Trojan War

Black Swan

Overseas attending USC (University of Southern California). They have the first ranked university (American) football team in the nation according to the polls. Everyone at USC seems to be football crazy! They have won several divisional titles and two national championships in the last 5 years or so. The sports pundits call USC Trojan football a dynasty under head coach Pete Carroll.

When they first march out onto the football field playing "Conquest!" with their band of 250 helmeted and caped players (Spirit of Troy), led by a Trojan with sword and armour mounted on a white horse you just know they have come to do battle. But the band is ironically true So Cal, with all members wearing sunglasses under their helmets.

The season for USC got off to a slow start when they played their first game against University of Idaho this past weekend. Although USC scored 38 to Idaho's 10 in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum by game end, it would seem that the nation's number one team did not play to its full potential against an unranked Idaho. USC did offensively rack up the yards totaling an impressive 420, but the USC defense allowed Idaho to achieve 253 yards, sending a warning that the USC defense is not yet ready to take on a more powerful ranked team.

jdivision

They would have been expected to win by nearly 50 TBH

RuggieBear

yep...pity Appalachian State aren't playing them.:D

mariowilliams

i think the usc defense is fully capable of taking on the bigger programs and is stacked with a ridiculous amount of talent. they have at least 7 potential all-americans with keith rivers, brian cushing, sedrick ellis and taylor mays topping that list. if anything i would say it's their inexperienced offense that may be their stumbling block.

Black Swan

jdivision wrote:

They would have been expected to win by nearly 50 TBH

The "unofficial" betting pools felt the pinch considering the pre-game point spread?

dulpit

RuggieBear wrote:

yep...pity Appalachian State aren't playing them.:D

That was mighty, i only saw highlights, but it's crazy...

I was trying to explain to my friends how big a deal it was, the only comparison i could come up with was if Cork or Kilkenny lost a championship match against like New York or London, that's how much of a shock it is...

Black Swan

USC Trojans were off last Saturday. One sport pundit suggested that they would get rusty, while another said they needed a rest cause of injuries. Pete Carroll said the break was useful, as he had a lot of first year's that were still learning to play like a team.

Black Swan

USC Trojans defeated Nebraska 49 to 31 today, Saturday, September 15 (although the score was a bit misleading). Nebraska scored 3 touchdowns in the fourth quarter, only after USC Coach Pete Carroll had pulled several of the first string players and sent in many second string players to get them experience.

The Trojan defense was expert against the rush, allowing Nebraska only 31 yards, but appeared weak against the passing game, allowing an extraordinary 389 yards in the air (with only 2 interceptions). If USC doesn't tighten up their pass defense, they are going to lose games, their number one spot, and a chance to play for the national championship.

Offensively, the Trojans performed well, rushing 313 yards and passing 144 yards, for a total offense of 457 yards.

dulpit

I don't know whether they justify being no.1 though (USC I mean)

Florida looked very good last night... I haven't seen any of their games but apparently so do LSU...

RuggieBear

nebraska are not a bad team and were made to look very ordinary

LuckyLloyd

The USC / Notre Dame game may end up breaking a few records. Worst Irish team I have ever seen.

tallaghtoutlaws

USC are only number 1 due to popularity stupid Polls as a fan of college football for the last 12 years and a person who travels to the States regularly to watch football, the polls are popularity contest and USC honestly dont deserve to be number 1. Florida should be up there National Champions last year and going strong this year they should have started up there. The ranking are based on many things strength of schedule strength of division strength of record in previous seasons and of course the all famous coaches poll. Michigan proved on day 1 why the polls are way of beaten by a D1aa school who in theory after beating michigan should have moved up but because they are outside D1a they wont. The polls will always reflect the Big 10/ PAC 10 and SEC schools up there due to the strength of these divisions. Take the ACC growing in strength but teams in the ACC struggle to break the Top 10 due to the supposed strength of their schedules and divisions one of the most noticeable over the years in the top 10 would have been the Seminoles down in Florida but they are shocking over the last 2 years thus weakining the ACC. Been talks for years to make a knock out competition for the Championship the way they do it in the College basketball this would really prove once and for all who the topp schools are but sure we will see. My honest opinion I would like to see Florida V USC this year to see if USC are as good as people make out Michigan were cocky last year and look were that got them as were Ohio.

