Tag: USC (Page 4 of 7)

      2009 College Football Picks & Predictions: Week 5

      October 1, 2009 /

      No. 4 LSU at No. 18 Georgia, 3:30PM ET
      Last year, Georgia rolled into Tiger Stadium and laid a 52-38 beat down on LSU as they forced three turnovers and running back Knowshon Moreno (now a Denver Bronco) racked up 163 yards on 21 carries. After an ugly 24-10 loss to Oklahoma State in the opening week of the season, the Bulldogs have rattled off three straight wins and will now face a Tiger team that struggled a bit offensively last week in a narrow 30-26 win over Mississippi State. LSU was outgained 374-263 and only rushed for 30 yards in the victory. The Tigers usually feast on pro-style offenses, so UGA quarterback Joe Cox can’t force throws in attempt to make something happen down field. That said, the Tigers haven’t been tested yet and needed a goal line stand to pull off the win last week. Georgia, on the other hand, has already faced a ranked OK State team and beaten competitive SEC foes South Carolina and Arkansas. The Bulldogs are more battle tested and will overcome a stiff Tiger defense.
      Odds: Georgia –3.
      Prediction: Georgia 24, LSU 20.

      No. 7 USC at No. 24 California, 8:00PM ET
      Don’t everyone break your legs jumping off the Cal bandwagon after Oregon smacked the Golden Bears 42-3 last week. Heisman candidate Jahvid Best rushed for only 55 yards in the loss and will face another tough challenge this week against a USC defense that held him to only 30 yards last season. The Trojans have the sixth best defense in the nation and the fifth best scoring defense. They have limited opponents to only 59.5 rushing yards per game and only 95 YPC threw the air. That said, Cal has played USC close over the years and the Trojans have kept things rather conservative offensively with freshman Matt Barkley under center. I see this game being close, although I don’t know if Kevin Riley can beat USC through the air if the Trojans’ front seven takes away Best.
      Odds: USC –4.5.
      Prediction: USC 20, Cal 17.

      Continue reading »

      College Football

      USC running back Stafon Johnson in stable condition following weight room accident

      September 29, 2009 /

      USC running back Stafon Johnson underwent emergency surgery on Monday after a weight bar fell on his neck while he was bench pressing. He is listed in critical, but stable condition according to the L.A. Times.

      Johnson, who starred at Dorsey High, was just starting a set of bench-press lifts near the end of a midmorning workout when he apparently lost control of the bar and it landed on his neck, Coach Pete Carroll said.

      Johnson reportedly spit up blood through his mouth and nose.

      Reserve quarterback Garrett Green and fullback Stanley Havili did not see the accident, but both said they saw Johnson sitting quietly as he awaited the paramedics.

      Surgery began about 2 p.m., according to family friend John Eatman, a former high school teammate of Johnson’s.

      Eatman was among about a dozen friends and family members gathered at the hospital Monday evening.

      “Right now we don’t know anything,” Eatman said outside the hospital. “We’re just hoping he’s all right.”

      This is a sad story. It was an accident and fortunately for Johnson, he had a spotter and the paramedics were able to rush him to the hospital.

      Hopefully Johnson is okay and he has a quick recovery.

      College Football

      Freshman Barkley will start against Washington State

      September 24, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, freshman quarterback Matt Barkley will make his third career start on Saturday for the Trojans when USC hosts Washington State.

      Barkley was sidelined last week because of a bone bruise in his right shoulder, an injury suffered against Ohio State on Sept. 12. He warmed up but was unable to get loose Saturday during the fourth quarter of the Trojans’ 16-13 loss at Seattle, a defeat that might have crippled their chances of making a run for the Bowl Championship Series title.

      Barkley has practiced this week, but he said Tuesday that he continued to feel pain and was unable to throw with full velocity. Regardless of his condition, he maintained that he planned to start against Washington State.

      The timing of Wednesday’s decision, Carroll said, “has nothing to do with last week.”

      “I think it’s best for us to get focused in on what we’re doing because Matt’s going to make it,” he said. “So there’s no reason to wait.”

