Weekly Musings - ASU Edition

I was stuck in Chicago Friday night when my flight back to Orange County got cancelled.  This did not create the Saturday I was hoping for, and consequently I missed a lot of this weekend's action.  But I did get back in time for my own Trojans' late night game against Arizona State, and that almost made this whole miserable weekend worth it.As far as my "around the country" action, I will say that I never predicted that Alabama WOULD run the table (at least I don't think I did); I just said that IF they ran the table I was certain they would be in the BcS fictitious championship.  I am surprised that LSU dethroned them, and I now wonder if this is the year for Auburn to go the whole way.  A lot of teams are struggling with the realities of departed players (most notoriously Florida and Texas), and apparently Bama' is suffering from their defensive losses even as they have really kept their offensive nucleus from last year's championship team together.I am surprised that UCLA beat Oregon State.  And I am no longer buying into the idea that Oregon State could upset Oregon in the last game of the year.  The only thing that can upset Oregon is injuries.TCU is no joke.  If I didn't know better I would have though that Ladainian Tomlinson was still playing for the Horned Frogs. The way that ESPN and SI have handled this Cam Newton story is the same kind of immoral and irresponsible media behavior we should never be surprised by.  I do not know if this kid did anything wrong or not - and I do not know if dad did either.  I do know that so far I have seen nothing that even remotely resembles proof or evidence.  They have no right to try and destroy a 20-year old kid without real proof.  Period.  And he is still my choice for the Heisman so far this year.A win is a win, and I am so happy for my Trojans.  We know what it is like to lose off of a last minute field goal, so to actually win one in that style is quite satisfying.  And after Joe's two misses, I couldn't be happier to see him make the game winner.I have really not missed very many weekends of college football since I was six years old, and I am almost certain that I have never seen a game come down to a PAT getting blocked and returned the other way for two points.  I am very glad that the first time I saw it, I was a beneficiary, and not a victim.Barkley was off, and I am concerned that he get his timing and confidence back before this final stretch of very difficult road games and then rivalry games.  In fairness, our defense did not give up 30 points last night; our special teams and offense gave up half of them.  But we need this offense to be between 35 and 50 points, no matter what.  The running game continues to struggle, so it really requires Matt and the vertical passing game to be crisp and impressive.  To beat Arizona and Oregon State on the road, we will have to see this element return to the Trojan offense.I agree with the decision of the coach to sit Allen Bradford based on his fumbling.  A fifth year senior can not be dropping the ball as much as he is - period.  But I sure want to see Marc Tyler get explosive and consistent out there if he is going to be the every-down back for this offense.I am not seeing it with Dillon Baxter yet.  Maybe I will, but so far I see a guy not quite as explosive as Joe McKnight, who himself was not anywhere near as explosive as Reggie Bush.They finally got David Aubserry involved in the offense the way I have been wanting and what does he do?  He lets a ball hit him in the hands and go the other way for a pick 6.  Speaking of fifth year seniors, we need better.Burfict is a head case and I am very glad he is not a Trojan.  But he can play.  It will be up to his coaches to get him right in the head.  He strikes me as in need of therapy.I still believe 10-3 is possible for this Trojan team but will not come easily.  For now, let's get ready for a very hungry and angry Wildcat team.  They are not 30 points worse than Stanford, and I am shocked by how that game turned out.  I do not think it will be an easy trip to Tucson for the Trojans.  Let's hope for a good week of practice, and a sweep of the Arizona schools.  Fight on.  See you next week ...