking lot, unsuccessfully, who took the ball and ran like the wind.

They just announced new penalties for the replay and on-field officials at the Oregon State-Washington game, along with a reprimand for replay supervisor (and USC grad) Verle Sorgen, following yesterday's frank comments from Beavers athletic director Bob De Carolis.
Here's one quote from De Carolis: ``God forbid if we had lost that game. I had about 30 people use the same words with me ... `You would have had a riot on your hands.' It would have been like a soccer game in some third-world country.''
And here's today's Versus announcement.

Washington State coach Bill Doba on Oregon State's defense: ``I was just talking to a pro scout. They like a lot of their defensive linemen better than the guys at SC.''

Defensive end Kyle Moore will see a hand specialist today because of a bruised nerve in his forearm that prevents him opening his hand and could place his status against Arizona State in doubt.
``I can't extend my fingers at all,'' Moore said. ``It was numb (against Cal). I can't open my hand and grab anybody.''
Moore wore a soccer shin guard on his forearm against Cal to protect the nerve but USC coach Pete Carroll said he was not sure how long Moore would be out.
Moore is not practicing this week and vowed he would play against Arizona State on Thanksgiving.
``I'll be back and play with one arm,'' he said

Freshman offensive tackle Martin Coleman participated in his first contact practice this season after being sidelined in the offseason following shoulder surgery.
``It's great to be back, it feels like forever since I played,'' Coleman said.

Although it's a bye week, USC seems riddled with ailing players. Linebacker Brian Cushing is out this week to rest a sprained shoulder.
``It's been sore for a little while,'' Cushing said. ``It may not really heal until after a bowl game.''
Nose guard Sedrick Ellis will not practice this week because his knee is sore and he had fluid drained from it Monday.
``It's normal wear and tear,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said.
Cornerback Terrell Thomas and safety Kevin Ellison did not practice to concentrate on academics while tight end Fred Davis did not practice because he was sick.

Apparently, one of the big critiques during team meetings of USC's linebackers was overpursuing against Cal. Who knew?

Apparently our new and improved software is anything but that, so if you're still having problems with comments, it's been worked on at a snail's pace.

Does anyone still support the idea of burning the redshirt years of freshmen safety Marshall Jones and defensive tackle Christian Tapou, who was hastily thrown into the Washington State game and barely played since?

The Washington-Oregon State controversy continues.

BCS guru Jerry Palm now projects USC to play in the Rose Bowl against Ohio State.
By the way, the last time USC went to the Rose Bowl without winning the conference was in 1955, when it finished second to PCC-champion UCLA, who was barred from the Rose Bowl by the PCC's no-repeat rule.

Many of you have emailed to say you are having problems posting comments. I've notified our site supervisor but encourage you to send emails to josh.kleinbaum@langnews.com, with your specific difficulty.

Quarterback John David Booty got Monday off, but said his broken finger feels its best since the Stanford game.
``My finger doesn’t bother me at all,’’ Booty said. ``It did a little bit against Oregon State.’’

Linebacker Keith Rivers said his sprained ankle feels better and he will try to practice Wednesday. Pete Carroll said Rivers remains ``a question mark.''
It turns out Clay Matthews broke the same hand he did earlier in the season. Carroll said Sunday it was a different hand. Matthews said he should be available for the Arizona State game.

USC is 13th in each of the BCS components (Harris Interactive, USA Today Coaches, and computers), but 11th overall in the overall rankings. The reason is that some teams ranked above them in the human polls aren't getting similar love from the computers (i.e., Texas, Hawaii).

Looks like the Pac-10 has another replay crew controversy and reprimand.

Former USC defensive back DeChon Burns was named Texas Southern's interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

USC coach Pete Carroll said he expected Arizona State to have problems following the season-ending loss to tailback Ryan Torain to a toe injury.
``After they lost their best running, I thought it would make a big difference but it hasn't at all,'' Carroll said.

Cal's players were required to sign a confidentiality agreement that prevented them from telling anyone about their throwback uniforms before Saturday's game with USC.

USC's moved up to 75th in this week's strength of schedule.

Here's the grades for the rain game.

And hear we thought Cal tailback Justin Forsett played well last night.
``We made some uncharacteristic mistakes on easy things and gave them 60 yards,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said. ``They weren’t complicated schemes. We didn’t react and made it so easy for them. There were some big holes and it wasn’t because they blocked us.''
That still means Forsett gained 104 yards on his own doing by Carroll’s calculations, so I guess we'll give him a little credit.

