2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With Arizona Writers
The Arizona Wildcats (1-3) will meet the USC Trojans (3-1) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
Quarterback Nick Foles leads a potent passing attack for the Wildcats, but the team has struggled to get their running game going. In addition, the Arizona defense has proved incapable of stopping the run in their last three games, which they’ve lost to Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Oregon, respectively. All three of those most recent opponents are in the Associated Press Top 10.
The Trojans are also hungry for a victory, as they return home. After fighting back to take a 22-21 lead midway through the third quarter at Arizona State, the Trojans surrendered 22 unanswered points and fell to the Sun Devils 44-23 last Saturday.
The Trojans outgained the Sun Devils in terms of yardage, but turned the ball over at inopportune times. Three of USC’s turnovers came inside the Sun Devils’ 25-yard line; the fourth turnover, a Matt Barkley interception, resulted in an Arizona State defensive touchdown. The Trojans committed four turnovers last week and were unable to force any takeaways.
In a losing effort, RB Marc Tyler had a huge day on the ground, rushing for 149 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Read more >>
2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With Arizona State Writers
USC will face the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe, Arizona following three consecutive weeks of home cooking for the Trojans.
After a couple of narrow victories, the Trojans were finally able to assert their dominance against the Syracuse Orange last week, defeating them 38-17.
Arizona State, on the other hand, comes into Saturday’s Pac-12 home-opener following a bitter loss. Last week’s three-point loss to the Fighting Illini knocked the Sun Devils out of the Top 25 and reminded ASU of their inability to win close games last year.
To find out what we can expect from the Devils, let’s talk to the guys who know Arizona State football the best. Read more >>
2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With Syracuse Writers
The still unbeaten USC Trojans host the Syracuse Orange, who are also 2-0, on Saturday evening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
As with last week’s Utah-USC matchup, both teams come into the game with something to prove. Syracuse narrowly beat the FCS-level Rhode Island Rams, escaping with a seven-point victory.
Although the Trojans faced tougher competition in the form of the Utes, they, too, needed some late-game heroics in order to grab the win.
In 2010, the Orange traveled to Washington to take on the Huskies for their second game of the year. The Orange hung close for the first half, only trailing 13-10, but Jake Locker erupted for three more passing touchdowns after halftime. Syracuse fell to the Huskies, 41-20.
This time, Syracuse will bring a very experienced offense into the Coliseum. Junior quarterback Ryan Nassib is back with a senior running back and a couple upperclassmen filling the starting receiver slots. Their defense, however, has struggled to fill the void left by two standout linebackers, who graduated last spring. Read more >>
Race for the NL Cy Young
Who Should Win?
In the American League, Jered Weaver, Josh Beckett, and a few others have turned in stellar seasons, but it’s looking like Justin Verlander has his league’s Cy Young award on lock.
In the senior circuit, however, all kinds of craziness is occurring.
To help you sort out all the chaos surrounding the National League Cy Young award, Trevor Kuss of Baseball Nerds and I will debate each other.
We’re both well aware that many pitchers turned in phenomenal seasons, but in this segment, we go all out for one pitcher, each.
I believe Clayton Kershaw should go home with the hardware; Mr. Kuss says it should be Roy Halladay. Read more >>
2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With Utah Writers
This week, the Utah Utes head west to face the USC Trojans for the first time in the regular season since 1948. It also marks the inaugural game of the Pac-12 Conference.
Each team enters the contest with a spotless 1-0 record, but neither squad won in the manner it would have preferred.
After producing three Barkley-to-Woods touchdown connections before halftime,the Trojans were completely shut out in the second half of the opener. The Utes also struggled to assert itself offensively. Despite turning in a two-touchdown effort, Utes quarterback Jordan Wynn threw for just 101 yards, as Utah posted a mere three points in the entire second half.
Neither team is satisfied with its early play. With that said, there were some bright spots. Utah newcomer running back John White IV played extraordinarily well in his first D-1 game. The Utes’ defense also shone, but it did compete against an FCS school in Montana State. USC’s defense similarly played well, but was given the good fortune of facing a first-year quarterback (Minnesota’s Marqueis Gray played receiver last season) with an unproven arm. Read more >>
2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With Minnesota Writers
The USC Trojans open their 2011 campaign on Saturday at the Los Angeles Coliseum, as they take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
These teams met last season in a game that was close for most of the way. The Gophers led 14-13 with under six minutes to go in the 3rd quarter before Robert Woods’ 97-yard kickoff return swung the momentum to the Trojan side for good. USC would win it 32-21, with Allen Bradford contributing 131 yards on the ground.
This year, however, the Trojans face a very different Gopher squad. Boasting a brand new head coach and starting quarterback, the Gophers hope to leave their 2010 struggles behind. Read more >>