The struggles USC has faced on the road against the Ducks are well known, but no one could have predicted the absolute beat down that took place Saturday. Now a bad loss is understandable if your squad’s freshman quarterback or skill players lose their composure and turn the ball over. But considering that Matt Barkley was 21 for 38 on the day and that the Trojans only turned the ball over once, it’s clear that they simply ran into a buzz saw determined to win its seventh straight game.
In a game that ended the way this one did, you’d normally say USC failed to defend Oregon’s halftime adjustments and simply fell apart. But the Ducks started the game on the ground and kept Pete Carroll’s defense on its heels until the final horn. Yes, the Ducks posted 613 total yards (391 rushing) on the Trojans, and that’s the most in the Pete Carroll era. But to put it all in perspective, Oregon amassed 70 percent of the rushing yards USC allowed in their seven games prior to Saturday (559 yards).
Fortunately, the toughest part of the Trojans’ schedule is behind them, and Carroll will rally his troops and have them ready for their trip Saturday to Arizona State. But USC, beware! The Nov. 14 matchup against Stanford could be tough because of Andrew Luck, who’s been a bit more efficient than Matt Barkley in his freshman campaign. Senior tailback Toby Gerhart will be the key, though. He picked up 101 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries last season against a Trojans defense led by nine seniors, including Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Rey Maualuga and Kevin Ellison.
The Trojans also end the year against Arizona instead of UCLA, and this matchup may be tricky because of Mike Stoops’ defense. The Wildcats run defense is currently ranked 27th in the nation, and you have to like Arizona’s chances a little more if they can make the Trojans one-dimensional.
Now am I implying that Pete Carroll’s squad will lose four games this season? Absolutely not! But USC sits behind Oregon, Arizona and Stanford in the Pac-10 standings, and the Trojans will face more teams willing to attack their defense early after Saturday’s stunning loss.
On the Heisman front, everyone knew that Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy would be the front-runners to start 2009, and that their teams would be among the favorites to make it to Pasadena for the national championship game. And both Florida and Texas hung 41 points on their respective opponents this week en route to impressive victories.
But there was finally some separation between the two signal-callers. Both are currently leading double-digit winning streaks for their schools. And both have positioned their teams atop the BCS rankings, but Tebow finally had the breakout performance Gators fans have hoped for since accounting for five touchdowns in Week 2 against Troy.
Prior to Saturday, Florida’s season could have been split into two pieces: before and after Tebow’s concussion. Though the senior continued to play well, the Gators sputtered in close calls at LSU, hosting Arkansas and at Mississippi State. Florida’s lag on both sides of the ball made Tebow’s ability to “will” the Gators to wins that much more important. Saturday’s performance definitely re-established his position atop the Heisman list, as he went 15 of 21 in the air for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for 85 yards and two scores. To cap off the impressive day, Tebow also broke Herschel Walker’s SEC career rushing touchdown record against the standout back’s alma mater. The quarterback accomplished this feat after breaking childhood idol and former Gators great Danny Wuerffel’s SEC career touchdown mark just two weeks earlier.
The lone Gators blemish: the actions of linebacker Brandon Spikes. Spikes made one of the best reads on a quarterback I’ve seen this season as he picked off backup quarterback Logan Gray’s pass and took it back for six.
Then, there’s the clip of him poking his hand through the face mask of Washaun Ealey.
Now, despite the move, this isn’t the time to call Spikes a dirty player or start taking away from the things he has done on the field. Spikes is definitely in the mold of some of the most talented linebackers to play a down in the SEC.
That being said, this kind of thing just can’t happen.
Anyone with any type of understanding of how serious the rivalry is between Georgia and Florida knows that tensions are heightened when these two teams meet at the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” So Brandon Spikes’ reaction probably wasn’t unprovoked. And in the heat of moment when someone finds “that button” to push, logic and reason often go out the door. But in an arena where sportsmanship is supposed to trump all other things, this just can’t happen.
And the issue is heightened, obviously, when you’re one of the elite players on the nation’s top team.
Urban Meyer should be commended for addressing the issue so quickly, but Spikes should be suspended for all of Saturday’s game instead of just half of it. I agree with taking the situation into account and not doing anything drastic, but breaking one of collegiate sports’ cardinal rules warrants a full-game suspension.
As for Colt McCoy and the Longhorns, they staged an impressive performance in their rout of Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Though Texas hasn’t lost to the Cowboys since 1997, Mike Gundy’s squad seemed to be narrowing the gap, as the last two meetings had been decided by four points or less. But the Cowboys entered Saturday without the suspended Dez Bryant and with Kendall Hunter (161 yards on 18 carries against Texas last year) in a limited role, so Oklahoma State was in a hole before the opening kickoff.
Despite all this, Oklahoma State still had a shot … until Zac Robinson started throwing the football.
In the team’s seven games before Saturday, Robinson only threw three interceptions. In the loss to Texas, the usually mistake-free quarterback threw a career-high four picks, and the Longhorns defense returned two of them for scores.
Though McCoy was very efficient in completing 76 percent of his passes, the Longhorns offense was modest at best. Texas was outgained by Oklahoma State 277-275 in total offense and didn’t score an offensive touchdown longer than 12 yards because of their defensive dominance. This lack of offensive output with the modest schedule the Longhorns have through the next four weeks doesn’t give McCoy much of a chance to overcome Tebow in the Heisman race. But barring a setback at the hands of Kansas, the route to the Big 12 championship is clear for Texas.
