1. Lest we forget, LSU is No. 1 even though the offensive coordinator job is performed by committee after Steve Kragthorpe, hired last winter, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Kragthorpe has remained as quarterback coach. “When a coach has a physical illness,” Tigers head coach Les Miles said Tuesday, “it’s so wonderful to see the rest of the staff pull together, overcome deficits and make them strengths.” As to Kragthorpe’s contribution, Miles said, “We have the finest quarterback coach I’ve been around.” 2. The 16 seniors named as finalists for the Campbell Trophy — the Academic Heisman — include 14 team captains and have a collective 3.81 GPA. They are a mix of the well-known (quarterbacks Kirk Cousins of Michigan State and Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M), the less-known (Dubuque wide receiver Michael Zweifel) to the know-it-all (Army linebacker Andrew Rodriguez has a 4.14 GPA in mechanical engineering). Each finalist receives an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. They are the best the sport has to offer. 3. If you’re not a fan of punting — and that includes just about everyone, doesn’t it? — then watch No. 6 Stanford play at USC on Saturday night. The Cardinal and the Trojans rank 1-2 in the FBS for fewest “three-and-outs.” Stanford has committed that egregious insult to offense on 6.3 percent of its possessions; USC, 7.0 percent. Last week, Stanford scored on 10 of 11 possessions with one three-and-out.
See the original post:
3-point stance: LSU’s offense by committee
Filed under Football by on Oct 27th, 2011. Comment. 
1. Texas Tech’s 41-38 upset of No. 3 Oklahoma proves that Red Raiders coach Tommy Tuberville is up to his old ways. In 16 seasons as an FBS head coach at Ole Miss (1995-98), Auburn (1999-2008) and Texas Tech (2010-present), Tuberville has won 13 games against top-10 opponents, five against top-five teams. Tuberville is, overall, 21-33 against higher-ranked teams. I don’t have records for all coaches, but winning two of every five sounds impressive. 2. We may be able, once and for all, to decide what is more indicative of quality: losing to top-10 teams or losing close games to good teams. All we have to do is find a bowl game in which Auburn, which has lost to three teams currently in the top 10, can play Miami, which has two last-minute losses to teams in the top 12 (the Hurricanes’ third loss came by eight points to Maryland). Let’s get the bowl projection boys, Mark Schlabach and Brad Edwards, to work on that. 3. USC returned to the AP Top 25 for the first time in seven weeks. The media poll is the best measure of the Trojans, given that their NCAA postseason ban renders them ineligible for the BCS standings. USC’s 31-17 victory at Notre Dame, where it hasn’t lost since 2001, should give the Trojans some cred in the street (previous best win: Syracuse) and in the mirror as they prepare for No. 6 Stanford, their first ranked opponent.
Read the original:
3-point stance: Tuberville’s still got it
Filed under Football by on Oct 24th, 2011. Comment.
If you don’t like where you are in the power rankings, play better. See last week’s power rankings here . 1. Stanford : Stanford dominated; Andrew Luck was brilliant (skip). Stanford dominated; Andrew Luck was brilliant (skip). Stanford dominated; Andrew Luck was brilliant (skip). 2. Oregon : Is it just me or did few notice that Oregon pitched a second-half shutout against California? Sure, the defense gave up some yards — 465 — but holding the Bears to one touchdown and no second-half points is pretty tough. And that D will need to step up with running back LaMichael James out. 3. Arizona State : The Sun Devils were impressive at Utah — who knew this roguish bunch could be the crafty, opportunistic team? — but they can make a national statement at Oregon on Saturday. There’s no hard-and-fast rule, by the way, that says the Pac-12 championship game must be played in the home stadium of the North team. 4. Washington : The Huskies are not good enough to overlook Colorado on Saturday while anticipating their Oct. 22 visit to Stanford. But that visit to The Farm could become a big moment in the Huskies return to national relevance
Read this article:
Pac-12 power rankings: Week 7
Filed under Football by on Oct 10th, 2011. Comment.