LuckyLloyd

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

USC are only number 1 due to popularity stupid Polls as a fan of college football for the last 12 years and a person who travels to the States regularly to watch football, the polls are popularity contest and USC honestly dont deserve to be number 1. Florida should be up there National Champions last year and going strong this year they should have started up there. The ranking are based on many things strength of schedule strength of division strength of record in previous seasons and of course the all famous coaches poll. Michigan proved on day 1 why the polls are way of beaten by a D1aa school who in theory after beating michigan should have moved up but because they are outside D1a they wont. The polls will always reflect the Big 10/ PAC 10 and SEC schools up there due to the strength of these divisions. Take the ACC growing in strength but teams in the ACC struggle to break the Top 10 due to the supposed strength of their schedules and divisions one of the most noticeable over the years in the top 10 would have been the Seminoles down in Florida but they are shocking over the last 2 years thus weakining the ACC. Been talks for years to make a knock out competition for the Championship the way they do it in the College basketball this would really prove once and for all who the topp schools are but sure we will see. My honest opinion I would like to see Florida V USC this year to see if USC are as good as people make out Michigan were cocky last year and look were that got them as were Ohio.

It should be an 8 or 16 man National Championship playoff at the end of the year of course.

But the current system lends itself to titanic struggles down the stretch - and the fact that losing a game at any point in the season can spell doom for a National Title bid. As such, while playoffs would be great for the money men at the end of the season - the way things are at the moment makes each weekend of the regular season a mini event and ensures high ratings for a primetime game on Saturday night. Because going undefeated is the only sure way to get yourself in the running for the championship.

tallaghtoutlaws

LuckyLloyd wrote:

It should be an 8 or 16 man National Championship playoff at the end of the year of course.

But the current system lends itself to titanic struggles down the stretch - and the fact that losing a game at any point in the season can spell doom for a National Title bid. As such, while playoffs would be great for the money men at the end of the season - the way things are at the moment makes each weekend of the regular season a mini event and ensures high ratings for a primetime game on Saturday night. Because going undefeated is the only sure way to get yourself in the running for the championship.

Not true going undefeated doesnt gaurantee diddly under the current system cant remember off hand who the last team who only ranked outside the top 5 even though they only lost 1 game all season reason the rankings failed them was the strength of their schedule. If it comes back to me I will dig up the info. I know Wake Forest went 12-2 last season and ranked outside the Top 10. They had a better win ratio than 4 of the teams in the top 10 but the strength of their schedule let them down

Black Swan

I'm at USC. I would agree that the polls are distorted. All of them. Not sure if the Trojans are the best college team in the nation, but they certainly are in the top 10.

Advantages that USC has had over the past 5 or so years:

1. No seniority system: Coach Pete Carroll threw out the seniority system for first and second string. A first year can play first string if he is the best at USC. For example, Jerred (sp?) was recruited from a New Jersey high school and played first string at age 17 and became one of our best receivers. Most of the Big 10 (which actually has 11 teams), Pac 10, etc., etc., coaches use the seniority system, giving first string playing preference to upper classmen (3rd and 4th years). Top freshman recruits across the nation know this, and want to play first string now, not in 2 or 3 years.

2. Recruitment: Most top college football recruits want to increase their chances of someday playing for the Pros. Because of USC's winning record over the past few years (and several PAC 10 divisional and 2 national championships), playing for the Trojans increases your chances of going Pro.

3. No race problem on the football team. Little known was that many of the big college teams have a hidden race problem. This gets in the way of teamwork. When Pete Carroll was made head coach, he eliminated the problem, benching racists or cutting them from the team.

As for this 2007 season, USC better tighten up our pass defense, or all this talk will be moot.

LuckyLloyd

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

Not true going undefeated doesnt gaurantee diddly under the current system cant remember off hand who the last team who only ranked outside the top 5 even though they only lost 1 game all season reason the rankings failed them was the strength of their schedule. If it comes back to me I will dig up the info. I know Wake Forest went 12-2 last season and ranked outside the Top 10. They had a better win ratio than 4 of the teams in the top 10 but the strength of their schedule let them down

You make a good point. And thank you for the correction.

I think it was in 2003 (?) that TCU were unbeaten coming up to their last two games. As they creeped towards a highly unexpected perfect season, the issue of whether an unbeaten team could be excluded from the tiltle game in lieu of a more established one loss team higher in the polls. Fortunately for everyone concerned, TCU bombed in a tough divisional clash away from home.

