USC Football Pre-Game: 1 Down, 5 To Go

I just got back from a short business trip to West Virginia of all places. I was there for the day, which was plenty for me. The hills and bridges were beautiful and the people were generally very nice. No jokes about Deliverance or hillbillies here. Still, all the blue and yellow West Virginia sweatshirts were a little much for me.

I watched the WVU-Louisville game at a hotel sports bar after flying in early Thursday evening. The place was filled with West Virginia fans (all clad in those sweatshirts) eating a lot of meat and fried stuff.

They seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about college football, although none of them could explain why their supposed Heisman Trophy candidate Steve Slaton spent nearly all of the third quarter on the sideline. He was apparently “suffering” from “weakness” in his left arm. From what I could tell, he was actually allowing his team to suffer from his own psychological weakness, after fumbling twice on consecutive plays. Talk about shrinking on a big stage.

Anyway, I’m not complaining because USC fans are happy with the outcome. Now that West Virginia has been exposed, we’ll be hoping that Louisville loses to New Jersey State, which would keep alive our slim chances for a shot at the national title.

If not, we may be looking at Louisville in the national championship game, and that just doesn’t sound right.
east coast bias

6-1: The Long and the Short of It

We can never say that a loss is ever a good thing, especially when that loss happens at Oregon State … Oregon State. But perhaps USC Football needed a wake up call.

Certainly, for the 2006 USC Trojans, last Saturday’s result was devastating. Our national championship prospects this season are now very slim. But what happened in Corvallis could be beneficial to the long term health of the Trojans as a program.

Reading the transcript of Pete Carroll’s stream of consciousness from this week’s pre-game press conference, we get the sense that he feels the same:

If we play well, the outcome will be fine. We have proven that, so I'm not worried about who we are playing or what the situation is. We need to perform well, and if we do that, we will win. We know that. […] I think as a competitor, I don't want to lower our standards and expectations. […] We are going to continue to expect to play great and do things right, see our players make great decisions and play with the intensity and other things that we built this program on. We are so close. We looked at the highlights of Saturday's game and we measured our effort as we do every week, our consistency was very good. It was just that the ball hit the ground a couple of times and we didn't come up with it. […] We gave them enough opportunities to beat us.

It's really clear in the three games that we have lost over the past few years. They are almost all the same. We couldn't get out of our own way when we needed to. There have been a lot of times when we struggled and had issues, but then we worked out of it and took over a game. We just started too late on Saturday […] We did it with two minutes left in the third quarter and that's just not enough time. This is life in sports, this is how it is. Stuff happens and you have to deal with it. […] This is an exciting challenge. We were faced with this challenge a few years ago and we went through a couple of years without it happening. Whether or not we can do it again, who knows? That's what we are shooting for and it starts with winning this game on Saturday and performing well. […] It's about today and I'm feeling good about our chances to do this.

We are a very young football team and there are a lot of lessons to be learned as well as taught. I'm really tuned into the fact that I have to do a really good job communicating with the kids because this is building for the future. This is a dramatic occurrence for us to grow from and I'm trying to be right on it. […] There's no question we will be better [next year] just because of the experience of it. There will be so many players coming back next year and new players emerging that are tapping into roles that will grow. I'm really excited about the future of our club. There are so many guys in key positions and such depth that with the new guys coming in next year, this is going to be a very deep football team. We will still be young, but with some experience. The future looks very bright.

In other words, as some self-help philosopher once said, “Saturday is the first game of the rest of our football program” or something like that. It’s time to let go of the loss to Oregon State … Oregon State … and move on. There is so much more to enjoy this season and those to come. It all starts Saturday.

Of course, today is Thursday …

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Post-Halloween: The Dark Side

I saw a fair number of Jedi Knights and Darth Vaders collecting candy at my front door last night, which got me to thinking …

Charlie Weis has got to be a Star Wars fan. No, not because he looks like Jabba the Hut. That would be too obvious. It’s because, as all Trojan Jedi know, Weis has joined the Dark Side of the Force. We and the rest of college football should beware.

You think this is silly? Sure it is… but maybe not so much.

After calling out Weis a few times for saying stupid stuff, it appears that perhaps he’s not that stupid. Yes, we respect him for being an intelligent offensive coach, but maybe he’s saying stupid stuff on purpose, to make us think he’s stupid, while he pieces together his plan to take over the galaxy … I mean, the BCS … while we stand here laughing with our fingers pointing at his fat tummy.

You think this is paranoia? Certainly it is… but maybe not so much. As Yoda has warned us: “Beware of the Dark Side.”

To be sure, Trojan Jedi aren’t the only ones who recognize the subversive, Palpatine-like behavior of the “Irish” head coach. Greg Couch of the Chicago Sun-Times has a sense of what Weis is really up to in South Bend.

