Sportaholic College Football Preview: USC Trojans

College Football is just around the corner with the first games scheduled on September 1. So with that in mind, we here at the Sportaholic.com figured it was about time to rev up the college football machine and review some local team in our area. With our expanded roster, we now can cover teams from all over the nation but we will start with our home teams. Each week leading up to the season we will have capsules on the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, and Tennessee State University. We will follow those teams with some of the national powers as well, just to make sure we cover all of our bases.

As we continue our journey to the beginning of the college football season, we have a special guest contributor this time around by the name of Trenise Ferreira. She was so gracious to accept our invitation on posting a preview for her beloved USC Trojans. Trenise is the host of her own radio show titled the USC Cold Hard Facts from 10-12 P.M every Friday (So make sure to tune in) and writes her columns for http://www.socalsportshub.com/. We here at the Sportaholic appreciate Trenise for sharing her expertise of the Trojans with us, even if its profiling one of the more despised teams in our state of Tennessee. So without further ado, we present USC's season preview.



USC Football: The Boys Are Back In Town!


By Trenise Ferreira

Well, it’s that time of year again: USC Students are slowly trickling back to campus for the fall semster and the University Bookstore has restocked all things cardinal and gold. This can only mean one thing—football season is upon us!

It’s time for the Trojans to once again put it all on the line and show why we run the Pac-10, er…Pac-12. Last season the Trojans fell short of expectations, but with the tumultuous offseason the team faced, it’s really no surprise. 8-5 for some teams is a good, maybe even great record—not so for the Trojans. The team is definitely entering this season with a Traveler-sized chip on its shoulders.

Because the NCAA upheld its ruling against USC, the Trojans will be ineligible to compete in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship game, which they likely would qualify for.

Outside of that, the Trojans also have a reputation to reestablish after embarrassing back-to-back losses by a field goal to Washington and Stanford, getting destroyed by Oregon for the second year in a row, an unusually sloppy defeat by Oregon State and an I-don’t-even-want-to-talk-about-it loss to Notre Dame.

If we continue to lose to teams that we’ve steamrolled in the past decade, we risk losing our status as a perennial powerhouse. This could negatively impact recruiting with the new additions to the conference and the continued emergence of Stanford and Oregon.

The Trojans will indeed have their work cut out for them, but if quarterback Matt Barkley can utilize all of the offensive weapons he has: Bilitnekoff award prospect and all-world receiver Robert Woods (as well as all the other receivers he can throw to), a talented running back corps that looks to be second only to Oregon in terms of raw talent, and a few incoming freshman that are poised to make an immediate impact—then Trojan fans can expect big things this season.

The Trojan defense—which struggled to adjust to Monte Kiffin’s system—has had a year to work the kinks out and condition themselves to the demands of one of the most versatile defenses to be implemented on any level. Fans can look forward to a more experienced secondary, led by cornerback Nickell Robey and safety TJ McDonald, to bring back the hard-hitting big plays that we’ve all missed.

Even with all the optimism surrounding USC, there is still one very pressing concern for Trojan Nation: Who will be the Trojan’s biggest competition this season?

At the outset, it looks as if Arizona State has emerged as a potential dark horse to win the Pac-12 title, either by default or outright. USC will have to bring it’s A-game to burn out linebacker Vontaze Burfict as well as the Sun Devils’ potent secondary. Pac-12 newcomer Utah also could be a threat to USC, but since Urban Meyer left the school to create a dynasty at Florida, the Utes have struggled against upper echelon BCS opponents.

UCLA is still UCLA, so no challenge there, and Colorado has never beaten the Trojans in school history. USC also faces out of conference opponents Syracuse and Minnesota, but they simply don’t have the firepower to keep up with a squad with the capabilities of USC. Arizona might give the Trojans some trouble because they have a fantastic signal-caller and potential first round pick in Nick Foles, but historically the Trojans have always faired well against the Wildcats.

Washington has beaten ‘SC on a fluke last-minute field goal two years in a row now, but with quarterback Jake Locker now calling shots as a Tennessee Titan, their offense will not be as potent. USC could upstage the Huskies in the Coliseum this season.

Stanford does have one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12 and the consensus No. 1 pick for the 2012 NFL Draft. However, USC has a good chance of beating the Cardinal if our defense can step up in big pass situations, which is what killed us last season. We’re helped greatly by the departure of Jim Harbaurgh and 3/5ths of the Stanford offensive line, which created the time that Luck enjoyed in the pocket last year.

The Oregon Ducks will undoubtedly be the Trojans’ toughest match up, and if the Trojans cannot find a way to shut down The Blur for four full quarters—at Oregon nonetheless—the Trojans will once again fall to the Ducks.

The Trojans also will travel to South Bend to face Notre Dame, and after last season’s embarrassing loss the Irish believe that they have what it takes to beat USC.

What they fail to remember is that former 5-star prospect Barkley didn’t play in the game at all, and the offense suffered tremendously under Mitch Mustain’s direction. If Barkley can come into and finish this game strong—which he struggled to do towards the latter half of the season—then the Trojans have a good chance of winning this rivalry game.

The Trojans have a month to get all their ducks in a row, and come out ready to prove that in spite of all the adversity, they are still one of the dominate teams in the Pac-12.

