Weekend Forum Answers
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.
Sam Baker said he came out against Arizona State because the coaches did not want to risk injury for the UCLA game. But his hamstring felt fine.
Baker's draft status won't be affected by the hamstring injury. Teams have enough film on him and his workouts will be more important.
I haven't asked any NFL teams about John David Booty. I assume he would be projected somewhere between the second and fourth round, however Cade McNown was a first round pick, so anything's possible.
I'm sure the representation of USC players in sexual assault cases will be raised during the L.A. City Attorney's race. My question is: Who pays attention to the L.A. City Attorney's race? And is anyone going to vote for a man named Carmen?
I don't see how USC will be an issue itself, since the university did not hire Trutanich to represent the players. Josh Pinkard's case will not be affected. Michael Jackson might be a little nervous if Trutanich becomes city attorney. Or at least better not get any parking tickets.
Yes, I'm aware he had a daughter attend USC and transfer, but that was for athletic purposes. There's no reason he wouldn't want another daughter to attend USC.
Mitch Mustain said his deep ball is his best feature? He was supposed to save that for ``Mitch and Me.'' Oh well. Mustain does throw a nice, smooth deep ball in practices with good trajectory. Again, he is behind Mark Sanchez right now and will need to learn a lot between now and spring practices to win the starting job.
Pete Carroll's been impressed with Mustain but also knows how much he needs to learn, so the bowl practices will be big for him to try and close the gap with Sanchez.
This year's USC-UCLA game strikes me as quite a few USC games do this year. You think USC should win in a blowout but the Trojans end up winning narrowly (or losing). The Arizona State game was the first game the offense played like it could although Arizona State's coaches did nothing from an X's and O's standpoint to slow down the Trojans.
In any event, USC should win this week in a blowout, except for the fact UCLA's defense could give the Trojans problems and the rivalry factor kicks in. Considering UCLA's revolving quarterback situation, Pete Carroll's got a tailor-made situation for a big win.
Next year's defensive line will be an issue. Kyle Moore and Everson Griffen will be talented ends, but USC will not replace Sedrick Ellis easily. And Lawrence Jackson was a fifth-year senior, which is also something that cannot be understated. Averill Spicer's played nicely off the bench at nose guard but I don't think anyone expects you replace an All-American like Ellis. After that, Derek Simmons remains an unknown and Christian Tupou is extremely competitive but also quite light to play tackle.
So far, no underclassmen are leaving. But it really doesn't matter what anyone says right now. It matters in January.
Pete Carroll's three field goals against ASU are a tacit admission that he no longer thinks the offense will just overwhelm an opponent. I think this really hit him at the Oregon game, when USC did not convert the 4th down on the opening series. He expected a close game against ASU so he took every point he could get. Now, this might change against UCLA since I'm guessing he'll feel like the defense should be able to contain UCLA.
I don't think I should reveal Caesar's political affiliation because it will only anger half the people who read it. USC will not hesitate to throw a lot if the running game stumbles against UCLA.
My dream bowl matchup would be for USC to play anyone but a Big Ten team. Georgia, Kansas, doesn't matter, just someone new.
Next year's team will be interesting to rank. I'd guess the Trojans will be in the top 10 in the preseason but the QB uncertainty and defensive losses might make it harder to rank USC in the top 10.
I spent the Thanksgiving weekend working on Pedalgate and the now-dubbed ``Bicycle-Contra'' affair. There seems to be a connection although we may have to wait until Carmen Trutanich becomes city attorney so we can get some cooperation,namely footprints made of the broken pedal (to prove if any other quarterbacks) were involved.
I don't expect Steve Sarkisian to get any head coaching offers after the season. Then again, I didn't expect Lane Kiffin to be the coach of the Raiders a year ago.
Jurrell Casey and Khalid Holmes remain on course to commit to USC. And Patrick Johnson also fits in that category. Right now I wouldn't expect USC to get any UCLA decommits but it depends on who UCLA hires as its new coach and keeps on its staff. Notre Dame is a different story. There might be one or two there.
Tight end next year? The coaches like Rhett Ellison and highly touted Blake Ayles comes in next season. That said, Ausberry would make a good H-back type although he'd have to learn a lot to ever block at that spot.
I don't see any past or current USC assistants getting the current coaching jobs. I know a lot of people want Ed Orgeron back but there would need to be quite a bit of shuffling. He's now in a position to command a coordinator's position somewhere and USC already has a defensive coordinator. Also, if he came back as defensive line coach/assistant head coach, Sarkisian would have to give up that title and Dave Watson would need to be fired. So I don't see that scenario now.
Orgeron might just wait and try and get an NFL job, which he considered prior to leaving USC.
If a player does not play a single down or meets the redshirt guidelines, USC asks the NCAA to grant a redshirt year. It's usually a formality unless a player played and did not get hurt (remember Ryan Powdrell?)