Life as Notre Dame's football coach is a week-to-week existence. You are a hero, you are a god. And then you are pounded by Michigan, and you are doubted. […]

That much I know. And then there are things I suspect: Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has said recently that NFL teams have called to see if he'd consider leaving South Bend and that the Irish aren't being treated fairly in the polls. Maybe those are simple statements, disconnected. But they are suspicious.

Is Weis playing a power game with Notre Dame? […] Maybe Weis, who mixes thin skin and thick ego, agreed with all the savior talk but doesn't want to put up with the other stuff Irish coaches face. […]

Last week, NFL.com reported that ''at least two owners'' had contacted Weis during Notre Dame's off week to see if he could be pulled away. Weis confirmed it but said, ''I'm not going anywhere.''

Hmm. Two owners? How did the reporter find that out? Did two owners just happen to leak that in the same week? Possibly. Incredible coincidences happen. […] But it would seem more likely that Weis, whose autobiography was ghost-written by another NFL.com writer, planted that story. […]

Planted it, confirmed it, then reconfirmed his love of Notre Dame.

''Everyone knows I'm staying here until they fire me or I die,'' he said last week at his regular news conference. […]

His pledge of allegiance to Notre Dame was the same as a guy telling his wife that women at work keep asking him out, but ''Don't worry, honey, I married you for life, and I'm not going anywhere.'' Would a wife feel comforted by that? And why would the guy say it in the first place?

They still love Weis at Notre Dame, now that time has passed since the Michigan game. But it turns out the love isn't based solely on his magnetic personality. Also, other coaches can match his genius. UCLA has less talent than Notre Dame but almost won anyway. It took a miraculous comeback for the Irish to beat Michigan State, a terrible team with a terrible coach. […]

Weis is pumping poll voters to help ensure the Irish a BCS bid. […] That's what Weis needs.

But maybe this season isn't as smooth as it appears. If the Irish beat USC, then Weis will be king. But if they lose the way they did to Michigan?

As Weis said, no matter how many times he tells NFL teams he's staying, darned if they don't keep calling.

''Sometimes they just don't get it,'' he said. ''But I keep on giving the same answer.''

Hmm.

Hmm, indeed. We like to criticize Weis, but putting Karl Dorrell and John L. Smith in the same solar system with the “Irish” head coach? That's just wrong. But, I digress …

Couch may not be a Star Wars nerd, but it’s clear he’s got Weis pegged as a subversive conspirator who feigns loyalty to gain personal power. This is exactly how a Star Wars nerd would describe a Sith Lord. I know, because I am a Star Wars nerd.

Again, as Yoda has warned us: “Never underestimate the power of the Dark Side.”

You think this is silly? Of course it is … but maybe not so much.
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Boo! ... It's the East Coast Bias

Happy Halloween! In the spirit of the holiday, we look for something strange and peculiar in the college football blogosphere … the kind of stuff that gives us an eerie feeling that only idiot wackiness can deliver.

True, the loss to black and orange clad Oregon State … Oregon State … was paranormal enough. And, yes, we could probably find what we’re looking for in South Bend. But the “Irish” catch a break tonight from our post-loss frustration-venting Domer bashing. Instead, we look further east, where we find a frightening, bizarre strain of east coast bias in Ithaca, New York.

The post in question (and as you’ll see, I mean this quite literally) was written by a Mr. Kyle Sheahen of the Cornell Daily Sun, who delivers to us something truly mind-boggling. Seeking poignancy and irony by comparing the supposedly diverging paths of Matt Leinart and Kevin Boothe (who?), Sheahen adds a quote from Robert Frost to create something so confounding, it almost makes you wet your pants.

The highlights (or low lights) of Sheahen’s piece are abridged below. If you think I’m pulling this stuff out of context, dare to read the whole post if you like. But be warned, it may bewilder you to the point of no return.

USC, C.U. Alums Meet Up in NFL
The Ultimate Trip
By Kyle Sheahen

Hollywood has finally met the Ivy League.

As Robert Frost said, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

For the first time ever, Matt Leinart and Kevin Boothe ’06 were mentioned in the same game story. Boothe’s Raiders beat Leinart’s Cardinals last Sunday [10/22], 22-9.

The two could not have taken more different roads to the NFL. Leinart hails from the O.C. — the land of cash and cars, surf and sand, Coopers and Cohens. Boothe is from Queens.

Leinart was one of the most decorated college football players in history. An All-American Heisman winner and two-time national champion, he lost only twice in 39 career starts at USC. He was all-world and the most recognizable NCAA athlete in the country.