And soon enough it will be time to don to cardinal and gold gear, kick the flag pole for luck, file into the Coliseum, throw up the Fight On, and kick off what will hopefully be a USC-Caliber season.

Game on.

College Football Weekend Setup

Week 9 is upon us and as the season begins to hit the backstretch, most teams are jockeying for bowl berths or just trying to make it to one. There are a few big games this week on the schedule. Missouri takes on Nebraska in the Tigers last big test they will face. Oregon goes down to L.A. for a showdown with a mediocre but still hated USC Trojans and Michigan State battles Iowa in a Big Ten Clash. And with that let’s focus on these three games for breakdowns.

Missouri vs. Nebraska – After finally beating the Sooners, Missouri gets the prize of traveling to Lincoln to take on the Cornhuskers. QB Blaine Gabbert proved more than able last week in the toppling of Oklahoma. I love his composure and the way the offensive line protects him. He stood tall in the pocket all night and ran the offense with surgical precision. De’Vion Moore give the Tigers a decent running attack and averaged 7.3 yards a carry last weekend. The Tigers defense is starting to get some credit now and it is much deserved. They are a physical unit and aggressive. Nebraska counters with QB Taylor Martinez, who was considered a Heisman hopeful until he met the Texas defense. Roy Helu will need a good game to take some of the focus off of Martinez but I still don’t think that will be enough. Nebraska has a stout defense as well led by senior Prince Amukamara. They will keep the game close for the Huskers but that will not be enough.
The Pick: Missouri

Oregon vs. USC – Oregon and USC always provide an exciting game. Both teams like to get up and down the field and score. Oregon has just been so dominant this year, at one time ranking number one in both total offense and defense. Lamicheal James is a Heisman candidate and is the straw that stirs the tea in their offense. QB Darron Thomas is more than capable at his position. His job is to keep the defense honest with the threat of the pass and keep the tempo up for the Ducks high powered offense. USC comes off a bye after whopping Cal. Matt Barkley has quietly put together a great season in his first year under Lane Kiffin . Barkley’s number merit Heisman talk, just take a look:

Cmp Att Pct Yds Yd/A TD Int Rating

138 211 65.4 1,869 8.9 20 4 167.3

He won’t be in contention because of all the sanctions USC face but this guy is pretty darn good. He will be able to put up points on Oregon’s defense. The big elephant in the room with the Trojans is their defense. I haven’t seen a worse defense from USC since the pre Pete Carroll days. Oregon will run through, over and around these guys on offense. USC doesn’t have a bowl game this year so they have to treat every game as if it is one but the Ducks are just too much with their breakneck speed tempo offense.
The Pick: Oregon

Michigan State vs. Iowa – Is it me or does it seem like Iowa is playing a marquee game every week? The road to the Big Ten title obviously goes through Iowa City these days. The Hawkeye’s still have a chance at the title. They would need to win out and still get some help but it’s possible. Ricky Stanzi has really cut down on the mistakes this year. After being named pick six Rick by last years opposing teams, Stanzi has only thrown two INTs the whole year. Even with that being said, Iowa needs a strong run game effort to top the Spartans. Adam Robinson is the workhorse for the Hawkeyes and is a brusier at running back. They will turn to him to control the clock and keep the ball from Michigan State. The Spartans have been fun to watch this year. Rather if it was a fake field goal vs. Notre Dame or the fake punt vs. Northwestern, Sparty has a flair for the dramatics. I admire Mike Dantonio not only for coming back from a heart attack and blood clot but also for his gutsy calls in crunch time. He is a man’s man. I also love the running backs Edwin Baker and Le’veon Bell. Baker’s tenacity as runner is great. He is tough to bring down and an arm tackle won’t get it done. QB Kirk Cousins has been living on the edge all season but keeps finding a way to gut wins out. The defense led by LB Greg Jones has been good enough to keep the Spartans in games. This just seems like a team of destiny this year with all the adversity they have faced. This is the last remaining tough opponent they face and if they beat Iowa, they actually have an outside shot at the National Championship. That is too much on the line for Sparty to give up.
The Pick: Michigan State



Game of the week – Missouri vs. Nebraska: The Tigers have to avoid a letdown after defeating Oklahoma. The winner of this should take the Big 12 north title.



Most intriguing game - Louisville vs. Pitt: It was hard to pick this game over the Michigan vs. Penn State clash, but because it has more impact on the standings in the Big East, it will get the nod. Charlie Strong has exceeded expectations in Louisville and Dave Wannestedt keeps falling below his at Pitt.



Rivalry Game – Florida vs. Georgia: The world largest cocktail party made it an easy pick for me on this one. Both teams are struggling and both would like none other to add to the other’s misery this year.



Under the Radar Game – Baylor vs. Texas: The Bears have quietly put together a nice season led by the freaky athletic QB Robert Griffin. Texas continues their inconsistent year. Which Longhorn team will show up? The one who served Nebraska or the one that got served by UCLA.



Wake me when its over game – New Mexico vs. Colorado State: These two teams combined record is 2-13. Enough said.



Coach better get it right game – Notre Dame vs. Tulsa: The pressure to be the coach of Notre Dame is always on. Brian Kelly’s team needs to respond after the drubbing it took from Navy. I didn’t even pick on Dan Hawkins this week.