Pete Carroll on Loose Cannons from 12/1

Pete Carroll's press conference from 12/2

USC loses another top player.

So, we can finally put this situation to bed. Vidal Hazelton is a great talent but with the way his recruitment went and with the email that was leaked earlier this season I always felt he was just going to have a hard time fitting in.

From the OCR...

Receiver Vidal Hazleton has transferred from USC.

“A lot of things have been going on,” he said. “Football is part of it. My grandfather has been diagnosed with cancer. I wanted a chance to be close to home.”

Hazelton said his grandfather, who lives in Staten Island, was diagnosed about two months ago.

We wish him well. I will have more on this after the ucla game.

UPDATE:

Here is a little more detail from WeAreSC.

“Yes, that’s true,” said Hazelton on his transfer from USC. “Part of the reason was football, but the main factor was because of my grandpa who I’m close with.

“He was just diagnosed with cancer.”

Hazelton, who joined former teammate Broderick Green as the second transfer from the team this year, stated that the thought of transferring has been in the forefront of his mind for some time now.

“No doubt I’ve been thinking about it for a while now,” said the New York native.

Hazelton will remain at USC and finish out his semester before exploring options elsewhere, although it is generally assumed that Hazelton will stay out east.

Photo: Danny Moloshok / Associated Press

No game on TV again tonight but it is on 710 ESPN, not streaming on the internet, so I won't be on the thread tonight.

There is a nice article on Daniel Hackett in today's LAT that you should give a read.

Leave your comments, rants and observations here.

FIGHT ON!

Just saw this over on WeAreSC!

Trojans to wear Cardinal jerseys on Saturday

The Trojan coaches voted today to accept the penalty for wearing home jerseys during an away game (the penalty is a loss of one timeout per half) and so USC will wear Cardinal jerseys in the game on Saturday against UCLA

Very cool. This is the first step to bring this rivalry back. Great move by Pete Carroll, Will Rick Neuheisel call a time out to even the playing field?

So yeah... we play ucla next Saturday...

Anyone motivated?

I am!

I am not really interested in talking about the Rose Bowl yet. I could care less about possibly playing another Big 10 team. If it happens that is weeks away.

I only care about one thing...beating ucla!

I remember 2006 very well and I don't want to feel that way ever again. That was ucla's bowl game, I know they wet the bed three weeks later against FSU but to them the USC game was the only game that mattered. I refuse to accept that it is a foregone conclusion that USC is going to the RB. This is a rivalry game and anything can happen. SC has looked past supposed weaker opponents before and they have paid a heavy price.

Placshke is already crying the blues...

Playing for the last time this season on a Coliseum field that has become their fortress, the Trojans scored a 38-3 victory over a Notre Dame team that appeared to have neither coach nor clue.

But on another field up north, USC's chances of a truly big finish were going south.

With Oregon State's championship-costing loss to Oregon, the Trojans are but a slam-dunk victory over UCLA next week from returning to the Rose Bowl for the fourth consecutive season, a development that can elicit only one bit of intelligent analysis.

Whoop-de-darn-do.

As written here before, Pasadena is a nice place to visit, but the Trojans don't want to live there.

They don't need it for reputation. They don't need it for recruiting.

They needed a Fiesta against a high-scoring Big 12 team, some Sugar against a traditional SEC power, anything that could enhance their national presence and propel them into next season's polls.

They don't need another Rose bouquet against another Big Ten vase.

Easy there Bill there is still some work to be done and I don't plan to worry what could happen until the season is officially over. (for the record Adam Rose is looking ahead a little bit too). Even the PSU blogs are starting some trash talk. Again, it's premature. PSU doesn't matter..we'll worry about them when its time to woryy about them.

Fans need to temper their emotions over beating a hapless Notre Dame team on Saturday because the season is not over yet. Yes, it is very possible that SC could absolutely smoke ucla but the players need to make sure that they keep focused. There was an MNC berth on line on 2006 and SC did not respond, that is not the case this year, its the Rose Bowl or the Holiday Bowl.

