According to SI.com, USC will be without three of their players for the Emerald Bowl because of academic issues. Tailback Joe McKnight will also miss the game due to an investigation.

“He has some paperwork he needs to do and it’s best for him to stay in LA so he can be available to finish it,” Trojans coach Pete Carroll said.

Carroll did not have a timetable for McKnight’s return.

“We don’t know right now how long this will take,” he said.

USC has previously said it was said it was investigating whether McKnight used an SUV registered to a Los Angeles businessman. The Trojans also declared three players academically ineligible on Monday.

Tight end Anthony McCoy and tackle Tyron Smith, both starters, and defensive end Averell Spicer, a key reserve, will not play Dec. 26 in San Francisco.

What a nightmare of a season for USC. It’s bad enough that they find themselves playing in the Emerald Bowl at this time of year, but to have three of their players become illegible and one more under investigation is embarrassing.

Pete Carroll is already viewing this as the “forgotten” season.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/12/22/three-usc-players-ineligible-for-emerald-bowl/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/20/carroll-says-he-won%e2%80%99t-forget-harbaugh-stanford%e2%80%99s-2-point-attempt/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/20/carroll-says-he-won%e2%80%99t-forget-harbaugh-stanford%e2%80%99s-2-point-attempt/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:30:55 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=29420

USC’s Pete Carroll says he’s over Stanford head coach John Harbaugh going for two when the Cardinal were already up 48-21 in the second half of their victory over the Trojans last Saturday. But Carroll also said that he wouldn’t forget about the play either.

From SPORTSbyBROOKS.com:

MASON: What do you think, now a couple of days removed, of Harbaugh going for the two-point conversion?

CARROLL: Well, really, even since the time that it happened, you know, I haven’t bothered with it, and I know everybody else has and taken a lot of time to kinda discuss it and all. I think, you know, it is what you think it is, you know, it’s a statement that you can take away that maybe they were trying to accomplish something that seems out of the ordinary, you know, I don’t really care, to tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter.

And when you look at it like, uh, they’re ahead in the game and they’re in command of it, they really get to do whatever they want to do, and it doesn’t bother me to worry about it anymore, you know what I mean? Jim came out and said what he wanted to say, you know, a couple different times about it and, you know, to me it’s dropped, I don’t care.
Will I forget it? No, I’m not forgetting it. But uh, you know, to me, it’s in the past.

What’s funny is that everyone is concentrating on how Stanford went for two to make a statement to USC, but what Carroll and everyone needs to focus on is that the Cardinal whipped the Trojans’ ass for four quarters. It wasn’t just one play; Stanford owned USC on the Trojans’ home field for 60 minutes. That’s the bigger deal.

So Carroll truly does need to forget about the one play (albeit, an embarrassing play) and concentrate on what has happened this year to his program. To hell with the two-point conversation: How does that once stout USC defense allow 36 (Oregon State), 47 (Oregon) and 55 (Stanford) points over the course of a four game span?

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/20/carroll-says-he-won%e2%80%99t-forget-harbaugh-stanford%e2%80%99s-2-point-attempt/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/04/most-disappointing-college-football-teams-of-2009/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/04/most-disappointing-college-football-teams-of-2009/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:45:15 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=28272

FOX Sports.com ranked the 10 most disappointing teams of 2009:

1. USC
A loss to Washington was the beginning of the end. Still, we’ve almost come to expect the Trojans to lose one game every year that they shouldn’t. While USC was slightly favored to beat Oregon, the manner in which they lost was downright ugly. Pete Carroll’s signature unit — the defense — got embarrassed by the Ducks. Sure, USC had to replace eight defensive players who are now playing on Sundays, but the Trojans always have reloaded, and the expectations were high this year despite those defensive losses. USC fans accustomed to “settling” for the Rose Bowl may need to aim a little lower.

2. Virginia Tech
The class of the ACC is now fighting Miami for third place in the Coastal division behind Duke and Georgia Tech. Let that sink that in. The Hokies’ consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina have probably ended their Orange Bowl dreams. Either Beamer Ball isn’t working anymore or parity in the ACC has finally caught up to Virginia Tech. Either way, 2009 will be a major disappointment for Gobbler Nation.

3. Ohio State
The Buckeyes’ loss to USC wasn’t that shocking, but their loss to Purdue was. With Navy, USC, Toledo and New Mexico State on their non-conference schedule, the expectations of a special season were pretty high in Columbus. But plenty of fans are starting to question whether Tressel’s offense will work with Terrelle Pryor as quarterback. With Penn State, Iowa and an imploding Michigan still left on the Buckeyes’ schedule, Ohio State fans should start making travel plans for Tampa, site of the Outback Bowl. Now.

A lot of people thought they were overrated coming into the season, but I think Ole Miss (which ranks No. 7 on FOX’s list) should be in the top 5. I know they lost a couple of key defenders from last year’s squad, but for the Rebels to currently be 5-3 is surprising to say the least.

Big Ten haters aren’t surprised, but Ohio State wasn’t expected to be this inconsistent either. Some thought that Terrelle Pryor would progress as a passer and lead the Buckeyes to at least a Big Ten title, but he’s actually regressed and now people are questioning whether or not he should remain OSU’s starting quarterback.

