USC-San Jose St

[Van]

Think I'm liking my SJS pick in the Pick 'Em.

Joe McKnight, in a nutshell...

Great run. Looks awesome.

Go to him again...fumble.

The D looks great so far, with Galippo looking dominant, but they're over-pursuing.

Barkley hasn't had an opportunity to do anything yet, but he did cause himself to get sacked, by hesitating.

Without help from turnovers, USC won't score enough to cover. This is just going to have to be a meh, ugly win.

[JayDuck]

All I know is that kid chanting "Block that Kick" makes me want to go LeGarrette Blount on his face.

[GreginPG]

All I know is that kid chanting "Block that Kick" makes me want to go LeGarrette Blount on his face.

Crossing his arms for the block signal made it oh so special.

[Blueblood]

3-0 Spartans.... and just recovered a fumble.

[Van]

Okay, now they need to settle down and run the ball down SJ's throats.

Maybe they could start by eshewing the short side. I've always hated the way USC runs so much to the short side.

Get their speed out in the open field, and let their linemen pull and get out there too. Go hurt some people, and quit letting the sideline by the D's 12th defender.

Get McCoy involved in the center of the field, as well.

Jesus...Just as I wrote that, McCoy makes a good play, then he fumbles.

Two TO's already. Not good.

[Van]

Okay, though they're going WAY conservative in their play calling, their athletic dominance has simply taken over, and the rout is on...

This is what USC needs to do this season: Run the fucking ball. They have the best O line in the nation, a ton of killer backs, and a rookie QB.

RUN THE BALL! Then, play-action pass.

[Blueblood]

Why the hell did SJS take Kyle Reed out of the game. He's moving the team... and they had a 3-0 lead. They put in a horrible qb in and they can't get a first down.

[Van]

The announcers are asking the same thing, and nobody has an answer.

Reed wasn't really moving the team either, but they were definitely doing better with Reed than with than this other guy.

28-3 at the half, and USC's just destroying them up front, which is where the favorites should always dominate. (Uhh, Ohio St...Navy?)

Okay, maybe I'll lose this one in the Pick 'Em contest too. My two Big 10 favorites fucked me, so I'm off to a truly shitty start.

[Blueblood]

SJS's D doesn't stand a chance with their O going 3 and out for 6 straight possessions with the new qb. At least, Reed was getting some first downs and was 5/8 for 43 yards.

Wow, SJS got screwed with the last 2 seconds there.

[Van]

Few observations...

-Though they kept the passing game very conservative, it sure was nice to see a college QB, Barkley, who actually throws correctly. After watching Terrell Pryor and his shotput throwing motion, and so many other 'dual-purpose' QBs who can't throw for shit, it's a breath of fresh air to see a guy who throws correctly and accurately.

Barkley just looked fantastic. No fumbles, no picks, no stupid decisions. He even threw the ball away when it was called for, rather than trying to force it in. Just steady and solid, which is more than one could usually hope to see from a true freshman in his first start.

15-18, for 233 yards, with no turnovers, and at least 1 TD. Then it's back on the bench, giving way to Aaron Corp for the 4th quarter.

Barkley's the real deal. He's going to be a star.

-USC looks to have a wicked group of Song Girls this season. With the camera man doing the panning down the row thing, I didn't notice any tokens this time, or any mere C+ hotties. They all were hot.

-Ohio St will have their hands full with USC's O line, and that running game. That O line is going to put a beat down on many an opponent this season. USC will bring a very vanilla game plan into Columbus, and it'll be on Ohio St to line up and somehow stop USC's running game, without leaving themselves wide open to the play-action pass.

If USC can simply avoid losing the turnover battle, they'll be fine. That'll be the key: Just play 'em even on turnovers, and don't kill themselves with penalties. If it's an even game, in terms of mistakes, I like USC in this one.

-That's a helluva RB stable. Despite his fumble, McKnight looked dominant today, setting a career high for yards. Even so, is he even any better than Bradford, or Johnson, or C.J. Gable?

Amazing group of quality backs.

-Excellent to see USC's new kicker contuining David Bueller's penchant for sending each kick off deep into the end zone, negating the other team's kick returner home run threat. That's a huge thing, always making the other team have to go eighty yards, following a score. It also cuts down on injuries, by reducing the number of the most violent collisions.