There's been an unspoken feeling all season that the coaching staff wanted Chauncey Washington to be the top tailback and Pete Carroll said the weather at Cal reinforced his decision.
``Chauncey was secure with the weather and could handle it all,'' Carroll said. ``You put a new guy out there and you're not sure.''
And what about the inability to ever complete a pass between John David Booty and Ronald Johnson?
``(Booty's) always ahead of RoJo and anticipated him running those balls down,'' Carroll said. ``In games for some reason, he's just missed him.''

Linebacker Keith Rivers suffered a high-ankle sprain and Pete Carroll said he was not sure if Rivers would be able to play against Arizona State.
Linebacker Clay Matthews broke a finger against Cal and will need a cast. It's not the same hand he broke against Nebraska.
``It's a good, clean break,'' Carroll said.

Chauncey Washington, who gained a career-high 220 yards, said the constant rain affected the game plan.
``We changed our game plan a lot,'' Washington said. ``They came out and told us in the morning, when we had our walkthrough, they said it was going to rain so we were going to pound the ball.'

USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson on Cal tailback Justin Forsett.
``We missed a lot of tackles. I couldn’t tell you why,'' Jackson said. ``The running back was running hard and we couldn’t get him.''

Here's my AP ballot.

"It means a lot, if we lost, we'd be behind the eight ball," USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson said. "Now we feel good about ourselves."
http://www.dailynews.com/usc/ci_7431310

``It came down to what team would make plays in the fourth quarter,’’ USC coach Pete Carroll said. ``They had their chances.’’

``We’re doing just fine. I’m excited about our chance to finish big.''

Caesar after the game.
``I was shocked we had so much trouble. Good job by them (Cal's offense) We knew everything they were doing.''

This outcome's pivotal if Oregon moves into the BCS top two.

Kevin Ellison's already got seven tackles and Taylor Mays five to lead USC. Chauncey Washington's rushed for 104 yards in 12 carries, a 8.7 yard average.

Another run on third-and-10 from the 33-yard line. Some things never change.

USC is 20-21-3 in games where it rained most of the game. The last rain game was in 2004 against Notre Dame.

Cal is wearing its 1975 uniforms today to honor its former quarterback from that team, the late Joe Roth. This is the second time USC's faced throwbacks, following the Notre Dame game.
By the way, it's been raining for hours and the teams are already soaked from pre-game warmups.

O.J. ``May'' go to the NBA now.

USC wins today if:
The offense loses its predictability. John David Booty stops throwing high passes. The wide receivers stop dropping passes. Tailback Joe McKnight takes advantage of the extra opportunities he receivesand does not lose more than 15 yards rushing. The defensive line pressures Cal quarterback Nate Longshore as well it did Oregon State’s Sean Canfield. The secondary provides some semblance of coverage, since Pete Carroll is not expected to have the courage to play man-to-man against Cal wide receiver DeSean Jackson. The Trojans intercept at least two passes – not including defensive ends

Here's the final answers, a little later than expected because it's a travel day.

We've upgraded our software (Ha!), so let me know if there are problems posting comments and I will pass it along. Also, the final Open Forum answers will be posted later today.

Here's the second installment. Some good questions were asked here, or maybe I was too tired to tell. The final installment will be later this afternoon.

We already told you the Gold Sheet's prediction.

It's Friday and time for some Open Forum answers. Here's the first installment, brought to you by the neutron bomb dropped on Howard Jones Field on Thursday, where about 10 fans showed up for practice.

If you can't always beat them, get them out of the Pac-10.
http://www.dailynews.com/usc/ci_7411563

This post will hopefully address some of the constant questions about next year’s quarterback debate. Right now, Mark Sanchez is considerably ahead of Mitch Mustain in terms of knowing the system and running the offense, which gives him a distinct advantage.
John David Booty enjoyed a similar advantage going into his junior year over Sanchez.
Mustain’s poise, accuracy and mobility make him attractive although he remains raw in terms of USC ``experience.’’ However, he does have a year of playing against SEC opponents and he won’t get nervous as if he’s never played before in his first game.
So Sanchez has the edge now, but in a few months, who knows?

Brandon Carswell and Mitch Mustain are doing a nice job against the first-team defense today impersonating DeSean Jackson and Nate Longshore. Lots of deep balls to test the defense.

It's not easy being an athletic director in the Internet era.
http://www.getgrossout.com/

On the national recruting scene, Florida continues to be USC's biggest rival and seems to hold its own, with safety Will Hill and linebacker Brendan Beal, both from New Jersey, where the Trojans used to have great success. But the biggest player USC misses right now is wide receiver Percy Harvin.
The sophomore ran 11 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns and caught nine passes for 110 yards against Vanderbilt, the first player in Florida history to total more than 100 yards rushing and receiving.
That's the type of player USC relied on in the past when it overwhelmed opponents with talent.