SImple as that...

This is a bad offensive ucla team but they have a pretty good defense and DeWayne Walker knows how to play SC. These guys will play for nothing more than pride so the offense needs make sure that they protect Sanchez and Sarkisian needs call a good game. I don't see this as a cake walk...period.

Anyone here think that Chow will pass along to Walker a little bit of how Sark might call it?

I do!

Walker didn't have that insight last season. The teacher may have taught the pupil everything the pupil knows but the teacher did not teach the pupil everything the teacher knows so Sark better have his A game ready and focus on the basics. No need for cute plays...SC just needs to play a your typical NFL style smash mouth football. That is exactly the type game that Pete Carroll plays.

I simply refuse to accept this game against ucla as a gimme.

Now, that doesn't mean that SC isn't going to be motivated. All the talk of football monopolies being over in LA, all the "motivational" talks during half time at Pauley Pavillion, all the talk of a supposed dream team of coaches hasen't done much to help the bruins this year but how could it? the roster was bare and it won't much better for them for a while. ucla has had this game circled on the calendar for a while so they are going to play their hearts out.

The Pete Carroll vs. Norm Chow angles have already been drawn so there is that extra twist to Saturday's game.

When USC faces UCLA on Saturday, Pete Carroll will match wits with former assistant Norm Chow for the first time. Carroll said he it would be a "great challenge" to battle "one of the great coaches of all time in college football."

"I like stuff like this," Carroll said. "I always look forward to it. I love competing against people I've been friends with."

Carroll and Chow reportedly did not have the most amicable breakup when Chow left his post as offensive coordinator in 2005 to take the same position with the Tennessee Titans. Asked about their relationship Sunday, Carroll said: "We're fellow coaches. We worked together. We had a great time when we did stuff together. He moved on."

Chow, in his first season as UCLA's offensive coordinator, has presided over an injury-plagued and inexperienced group that ranks 110th out of 119 FBS teams in total offense. USC ranks first in total defense and scoring defense.

If PC stays true to form it really shouldn't matter who is coaching or playing for the other team.

How USC responds on Saturday will determine the outcome of this game, come out motivated and focused and we should be fine. Come out too hot and uneven in our play and it could be a close game. There is no need to give ucla the chance to hang around and give them hope. Go for the throat early on and don't let up until the game is over!  I think SC will win but I DO NOT think that it will be as easy as it was against ND. To me ucla isn't the problem it's making sure SC is ready for everything that could be thrown at them. I have no doubt that Pete Carroll will have them pumped and ready to play but the team needs to execute like they have done in big games in the past.

this week is going to be interesting...

Well, we are into the home stretch.

I am going to make this simple and only comment on Texas/OU...

I am not sure what some of the voters (read... coaches because the AP doesn't count in the formula) were thinking in putting OU over Texas. If Head to Head doesn't matter then why play the games? The argument can be made that OU has a better OOC schedule but until the system addresses teams playing teams from the FCS the only barometer in regards to in-conference play is head to head match-ups. That of course brings up another issue...as long as conferences don't play a round robin like the pack 10 we will never have the complete story so again Head to Head match-ups is all I can go by. I realize that this is mostly a Big 12 issue in regards to their tie-breaking system, but not putting an emphasis on Head to Head match-ups gives us exactly what we have in regards to Texas getting left out...

Coaches who voted OU over Texas better not piss and moan when it happens to them...because as long as this system stays in place it will happen. Dennis Dodd wrote a great piece last week explaining why the coaches should be out of it all together...

After a crushing defeat, the last thing Texas Tech's coach wanted was to discuss poll issues. But that was the obvious question for the only man in the building with a coaches poll vote.

Which team, he was asked, deserves to be ranked higher, Texas or Oklahoma? Either not knowing or not caring about the implications, Leach quickly said, "I would put Oklahoma ahead. They beat us and they deserve it."