So, what do you figure the spread will be in Columbus? I'm thinking, oh, USC - 4 1/2, or thereabouts. No more than -7, no less than -3.

[Laxplayer]

Ladies, don't get ahead of yourselves. Van, the kids Barkley played against at Mater Dei are better than some of the kids on the field for SJSU. SC is supposed to dominate that game, just like ND was supposed to dominate Nevada. People ripped ND fan for busting a nut because little Jimmy had a good game vs. Hawaii. Put your pecker back in your pants with respect to Barkley. It's San Fucking Jose State. Teams are supposed to dominate their first games. Well unless you're Iowa, Ohio State, Cal....oh wait, cal hasn't played yet. I hope they left early enough to avoid bus lag.

Yes SC looked good but remember the competition. Let's wait and see how Barkley does vs. a real team. Well it won't be next week because the Luckeyes looked like shit today. Maybe it will be vs........well you that other tough team on $C's schedule. Oh wait, there isn't one.

Hell I think $C would be favored by at least 7 due to the fact that O$U looked so horrible today.

[Van]

Lax, no doubt about the competition, but my point had to do with the things you could see which are not related to the opponent.

-Barkley's mechanics, and his decision making.

Those mechanics are solid, and they'll be solid regardless of the opponent. The guy is a very polished passer. His footwork is excellent, his hip turn and arm angle are both spot on, and his accuracy is unerring.

Watch Tyrod Taylor. Watch Terrell Pryor. Watch Vince Young. Watch so many 'dual threat' QBs, then watch Barkley. The difference in mechanics is instantly noticeable.

The question will be his decision making. Will he force balls, as so many guys with huge arms often do, especially when they're young.

Today, when nothing was there, he threw it out of bounds. That's a good sign.

Otherwise, regarding the rest of what I posted...

-USC's Song Girls are going to look good, no matter the opponent.



Seriously, from what I saw today, they have a really nice crop this year.

-Their RBs are damn good. They were good last year, and this year McKnight is healthy, for the first time in his career at USC. There's no getting around it, they have a great stable of RBs.

-Kickoffs are kickoffs, regardless of the opponent. Their kicker was again putting it deep in the end zone. Against many teams, such as Va Tech or Florida, that's a huge thing, to never give their kick returners a chance to hurt you. That was a big help to USC's D last year, and it looks like they may have the same thing this year.

-Their O line is ranked #1 in the nation. They really looked like it, and that was without their best lineman, their All American center. Of course I don't expect them to roll up 620 yards every week, but that O line is going to pose problems for most anybody they play.

[Laxplayer]

I agree with you regarding mechanics and footwork. But let's take a look at Claussen vs. Barkley when both were freshman. Little Jimmy came out of high school with top notch mechanics, great footwork, great decision making. Now let's look at their potential. The difference is that Barkley has actual D-1 level talent around him and won't spend as much time on his back as a cheap hooker like Claussen did his freshman year. SC's talent is sick and they should roll next week. Barkley will be fine as long as he stays within himself which Petey and Bates will do. As the year progresses this kid will be in a position to win games for them and he may actually come through. BTW, I'm still not sold on Claussen yet. Never been a fan, probably never will be. I like the kid from your alma mater....now coming from a Crespi boy that's got to mean something. :D

[Van]

From what I've heard, Barkley has Claussen beaten in terms of the intangibles: better attitude, better leader, more mature, etc.

Barkley was never going to show up as a freshman in a limo, with shades and a gay haircut.

Definitely a bigger arm, as well.

USC needs to win with the running game and defense, with the passing game putting points on the board as necessary.
An NFL game plan, basically.

If you guys beat Michigan, hey, you're on your way to a decent record, and you should beat Michigan.

[Laxplayer]

Like I've said, I've never liked Claussen. Way too much arrogance from the get go and I think part of that has to do with his high school success. Things came way too easy for him. Like I said, I like Crist a lot better. I met him and had a nice chat with him during a passing league his senior year at NDHS, then after they played Saugus in a game I called on TV. Great kid, great attitude, great perspective. Jimmy came in thinking everything was going to be easy for him and he flat out sucked until the Hawaii game last year, but that was Hawaii. Actually do something vs. a real team then pop off about how good you are.