We hear Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, the former USC assistant, was told he would return as coach next season.

The Gold Sheet, the ``bible'' of sports betting, predicts Cal will beat USC 24-23.

USC coach Pete Carroll on Cal freshman tailback Jahvid Best.
``They're doing all the things we've done in the past on the perimeter for really fast guys, like Reggie (Bush) and Joe (McKnight) too.''
It's hard to remember to many plays lately for McKnight on the perimeter.

http://www.dailynews.com/usc/ci_7400477

It's question time. One per person please.

Offensive tackle Sam Baker (hamstring) is out for the Cal game and freshman tailback Broderick Green, who is redshirting, said he will not practice again because he reinjured his foot.

Cal wide receiver DeSean Jackson and USC fullback Alfred Rowe remains close friends from their days at Long Beach Poly and spoke earlier this week.
``I want to win but I would love to see DeSean do well,'' Rowe said. ``It's the same as when we played Oregon. I wanted to win but I wanted my brother (Oregon DE Kenny Rowe) to do well.''

London Olympic officials announced today they will spend nearly $1 billion on a new Olympic stadium (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/7081346.stm).
Meanwhile, the Coliseum announced a couple porta-pottys and an extra kettle corn tent might be added for the UCLA game.

USC recently received a track commitment from Blake Shaw, who is also a standout wide receiver at Cypress Falls (Texas) High School. He caught three touchdown passes in a game last month and his team is trying to get to its second straight state championship game.
If he has hands of any kind, maybe Caesar can poach the track team for another athlete, something he's done regularly over the past six years.

USC safety Kevin Ellison was reluctant to discuss his highlight-play hit against DeSean Jackson last season.
``It was a nice little hit,’’ Ellison said. ``I don’t really want to talk about it though, it’s last year. Nobody really talks to me anyways, so I don’t know if that was a big play or not. You don’t focus on one receiver anyways.’’

Pete Carroll is still lamenting the loss to Stanford, especially since the Cardinal are 1-3 since beating USC. The Cardinal had 253 yards offense against Washington, which allowed 1,719 yards to its previous three Pac-10 opponents.
``We need to do a better job coaching,'' Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said.

Cal wide receiver DeSean Jackson is not leading the Bears in receptions, trailing LaVelle Hawkins in catches, 53-51. Jackson had five catches for 45 yards and two reverses for 21 against Washington State and was five for 88 in the Arizona State game.
``We get it to him when it fits what's going on,'' Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.

Linebacker Chris Galippo said he began therapy this week following his back operation.
``It’s looking like I’ll be out about two-or-three months,’’ Galippo said. ``It’s looking good for spring.’’

Cornerback Vincent Joseph will not find out until Thursday if he can suit up against Cal. It will depend on his academic performance this week.

''Longshore is doing fine," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "He's on the mend. He's able to do more things so he was very efficient last week. Hopefully, by game time, he's a little bit better."

Cal coach Jeff Tedford was asked today about the Pac-10 closing the gap with USC.
“This conference is so difficult that anything can happen. I think a lot of things come into play with it through a whole season. Typically, USC has been so good because they have such great depth. It’s a very balanced conference and you have to bring your 'A' game every week.
``It’s just difficult in this conference to win week in and week out because you pretty much have to play to your full potential each week and if you stumble at all with turnovers or anything like that, there is a chance to get beaten. There are no weeks off in this conference. Every team is capable of winning.''

Even though USC and Oregon State each received four penalties, Trojan opponents remain 10th in penalites in the Pac-10.
``If there's any poll I'm interested in, it's that one,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said.

BCS guru Jerry Palm still projects USC to play Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford's name is being mentioned as a candidate at Texas A&M.

Many of you ask about transfers in the Open Forum section. Here's one player who says he won't leave.
http://www.dailynews.com/usc/ci_7380729

Quarterback John David Booty attributed some high passes against Oregon State to rust after he broke his finger.
``I’ve been out three games. Usually, when you first come back to camp or spring ball, they aren’t perfect,’’ Booty said. ``A couple of throws were high on me.’’
He also overthrew freshman wide receiver Ronald Johnson on a deep pass.
What's interesting is Carroll praised freshman wide receiver Ronald Johnson on the play.
``We just missed him,’’ Carroll said. ``(Johnson is) doing his part.’’

Tailback Broderick Green's foot is back in a protective boot. He will undergo tests tomorrow. It's the same foot he suffered a stress fracture in before the season.

