2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With UCLA Writer Peter Yoon
More than bragging rights are at stake this time around as the Trojans prepare to host the UCLA Bruins on Saturday night.
After Colorado upset Utah on Friday, UCLA found themselves having clinched a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game before taking the field for their final game.
But before the Bruins face off against Oregon in the inaugural title game, there are still some details to be sorted out. Read more >>
2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With Oregon Writers
For the second time in three weeks, the USC Trojans will have a chance to upset a Top Five team.
In fact, three weeks ago, the Trojans came painfully close to upsetting the Stanford Cardinal before fumbling the game away in triple-overtime.
Last week, in a highly anticipated matchup, the Oregon Ducks accomplished precisely what the Trojans were unable to do two weeks earlier. They handed Stanford its first loss.
Stanford was plagued by dropped passes and a slippery field (that seemingly only affected the home team), but Oregon undoubtedly earned the crucial victory.
The Ducks continued their season-long ground assault with more than 200 yards to go with three touchdowns. Oregon also got to Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck three times and was able to force five turnovers. Read more >>
2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With Washington Writers
Led by former USC assistant Steve Sarkisian, the Washington Huskies are headed to L.A., where they hope to take down the Trojans for the third consecutive time.
This year’s Huskies have already ensured their bowl eligibility with a record of 6-3.
Despite having lost quarterback Jake Locker to the NFL, the Huskies have thrived under first-year starter Keith Price. He’s thrown for 25 touchdowns, while completing nearly 67 percent of his passes.
Although Washington has lost to three highly ranked schools (Nebraska, Stanford, and Oregon), it has taken care of business against its six other, less talented opponents.
Most recently, however, Washington’s normally high-achieving offense was shut down by the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks sacked Keith Price six times and held him to a season-low 143 passing yards. Read more >>
Inside Look: Albert Pujols’ Plate Appearances
When the time comes, first baseman Albert Pujols will undoubtedly be enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The 31-year-old Dominican native won his second World Series title on Oct. 28, 2011 after his St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in seven thrilling games. Although the series MVP was awarded to Pujols’ teammate, David Freese, Pujols also contributed to the team, most notably blasting three home runs in Game 3 of the Fall Classic. With Pujols set to become a free agent this offseason, many teams have to decide whether or not they want to try to sign Pujols, a player who will surely be demanding a great deal of money. Let’s look at the pie chart below that depicts the likelihood of possible scenarios when the slugger steps to the plate. Here’s the graph, followed by a more detailed explanation below:
The entire pie (all 100 percent) represents the 7,433 plate appearances Albert Pujols has had throughout his career. The slices of the pie depict the distributions of various scenarios when he bats.
Non-baseball fans may wonder how Albert Pujols could be a definite Hall of Famer, given that he gets out 58 percent (23.5+25+9.5 or fly outs+ground outs+strike outs) of the time he comes to the plate. For one, hitting a baseball that is thrown up to 100 miles per hour (sometimes faster) can be extremely difficult. In addition, pitchers strive to confuse opposing batters with slower pitchers that move rapidly, such as curveballs and sliders. For those reasons, hitters that can reach base 35 percent of the time are lauded for their abilities; Pujols boasts an impressive career on-base percentage of .420 (100 minus the 58 percent of the time he gets out). Pujols’ .420 on-base percentage places him tied with Mickey Mantle for 18th all-time in that category.
Interestingly enough, Pujols hits a home run six percent of the time he comes to the plate. Again, that may not seem like a robust number, but Pujols is widely regarded as one of the best home run hitters in the MLB. Throughout his career, the first baseman has been one of the most efficient home run hitters to ever play the game. In fact, Pujols’ 14.18 at bats per home run clip ranks seventh all-time behind such celebrated home run hitters as Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, among others.
2011 USC Football Behind Enemy Lines
Q&A With Colorado Writer Jon Woods
Following an emotional triple-overtime loss at the hands of the Stanford Cardinal, the USC Trojans look to bounce back in a big way, as they head to Boulder, Colorado for a Friday night meeting with the Colorado Buffaloes.
Against Stanford, the Trojans proved that they can compete with one of the nation’s very best teams. The contest was so close that if any of a few plays and calls had gone differently, USC would have been victorious.
Although Curtis McNeal’s fumble in triple overtime ultimately cost his team the game, the Trojans would not have even made it to triple-OT if not for the 21-year-old running back’s two third-quarter touchdown runs.
The team is understandably proud of its effort last Saturday, but the Trojans hope Friday’s game does not become one of those infamous trap games. Read more >>