2008 Stanford Edition - 11/16/08
I remember the days of going to almost every single away game USC played (in fact, one year I went to EVERY home and away game). Of course, my heaviest travel days with my beloved Trojans were from 1997-2000: years that are extremely forgettable in terms of the Trojan folklore, but not at all forgettable in terms of how much fun I had. Since getting married in 2001, I have been to one of the Arizona games at least three times, Berkeley twice, Colorado, an Orange Bowl, Virginia Tech, Washington, Oregon (train trip), Hawaii, Notre Dame (three times), and I am sure a whole bunch I am not mentioning. This was my third time up at Stanford, but the first time at the new stadium. The reality is this: travelling to the road games is part of the culture of being a Trojan. It is just surreal to be at the other team's stadium surrounded by fellow Trojans in Cardinal and Gold. The vast majority of the PAC-10 teams have fans that can not understand what I am talking about. We get it. The road trips have gotten few and farther between as adulthood as expanded more and more (too much responsibility at work; kids running around at home). We manage one or two per year, and they are on my list of "favorite moments of the year." Getting up to Stanford this week was right up there. A gorgeous new stadium. A slew of Trojans who made the trip. And the fun of flying home with other Trojans knowing that you just broke Stanford's undefeated run at their home stadium. Great weekend in the football world.
Unfortunately, Stanford is now on a list that I can not fathom why they would want to be on: The list of schools I absolutely hate and loathe, as opposed to just simply wanting to beat. UCLA and Cal and Oregon have been on the list for years. I have shared my reasons in many past editions of the Musings. But Stanford has been harmless: a bunch of underachievers who care more about Diving and Gymnastics than they do football. A quality private school who has given us a good Supreme Court Chief Justice and a few tech geeks. After the pre-game show yesterday, the details of which you will have to email privately for, I have decided that these are the worst human beings on the planet, and if my son ever had to choose between Cal and Stanford, I now would kill myself instead of saying, "Stanford." I mean it. It was disheartening to see the game start the way it did. On to football:
- USC showed something in the first half we have barely seen all year: An imperfect defense. The ship was righted in the second half, but to see Stanford move the ball was shocking. I am spoiled, I know, but I am not used to even seeing the other team get a first down - let alone score.
- That #7 RB for Stanford is a player. I am surprised he didn't come to USC. Maybe it was because he didn't want to be part of ten All-American backs? Maybe his grades weren't good enough. =) But when Stanford announced that he had just become their first 1,000 yard rusher since 1991, it occurred to me why Stanford has the total W-L record they have in the last 17 years. (I told you; the gloves are off; these people are evil).
- Sanchez does not look good to me at all. His 0 INT performance is a bit misleading, because he missed several open guys, and had one pass bounce up into the Stanford player's chest that was plain dropped. He seems to be hesitating to release the ball, and then causing sacks that eluded him the first half of the year.
- This offense is not good enough to win a national championship right now, though it does always seem to play much, much better in the final game of the year (ask Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, even Texas, Michigan again, and Illinois). I really want to see the offense regain its focus and execution and confidence against Notre Dame and UCLA. A couple 400+ yard performances with a bunch of multi-play scoring drives will get us back on track. I guess what I am trying to say is, please run CJ Gable more!!
- He is just a stud. It is impossible to understate what it would do for Mark, Damian, Patrick, and RoJo if we have the running game going. We would be unstoppable again. Something is off, though it sure got fixed last night in the last 1.5 quarters of the game.
- I am not going to comment on whatever it is that happened at the end of the game until Pete talks about it tomorrow at lunch.
- It was a pretty boring day around the country. No BCS-relevant team played anyone that was any good. I am more and more certain that Florida will play Texas in the National Championship, though I do believe Florida could play Texas Tech as well. I should not call it a national championship, because it is a fraud.
- From Chris Fowler of ESPN, who obtained the projected odds lines in Las Vegas (Wynn Casino) if USC played any of these teams in a national championship:
I doubt that the line of USC favored by 1.5 would hold if we were to play Florida, but I do think this is all quite interesting.
- The rest of the country seems to now know what I have known all year: USC did not lose to a 2007-Stanford team when they lost to Oregon State in Corvalis on that fateful Thursday night. They lost to a team that could very well go 9-1 in their last ten games. Riley never, ever, ever has teams play well in early September. They lost to Stanford before Labor Day, and lost to Penn State right after that. From that point forward, they have been rolling over their opponents, and are likely to finish the season in top 10.
- LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina, on the other hand, are just atrocious. The best team in the SEC besides Florida and Alabama is Ole Miss. Imagine that. And Florida missed a PAT.
- Charlie Weis does the whole "wet hair/press conference" thing pretty well. It was like watching Brad Pitt in "Legends of the Fall" there. Man, if this guy were single ...
- I now believe that this is not just possible, but likely: Florida, Alabama, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Penn State, and USC are all going to end up with one loss. A computer will pick the two teams who play each other, instead of having those six teams, along with Utah, form an 8-team playoff. Then, some of those teams will play in other "BCS" bowls, and some teams with 2 or 3 losses will be invited. Everyone got it? Awesome system.
- I still say there is a 51% chance that Oregon State loses to either Arizona in Tucson, or Oregon in the Civil War. But, if 3-loss Oregon State goes to the Rose Bowl, and the national championship game still features the winner of the SEC final vs. the Big-12 champ, then USC will be in the Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, or Orange Bowl, assuming they take care of business in the next two games. I think we have an advantage over Notre Dame, because Weis is calling the plays again, and it is very, very hard to stay on your toes with offensive play-calling when you are still in a tryptophan coma! Thank God Thanksgiving is the week before. Stock extra gravy, please.
- USC had over 200 yards in special teams yardage yesterday. Gable's kickoff return for a TD has got to be the last one I have seen since Reggie Bush. I think we are going to see another one this season. And I know just the Berkeley extension program to do it against. =)
- A week off next week for the Trojans, but not for college football. A shortened musings will be posted, along with a bonus edition Thanksgiving week on the beauty of the USC/Notre Dame rivalry.
Time to fly home. What an experience it is to be a Trojan. Fight on, and Beat the Irish!
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