Tailback Stafon Johnson said he felt the best he's felt on a Monday in weeks.
"This is the best I've felt in six or seven weeks," Johnson said.

Cal wore its alternate gold jerseys when it broke its three-game losing streak against Washington State. The Bears are 5-0 in their gold kit (Oregon, UCLA, Texas A&M in 2006; Tennessee and Washington State this season).
Will they break out the gold jerseys this week?

Washington tailback Louis Rankin rushed for 255 yards against Stanford last weekend. USC coach Pete Carroll said he wished he replaced John David Booty with Mark Sanchez in retrospect. Why did it matter who played quarterback? USC should have pounded Stanford on the ground with anybody at quarterback but lost to Stanford, who had a nobody at quarterback.
If that loss ruins USC's season, at least you know where the blame should be placed.

Everson Griffen's 3.5 sacks aganist oregon state last week were the most sacks in a game since Tim Ryan had 4 against UCLA in 1989.

We hear that no fiery speeches were given to the defense before the Oregon State game from the coaching staff and a ``nothing needs to be said'' attitude was taken following the loss to Oregon. We'll see if that approach continues this week.

Here's the USC-Oregon State grades.

One area's hindered USC most of the season.
http://www.dailynews.com/usc/ci_7372133

It turns out the trainers told Pete Carroll not to play Stafon Johnson late in the game to prevent aggravating his sprained foot and Johnson did not get hurt against the Oregon State. Carroll mentioned after the game he wasn't sure why trainers did not want Johnson playing.

On defensive end Everson Griffen: ``He learned some stuff about staying upfield and using your speed. He tried to make too many moves and not bank on how he’s so fast.''

On the penalties: ``I'm never going to be happy about that. I need to find out what the truth is with the Wizard of Oz. There was a hit on the sideline and the hit on the quarterback I didn't understand that were penalties.''

On wide receivers: ``We took a step back in the overall catching of the ball. We were high with a couple balls.''

On BCS bowls: ``The sheet was put on my desk and it's already in the trash can.''

USC moved up 10 spots and now ranks 80th in strength of schedule. The Trojans could finish around 58th by the end of the season, no thanks to Notre Dame or Nebraska.

Caesar looked at the final stats last night to compare penalties and was happy to see USC and Oregon State each got four. That drew a look of pleasure from his face, as three days of faxing letters to the Pac-10 with complaints about the officiating worked. Hail Caesar!

The passing game suffered from dropped passes, unless you were wide receiver Vidal Hazelton.
``I have no clue,’’ Hazelton said. ``I just know when the ball came to me, I did my thing.’’
But Pete Carroll also attributed the problems to quarterback John David Booty.
``Some of his passes were high,’’ Carroll said. ``I need to figure if it’s because he just came back or something else.''

Here's this week's ballot for the Associated Press.

USC's offense plays a half but the Trojans beat Oregon State.
http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7365461

Cornerback Vincent Joseph was suspended for the game by athletic director Mike Garrett because he accumulated too many negative points. Athletes earn negative points for missing class or tutoring sessions.
``I had team problems,'' Joseph said.

This clearly was a stellar performance by the defense, but before thinking those nine sacks can be replicated every week, remember that Oregon State relied on a five-step drop for its quarterback and stayed in the pocket. And that's why Pete Carroll went to man-to-man coverage, which we alluded to previously.
But at least it allowed Everson Griffen to emerge with 3.5 sacks.
``It’s a big relief for me,’’ Griffen said. ``I just showed everybody what I can do and what we can do. There’s a little of a release off my shoulders.’’

I'm guessing if you favored Mark Sanchez in our QB poll this week, tonight's performance by John David Booty did not convince you.
``I was a little rusty. The ball got away from me a couple times,'' Booty said.

``It was not a stellar night for the offense.''
-- USC coach Pete Carroll

If you didn't fall asleep in the second half, discuss the game.

Quarterback John David Booty just threw a 13-yard pass to Patrick Turner, which followed a 26-yard reception by Chauncey Washington. Things are looking up for the Trojans at halftime (24-3).

3rd and 8 (25) Handoff to McKnight, loss of 4 yards
USC also burned its second timeout before attempting a field goal.

3rd and 12 (34) -- Handoff to McKnight, loss of 2 yards

USC just called timeout because it had 10 men on the field.

That's the cost to take your picture in front of Tommy Trojan today on homecoming.

Here's this week's Channel 2 video report.
http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=51774@kcbs.dayport.com

USC might be headed to El Paso if it loses today.
http://www.dailynews.com/usc/ci_7358135