Texas remained ahead of Oklahoma in the BCS standings released Sunday on the strength of having beaten the Sooners six weeks ago. That was despite the human polls which have it flipped -- Oklahoma over Texas.

You can see how this might be a problem to some folks. Two rivals, chasing a Big 12 and national championship. One separated from the other by .0084 of a point in the BCS (Texas .9209-Oklahoma .9125). One having beaten the other but both involved in a three-way tie in the Big 12 South. It is becoming obvious that tie could be broken less by play on the field and more by whoever shouts the loudest. Or worse. It could be decided by petty jealousies or long-held grudges.

We don't know for sure because the coaches poll is and has been largely a secret ballot. Maybe that's why Bob Stoops gave up his vote last season. Maybe not. He'll have to risk leaving the vote up to the six other Big 12 coaches in the coaches poll.

Two words come to mind here...Mack. Brown.

Anyone remember when Brown was politicking Texas over Cal to get into the Rose Bowl? Someone does and they found this gem...

I am not a big one to quote posters on Internet forums, but this one is too ripe to ignore. From a user on SI.com:

Just a few years ago Mack Brown pulled a classless act by lobbying poll voters to vote down Cal so that Texas could go to the Rose Bowl with 2 losses (Cal was 11-1 and lost to #1 USC by 6 points in L.A.). It worked and a number of voters did not even have Cal in their top 5 after Cal was #4 in the BCS the previous week. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND! EAT IT MACK BROWN. You reap what you sow and Mack Brown more than anybody deserves this fate. I am not a Cal fan, but I remember thinking how classless Mack Brown was back then and eventually it caught up with him. I can guarantee you that somewhere Jeff Tedford is smiling.

Yes, I’ve had some issues with Texas coach Mack Brown and his minions in the past.

I actually think Texas got hosed this year. But… live by the terrible system, die by the terrible system.

Hard not to disagree. We all know that the coaches can't watch the games so they are left to look at the box scores and rely on the likes of Sports Center or ESPN News for their info and even that's pushing it...

Texas stays at #2 in my poll because they beat OU Head to Head pure and simple! Feel free to pick the rest apart as you see fit

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	--
2	Texas	--
3	Oklahoma	--
4	Florida	--
5	Southern Cal	--
6	Utah	--
7	Boise State	--
8	Penn State	--
9	Texas Tech	--
10	Ohio State	1
11	Ball State	1
12	Cincinnati	5
13	TCU	2
14	Boston College	4
15	Brigham Young	4
16	Oklahoma State	2
17	Oregon	4
18	Northwestern	2
19	Georgia Tech	5
20	Michigan State	3
21	Missouri	11
22	Georgia	9
23	Oregon State	7
24	Pittsburgh	2
25	Virginia Tech	1

 

Dropped Out: Florida State (#22), West Virginia (#25).

Have at it!

It really is hard to describe last nights game against Notre Dame.

The biggest fight the Irish put up was in a pre-game tussle when the two teams met in the tunnel before pregame warm ups.

You could almost see it coming when Clausen threw his first pick...you just knew he was going to try and test the USC secondary. He wanted to probe them to see if there was something there...the only thing there was Cary Harris. I don't think anyone was worried about the defense shutting down ND with their decided "schematic advantage" the question was would the offense do its thing.

Mark Sanchez threw a pick on the second play of SC's opening series...a mere moment after ESPN announcer Mike Patrick praised Sanchez with some great stats. True to form he shook it off on the next series and away the Trojans went. What I thought would happen did happen...with SC running the ball the only the Irish could hope to stop it was to bring the safeties up but all that did was open the passing game and Sanchez for the most part took advantage of it. The real head scratcher to me though that even with the adjustments made by Weis and Co. SC was still running the ball effectively so it was discouraging to see Steve Sarkisian call 2 consecutive swing passes to McKnight in the second quarter. for a loss on both plays. I don't know if they were trying to work out some kinks or if they were just playing cat and mouse with ND but there were some plays that just made you shake your head. There was the end around to Damian Williams that was stopped for a loss, that raised an eyebrow... all they had to do was run it up center field.

