2006 Wedding Anniversary Edition - 9/10/06
It is a good thing my wife and I are down at Hotel Del Coronado (San Diego county) celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary, as a weekend in the fall without a USC game leaves one feeling rather empty. Seriously, I hate bye weeks ... I do love a weekend with my wife, though!
- I am not making a joke here, but I think Charlie Weis's contract extension term might be one of the biggest non-stories ever. If that dude doesn't find a way to shed at least 150 LB's, I don't see him making it through the life of this contract. Judas Priest - does this guy cash his paycheck at the Chinese buffet? Unbelievable. I hope his family and doctors are monitoring this situation - seriously!
- The Notre Dame defense can be run upon - of this I am certain (and this will bode well for strong running teams like Michigan and USC, and not bode well for weak running teams like UCLA and everyone else Notre Dame plays). They looked quite good yesterday (defensively and offensively), but I do see this one weakness.
- For those counting, Penn State has now won about two games that mattered in the last ten years. Remember that next time you hear someone talking about how endearing it is that JoePa is still coaching. One man's "endearing" is another's "incredibly selfish" (count me in the latter group). I would far rather see him replace that bum of a Governor in Pennsylvania than continue this debacle (assuming Lynn Swann doesn't do it first). Coach Paterno is a legend, but this has gotten ridiculous.
- I am seriously starting to wonder if and when Coach O might return to Southern California. Coach Orgeron is one of the real treasures in all of college football, but this Ole Miss team is really hard to watch. The man is a competitive animal (I think he would have personally broken Vince Young's collarbone in last year's Rose Bowl before he let him dance past our defensive ends the way he did), and he lives in a state that can best be described as "hell with humidity". I believe Coach Carroll would welcome him back with open arms. In the meantime, I wish him the best, but I am skeptical that he will still be there in a year or two.
- As much fun as it may be to watch, I am thinking that Troy, Rice, Nicholls St., Northern Arizona, Central Florida, and countless other patsies might not be providing a real glimpse as to how good some of the various top talent in the country really are ... (granted, Troy practically beat Florida State, and UCLA hardly pounced on Rice, but you see my point). Arkansas, Nebraska, and Notre Dame are USC's three non-conference games. Nuff' said.
- Oklahoma is crap. That win over Washington is very deceiving. I expect them to go 7-5 this year ...
- The Florida State/Miami game on Monday night was only slightly more exciting than watching the paint dry. That was NOT a defensive gem of a game; it was two sterile offenses that formerly represented the cream of the crop in college football offensive talent. The Gators will own Florida this year, but that will not say much ...
- Ohio State deserves their #1 ranking thus far. A very impressive win ... I would LOVE to see USC face them in January, but I remain a little skeptical that we can run the table (going undefeated in college football remains one of the most difficult tasks in all of sports). Texas really hurt themselves, but after two weeks, I have to say that Ohio State QB is the Heisman front-runner, and they look very good on both sides of the ball. Frankly, only Ohio State, USC, and Texas have solid defenses, as far as I can tell so far ...
- The Nebraska game will not be a "gimme" for USC in any sense of the word. I am curious how we will respond to the devastating injuries we incurred in game 1, and how the running game will do against Nebraska's big front-seven ... I can not wait for 5:00 pm on the 16th!
- Pac-10 was not much different this week, with Arizona, Stanford, Washington, and Oregon State doing their best to allow SEC fans to continue their mocking ... Washington actually looked great in the first half against Oklahoma, but they must have had second-half action against themselves based on the way they played after halftime. Oregon State's defense against Boise St. was atrocious. Arizona is still a year or ten away from going into an SEC stadium and having a prayer. However, Oregon was impressive again in a one-touchdown win over Fresno State. Cal rebounded impressively against Minnesota (but at home). UCLA looks pretty fluid, but still has question marks .... Arizona State was FAR better this week.
- Enough for now. Replies are welcome (and may be published). Next week's predictions: USC 38, Nebraska 21.
Fight on,
DLB4USC
David L. Bahnsen