Tag: USC Trojans (Page 11 of 15)

      Hey Washington State, nice effort this year

      October 18, 2008 /

      Paul WulffI hate to kick a proud program when it’s down, but Washington State’s performance this season has to be one of the worst in college football history. First year head coach Paul Wulff must be wondering why he left the comforts of Eastern Washington right about now.

      The Cougars have allowed 60-plus points in four of eight games this year, including a 69-0 loss to USC on Saturday. USC’s win was the largest shutout victory since 1931 and coming into Saturday, oddsmakers actually made Washington State a 42-point underdog…at home…and the Trojans covered the spread by 27 points. That’s unbelievable.

      But hey, at least the Cougars can hang their hat on that Week 4 win over Portland State this year. Quite frankly I didn’t even know Portland State had a football team.

      College Football

      New polls released: Texas No. 1…USC No. 4??

      October 13, 2008 /

      Texas LonghornsThanks to their thrilling 45-35 win over previously top-ranked Oklahoma, the Texas Longhorns moved into the No. 1 spot in the latest college football rankings.

      USA Today Top 25:

      1. Texas
      2. Alabama
      3. Penn State
      4. USC
      5. Texas Tech
      6. Oklahoma
      7. Florida
      8. BYU
      9. Georgia
      10. Oklahoma State

      I hate to pick on Texas Tech because they’re exciting to watch, but they’re proof that the college football system is crap. These are the teams the Red Raiders have beaten this year: Eastern Washington, Nevada, Southern Methodist, Massachusetts, Kansas State and Nebraska. And they had to go into overtime to beat Nebraska. On neutral ground, I’ve got to believe Florida and Oklahoma beat Texas Tech.

      And USC is already back in the top 5, are you kidding me? I’m not a big Ohio State advocate, but their only loss was to USC back in mid-September and they still can’t crack the top 10. Yet the Trojans lost to an unranked Oregon State team three weeks ago and they’re magically back in the top 5? What a crock.

      College Football

      College Football Week 6 Primer

      October 4, 2008 /

      Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 6.

      Top 25 vs. Top 25:
      Terrelle PryorNo. 14 Ohio State at No. 18 Wisconsin, 8:00 PM ET
      This was supposed to be a matchup of the best two teams in the Big Ten, but after the Badgers were embarrassed last week in Ann Arbor, this game has lost a lot of it’s luster. Despite Michigan turning the ball over five times and spotting them a 19-0 lead, Wisconsin fell apart in the second half as the Wolverines pulled off a 27-25 upset. For the Buckeyes, they seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder after losing to USC a few weeks back, especially freshman QB Terrelle Pryor, who is out to use this game as proof that he can play on a big stage. It’ll be interesting to see how the dazzlingly Pryor does in his first road start of his young collegiate career; OSU has not won back-to-back games vs. Wisconsin since 1995/1996. Oddsmakers have established the Buckeyes as 1.5-point favorites.

      No. 13 Auburn at No. 19 Vanderbilt, 6:00 PM ET
      Vandy is off to a surprising 4-0 start this season, but their record is a bit deceiving. The Commodores rank last in the SEC in total offense and defense, and have been out gained in 3 of their 4 games this season. But they sit undefeated largely due to their plus-nine turnover margin, which leads the nation. They’ll get their first real test of the season against Auburn, who crushed the Commodores 45-7 in their last trip to Vanderbilt Stadium in 2003. The Tigers also handed Vandy a 35-7 beat-down last year and are trying to build some momentum off of last week’s 14-12 win against Tennessee. Still, this is the first time Vanderbilt has been ranked since 1984, so the home crowd will noty doubt be psyched. And it’s not like Tommy Tummerville’s team has been that dominant this season. (See the Tigers’ 3-2 victory over Mississippi State as proof.) Vandy is a 4.5-point home underdog.

      No. 23 Oregon at No. 9 USC, 8:00 PM ET
      The Trojans try to bounce back from their humiliating 27-21 loss to Oregon State last week – a defeat that dropped them from the top spot in the rankings. When these two teams met last year in Eugene, the Ducks used an electrifying home crowd to knock off the Trojans 24-17 in USC QB Mark Sanchez’s first start. It would be wise for Oregon to borrow the blueprint left by the Beavers and attack the middle of the Trojans’ beat up defense on the ground. Head coach Pete Carroll is dying to use this game to show USC can still compete for a national title this season and will try to flatten the Ducks, but Oregon’s defense is good enough to keep them in the game. The Trojans are currently 17-point favorites.

      Chase DanielUpset Watch: No. 4 Missouri at Nebraska, 9:00 PM ET
      It’s hard to fathom that the Tigers would stumble this week in Lincoln coming off a bye week and with so much on the line. But Heisman Trophy candidate Chase Daniel has yet to see a decent defense outside of Illinois in the opener. And even though MIZZOU hammered the Huskers last year, Nebraska’s defense is a lot better than the unit that surrendered 41 points to Daniel and the Tigers last year. Missouri has better talent and the better overall team, but one thing to keep in mind is that the home team in this series has won the last six in a row. MIZZOU is an 11-point favorite.