Penalties were light in the early going but they reared their ugly head and cost Stafon Johnson 2 scores. One was a block in the back on his punt return the other was a holding call on O'Dowd that pushed the Trojans back which then resulted on Sanchez's 2nd INT of the night. One interesting penalty that came on the Johnson punt return was a call for excessive celebration....someone will have to explain that to me.

Anyway......

Damian Williams had another great night as did Patrick Turner. Stanley Havili ran a great wheel route that went for 39 yards before he was taken down, he also appeared to have suffered a minor ankle sprain on that play and he did not come back in the second half.

I was concerned that O line was not giving Sanchez the time he needed as I saw the pocket collapse a few more time than I would have liked. Sanchez had pock presence most of the time but he was sacked a few times- one from behind that saw the ball knocked out of his hand but was thankfully knocked out of bounds by and Irish defender. There was also another pass to Anthony McCoy that was taken out of his hands but it was determined that the Irish defender didn't have control of it as he went out of bounds so at times the offense looked a little anemic.

ND really never knew what hit them...they defense would stingy but they couldn't get a handle on how to defend against USC's offense. SC would eat up chunks of yards at a time always moving forward.

The speculation around Weis's tenure at ND is already being speculated upon. As I have noted in the past he only has himself to blame. His treatment of ND officials, prospective recruits and boosters will not earn him any sympathy. If ND is hold Weis to the same standards as Willingham or even Davie then he is a good as gone. I think that's a good thing, ND needs a coach that can do the things need to make ND respectable again while also building a network of supporter that would bend over backwards for their coach. Weis has done nothing but burn the bridges that a program like Notre Dame thrives on to be successful. You know its bad when noted Weis apologist Joe Theismann is even scratches his head in disbelief.

Weis' dwindling core of supporters could now fit into a Corvette.

As recently as last year, Joe Theismann was Weis' attack dog. Remember when former Irish lineman Bob Kuechenberg called Weis an "ogre," "abusive" and "unnecessarily arrogant to the Notre Dame family" in a Boston Herald article?

Theismann countered: "Bob's ... full of it. He's flat wrong."

Last week the former Irish quarterback, on a Blue & Gold Illustrated radio show, called Notre Dame's performances against Navy and Syracuse "very disturbing."

 And you wonder why Theismann is pretty nonexistent in pro football these days...he chastises a former ND alum in support of an arrogant overrated blowhard. Who needs that, I'm not the biggest Kornheiser fan anymore but I can now see why he did everything he could to get Theismann out of the MNF booth.

Like it or not SC needs a respectable ND on the field if for no other reason than to keep this storied rivalry going.

So, this chapter between USC and Notre Dame is closed and USC turns its focus onto ucla...there can be no let downs like 2006. A loss next Saturday sends SC to the Holiday Bowl.

There is still a lot of football to play...

Ted Miller has a nice write up on USC's defense.

USC's defense is officially a finalist for "best-ever:" After turning in one of the most dominating defensive performances in recent memory in its 38-3 win over Notre Dame, USC proved its defense is not only the best in the nation this season, it's one of the best ever put together in college football history. And it's not an arguable point, based on a combination of statistics and the future prospects of the gathered talent. The Trojans held a competent Notre Dame offense to 91 yards and four first downs -- no firsts until late in the third when the result was already determined. Teams get four first downs and 91 yards by accident and random chance.

 He gives them a helmet sticker as well.

The USC defense: Saddled with a massive strategic disadvantage against Notre Dame and its offensive brain trust, the Trojans nonetheless struggled along and managed to hold the Irish to just four first downs and 91 total yards. Good for those scrappy little Trojans.

Heh...

Check out USC's defensive rankings so far this season...

You can find it all here!

Impressive to say the least...

Watch and enjoy!!