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Trojans are primed to be upset
By Barker Davis
Published October 3, 2005
Southern California has decided to make the national title chase interesting by handicapping itself.
After opening the season with three-peat worthy disembowelings of Hawaii and Arkansas, the Trojans have taken a nasty turn toward complacency, condescension and the same brand of hubris which conspired to bring down impenetrable ancient Troy from within.
For the second consecutive week, USC didn't come prepared to play, spotted a team a double-digit lead and relied on its massive edge in talent to overwhelm its competitive indifference.
Last week at Oregon, the Trojans scored 45 unanswered points and turned a 13-10 halftime deficit into a showy 45-13 victory.
There were no such style points Saturday at Arizona State, when they came from 18 down at intermission (21-3) for a misleadingly lopsided 38-28 victory. As any impartial witness will tell you, the Trojans were one near-catch-turned-interception from losing in Tempe.
With USC ahead 31-28 and less than four minutes left, both the ASU offense and Sun Devil Stadium were rocking. State quarterback Sam Keller, who had just finished eviscerating USC's defense, was driving the Sun Devils toward another go-ahead score when receiver Derek Hagan volleyballed what would have been an impressive catch at the USC 40-yard line directly to USC safety Kevin Ellison, who was badly beaten on the play. Three plays later, USC's LenDale White exploited the disheartened Sun Devils by bolting 46 yards for a game-sealing touchdown. But both the win and USC's postgame comments were far from impressive.
In the first half, USC scored just three points and committed nine offensive penalties -- an obvious sign that they weren't focused -- and Heisman winner Matt Leinart wasn't the best quarterback in the stadium, much less the nation.
And after the Houdini job in the desert, when apologies and promises of renewed commitment were in order, both White and USC coach Pete Carroll engaged in a verbal pridefest.
"Basically, they believe they can't be beat," said Carroll, practically bragging about a red-flag attitude most coaches would list somewhere between fumbles and felonies on the anathema meter.
Said White, "First quarter, second quarter, third quarter -- whatever. Here at SC, we teach 'Finish.' "
All of a sudden, White's not just a tailback, he's a teacher -- perhaps an authority on the use of mid-name capitalization.
Finishing is a football virtue, but White and Co. seem to have forgotten other helpful pigskin cliches concerning such topics as starting strong, staying focused, remaining humble, fighting for 60 minutes, ignoring one's hype, etc. As talented as this team is, and nobody else is close, USC clearly has a nasty case of that historic dynasty-crippler known as delusions of invincibility.
They're saying all the wrong things. They can be had. And Notre Dame is hungry and waiting in South Bend.
By Barker Davis
Published October 3, 2005
Southern California has decided to make the national title chase interesting by handicapping itself.
After opening the season with three-peat worthy disembowelings of Hawaii and Arkansas, the Trojans have taken a nasty turn toward complacency, condescension and the same brand of hubris which conspired to bring down impenetrable ancient Troy from within.
For the second consecutive week, USC didn't come prepared to play, spotted a team a double-digit lead and relied on its massive edge in talent to overwhelm its competitive indifference.
Last week at Oregon, the Trojans scored 45 unanswered points and turned a 13-10 halftime deficit into a showy 45-13 victory.
There were no such style points Saturday at Arizona State, when they came from 18 down at intermission (21-3) for a misleadingly lopsided 38-28 victory. As any impartial witness will tell you, the Trojans were one near-catch-turned-interception from losing in Tempe.
With USC ahead 31-28 and less than four minutes left, both the ASU offense and Sun Devil Stadium were rocking. State quarterback Sam Keller, who had just finished eviscerating USC's defense, was driving the Sun Devils toward another go-ahead score when receiver Derek Hagan volleyballed what would have been an impressive catch at the USC 40-yard line directly to USC safety Kevin Ellison, who was badly beaten on the play. Three plays later, USC's LenDale White exploited the disheartened Sun Devils by bolting 46 yards for a game-sealing touchdown. But both the win and USC's postgame comments were far from impressive.
In the first half, USC scored just three points and committed nine offensive penalties -- an obvious sign that they weren't focused -- and Heisman winner Matt Leinart wasn't the best quarterback in the stadium, much less the nation.
And after the Houdini job in the desert, when apologies and promises of renewed commitment were in order, both White and USC coach Pete Carroll engaged in a verbal pridefest.
"Basically, they believe they can't be beat," said Carroll, practically bragging about a red-flag attitude most coaches would list somewhere between fumbles and felonies on the anathema meter.
Said White, "First quarter, second quarter, third quarter -- whatever. Here at SC, we teach 'Finish.' "
All of a sudden, White's not just a tailback, he's a teacher -- perhaps an authority on the use of mid-name capitalization.
Finishing is a football virtue, but White and Co. seem to have forgotten other helpful pigskin cliches concerning such topics as starting strong, staying focused, remaining humble, fighting for 60 minutes, ignoring one's hype, etc. As talented as this team is, and nobody else is close, USC clearly has a nasty case of that historic dynasty-crippler known as delusions of invincibility.
They're saying all the wrong things. They can be had. And Notre Dame is hungry and waiting in South Bend.