Boothe was also a decorated player — in the Ivy League. He was also an All-American — at the Division I-AA level, with guys from Hofstra and Sam Houston State. With Boothe on the offensive line, Cornell posted a 15-25 record. …

On campus, [Leinart] was a god. In football, he was already a legend.

Despite his colossal stature, fewer people recognized Boothe. In the subdued gloom of Ithaca, Boothe was just another guy on a perennially mediocre Ivy team. If he weren’t 6-5 and over 300 pounds, he would have been just like any other Cornell student. …

On Sunday, the two rookies who could not have taken more different roads met on the same NFL field.

Unfortunately for Leinart, Arizona does not have much in the way of an offensive line. The team managed only 50 rushing yards and Leinart was sacked three times.

Lying on the ground, bruised, battered and staring up at the Bay Area sky, Leinart looked like the kind of guy who would trade his firstborn for decent pass protection. He also looked like someone who would give an extra million of his own money to have a player like Boothe on his team.

As it is, most of Leinart’s extra cash will be going to child support payments. On Wednesday, the quarterback’s first son was born in Los Angeles. Once again, the cameras, talk shows and magazines all followed him there.

Meanwhile, Boothe was back in Oakland, doing what Cornell students do best — working. Far from the bright lights, off-the-field scandals and Hollywood glamour, Boothe was memorizing Pittsburgh rush schemes. For him, it is just another week as a Cornell grad and professional athlete.

And that has made all the difference.

As Charlie Weis said last week, “That befuddles me.” Evidently, the Domers aren’t the only ones living in an alternate Bizarro World inside their own minds. For the life of me, I can’t understand what’s going on here. I can’t decipher the logic, the connection from one reference to the other. And so I must chalk it all up to some supernatural Ivy League form of communication that is beyond our five earthly senses.

On the other hand, perhaps it’s just horrible journalism. Either way, like dumb teenagers in a horror flick, I am compelled to investigate. So, in comment form, I dare to engage:

Kyle,

I have a few questions for you ... Do Boothe and Matt Leinart know each other at all? Did they meet at some point prior to last Sunday? Did they shake hands or acknowledge each other after the game in any way whatsoever?

What is the relationship between the two, other than that they played on the same field on the same day, albeit never at the same time?

In order for "two roads" to diverge, shouldn't there be at least some evidence that they were heading in the same direction at some point? Is it Boothe or Leinart who you think has taken the road "less traveled"?

Do you really think that two players with completely disparate lives -- who neither started in the same place nor will likely ever end up in the same place -- are worthy of a Robert Frost quote?

Boothe and Leinart are from different worlds ... so what? What is the point of pointing out this difference?

"Hollywood has finally met the Ivy League"? Hmmm ... Have you heard of Jody Foster, Natalie Portman, Tommy Lee Jones, Brooke Shields, Ed Norton, Paul Giamatti, Sam Waterston, Mira Sorvino, Jack Lemmon, etc., etc., etc.? Not to mention all the Hollywood writers, producers, agents, and attorneys from the Ivy League?

And what about that record-setting Cornell running back turned actor Ed Marinaro? "Hollywood has finally met the Ivy League"? What the hell are you talking about?

Seriously, if you want to pull USC Football into an attempt at poignant comparison, please check yourself and deliver something better than the sorry attempt you've made here. Had you done so, it would have "made all the difference."

The Displaced Trojan

Whoa … Did I digress here? Where did that "venom" come from? Perhaps my post-loss frustration still needs venting. It’s amazing what losing to Oregon State … Oregon State … will do to a Trojan fan.

It’s also amazing what the Ivy League will do to a student sports writer. Like an M. Night Shyamalan movie, Sheahen's post spooks you for a while, but in the end you gain an understanding of a bigger picture. It’s like the poignancy Sheahen couldn’t find in his piece, but we can see it clearly.

This is where the east coast bias is born, where crappy football meets ignorance. Very scary.
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Fat “Irish” Guy Smiling

I like the AP, if for no other reason than its Domer beat writer does a good job of capturing the stupid stuff that comes out of Charlie Weis’s mouth.

The latest spewage to expose his Domer Mind was recorded Sunday. The AP reported that Weis was smiling – supposedly the way “Irish” eyes smile – after his team’s “best game of the season” versus Navy … versus Navy.

The best part is Weis admitting that he enjoyed USC’s loss to Oregon State, even though it lessens ND’s slim chance to get to the national championship game.

Of course, real Trojan fans know this is stupid, and not just within the context of BCS rankings. We want the "Irish" to be undefeated when we beat them, because it would give our victory greater value and hurt the Domers that much more. But, I digress ...

According to the AP:

"Just watching the scoreboards, you'd like for them to win. But just like they're not rooting for Notre Dame to win, it's tough for me to sit there and say I'm rooting for them to win," Weis said Sunday.