Obviously, the reason why this very rarely becomes an issue is that it is always a surprise for less fancied mid - majors to win through their non - conference schedule at the start of the season. So instances were a Bowling Green; or a TCU; or Memphis type program approach the end of the season unbeaten are extremely rare.

I would be interested to see the example you mention in your above post by the way. Obviously strength of schedule should be an important weight. In any given season, I think it would be churlish to argue that Notre Dame going unbeaten would be less impressive than Rutgers, Louisville or West Virginia also having a perfect season. Some schools do have traditionally tougher paths depending upon the relative depth of your conference - and the set - up of your early season matches.

I think I agree with your basic point though - a 16 team playoff would automatically wipe away most of the controversy for, while the last two or three spots in would still be hotly debated and error strewn, we would be very certain that the best team in the country is getting a shot via a playoff season. And future cases like Auburn could be avoided.

Funny game, college ball. And how I love it.

tallaghtoutlaws

1. No seniority system: Not true as much any more were Seniors play more often alot of the coaches realise now that if someone better comes along to fill the spot and is ony a freshman or sophmore they will get game time to prove themselves especially towards the end of a massacre or if they play smaller D1 or D1aa colleges. I have talked to College coaches from D3 to D1 and they disagree this point. Senior guys need to prove themselves as there can and will always be someone out there better than you.

2. Recruitment: True USC can pull in some of the bigger high school players due to the Schools reputation but players picking for reputation is slowly dying as guys realise the importance show casing their full talents and earning their spot take LenDale White drafted yes but he was in Reggie's shadows and ok Lendale got TD's only because he was used when USC were demolishing teams. Now put the same players up against the best of the best see how they fair. Players realise to maximise chance showing true potential is key hence why the Big 10 always recruit big.

3. No race problem on the football team. Come on do you really believe that. Whoever told you this needs to get out of the clouds Race is a minor issue with alot of schools in fact most of them. I am failing to see your point on this argument are you saying there is no racial issues in California at all?? If you look at rosters across the NCAA you will find the majority of the schools are pretty even with colour in fact alot of the skilled positions are non white players so which side of the race barrier are you even talking about?

I dont disagree with you about USC in some ways they are a top school and will always be one but it seems your views are very biased to USC. Just my opinion.

bor

I know Wake Forest went 12-2 last season and ranked outside the Top 10. They had a better win ratio than 4 of the teams in the top 10 but the strength of their schedule let them down

For an even more dramatic example, Boise went 12-zip last year and ranked only 9th...now I know they are only from the WAC , but still...a little more respect need, as they showed in their bowl game.

Black Swan

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

I dont disagree with you about USC in some ways they are a top school and will always be one but it seems your views are very biased to USC. Just my opinion.

I remember philosopher- economist- sociologist Max Weber in Economy and Society stating that no one was unbiased; i.e., that bias was a human condition? Sure, I have my biases, as you and everyone else does?

Furthermore, as crazy as everyone seems to be about Trojan football on my USC campus, it would be considered heresy for me to suggest in a public forum that they are not absolutely number one (I stated top 10 earlier), or that they will lose if they don't markedly improve their defense against the pass this season (also stated earlier).

You are wrong about the race issue by the way, especially as it had once pertained to USC football. It's easy to sit back and look at national team demographics and make assumptions. I was chatting with a USC team official the other day (who will not be mentioned in this public forum), and he told me about people separating by colour on the buses or planes travelling to away games. Players did this. USC did not play as well as a team then for obvious reasons (racism is destructive to teamwork!). Pete Carroll put a stop to this when he became head coach. There was also talk about other "big" teams that were still struggling with it. These officials often get together off-season to discuss and share solutions to mutual problems of this type (but not specific stategies and tactics of play, also for obvious reasons). Of course, for the fans they put on their happy face. What was it again that Max Weber said about the problem of bias?

We have a home game against Washington State tomorrow (Saturday) at the LA Coliseum. See if USC improves upon it's pass defense without sacrificing it's defense against the run.

FIGHT ON!

Lirange

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

I dont disagree with you about USC in some ways they are a top school and will always be one but it seems your views are very biased to USC. Just my opinion.

I detect a certain bias against USC from you. Just my opinion.

The season has just gotten underway and you are already declaring USC overrated ... or shall we say overranked. I think it's a bit premature to make such statements. Let the season play out a bit more.

