USC Overrated

[Velcro]

Hey, 83, you need to shrink that photo in your sig, by the way.

Want me to upload a smaller version for you to use?

why does he need to shrink it?

as much as I like that photo, it is a bit on the large size for a signature.

[Velcro]

They aren't undefeated and they lost to a pretty poor team.

They will also lose to ND and I believe they have cal left too right?

I smell 3 losses.

[Bull Dozer]

They aren't undefeated and they lost to a pretty poor team.

They will also lose to ND and I believe they have cal left too right?

I smell 3 losses.

the Irish dont have near enough defensive speed to hang with USC.  Dont believe the media hype USC should win that game going away.  

[USFMikeB]

they lost to Oregon State. LOL. How do they lose to an unranked team. Just shows they have been overrated.

when you have the toughest schedule in the game and are undefeated you are not overated

When you have struggled in almost every game, including against unrated teams, and lose to an unrated team, then you are overrated.  USC was overrated, even the folks that I've talked to in the OC area tonight knew that USC wasn't as good as they were ranked and were hoping that Carroll could somehow pull more wins out of his rear.

[smazza]

they lost to Oregon State. LOL. How do they lose to an unranked team. Just shows they have been overrated.

when you have the toughest schedule in the game and are undefeated you are not overated

When you have struggled in almost every game, including against unrated teams, and lose to an unrated team, then you are overrated.  USC was overrated, even the folks that I've talked to in the OC area tonight knew that USC wasn't as good as they were ranked and were hoping that Carroll could somehow pull more wins out of his rear.

when you have #1 sos and dont lose by any definition you cant be overated.you won every game playing the tougest schedule.technically usc should have been ranked #1

they won all the close games.margin of victory is no longer a criteria for formula

it really cant be explained any clearer

[smazza]

J.A. Adande:

Their BCS dance was a masquerade all along

October 29, 2006

CORVALLIS, Ore.  It's probably better that it ended this way, on a tipped two-point conversion pass with seven seconds remaining. There was no valid reason to extend this game into overtime, just as there was no reason to continue the charade that USC is one of the top teams in the country.

The Trojans did not play well enough to win at Oregon State on Saturday. Truthfully, they haven't played well enough this season to be included in the national championship spotlight.

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As long as they kept winning and the computers kept loving their numbers, the Trojans held an inside lane in the race to the Bowl Championship Series title game. To anyone watching carefully, however, the Trojans' No. 3 ranking looked phony, like a big studio movie topping the weekend box office numbers when it opened against a couple of artsy independent films.

Even the final score of Oregon State's 33-31 victory was deceptive, masking how badly USC was outplayed for three-fourths of the game.

Yes, the Trojans showed heart in fighting back from a 23-point deficit to make it a one-play game, and quarterback John David Booty showed moxie in leading USC to a touchdown in the final minute. But that doesn't mask the soft coverages, weak pass rush and four turnovers that gave Oregon State a 33-10 lead in the first place.

And it doesn't show just how fortunate the Trojans were  thanks to a blocked field goal here, a bungled play there  that the Beavers didn't blow them out in the first half.

"I love the comeback and all that kind of stuff," USC Coach Pete Carroll said. "Right now we aren't patting ourselves on the back about that."

It's a time for self-flagellation, not adulation. It's time for the players to wonder why they aren't performing at their peak, time for the coaches to ask themselves why they're not reaching this group and getting improved results.

"We've been working our butts off trying to get where we're at," USC linebacker Rey Maualuga said. "Come game time, people are, I don't want to say underestimating our opponent, but we're just not playing to where we're supposed to be playing at. People are not playing to the best of their ability. Toward the end, you saw us get deep down and [come] back. I guess we waited until something happened in order to strike back.

"We're not at the best yet. After this loss, hopefully everyone will realize that."

Sounds like a good solution, but this time Maualuga was part of the problem. The Trojans' best defensive player didn't join his unit during the first half as punishment, he said, for missing a special teams meeting Friday morning. That's the type of thing championship players and teams don't do, and it seems as if the Trojans have been stockpiling non-championship moments.

(A disclaimer: no negative comments in this column apply to wide receiver Steve Smith. He was outstanding, with 11 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns. He had a fourth-down catch and the touchdown reception on the final drive that gave the Trojans a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion. His coaches praised his performance and his toughness while dealing with the lingering effects of an ankle injury.)

