A: I believe they are players that any college would want, which means schools from places like the SEC and Big 12.

Q: Ren Lopez said:
You have constantly questioned Pete Carroll's decision to burn De'von Flournoy's redshirt year. I may be mistaken, but I vaguely recall you saying the same thing about Stafon Johnson his freshman year. Now that there is a decent chance that Stafon will petition for a redshirt this year, do you still think that it was a bad idea to not redshirt Stafon in 2006? Would you still think it was a bad idea to burn Flournoy's redshirt this year if he end's up injured like Stafon in the next 3 years?

A: Yes. You get five years to play four in college football. Stafon Johnson would still have next year even if he redshirted his freshman season. What did he really gain from that freshman year of not playing? I don't see why you play someone like Flournoy next to nothing this season under any circumstances. If he gets hurt, he has a redshirt available. And you can get a sixth year under NCAA rules like Hershel Dennis, Jeff Byers and Josh Pinkard.

A: The offense is fairly average and everyone thought the defense was better than it is because it had a great five-game start against teams that probably were on the whole not great.
I think Jeremy Bates still has a lot to learn (not a great trait when you are USC's offensive coordinator) and I think the defense needs be more aggresive with Taylor Mays, so that he is not always a safety net tackling running backs. I'd move him up closer to the line of scrimmage.

A: Ask Randall Carroll's twitter.

Q: Gordon said:
Would it not have made more sense for the Pac-10 to suspend Taylor Mays for the facemask incident during the Oregon State game rather than suspending the referee who did not call the penalty?

A: Mays would not be suspended for a face mask penalty so I don't think he should be suspended for a game after the fact. I think the Pac-10 tried to flex its muscles because the SEC is being so aggressive. Let's see the day when the Pac-10 fines a coach $30,000 like the SEC did with Urban Meyer today.

What is your take on this twitter message by Randall Carroll and what do you think Pete Carroll is thinking about it especially about Randall Carroll and Norm Chow? Is USC glad do not have Randall Carroll to criticize Bates, and Morton?

A: I've always said since last year that Randall Carroll was an unpredictable character and this was a perfect example. I still think USC wouldn't mind having Randall Carroll but they wanted him as a DB and not a WR.
What I find interesting is that De'von Flournoy told me on his visit to UCLA, he, Carroll and Morrell Presley were all told they would catch 80 passes this season. So when it did not happen, a player is bound to speak out.

Q: GuyWhoReadsThisBlog said:
Scott,

Even with the conservative play calling at the beginning of the year, and the disaster at Wash, the USC offense is 3rd in the nation averaging 6.96 yards per play--a higher average than in any of the Chow years. Barkley is currently 3rd in the nation in yards per pass attempt at 9.57 per attempt, which is by far the highest among Pete Carroll QBs (even better than Leinart's 05 season). In other words, the offense looks explosive, though inconsistent at times with a Frosh QB and new play caller.

We all know the defense Carroll likes to run, but are we finally getting to see the offense Carroll has been searching for since 05? Carroll seems enamored with both Barkley and Bates.

A: This is a good question. It was asked before the Oregon game, so we saw the offense did virtually nothing in the second half of the that contest. I think the offense is very good against bad defenses and average against good ones. And I like to use the 30-point barrier in Pac-10 games as a stat. USC's scored 30 or more points in just two of five games. That is nothing like the 27 of 32 streak from 2002-2005. And one cautionary note on using yards per pass. Norm Chow loves short passes, so his teams would not need a higher figure to be successful.

Scott,
I have been reading your blog for several years and have noticed a continuing trend in your AP poll voting- you have consistently voted USC lower than your peers.
Are you aware of this? Is it possible that you grade them tougher because you are following the team on a regular basis? Is it possible that you grade them tougher to avoid being considered a homer?
To be fair- I appreciate that you are willing to post your poll and face the criticism.
Any insights to your voting procedure would be appreciated.

A: If I do vote USC than most of the other voters, it might be because I am more familar with the team than the other voters. I had USC No. 7 the past couple weeks and I'd argue having them lower was accurate considering what happened in Oregon. One colleague had USC No. 2 going into the game. And as I've said before, I voted USC No. 1 in the 2003 AP poll when it split the national title with LSU. So

Q: gotroy22 said:
Do you consider O'Dowd a major disappointment this year?

A: I know that he's been hurt so I consider that a reason for any problems he's had with his play. Even if he played hurt, I don't consider him a major disappointment because the offensive line as a whole was fine when he played and even hurt, he's better than a lot of centers.

Q: trojanfanmatt32 said:
Scott Even pollspeak called you out. you got what you wanted -attention:

Scott Wolf gets his second consecutive Bad Voter of the Week which is no surprise since he is once again the most extreme voter, which gives him the biggest opportunity to upset a lot of fan bases. His ballot most likely upsets the old Rose Bowl crowd, ranking Oregon lowest while leaving Ohio State and Penn State off of his ballot completely (Houston is also missing).

A: Now my life is complete.

University of Florida head football coach Urban Meyer has been fined $30,000 by the Southeastern Conference for his public comments concerning officiating, Commissioner Mike Slive announced Friday.
The fine is the first since the conference's Athletic Directors, with the full support of the league's Presidents and Chancellors, voted to have all violations of SEC Bylaw 10.5.4 enforced by suspensions and fines.
``Coach Meyer has violated the Southeastern Conference Code of Ethics,'' Slive said. ``SEC Bylaw 10.5.4 clearly states that the coaches, players and support personnel shall refrain from public criticism of officials. The league's Athletics Directors and Presidents and Chancellors have made it clear that negative public comments on officiating are not acceptable.''

Meyer's comment after the jump.

A: I never saw a player eat a hot dog on the sideline. I do know that in 2006 a player text messaged a friend during the second half of a game. The famous NBA story occurred when Quintin Dailey ordered a hot dog from a vendor and paid him during a game.
But at least Sanchez hasn't been caught at an Indian casino.