Many respected college football writers and observers picked USC coming into the season. Their assessment of the Trojans has nothing to do with popularity as you assert (The SEC is the media's darling conference anyhow). USC is returning more players and has more experience than the Gators. I haven't seen anything definitive in this young season that indicates that the Trojans will not be a legitimate contender for the title. I think USC's road victory at Nebraska was impressive. 42-10 late in the game before NU scored against 2nd and 3rd stringers in the 4th. Some coaches would have kept their starters out there to maintain the blowout. However, we don't know how good NU really is nor do we know how good Tennessee really is this year. Third week poll rankings are meaningless and any arguments about the merits of rankings are inevitably fraught with lack of evidence (due to lack of games).

This is college football. A new season and many new players. Last year means nothing.

tallaghtoutlaws

Lirange wrote:

I detect a certain bias against USC from you. Just my opinion.

The season has just gotten underway and you are already declaring USC overrated ... or shall we say overranked. I think it's a bit premature to make such statements. Let the season play out a bit more.

Many respected college football writers and observers picked USC coming into the season. Their assessment of the Trojans has nothing to do with popularity as you assert (The SEC is the media's darling conference anyhow). USC is returning more players and has more experience than the Gators. I haven't seen anything definitive in this young season that indicates that the Trojans will not be a legitimate contender for the title. I think USC's road victory at Nebraska was impressive. 42-10 late in the game before NU scored against 2nd and 3rd stringers in the 4th. Some coaches would have kept their starters out there to maintain the blowout. However, we don't know how good NU really is nor do we know how good Tennessee really is this year. Third week poll rankings are meaningless and any arguments about the merits of rankings are inevitably fraught with lack of evidence (due to lack of games).

This is college football. A new season and many new players. Last year means nothing.

Me biased against USC not a chance have no reason to be the college I like will never meet USC or will they ever. I logically look at things andThus my opinion.

Firstly I never sayed they were over rated or over ranked I clearly said they dont deserve to be number 1 you cant honestly tell me that the polls are not done on favourtism and popularity. Only will a 16 team playoff ever conclude who should be number 1. Talk to any analyst and they will tell you the same thing ask any college football coach or coordinator and they will also tell you the same thing. I never said USC were crap or were not deserved to be up there with the rest but the rankings are based on strengths that should be proven. USC and Florida cannot in my opinion be compared as they rarely ever meet in a regular season. Only when all these so called top teams are thrown against each other can you decide who deserves to be there. Prime example Ohio last year got spanked by Florida. Compare this to any other sport take the premier league in england and split it 2 ways and put the big 4 teams in the separate divisions now they dont play each or may not play each other can you honestly say who is now the best team??

As for the race issue blue lagoon I know and talk to football coaches all over the US including the South where the issue of colour is a bigger issue than other counterparts. Some colleges will tell you there is a problem but it is minor and down to personal choice of some players not to mix socially with each other not because the program builds it that way.What you are saying is a social problem and not a problem with a football program but you can bet these guys are professional on the field and there is minimal favourtism due to colour. I have friends both black and white who play college ball from D1 right down to D3 and both will agree that yes sometimes socially both colours dot mix but it is a minor issue and doesnt affect the Colleges football program.

Lirange

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

Me biased against USC not a chance have no reason to be the college I like will never meet USC or will they ever.

That is certainly not the only reason one might be biased against certain teams.

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

I logically look at things andThus my opinion.

So does it follow that everyone that has an opinion contrary to yours is not logical? They can only reach other conclusions if they're hopping on a popularity bandwagon? I look at the personnel on the top teams and USC has the ingredients to potentially be the best team. Looking at talent level and experience there is nothing illogical about it. Several analysts ... not just television hairpieces but respected writers with a great knowledge of the game have tipped USC heading into this season.

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

Firstly I never sayed they were over rated or over ranked

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

... I clearly said they dont deserve to be number 1

You clearly are stating that they are over ranked. You managed to contradict yourself in the same sentence. So you do not think their ranking is too high yet you do not think USC should be #1? Huh?

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

you cant honestly tell me that the polls are not done on favourtism and popularity.