      Other notable games:
      No. 1 Oklahoma at Baylor, 12:30 PM ET Saturday
      The Sooners play their first game since being anointed the top ranked team in the nation. They get a decent opponent in the Bears, who have been a dramatically improved team with scrappy freshman Robert Griffin under center this year.

      Kentucky at No. 2 Alabama, 3:30 PM ET Saturday
      After crushing the Bulldogs in Athens last week, Nick Saban’s Tide can’t fall victims to the upset themselves this week against the unranked Wildcats.

      No. 5 Texas at Colorado, 7:00 PM ET Saturday
      Longhorns’ QB Colt McCoy will look to continue his bid to become this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, but he’ll face a decent Colorado team who is 3-0 at home this year.

      College Football

      Are Lane Kiffin and Al Davis the same guy?

      October 1, 2008 /

      SPORTSbyBROOKS.com has an interesting take on the Lane Kiffin firing and reminds us that not everybody was on board when Al Davis hired the young buck from USC two years ago.

      Al DavisBut if you were reading SbB when Kiffin was hired by the Raiders in 2007, you know that he is every bit the bad guy Davis is. Former USC football captain Petros Papadakis, now a sports radio guy for KLAC-AM and college football analyst for FSN, is as close as anyone to the Trojan program. Here’s what he said about the former assistant coach at USC when Kiffin was hired by Davis:

      “Hiring Lane Kiffin is not fair to the players and fans of the Oakland Raiders. It’s a desperate hire by a desperate man, Al Davis. Comparing Kiffin to John Gruden is ridiculous, Gruden had eight years of legitimate coaching experience in the NFL, and had been interviewing for head coaching jobs in the league when he was hired by the Raiders.

      “What’s his (Kiffin’s) most significant NFL experience to draw from? One year of a defensive gofership seven years ago with the Jacksonville Jaguars.”

      “I know him personally and he doesn’t command a lot of respect from the players or other coaches. I never looked at him as head coach material or even offensive coordinator material. He couldn’t even manage players at USC, how can he manage players in NFL?

      “Watching him call the plays for the offense of the 2005 team, with Leinart, Bush, and Lendale White was like watching a little kid trying to drive a Ferrari.

      “He was coaching at USC because of Pete Carroll, who was mentored by his father, (longtime NFL assistant coach) Monte Kiffin. So Carroll basically parented Lane at USC.

      “Coaching the Raiders isnt going to be an uphill battle for Kiffin, it’s an up-cliff battle.“

      Sounds a lot like the guy Davis described today at his press conference.

      And even well before Kiffin was hired by Davis, and still under the employ of USC, Papadakis made abundantly clear on former USC football flagship KMPC-AM in Los Angeles that Kiffin was personally disdained by USC players, and commanded little-to-no respect on and off-the-field. Kiffin was a borderline laughingstock who only had his job with the Trojans because he was Monte Kiffin’s son (per Monte’s close personal relationship with Carroll).

      Now, I by no means am defending Davis’ actions. It’s clear that when Kiffin would not submit to the owner’s every oft-misguided whim, he was doomed. But as Davis gets demonized in a one-sided manner today all over the main media, it’s clear to me that Kiffin isn’t much different than the man who showed him the door.

      Interesting. There were many media members who felt that hiring Kiffin was a horrible idea because of his youth and inexperience – which it was. As it turns out, Kiffin not only was a bad hire because of those things, but also because the guy doesn’t know how to communicate with players (as noted by Papadakis). The Kiffin hiring was a train wreck from the start and Davis has nobody to blame but himself.

      NFL

      Ohio State freshman QB Terrelle Pryor bashes ESPN, media

      September 29, 2008 /

      Ohio State Buckeyes’ freshman QB Terrelle Pryor isn’t too happy with ESPN’s Mark May and for that matter, the media in general. In the wake of USC falling to Oregon State last Thursday, Pryor had (among other things) these comments to say about to way the Trojans are perceived in comparison to Ohio State.

      Terrelle Pryor“If we would lose that game, we would get stuff talked on us,” Pryor said, “but if USC loses, they don’t get stuff talked on them.”

      Pryor had several strong words for the media, and showed he’s not backing down from anyone. First, he remarked on ESPN analyst Mark May.

      “People like Mark May, he said ‘let’s see how he plays on the big stage,’ ” Pryor said, clearly unhappy with any suggestion of doubt about his big-stage ability. “And we’re going to see next week.”

      “The media, ESPN people, sit there and talk stuff on our team and say we’re dead,” Pryor said after a separate question. “We’ll find out this week coming up who’s dead. We’re out to show the world something, and we’re going to.”

      And while I’m not excited by the idea of a rematch with USC in the Rose Bowl, it’s certainly possible. And it might be different.

      “That’s over, we’re not going to dwell on that. Beanie didn’t play. It’s over with,” Pryor said, before adding, “If we played them again, I’m sure we’d give them a better game.”

      Interesting. Pryor is obviously making his presence felt both on and off the field this year. To a certain extent, I think it’s good for players and teams to play with a little bit of a chip on their shoulders and a, “Let’s show the world” attitude. But they shouldn’t go overboard with it. Part of the media’s job is to make claims and observations on athletes and teams. And they’re obviously not always going to say positive things.

      Pryor is right about one thing, though – USC is the media’s darlings in college football.

      College Football

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