There was no excuse for the Trojans to get outplayed Saturday. They were coming off a bye that seemed to restore the health and spirit of the team.

Yes, they were on the road, but it's not as if Reser Stadium is the most hostile environment in the Pacific 10. California and Washington State came in here and won in Oregon State's two previous home games.

The Beavers took the lead on the opening drive, passing at will. The best USC could do from there was tie the score for about four minutes in the second quarter.

But it's almost as if USC was building to this moment instead of building a championship platform. The Trojans' 20-3 win at Arizona wasn't that easy, and they were only a couple of plays away from losing to Washington State and Washington.

Saturday, USC suffered its first Pacific 10 Conference loss since the triple-overtime defeat at Cal on Sept. 27, 2003. In that one  which seems so long ago now, doesn't it?  Carroll was criticized for getting conservative at the end of regulation.

Saturday, Carroll second-guessed himself for going for a touchdown on fourth down at the Beavers' 10-yard line late in the third quarter. Booty's pass for Smith was incomplete.

"I screwed up," Carroll said.

Not really. The Trojans needed three touchdowns and there were 18 minutes remaining. It was a good opportunity. And as it turned out, they got the ball back at the Oregon State 16 when Kyle Loomis botched his punt attempt. The Trojans scored three plays later and the comeback began.

Where Carroll and the staff have messed up is by not getting their message to the players, or not putting them in position to be more effective. Every week, Carroll rues the fact that his team doesn't force turnovers, and now he's to the point that it kills him to say it every week.

Well, turnovers won't happen when the quarterback isn't pressured into bad throws, or there isn't a defensive back within three yards of a receiver, or there isn't a group of players swarming to the ball to cause a fumble.

Saturday, we didn't even see Carroll's famous second-half adjustments. Instead of taking over in the third quarter, the Trojans watched a six-point deficit balloon to 23 in a little more than 10 minutes.

About the only thing left intact was Carroll's unbeaten record in November at USC  and that's purely a function of the calendar.

Oregon, California and Notre Dame are coming in the next month. The Trojans no longer have control of their BCS title game chances. If they don't improve, they could miss out on the Rose Bowl as well.

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande go to latimes.com/Adandeblog.

[smazza]

now with the loss

when looking back at his  record carroll  will be considered  one of best coaches of all time

[smazza]

OREGON STATE 33, NO. 3 USC 31

USC's plans unravel

After tempting fate for weeks, Trojans finally fall, ending 27-game Pac-10 streak

By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer

October 29, 2006

CORVALLIS, Ore.  Week after week, USC flirted with defeat.

The Trojans blew leads, failed to take the ball away from opponents and held on for dear life as games came down to the final possession.

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Despite its nail-biting style, USC dispatched six opponents and was positioned for a run at another national title.

But that dream might have died Saturday, lost amid a flurry of turnovers and mistakes that finally proved too much for the Trojans to overcome.

Oregon State upset third-ranked USC, 33-31, before a rollicking crowd of 42,871 at Reser Stadium.

The Beavers secured the victory by tipping away a possible game-tying two-point conversion pass and recovering an onside kick in the final seconds, sending delirious fans streaming onto the field.

"It was David and Goliath and we just kept saying, 'Chop off their head,' " Oregon State receiver Sammie Stroughter said amid the pandemonium.

The Trojans, though, felled themselves by committing four turnovers and allowing Stroughter to return a punt for a touchdown.

USC nearly overcame a 23-point third-quarter deficit, but could not finish the job against an Oregon State team that was without perhaps its best player, running back Yvenson Bernard.

"It's a great win for them and a very difficult loss for us because we were so hard on ourselves today," Coach Pete Carroll said. "I don't remember the last time we turned the ball over four times, probably the Cal game."

Carroll was referring to USC's 2003 triple-overtime loss at Berkeley, the Trojans' last defeat before starting a 34-game winning streak that did not end until last season's Rose Bowl.

After the Cal loss, USC climbed its way back to the top of the rankings, but finished third in the Bowl Championship Series standings and got shut out of the BCS title game. The Trojans won the Rose Bowl and the Associated Press national title.

A return to another BCS championship game, or even the Rose Bowl, could be extremely difficult. USC entered the game third in the BCS standings. The defeat, which ended the Trojans' 27-game Pacific 10 Conference winning streak, will undoubtedly cause them to drop significantly.