The coaches poll will obviously display favouritism. Coaches tend to support teams in their conference and on their schedule. That's why the polling is distributed regionally to offset that. The writers' polls will too and that's why most pollsters also try to achieve regional parity. Everyone voting is human so you can throw objectivity out the window. Likewise I do not see the utility in advancing an argument that basically claims that "my opinion is objective and their's is not!"

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

Only will a 16 team playoff ever conclude who should be number 1.

Well here we have some common ground. It is the only fair way to crown a champion. Though I think an 8 game playoff is more realistic.

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

I never said USC were crap or were not deserved to be up there with the rest but the rankings are based on strengths that should be proven. USC and Florida cannot in my opinion be compared as they rarely ever meet in a regular season.

You are right. They cannot be compared. Not in any useful or informative way. I alluded to this in my previous post. Right now it is only guessing and supposition. That is the nature of early season polls. Which is why I don't understand why you acknowledge these limitations and yet steadfastly insist that USC does not "deserve" to be #1. No team has proven it "deserves" anything yet this year.

For all we know both Oklahoma and LSU may be better teams than both Florida & USC.

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

Only when all these so called top teams are thrown against each other can you decide who deserves to be there.

Agreed. However, you seem to have decided.

Polls in week 3 of the season are still speculative and nobody remembers who was ranked #1 in the third week. So why attempt to have a "logical" debate about who does and who doesn't "deserve" to be #1?

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

Prime example Ohio last year got spanked by Florida. Compare this to any other sport take the premier league in england and split it 2 ways and put the big 4 teams in the separate divisions now they dont play each or may not play each other can you honestly say who is now the best team??

You can't.

Black Swan

The field is a bit wet. Rained all night hard. Washington State wins the toss and Washington decides to kick to Troy in first quarter...

KICK-OFF!:eek:

Black Swan

USC dominated last Saturday's rainy home game against Washington State University, gaining an extraordinary 509 total yards rushing and passing. The Trojan's defense continued to perform well against the run, giving up only 64 yards, but still needs to improve markedly against the pass having allowed WSU to gain 183 yards. Once again, if the Trojans do not improve on their pass defense, they are bound to lose one or more games this season, along with their bid to play the national championship.

This coming Saturday USC is off to Seattle to play the University of Washington Huskies. It's anticipated that they will put up a better fight than last weekend's State team.

tallaghtoutlaws

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

USC dominated last Saturday's rainy home game against Washington State University, gaining an extraordinary 509 total yards rushing and passing. The Trojan's defense continued to perform well against the run, giving up only 64 yards, but still needs to improve markedly against the pass having allowed WSU to gain 183 yards. Once again, if the Trojans do not improve on their pass defense, they are bound to lose one or more games this season, along with their bid to play the national championship.

This coming Saturday USC is off to Seattle to play the University of Washington Huskies. It's anticipated that they will put up a better fight than last weekend's State team.

183 yards is average for college teams to give up in games. You stuffed the run forcing them to throw. I saw Washington State play Wisconsin on the 1st day and the Badgers did the same thing to them I wouldn't worry about it too much.

And looking at your schedule I honestly dont see USC giving up too much:

09/01 Idaho W 38-10
09/15 at #14 Nebraska W 49-31
09/22 Wash St W 47-14

09/29 at Washington - Shocking at the mintue should be an easy win

10/06 Stanford - No test easy win predicted

10/13 Arizona - Balanced game 1-3 Easy win

10/20 at N Dame going to their worst season ever should be a win

10/27 at #11 Oregon The Ducks have impressive numbers 932 yards in the air and on the ground 800 odd yards in 4 games with 2 strong wins against Stanford and Michigan going to be a good game.

11/03 Oregon St - 2-2 good passing game ok on the ground another win

11/10 at #6 California Bears saw off Tennessee on day 1 4-0 will be another good game you would expect a USC win.

11/22 at #23 Arizona St - Sundevils have very impressive numbers in the air no too strong on the ground but they havent really faced a stiff test at all yet. Close but USC will edge it.

12/01 UCLA Ah the Rival game Ben Olsen is hot and cold at the minute and struggles under pressure will be a great rival game as usual but should be a win. But you know the history of these two great encounters.

Honestly USC have one of the better schedules this year with ND struggling I would expect USC to dominate their schedule realistically the Ducks will be the toughest of the teams on the schedule and Obviously the Rival games bring their own test but over the last few years USC have triumped

Red Hand

Paul O Connell was such a donkey for getting sin-binned in the second half. It's not like we could have won at that stage (we were throwing penalties away to France like confetti at that stage) but its the bl**dy principle. At that professional level, at the world cup of all places, he does something silly like that?