Weis said his 13-year-old son, Charlie Jr., said of USC's loss: "Dad, that's not all bad."

"It might be prophetic," Weis said, laughing.

It's true that we don't actually root for ND. We hate them. But, why is it that no one heard Pete Carroll making similar comments after the Domers lost to Michigan by 26 at home? (Non-Domer fans know this is a rhetorical question.)

Don’t get me wrong. I like it when the fat guy says these things. It makes for billboard material inside Heritage Hall and helps us maintain a healthy level of hate for the Domer Hype Machine. But most of all, Weis’s big mouth stokes our sarcasm and gives us reason to blog.

Of course, some people don’t like what we write, but really, we’re not the ones letting loose with the stupid stuff.

So, keep it coming, Charlie. Let it all out. Test your son’s power of prophecy. We want you to.
east coast bias

USC Post-Game: Another Writer We Like

Man, that SI jinx is fierce! You don’t even have to be on the cover to get bit now days. No sooner is USC Football featured in the current issue of SI* than the bubble bursts on the Trojans’ destiny-controlled road to the BCS championship game.

SI editors must feel badly about this. Less than an hour after USC’s failed two-point conversion in Corvallis – on yet another tipped pass on a slant with a three step drop, no less – cnnsi.com’s Stewart Mandel posted encouraging words for us.

“… If I were a USC fan, I wouldn’t feel entirely bad right now,” he wrote at 7:42 pm ET (4:42 Pacific). Mandel points out what some of us already knew and what others weren’t willing to admit: that with all the talent lost to the League and an unusual number of injuries, expecting an undefeated straight shot at the national championship was unrealistic. Sure, none of us ever expect three fumbles and crappy punt return coverage against Oregon State … Oregon State. But then Mandel delivers this comfort:

… right when it seemed USC was headed for an all-out meltdown, falling behind 33-10 with 4:51 left in the third quarter, John David Booty, Steve Smith and Co. went out and mounted a near-epic, Leinart-caliber comeback. Booty, after struggling much of the game, started hitting everything, Smith gave a performance for the ages (11 catches, 258 yards, two TDs) and the defense finally quieted Beavers QB Matt Moore. Ultimately, they fell two points short, but only after Booty (who threw for 405 yards and three TDs) drove them 80 yards in two minutes to score the potential game-tying touchdown with seven seconds left.

That, more than any of their wins over the past month, tell me the Trojans haven’t completely lost their swagger, and should serve as some solace to all those USC fans out there trying to cope with their first regular-season loss since September 2003. There will likely be at least one more loss before 2006 is over, but I’d be feeling a whole lot better about Booty’s chances of leading a potential title run in ’07.

We could come up with this stuff on our own, but for some reason it sounds a little better coming from outside the Trojan Family. Of course, any real Trojan fan won’t stoop to a “wait ‘till next year” attitude just yet, but Mandel’s piece is appreciated nonetheless.

For now, we’ll file him under “writers we like.” Besides, his post is the least he could do after SI put the inside jinx on us.

Fight On!

* You’ll need an SI print subscription to view this online.
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USC (Late) Game Day: Now What?

So, this is what it feels like. It’s been so long since USC Football lost a regular season game, it’s tough to remember. How are we supposed to feel? What are we supposed to do?

Should we chalk it up to injuries and youth, and relax our BCS expectations this season, knowing that we will have a fully loaded (and experienced) team next year? Or, should we hold on to hopes of Pete Carroll "Kool-Aid" inspired scenarios that will get us back to the national championship game?

I don’t know.

I do know that no team – not even the USC Trojans – deserves to win any game after putting the ball on the ground three times and giving up an easy punt return. I also know that the Trojans do deserve some credit after a hell of a comeback behind John David Booty’s 406 yards passing and Steve Smith’s clutch grabs for 258 yards.

Still, I’m not sure I know what it all means. The last two times USC lost at Oregon State the results of each season couldn’t have been more different.

In 2000, the year before Carroll was hired, the Trojans were No. 8 in the nation before losing to the Beavers 31-21. That team went on to lose six of its last eight games for last place in the Pac-10 and no bowl game, with a 5-6 overall record.

In 1967, No. 1 ranked USC, with O.J. Simpson at tailback, lost 3-0 in a mud game at Oregon State. Of course, the Trojans recovered the next week to beat ugla 21-20 in perhaps the most significant game in the history of the USC-ugla rivalry. Those Trojans went on to beat Indiana in the Rose Bowl to claim the national championship.

Usually, history adds perspective and context, but it does neither here. And as we’ve seen in recent weeks, looking for answers in past Carroll-era scenarios doesn’t help much either. Regardless, we will have our answers soon enough. It’s all about the next five games.

For now, like Carroll, I know what I believe: “It’s all about the ball.”
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