If that Tommy Trojan statue really knew what
was happening, he'd put some clothes on.
Since winning the 1996 Rose Bowl, Southern
Cal football has been in an unprecedented funk. One bowl
appearance (1998 Sun Bowl loss to TCU) in the last five seasons
has USC fans longing for the days of John McKay, Student
Body-Right and lesser NCAA surveillance. Both John Robinson and
Paul Hackett were unceremoniously dumped, so now it is Pete
Carroll's turn to reverse SC's recent poor fortunes. However from
the geeks in the white sweaters to the fans waving those puffy
red and yellow pom-poms, it's been more frustration for the
Trojan faithful in 2001.
Dropping two of their first three games has
already put Carroll on the hot seat. While these have been losses
to Top-10 teams Oregon and Kansas State, it’s been sloppy
play and lack of a consistent offense that has the folks in
La-La Land worried. The former New England Patriots head coach is
no stranger to criticism (Boston radio personalities repeatedly
questioned his manhood as the Patriots went south during his
tenure there), but after only three games USC is facing some
serious issues.
With a loss this Saturday against Stanford,
USC would be looking at a 0-2 record in Pac-10 play, with a trip to Seattle to play the Huskies to follow. After beating San
Jose State 21-10 in a rather ho-hum performance, this squad lost
a very winnable 10-6 game against Kansas State at the Coliseum.
Then came last week's heartbreaking loss that was symbolic of the
team's troubles of recent years.
At its worst, USC plays sloppy,
undisciplined football that costs themselves games. Witness R.
Jay Soward's drop of a sure touchdown pass in Stanford's 35-31
win in LA two years ago. Then there is signal-caller Carson
Palmer. The quarterback, like many of his Trojan teammates, is
full of talent and potential but is very enigmatic at times. He
holds the school records for most yards and touchdown passes
thrown by a freshman. He was also on his way to a fine sophomore
campaign in 1999 before getting his collarbone broken. However it
is his inconsistent play that has SC fans exasperated. Against
Oregon he threw touchdown passes of 75 and 93 yards, and totaled
411 passing yards for the game. Then again he also threw two key
interceptions and was involved in the game's most pivotal play.
In a play similar to one Mike Pawlawski made in the same
situation to help Stanford come back to win the 1990 Big Game,
Palmer threw the ball away instead of taking the sack on third
down late in the game with his team nursing a one-point lead. The
decision turned out to be costly as Oregon went on to kick the
game-winning field goal with 16 seconds left to send USC back to
SoCal with a 24-22 defeat.
So where do the Trojans go from here? The
fact is their offense certainly has its weapons. When he's on,
Palmer can look like some of the best USC quarterbacks ever, guys
like Stanford-killers Rodney Peete and Brad Johnson. Norm Chow,
the passing guru who groomed all those All-American quarterbacks
at BYU is the new offensive coordinator and has a few solid
receivers to work with as well. Kareem Kelly is one the best
wide-outs in the conference and is an unquestioned deep threat.
The former high school teammate of Stanford's own Chris Lewis had
almost 800 receiving yards last season and is averaging almost 19
yards per-catch thus far this season. His lone touchdown catch
was a 93-yarder against Oregon. Much to the chagrin of Stanford
fans everywhere, he gives Ryan Fernandez and Ruben Carter
7-10 yards to play off the line of scrimmage.
Tailback U. is officially Yesterday U. as
the Trojans haven't had a tailback lead the conference in rushing
since Marcus Allen in 1981. Sultan McCullough though is force
coming out of the backfield. The senior, aside from having a
really cool name, rushed for 1,100 yards and six touchdowns in
2000. That performance, along with a 140-yard game against San
Jose State in SC's opener, gave many SC fans reason to believe
their offense would be as explosive as ever. However McCullough
is netting almost a yard-and-a half less than that this time
around. Senior backfield-mates Malaefou Mackenzie and Chad
Pierson provide both blocking and experience. Mackenzie is a
fifth-year senior who himself averaged almost seven yards a rush
last season. Another familiar name among USC running backs is
Michigan transfer and a former Stanford recruit, Justin Fargas.
Southern Cal has produced many outstanding
offensive linemen over the years, as names like Munoz, Matthews
and Boselli are synonymous with Troy's fine lineman tradition.
Last years statistics give more evidence for the steep decline of
USC football as the Trojans surrendered a conference-worst 41
sacks in 2000. They've cut down on that number significantly so
far this time around. The prime "meats" include
Hawaiian native Faaesea Mailo (6'3", 325), junior Zack
Wilson (6'5", 320) and junior Phillip Eaves (6'6",
315). Of the starters, only Mailo is a senior so Stanford's
D-line will have a significant edge in experience.
USC's "D" has shown a steady
improvement thus far over last year's version. The defense itself
only gave up 17 points against the explosive Oregon offense (the
other seven points came on an interception return for a
touchdown), while it held an equally potent Kansas State offense
to just 26 yards passing.
Last year it was Southern California's pass
defense that let them down: they surrendered over 2600 yards and
17 touchdowns through the air, worst in the Pac-10 for any team
not named the Cal Bears. The secondary this time around is still
fast, as Randy Fasani will have to keep an eye out for a couple
of Stockton products at the corners, senior Chris “Let’s
get out of here, I’ve got the” Cash and junior Kevin
Arbet. Cash picked off two passes in 2000. Both have pretty good
size for corners (5'11'). Last year's starting safeties, Troy
Polamalu and DeShaun Hill, return to roam the secondary. Cash,
Polamalu and Hill are the team's returning leaders in
interceptions with two each.
Don't look for any Willie McGinnest or Jack
Del Rio clones at linebacker for USC. Stanford-killer and former
All-Pac-10 linebacker Zeke Moreno has moved on to the NFL, but
seniors John Cousins (6'2", 220) and Henry Wallace (6'2,
210) return.
Kicking has been inconsistent in 2001. David
“No, I’ve never attended Menlo College” Davis
missed an extra point a key field goal attempt in the 10-6 loss
to Kansas State. He did though kick a 39-yarder with nine minutes
left in the Oregon game and would have of course been the hero
had it not been for Joey Harrington's heroics.
Prediction: Everyone else is doing it, so
why don't we? Oregon all of a sudden loves to play USC, and Cal's
beaten the Trojans in each of their last three meetings. Even the
Cougs managed to steal one at the Coliseum last year. Stanford is
going for three straight against Troy for the first time since
1955-57. We're talking the Brodie years here! What the hell, why
not a three-peat? We send these hooligans even further into
decline, 27-17!