Tag: USC Trojans (Page 7 of 15)

2009 college football ranking predictions: Florida No. 1

January 20, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

Stewart Mandel of SI.com takes a crack at predicting how the top 25 will look in college football next season.

1. Florida (13-1 in 2008)
Who’s back: QB Tim Tebow, DE Carlos Dunlap, LB Brandon Spikes, CB Joe Haden, S Ahmad Black.
Who’s not: WRs Percy Harvin* and Louis Murphy, T Phil Trautwein, G Jim Tartt.
Skinny: The defending champs return a former Heisman winner at quarterback, their top three tailbacks and, remarkably, their entire starting defense.
2. Texas (12-1)
Who’s back: QB Colt McCoy, WR Jordan Shipley, T Adam Ulatoski, LBs Sergio Kindle and Roddrick Muckelroy.
Who’s not: WR Quan Cosby, DE Brian Orakpo, DT Roy Miller, CB Ryan Palmer.
Skinny: McCoy and the offense should be potent again, and last year’s young secondary should improve with another year under Will Muschamp.
3. Oklahoma (12-2)
Who’s back: QB Sam Bradford, RBs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, TE Jermaine Gresham, DT Gerald McCoy.
Who’s not: WRs Jauquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson, T Phil Loadholt, G Duke Robinson, S Nic Harris.
Skinny: Bradford’s return is huge for an offense that must retool its line and receiving corps. The defense has nine starters back from the BCS title game.
4. USC (12-1)
Who’s back: RBs C.J. Gable, Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight, WR Damian Williams, S Taylor Mays.
Who’s not: QB Mark Sanchez*, DT Fili Moala, LBs Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, S Kevin Ellison.
Skinny: New QB Aaron Corp or Mitch Mustain will have a solid supporting cast. The defense loses a boatload of staples but should be able to reload.
5. Ole Miss (9-4)
Who’s back: QB Jevan Snead, RB/WR Dexter McCluster, DE Greg Hardy, CB Marshay Green, S Kendrick Lewis.
Who’s not: T Michael Oher, DT Peria Jerry, LBs Tony Fein and Ashlee Palmer.
Skinny: After knocking off Florida, LSU and Texas Tech, the Rebels are ready to take the next step behind star QB Snead. Hardy’s return is a huge boost.

The 2008 season isn’t even a month dead yet and already I miss college football. (Although not the constant playoff debate, which shouldn’t even be a debate at all if BCS-supporters could ever get their heads out of their asses and realize they ruin college football every year.)

I like seeing Ole’ Miss that high. As Mandel points out, the Rebs knocked off Florida, LSU and Texas Tech last year, and also gave Alabama a run for its money, too. Snead is the real deal and that’s a team that will be fun to watch next season.

College Football

Colt McCoy Florida Gators Jevan Snead Jordan Shipley Mark Sanchez Oklahoma Sooners Ole Miss Rebels Pete Caroll Sam Bradford Texas Longhorns Tim Tebow USC Trojans

Doyel: Carroll’s actions at Sanchez’s press conference were just

January 19, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

Gregg Doyel of CBS Sportsline.com is claiming that he’s the only one who didn’t think that USC head coach Pete Carroll was being a jerk at Mark Sanchez’s press conference last week, in which the Trojan quarterback declared himself eligible for the NFL draft.

And then he did it, even after Carroll advised him not to. So Carroll spoke about that at the press conference, and everyone heard one thing. They heard Carroll making an ass of himself.
Me, I heard something else. I heard Carroll being fed up. Carroll knew Sanchez had initially been leaning toward staying. Carroll knew that he then told Sanchez, based on conversations with NFL people — and Carroll knows NFL people; he once was head coach of the Jets and Patriots — that Sanchez’s pro career would be better served with one more year of college. And still Sanchez turned pro early.
So who got to Sanchez? Between the lines of that awkward press conference, that’s the question I heard. I heard Carroll wondering who it was that got to his player. Carroll has seen it before, with scumbags getting close to Reggie Bush and even O.J. Mayo on the basketball side of campus. Carroll knows the scumbags are still out there. So was it a scumbag this time? Or was it a family member? An agent? A girl? It was someone, and Carroll’s mad as hell at that person, as well as being mad as hell at Sanchez for listening.
So Carroll went into the press conference and delivered a message.
Here’s the thing. Carroll is one of the smoothest coaches in college sports. He knows how to act, and he knows what to say. He knows that everything he says and does will be dissected. And still he walked into that press conference, with plenty of time to prepare, and did what he did, and said what he said.
You think that was an accident? You think he lost control? You think his entire performance wasn’t planned?
I think it was intentional. I think it was premeditated. So I didn’t hear Pete Carroll being a shortsighted jerk. I heard Pete Carroll being fed up with the real shortsighted jerk in this scenario. I just wish I knew who that shortsighted jerk is.
Mark Sanchez knows who it is. Maybe someday, if his NFL career isn’t everything it could have been, he’ll get mad at that shortsighted jerk himself. Even if that shortsighted jerk is someone in his own family, maybe even himself.

So according to Doyel, Carroll has a master plan to prove his point and that’s why he was a calculated jerk at Sanchez’s presser? Either way, that still makes Carroll egotistical.