USC must win out against Stanford, Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame and UCLA to have any chance at their third national title in four years.

"You never know," Carroll said. "I mentioned it to [the players]. You never know, and to think that would be making a mistake. It just gets harder. It just depends on how you finish."

Oregon State Coach Mike Riley preached the same concept to his team, which was 2-3 before victories over Washington, Arizona and the Trojans.

"Our coaches have stayed the course; our team has stayed the course," said Riley, who was a candidate for the USC job when Carroll was hired before the 2001 season. "They'll never forget this game and they'll never forget the lesson learned from fighting through."

The Trojans, who had two weeks to prepare because of an open date last week, fought back from a 33-10 deficit built in part on USC turnovers and mistakes.

Quarterback John David Booty had a pass intercepted in the end zone and also fumbled. Running back Chauncey Washington fumbled twice. Meanwhile, the USC defense failed to cause a turnover for the third straight game.

On a crisp day that began foggy but turned sunny as the game wore on, the Trojans appeared to be on their way to the worst loss in the Carroll era.

Oregon State extended a 16-10 halftime lead by scoring 17 unanswered points during a span of about 4 1/2 minutes in the third quarter.

Quarterback Matt Moore started the run with a nine-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joe Newton. Stroughter's 70-yard punt return two minutes later increased the lead to 30-10 before the Beavers capitalized on Washington's second fumble with Alex Serna's fourth field goal to build a 23-point lead.

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Booty brought the Trojans back with a four-yard touchdown pass to Fred Davis at the end of the third quarter and a 37-yard scoring strike to Steve Smith, the Trojans pulling to within eight points when Washington bulled into the end zone for a two-point conversion that made the score 33-25 with 12 minutes 9 seconds remaining.

Serna missed a field-goal attempt and then the Beavers were forced to punt on their next possession, setting the stage for USC's final drive with 2:39 left.

"I felt we had a chance," said Booty, who completed 24 of 39 passes for 406 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. "That's all you really want in that situation is a chance."

Booty completed passes of 32 yards to Dwayne Jarrett and 14 and 22 yards to Smith as the Trojans drove toward the end zone.

"I couldn't even breathe," Oregon State's Newton said. "I was concerned there for my heart for a few minutes."

With seven seconds left and the crowd roaring, Booty fired a second-and-goal pass to Smith on the right side for a touchdown  the last reception of an 11-catch, 258-yard day for Smith.

With no timeouts remaining, USC lined up for another two-point conversion. On the previous one Booty had called an audible, from a pass play to a run.

This time, he looked for Jarrett on the left side in the end zone. However, Oregon State defensive end Jeff Van Orsow tipped the ball and it fell to the ground.

"I had the guy beat," Jarrett said. "I had the guy on the hip. … The ball just didn't get there."

Said Booty: "We were trying to do really the same thing we had done with Steve the play before. We were on the left hash or the left upright so D.J. was obviously a little closer to me and we passed and the guy was there and got his hand on it."

Carroll said the Trojans considered their options before calling the play. "We thought those receivers were hot at the end of the game and we wanted to go to them," he said.

Brandon Powers recovered USC's onside kick, ending the game, USC's 18-game road winning streak and perhaps its bid for the national title.

"It's definitely a sickening feeling," nose tackle Sedrick Ellis said. "But you can't dwell on it. It's sports and you lose some and you win some and you move on and try to win some more."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

gary.klein@latimes.com

[smazza]

osu qb matt moore was a ucla qb that transfered

[USFMikeB]

they lost to Oregon State. LOL. How do they lose to an unranked team. Just shows they have been overrated.

when you have the toughest schedule in the game and are undefeated you are not overated

When you have struggled in almost every game, including against unrated teams, and lose to an unrated team, then you are overrated.  USC was overrated, even the folks that I've talked to in the OC area tonight knew that USC wasn't as good as they were ranked and were hoping that Carroll could somehow pull more wins out of his rear.

when you have #1 sos and dont lose by any definition you cant be overated.you won every game playing the tougest schedule.technically usc should have been ranked #1

they won all the close games.margin of victory is no longer a criteria for formula

it really cant be explained any clearer

I'm not talking about margin of victory, I'm talking about quality of victory.  USC has struggled all season long, and hasn't looked like a championship team at any point in the season.  hence, they are overrated.  Even the stories you've posted above discuss this as a fact.

It really can't be explained any clearer.