Personally, I’m not shocked that the Trojans are where they are right now with a freshman quarterback. They always lose a game every year that they’re not supposed to and the writing was on the wall last week for them in Eugene. Oregon is playing better football right now and is tough to beat at home.

USC tight end Blake Ayles recently apologized for flipping the double-fingered salute behind two Notre Dame fans before the Trojans’ game in South Bend last Saturday.

From the L.A. Times:

In the photo, Ayles can be seen gesturing behind two Notre Dame fans who were on the field for a pregame snapshot.

“It was all my fault, so I just want to say that I’m sorry,” Ayles said. “I didn’t mean to disrespect the school or anyone.

“I was just being stupid.”

Ayles, a sophomore, said he was not aware of the photo until tight ends coach Brennan Carroll brought it to his attention Monday morning.

“He was just kind of like, ‘C’mon man. Are you serious?’ ” Ayles said.

Coach Pete Carroll said Ayles would be “on active community service duty for some time,” as punishment for the indiscretion.

Deadspin has the photo of Ayles’ gestures, which I find to be rather funny myself.

Wait, I mean, that wasn’t right. Players should represent their programs with the utmost respect and class.

No, no, it was freaking funny.

Welcome to the party, Matt Barkley.

The freshman quarterback completed 19 of 29 passes for 380 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday in USC’s thrilling 34-27 victory over Notre Dame. Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen was also solid while completing 24 of 43 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns.

The Trojans made several stupid mistakes in this game, including a couple of costly and near-costly penalties in the second half. But Pete Carroll’s squad racked up 501 yards on the road in a hostile environment, which is incredibly impressive.

Pundits had been waiting for USC’s offense to break out of its shell with Barkley under center and that’s exactly what they did today. At one point in the third quarter, Barkley completed seven straight passes for 195 yards and connected with Damian Williams on a 41-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter to give the Trojans a 20-7 lead. That scoring drive was huge because its defense had just stuffed James Aldridge on a fourth-and-one-attempt inside the Trojans’ 30 and it was key to USC stealing the momentum.

While it’ll be hard for Charlie Weis and the Irish to stomach yet another loss to USC, Notre Dame has nothing to hang its head about. In the past, the Irish would have simply given up in the second half and allowed the Trojans to crush them. But Weis’ group kept fighting back on Saturday and even had several cracks inside the red zone to tie the game with seconds remaining in the fourth. This is a tougher Notre Dame team than we’re used to seeing.

With this win, USC keeps its national title hopes alive. Of course, the Oregon State team that has given the Trojans fits the past couple years is the next team on their schedule and then USC has to travel to Eugene to take on Oregon. So while this was a huge win for the Trojans, they’ve got a long way to go.

Nobody has to remind Notre Dame’s players and head coach Charlie Weis what this Saturday means for the program. A win would serve as a stepping-stone for the school to get back among the nation’s elite. A blowout loss would send them spiraling backwards and might inevitably cost Weis his job.

“I said, Saturday night fellas, you’re going to be the lead story in the country, one way or another,” Weis said. “So which lead story do you want to be?”

Besides the fact that Charlie must not realize Oklahoma is also taking on Texas this weekend, his comments pinpoint the magnitude of Saturday’s game. This isn’t just another game for the Irish – it’s the game of the year.

The Trojans have beaten the Irish seven straight times. During that span, USC quarterbacks have averaged 323 passing yards and since October of 2002, the Trojans are 31-2 against ranked opponents.

Oh, and they also rank sixth in the nation in total defense.

But this is a different Notre Dame team, at least offensively. Jimmy Clausen ranks No. 1 in the country in passing efficiency and the Irish have the 10th best offense in college football. They’re averaging 470 yards per game and over 30 points per contest. Their ground game doesn’t get as much attention as their passing attack, but the Irish are averaging 148 rushing yards per game so they can beat you in a variety of ways.

The key for Notre Dame is how well it can protect Clausen. USC boasts several explosive pass rushers, including defensive end Everson Griffen and Nick Perry, although Perry is questionable with a knee injury. Can tackles Sam Young and Paul Duncan keep Clausen upright in order to keep the chains moving?

Also, USC hasn’t shown the same offensive explosion that it has over the years, but Notre Dame hasn’t played great defensively. Can the Irish force freshman quarterback Matt Barkley to make plays through the air or will the Trojans control the game on the ground?

While this contest might take a backseat to Oklahoma-Texas, this might be the most emotionally charged game on the college football schedule this weekend. USC has already dedicated the game to running back Stafon Johnson, who was injured a couple of weeks ago in a weight room accident. Throw in the fact that Notre Dame will be at home in front of a raucous crowd and you have the makings of what should be a thrilling game.

If I’m making a prediction, I think Notre Dame keeps things close but in the end, USC’s front seven will be too much for the Irish’s front five. Clausen hasn’t seen a pass rush the likes of what the Trojans brings to the table and I think USC will prevail in the end.

Prediction: USC 24, Notre Dame 17.