If Kansas played USC, I think the Trojans would win. But here's what a college football analyst told me in comparing the two teams: ``Did Kansas lose to a 41-point underdog? No. Did Kansas lose to a one-man team (Oregon)? No.''
Justin Fargas or LenDale White? ``USC Thugs man''
OK, that's about it. There's a couple questions that I need to look into before I could answer, so I'll get back to it tonight.
I don't see any responses on ranking Texas, I guess you are still doing research on how to remove a cranium from a rectum.
I wrote Commissioner Hanson of the Pac-10 concerning the tie-breaker format. He referred me to Jim Muldoon. Mr. Muldoon then replied. This response is legitimate and actually happened today. (Of course, this is academic, because USC is going to smoke UCLA.) Here are the e-mails from first to last:
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[My e-mail to Hanson]
Dear Commissioner Hanson:
Every media outlet is reporting that if UCLA beats USC and Arizona beats ASU in football this weekend, that UCLA will go to the Rose Bowl. I have read the Pac-10's tie-breaker procedure (set forth below). If UCLA and Arizona win, there is a four-way tie for first place: USC, UCLA, ASU and Oregon/Oregon St. winner. I know why UCLA advances if the fourth team is Oregon, but cannot figure out why UCLA advances if the fourth team is Oregon St (i.e., OSU beats Oregon).
Assuming that USC, ASU, OSU and UCLA are in a four-way tie, USC, ASU and UCLA would be 2-1, and Oregon State would be 0-3, against each other. Thus, OSU would be dropped out, leaving USC, UCLA, and ASU.
USC, ASU and UCLA would be 1-1 against each other, thus leading to the next tie-breaker.
The next tie-breaker would then be the individual record against the team(s) occupying the highest position in the final regular season standings (if there is a tie for the highest position, it is the cumulative record against the tied teams). [I read this to mean the top teams based on total record. Is that right? If not, then what does "team(s) occupying the highest position in the final regular season standings" mean?]
Thus, at 9-3, USC and ASU would be the teams occupying the highest position in the final regular season standings. USC's 1-0 record against the conference leaders would be better than UCLA's 1-1 record, or ASU's 0-1 record. Thus, USC would win the tie-breaker under that four-team scenario. UCLA would thus also need Oregon to beat OSU to go to the Rose Bowl, but that is not being reported. Where is the flaw in my logic?
It would be helpful if the Pac-10 would issue a press release and/or post something on the Pac-10 website showing just how UCLA wins the four-team tie-breaker, if any. I would appreciate the courtesy of a reply from you or someone else at the Pac-10 that explains why UCLA wins the four-team tie-breaker if Oregon State beats Oregon. Thanks.
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[Mr. Hanson's Reply E-Mail:]
I am going to ask Jim Muldoon, Associate Commissioner and Football Administrator, to reply to your inquiry, because he has been concentrating on the Pac-10's internal race, while I have been analyzing our place in various BCS scenarios. He has worked through all of the scenarios concerning who can win or tie for the title, and should be able to show you the answer.
Thank you for writing.
Tom Hansen
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[Mr. Muldoon's response:]
[Mr. Muldoon reprints part of my letter to Mr. Hanson:]
[Assuming that USC, ASU, OSU and UCLA are in a four-way tie, USC, ASU and UCLA would be 2-1, and Oregon State would be 0-3, against each other. Thus, OSU would be dropped out, leaving USC, UCLA, and ASU.
USC, ASU and UCLA would be 1-1 against each other, thus leading to the next tie-breaker.]
[Mr. Muldoon then clarifies the tie-breaking procedure:]
"Mr. [uscmike]:
You are good to this point. This next tie-breaker means the teams still remaining in the standings (we have already compared USC, ASU and UCLA against one another, plus OSU). The tie-breaker than compares them to the highest remaining team(s) in the Pac-10 standings, which in this case would be Oregon and Arizona at 5-4.
USC and UCLA are 1-1 against Oregon/Arizona, ASU would be 0-2 and thus eliminated. We go back to head-to-head between UCLA and USC with UCLA getting the berth.
Perhaps adding the word remaining would clarify the language.
Jim Muldoon"
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I was pleasently surprised to get a quick response from the Pac-10 about this issue. It needs to clarify the tie-breaker procedure, however.
Whaddya mean "who would vote for someone named Carmen?" We twice elected "Rocky" didn't we - apologies to Sly Stallone. It would be interesting to have a criminal defense attorney assume that job, however. Some of us pay lots of attention to the City attorney race - for professional reasons.
SINCERE THANX, SCOTT
USCMIKE--GOOD WORK
OMG, USCMike, that is awesome! I also can't believe that you received such a lucid response, and so quickly. Dropping to the "highest remaining teams" surely seems odd, and I know that the Big-12 uses the BCS ranking as the 3rd or 4th breaker in their conference. I wonder how other major conferences do it? But, regardless, the Bruins are going to be taken behind the Coliseum's proverbial woodshed on Saturday, so the point is moot! Awesome work, USCMike! That is insightful and very cool!