      Sorry, but this decision has everything to do with last week. Barkley beat Ohio State in Columbus two weeks ago, while Corp struggled to do anything positive last week in a loss to Washington. With Cal emerging as the new favorites to win the Pac-10, Carroll and USC can’t afford to lose another game, which is exactly why Barkley will start on Saturday.

      Hopefully in his haste not to lose another game, Carroll isn’t starting an injured quarterback. Barkley is too valuable to the USC program to lose for a significant amount of time and he shouldn’t risk further injury.

      That said, if he’s ready to go, then there’s no question that Barkley should start over Corp based on what the two quarterbacks have shown this season.

      College Football

      Shocker: USC loses to an inferior opponent

      September 19, 2009 /

      To use a tried, true and albeit, tired phrase, there are three things we can count on in life: Death, taxes and Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans will be knocked off by an inferior opponent at some point during the season.

      In 2006, the Oregon State Beavers were the unranked team to knock off USC. In 2007, it was Jim Harbaugh’s Stanford Tree Logos. Last year, it was Oregon State again who provided the upset and on Saturday, it was Steve Sarkisian’s Washington Huskies (a team that didn’t win a game last year, mind you) that shocked the college football world by beating USC 16-13 in Seattle.

      For the second year in a row, USC beat Ohio State and then lost to its very next opponent. The Trojans jumped out to a 10-0 lead against the Huskies, but Washington answered with 10 of their own before halftime before eventually pulling the upset off thanks to Erik Folk’s game-winning 22-yard field goal with only three seconds remaining.

      The Trojans were playing without starting freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, who sat out the entire week of practice with an injured shoulder. Redshirt sophomore Aaron Corp made his first career start and while he wasn’t bad (he completed 13 of 22 passes for 110 yards and a pick), he couldn’t come up with the big play throughout the game. Joe McKnight rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries as USC racked up 250 rushing yards, but the Trojans lost two fumbles and when you combine those with Corp’s second half interception, turnovers killed Carroll’s team today.

      But let’s give credit where credit is due. Sarkisian has completely turned around the mindset of the Washington program and now has the Huskies believing that they can win on any given Saturday. Junior quarterback Jake Locker is a fine player and can make things happen with both his arm and his legs.

      Sarkisian has made Washington relevant again, while Carroll is left scratching his head for the fourth year in a row. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Carroll sticks with Corp or goes with former Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain assuming Barkley can’t go next week against Washington State.

      USC has never been more primed for the taking in the Pac-10. The big matchup in the conference will be October 3 when the Trojans travel to Berkley to face Cal.

      College Football

      Aaron Corp to start for USC?

      September 18, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, backup quarterback Aaron Corp looks like he’ll make his first career start against Washington unless freshman Matt Barkley can recover from a bruised right shoulder.

      Unless Barkley makes an improbable recovery from a bone bruise, Corp is on track to be under center when the Trojans open Pacific 10 Conference play on Saturday at Washington.

      Corp, who had entered training camp No. 1 on the depth chart, had a pass intercepted for the third consecutive practice. But he continued to show that he was no longer limited by the cracked fibula that he suffered on Aug. 10, an injury that opened the door for Barkley to start the first two games.

      Barkley was supposed to take part in a throwing session on Thursday but didn’t. I can’t imagine that Carroll would start a freshman quarterback on the road in USC’s Pac-10 opener – especially considering Corp is the backup.

      If it weren’t for the cracked fibula that he suffered in summer practice, Corp would have likely been the starter for the Trojans at the start of the season. But now that Barkley has a win at Columbus on his resume, it’s going to be hard for Corp to unseat Barkley when the freshman is healthy.

      That said, Corp is certainly good enough to stir up a quarterback controversy if he plays well this Saturday. Corp is smart, instinctive and a very accurate passer. Even though he’s had trouble with interceptions this week in practice, he usually doesn’t make many mistakes either. It’ll be interesting to see how he plays this weekend.

      College Football

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