One word: disgraceful.

LuckyLloyd

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

10/20 at N Dame going to their worst season ever should be a win

Notre Dame are sooo horrendously poor. And it's sad that Weiz has done nothing Willingham didn't do (despite getting a developed Brady to work with) and yet the topic of him getting fired isn't on the agenda.

Questions should be raised about Weiz's abillity to recruit effectively and develop. And will Notre Dame ever get towards a National title again?

tallaghtoutlaws

Jeremiah 16:1 wrote:

Paul O Connell was such a donkey for getting sin-binned in the second half. It's not like we could have won at that stage (we were throwing penalties away to France like confetti at that stage) but its the bl**dy principle. At that professional level, at the world cup of all places, he does something silly like that?

One word: disgraceful.

hehe must have had two windows open eh bit lost with yer post there hate when that happens though

Black Swan

I know Jer. He gets a bit distracted by Trojan women.;)

Black Swan

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

183 yards is average for college teams to give up in games.

And "average" teams lose games during a season? If the AP, Coaches,' and Fox polls are remotely correct in placing USC as number one, "average" defense against the pass places us at risk of losing our chance at the national championship?

USC flies to the State of Washington in the northwest of the contiguous 48 states (excludes Alaska and Hawaii) to play the University of Washington Huskies today (Saturday, 29 September).

FIGHT ON!

Black Swan

Halftime. USC vs. Washington (17-14). Dark, raining, slippery wet Astroturf, and the Trojans fumbling, being intercepted, with lots of penalties. Total offense USC 267 yds vs. UW 125 yds.:eek: Booty not playing well for Trojans.

challengemaster

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

He gets a bit distracted by Trojan women.;)

hm.. he might need one of these?

Black Swan

A Trojan for Booty?

challengemaster

:d

Black Swan

USC plays Stanford in the LA Coliseum Saturday, 6 October. I wonder which Trojan team will come out of the locker room?:eek:

tallaghtoutlaws

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

USC plays Stanford in the LA Coliseum Saturday, 6 October. I wonder which Trojan team will come out of the locker room?:eek:

Trojans second string should beat Stanford being honest. Stanford not the team they used to be. Their Athletics program is still second to none but their football program has lacked over the last 10 years.

Black Swan

tallaghtoutlaws wrote:

Trojans second string should beat Stanford being honest. Stanford not the team they used to be. Their Athletics program is still second to none but their football program has lacked over the last 10 years.

The "other" Trojan team from last week returned to the gridiron. Stanford upsets USC. Dynasty ends. Time to rebuild. Where's my Murphy's pint? Or two? Or three!

Red Hand

I'd say South Africa vs France in the final. SA haven't performed as well as they should imo, and I have an inkling that the underdogs France will go and capture the cup. Vive La France!

LuckyLloyd

Losing to Stanford was just, well, wow. But that's the beauty of college football I guess. Simple equation now. USC will probably drop out of the top five in the polls. They need to win out the season and win the Pac - 10 championship game in order to be in the frame for a national championship. Tall order.

What pleased me was Notre Dame's 20 - 6 win over UCLA. Clausen got a TD on a sneak and, while only throwing for 85 yards, he didn't turn the ball over. Sweet, sweet progress.

dulpit

So USC down to #10 in polls, and LSU the consensus #1... Saw Florida -v- LSU, thought that the Gators might sneak it at the end, but no such luck

Who looks like a possible #2?? Hawaii are 6-0 at this stage, any chance they get a look in?? I mean, the BCS will hardly allow an undefeated team not be in the Championship game (like last year) would they?

LuckyLloyd

dulpit wrote:

So USC down to #10 in polls, and LSU the consensus #1... Saw Florida -v- LSU, thought that the Gators might sneak it at the end, but no such luck

Who looks like a possible #2?? Hawaii are 6-0 at this stage, any chance they get a look in?? I mean, the BCS will hardly allow an undefeated team not be in the Championship game (like last year) would they?

If Boston College don't lose a game they would be impossible to leave out. Hawaii I'm not so sure about. In that I am sure that they will not play the national championship game whatever happens. If that makes sense.

