Preseason Is Over, Bring On The Huskies!

Well, it was still far from a flawless game, but USC sems to be moving in the right direction. The two interceptions (and should have been at least 3), are a bit disconcerting, but hopefully each game brings more wisdom to Matt Barkley and his receivers because they will need it in October.

Special teams is going to win the Trojans a game or two. What a difference having a full time ST coach has done! Kickoffs for TDs, punts for TDs, blocking PAT's and FG's. Good punt coverage and kickoffs into the endzone. These are hidden things that will help USC in the future.

Sure, the schedule was set up for a 4-0 start, but Lane Kiffen becomes the first USC coach since Jess Hill did it in 1951 to win his first 4 games as the Trojan's head man. Of course, I'd love to see him win the rest, but that is too tall an order to fill this season with a depleted roster, and a strong looking conference, especially since the folks in Powder Blue & Gold beat up on highly ranked Texas, in Austin over the weekend.

Of course, Oregon, Stanford, Arizona and Oregon State all look very tough, and if the Beavs took an SEC schedule approach and played Idaho and Willamette College, they'd be undefeated and not potenially rob a Pac-10 team, a shot at the BCS Chjampionship like they did in 2008 when the 1 loss debate between USC and Florida hinged on the loss to the opponent. In that case, Oregon State lost at Utah (undefeated) and at Penn State (1 Loss), whereas Mississippi State had played a bunch of nobodies and basically "bought" their non-conference wins. The voters failed to recognize this, and considered Florida's loss at home "better" than USC's loss in Corvallis, even though OSU and MSU had the same records.

This week, it is payback time for Sark, Locker and Company.

Win Games, DROP In Polls

Yeah, I don't get it either. The vitriol for all things Trojans still hasn't hit a crescendo.

Just WIN Baby!

First, it is GREAT to get the first win on the season! Matt Barkley and Ronald Johnson had career days, Barkley threw 5 TD's with no interceptions, and Johnson was on the receiving end of 3 of those, and added an 89 yard punt return for a TD.

Second, the D needs to step up, and fast! Monte Kiffen's D gave up 588 yards of offense and did not record a single turnover. If USC is going to be successful, that needs to improve...now.

Third, there were no injuries of note, and with USC's depleted roster, that is a good thing. Depth is going to be an issue as they players seemed tired, not having the customary backups that can rotate in and out of the game, keeping players fresh. That may take a heavy toll later on in the season.

Here is ESPN's recap of the game:

http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302450062

Next up, the rematch with Virginia at the Coliseum.

Game Day baby!!

Woo Hoo! FINALLY, the season starts tonight! I don't know about you, but I got the Red Bull chilled and ready to go for this pajama party.

BEAT the Warriors!