If everyone follows and writes about Carroll’s every more, than word would have spread (quickly, might I add) that he wasn’t in favor of Sanchez leaving early. He still could have done the professional thing and sat by as Sanchez made the biggest announcement of his life. Carroll still could have privately voiced his displeasure with Sanchez’s decision and made his point that way.

It’s nice that Doyel wants to play devil’s advocate in this situation and while he makes strong points, it still doesn’t excuse the way Carroll acted. Again, word would have spread whether or not Carroll was behind the decision or not. He didn’t have to go through all of that at the presser to prove his point.

College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

Mark Sanchez Mark Sanchez turning pro Pete Carroll Pete Carroll mad at Mark Sanchez Pete Carroll video Mark Sanchez Pete Carroll video of Mark Sanchez pro press conference Pete Carroll's reaction to Mark Sanchez USC Trojans

Pete Carroll slightly peeved about Mark Sanchez’s decision to turn pro

January 16, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has decided to skip his senior season and become eligible for April’s NFL Draft.

Here’s Trojan head coach Pete Carroll’s reaction to Sanchez’s decision:

Trojan beat writer Scott Wolf, for example, described the scene as “pathetic”:
USC coach Pete Carroll was extremely ungracious during the Mark Sanchez press conference. He stormed out of the room and did not even sit at the table before Sanchez addressed the media. Something he never did when Matt Leinart, etc., announced their decisions.
Carroll never sat down at the table but stood with his palms on the table. His anger was clear if you spend time around him.
Not a great moment.
Wolf is not known as “Caesar’s” biggest fan, but Rose agreed that Carroll was “peeved,” and that seems to be the reaction that’s picking up steam. Sanchez is earning his degree this spring (from the Annenberg School of Communication, which ain’t no joke), and he said all the right things today. I don’t know where Sanchez is going to be drafted or what kind of career he’ll have, but it seems an especially inopportune time for his coach to tell to a rapt media audience, essentially, “I expect this kid to fail.” I don’t know what else he could mean by pointing out the “less than 50-50” success rate of first round quarterbacks.

I equate Carroll’s reaction to a father who’s disappointed in one of his son’s big decisions. Carroll wants Sanchez to stay in school, get another year of experience under his belt and then turn him loose on the NFL world.

But like a father voicing his displeasure with his son’s decision in front of his friends and peers, Carroll shouldn’t have done it this way. There’s no doubt deciding to go pro was a hard decision for Sanchez and now that he’s made his decision, this should be a time for celebration. Regardless of how Carroll felt, he should have supported Sanchez, wished him luck and then got the hell out of the way. If he wanted to voice his displeasure, he should have done it behind closed doors, which I’m sure he did anyway.

It wasn’t Petey’s moment – it was Mark’s. Yet because Carroll’s ego got in the way and because he wanted to “state for the record” that he wasn’t happy with Sanchez’s decision, he came off as kind of a jerk in my eyes.

College Football

Clearly Sam Bradford does not want to be a Lion, but maybe Mark Sanchez does

January 14, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

The Oklahoma Sooners will have the quarterback the led them to the national championship back under center next year as Sam Bradford has decided not to enter April’s NFL draft.

The USC Trojans, however, might not be as fortunate. Word has it that quarterback Mark Sanchez will forgo his senior season and turn pro next year.

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has said that he would monitor the decisions of other top draft-eligible quarterbacks as he pondered whether to return to USC for his final season of eligibility or make himself available for the NFL draft.
Thursday is the deadline to declare for the April draft.
Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, is the third high-profile quarterback to announce he was staying in school, possibly increasing the chances that Sanchez will opt to turn pro.
Texas’ Colt McCoy said during he season that he would back. Florida’s Tim Tebow and Bradford have since said they would remain in school.

It would be hard to pass up that much money, but I think it’s Sanchez’s case, he would benefit from another year at USC. The Trojans’ offense didn’t hit their stride until late in the season and at times, Sanchez was highly inconsistent. Of course if he does leave, he’s doing so on a high note because his Rose Bowl performance was the best of the year. It’ll be interesting to see not only if he decides to come out, but what round he’ll be selected in.

As for Bradford, his decision to stay at Oklahoma was clearly a calculated risk. He figures that if Matthew Stafford of Georgia comes out, there’s a good chance that the Lions will take him with their No. 1 pick and Sam will bypass the mess that is Detroit. Well played, Sam – well played.

College Football, NFL

2009 NFL Draft Detroit Lions Georgia Bulldogs Mark Sanchez Matthew Stafford Oklahoma Sooners Sam Bradford Sam Bradford staying in school USC Trojans

Poll: Who is the best college football team in the country?

January 9, 2009 / John Paulsen

Depending on the poll, 85%-90% of football fans would like to see some sort of a playoff. For now, we’re stuck with the BCS, which gave us Florida and Oklahoma in the title game. The problem is, now that the bowls are finished, there are three other teams (not including Florida) that have a legitimate argument that they are the #1 team in the country. Utah finished the season undefeated and beat two teams that are ranked (or will be ranked) in the top 10. USC beat up Penn State and looked great doing it. And Texas put away a feisty Ohio State team in the Fiesta Bowl…oh, and they beat Oklahoma as well. Or is the #1 team Florida, who only looked so-so in their win over the Sooners?

Poll Answers