RuggieBear

LuckyLloyd wrote:

If Boston College don't lose a game they would be impossible to leave out. Hawaii I'm not so sure about. In that I am sure that they will not play the national championship game whatever happens. If that makes sense.

Hawaii's schedukle is weak as nobody will play them. They can't really improve their ranking

LuckyLloyd

RuggieBear wrote:

Hawaii's schedukle is weak as nobody will play them. They can't really improve their ranking

Oh, I 100% agree that there is nothing they can do but beat what is infront of them. This is just another example where the current BCS system doesn't stand up to scrutiny and is the reason why there should be a playoff system introduced to decide the national champion.

However, under the CURRENT system - BC have a chance to play for the national title. Hawaii don't.

Black Swan

Heard that USC quarterback Booty was playing with a broken finger for a couple of quarters during the Stanford game they lost. How can you receive the pigskin from a hike securely, or handoff or pass with a broken finger? The second string QB should have replaced him immediately.

tallaghtoutlaws

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

Heard that USC quarterback Booty was playing with a broken finger for a couple of quarters during the Stanford game they lost. How can you receive the pigskin from a hike securely, or handoff or pass with a broken finger? The second string QB should have replaced him immediately.

Depends on the finger being honest. Im a centre and played 4 games 2 years ago with a broken baby finger and bruised index finger on my snapping hand. If strapped up properly quite possible to throw the ball properly.

BC at present are one of the strongest contendes for the BCS game. YOur 4 strongest contenders pending future games are

1. LSU (65) 6-0
2. California 5-0
3. Ohio State 6-0
4. Boston College 6-0

All 4 have tough enough conference games remaining.

Black Swan

USC Trojans play Arizona at home in the LA Coliseum today. First string QB David Booty is not to play due to finger injury. I guess we will see if there is any depth covering him with second and third string QBs? It's raining on-and-off in So Cal, so this might be a factor.

tallaghtoutlaws

Blue_Lagoon wrote: »

USC Trojans play Arizona at home in the LA Coliseum today. First string QB David Booty is not to play due to finger injury. I guess we will see if there is any depth covering him with second and third string QBs? It's raining on-and-off in So Cal, so this might be a factor.

Guess not a game USC should have dominated it was clear they were missing Booty offensively. Defensively USC did their job stuffing Arizona's run game and keeping the passing yards to 233 and no TD's in the air. So defensively a good day Offensively a poor day Sanchez 19/31 130 yds 1 TD and 2 ints not a good first game for him.

Black Swan

USC Trojans fly about 2,000 miles to play Notre Dame's Fight'in Irish this coming Saturday. The Irish ended their losing streak by beating UCLA's Bruins last week. Word is that the Irish have lost both their first and second string QBs to injuries and will be playing 3rd string. Trojan's will probably not play first string QB David Booty due to his finger injury. The performance decline of Troy over the past 3 games and the recent improvement of the Irish plus homefield advantage throws this game up for grabs. Who will win? I am a bit split over this one, so I will wear shamrocks in my hair while I carry my Trojan sword.

dulpit

Blue_Lagoon wrote: »

USC Trojans fly about 2,000 miles to play Norte Dame's Fight'in Irish this coming Saturday. The Irish ended their losing streak by beating UCLA's Bruins last week. Word is that the Irish have lost both their first and second string QBs to injuries and will be playing 3rd string. Trojan's will probably not play first string QB David Booty due to his finger injury. The performance decline of Troy over the past 3 games and the recent improvement of the Irish plus homefield advantage thows this game up for grabs. Who will win? I am a bit split over this one, so I will wear shamrocks in my hair while I carry my Trojan sword.

If USC lose to the Irish then every single player on the USC team should be shot dead, and replaced by some DIII team... Notre Dame suck major ass this year... Pretty much like every Irish related team...

LuckyLloyd

dulpit wrote: »

If USC lose to the Irish then every single player on the USC team should be shot dead, and replaced by some DIII team... Notre Dame suck major ass this year... Pretty much like every Irish related team...

This is going to be ugly.

Black Swan

USC Trojans crushed Notre Dame's Fight'n Irish 38-0. After a bit of a sloppy start, second string QB Sanchez took command. Total offense of 462 yards for USC was reminiscent of the first three games of the season under the leadership of an uninjured QB Booty. Next week the Trojans take their swords to Oregon to hunt the Ducks. With the up-and-down inconsistency of Troy, no tell'in who will be quacking a week from today.