Eddie Alcantar Answer: The worst was Texas prancing around the Rose Bowl in January of 2006 as if the Longhorns had scored some sort of landmark win against the Trojans… Source: Los Angeles Times
See more here:
ASU celebrates, Mark Emmert tries comedy
Filed under Football, News by on Sep 30th, 2011. Comment.
Cameron Marshall ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns, and Arizona State forced four turnovers to end an 11-game losing streak to Southern California with a 43-22 win over the No. 23 Trojans Saturday night. Arizona State (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) survived a f Source: TheNewsTribune.com
Filed under News by on Sep 25th, 2011. Comment.
When the family traveled to the 2006 Rose Bowl in Pasadena , Calif . , to watch the University of Texas Longhorns play the University of Southern California Trojans, they flew on a private jet paid for (at a cost of $15,000) by the Texas… Source: The Union Leader
Here is the original post:
For Perry, being governor has perks
Filed under News by on Sep 13th, 2011. Comment.
In 2008, USC produced one of the all-time great college defenses. It took just two years for the unit to become mediocre-to-bad. Last fall, the Trojans surrendered 44 plays of 20 or more yards, which ranked 102nd in the nation. By comparison, the 2008 unit yielded just 14, the lowest total over the past three years by six. So what happened? Well, for one, Pete Carroll, who’d built one of the nation’s premier defensive powers, bolted for the Seattle Seahawks. Next: The talent he left behind for new coach Lane Kiffin wasn’t nearly as good as it had been from 2002-2008. Then Kiffin, worried about injuries, significantly limited tackling during preseason camp. Finally, it seemed that the Trojans never fully figured out new coordinator Monte Kiffin’s Tampa-2 scheme, which had been so successful in the NFL
More here:
USC needs defense to improve
Filed under Football by on Aug 31st, 2011. Comment.
The Trojans easily rolled to a 12-0 regular season mark and met No. 2 Texas in one what became one of the greatest games in college football history. Vince Young had 467 yards of total offense and carried… Source: Bleacher Report
Excerpt from:
Sports Illustrated Preseason Rankings: Alabama Better Than Previous Number Ones?
Filed under Football, News by on Aug 22nd, 2011. Comment.
Looking at the Pacific-10 (now Pacific-12) in general,… Source: Examiner.com
More here:
Rivals.com names USC Trojans as decade’s top college football recruiter
Filed under Football, News by on Jul 11th, 2011. Comment.
On Friday, the Pac-10 becomes the Pac-12, and life as we all have known it ends. But before we move on as a 12-team league, let’s look back at the best of a 10-team league. On Wednesday, we looked at the best players . Today, it’s the best team. We’ve listed 12 teams because that’s the new magic number (Arizona fans, see if you can guess who came in 13th). Again, no team before 1978 — when Arizona and Arizona State joined the Pac-8 — was considered. 1. 1991 Washington : The Huskies finished 12-0 and split the national title with Miami. Best player : Defensive tackle Steve Emtman won the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award. Point differential : Washington outscored its foes 495-115. Best win : Whipped Michigan 34-14 in Rose Bowl. Wolverines finished ranked sixth. Comment : Four wins over teams that finished ranked in the final top-25, including road victories at No. 15 Nebraska and at No. 8 California. Featured one of the great defenses in college football history, yielding just 9.2 points and 67.1 rushing yards per game. Eight Huskies earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors. 2. 2004 USC : While the NCAA and BCS has nixed it in their own ways, the Trojans finished 13-0 and won the national title on the field. Best player : Quarterback Matt Leinart won the Heisman Trophy. Point differential : USC outscored its foes 496-169. Best win : Crushed Oklahoma 55-19 in the national title game
Read the original:
Before Pac-12 day: Best Pac-10 teams
Filed under Football, News by on Jun 30th, 2011. Comment.
