The USC Trojans are preparing to play the Boston College Eagles in the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park in San Francisco, but questions still swirl around the team and their play this season on and off the field.
Here are just five questions the Trojans will answer by the end of the day:
1. Will Joe McKnight be playing in the game or just washing his Land Rover?
McKnight received the OK from the Trojan compliance office to head back to practice on Christmas Eve. However, there is still no word whether or not McKnight will be in the Cardinal and Gold for the bowl game.
Explanation given about the SUV: McKnight’s girlfriend is the secretary for Santa Monica marketing expert, Scott Schneter, who was just helping his secretary purchase a new car. Coincidentally, she is also McKnight’s girlfriend, and mother of his child. Oh yeah, Schneter also owns the web domain, “www.4joemcknight.com” (wouldn’t it have been great if the Web site were just a picture of the Land Rover?)
What’s the big deal? There are NCAA violations to consider that could end up spelling the demise of an elite college football program, but for now, in the Emerald Bowl, it is important because the rotation in the backfield for the Trojans was limited by the mid-season throat injury to Stafon Johnson. If McKnight can’t play, the carries will be split between the big back, Allen Bradford, and C.J. Gable or Curtis McNeal.
The drop-off is significant from McKnight to McNeal, which will greatly impact the play calling and more importantly the freshman quarterback, Matt Barkley. The diminished threat of a running game will allow the Eagles to focus on the pass and try to confuse the freshman playing in his first bowl game.
2. Will the Trojans, who are normally great in big games, show up for this second-tier (or even third-tier) bowl game?
Looking at the past seasons, the Trojans generally do well in big games with convincing wins over Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State and anyone with a single digit next to their names, as the Trojans are14-4 against AP Top 10 teams during the Carroll era.
However, the Trojans struggle in “hiccup games” such as Washington ’09, Oregon State ’08 and ’06, Stanford ’07 and UCLA ’06 proving to be beatable against “little brother” opponents.
And let’s face it, the Trojans are used to playing in BCS Bowls with all the glitz and glamour, but this is the first non-BCS Bowl game they have participated in since 2001.
Carroll is great at getting his teams ready to play in the big games, but struggles preparing his teams to play when “no one” is watching.
3. Have the Trojans already mailed-in this season, and was the postage placed on the season during the Mark Sanchez press conference last year?
“I’m anxious for the season to end,” Carroll told Scott Wolf of the LA Daily News. “It’s been a long season. We’ve had some rough spots. I’m ready to get started on the next one.”
Wow! Inspiring stuff for the old ball club.
Maybe that is why Carroll “appeared” so angry during the press conference last year when Sanchez announced his decision to forego his senior season an become the hottest commodity on NFL draft day. Couple that with the pre-season decision to give the reins of the offense to the freshman quarterback and the subsequent underwhelming offensive output throughout the year, points to this season being nothing more than a throw away and a preparation for the future.
But now, the 8-4 Trojans have to play one more “insignificant” game against an “inferior” team from a “substandard” conference, the ACC. An attitude like that can get a “superior” team punched in the mouth and left wondering who hit them — especially a team wanting the season to just end.
4. What defense will show up for the game?
Will it be the defense that was humiliated by Oregon and Stanford? Or will it be the defense that sacked Notre Dame, shut down Ohio State and turned-over UCLA?
The reality is, for a defense that gives up on average 131 ypg rushing, 212 ypg passing, 343 ypg in total offense, 20 points per game and with an even give away to take away ratio, that their strength is playing one-dimensional teams without a mobile quarterback.
Good News: BC’s quarterback is not mobile and they rely heavily on the legs of running back Montel Harris, who averages 113 ypg.
5. Will Jeremy Bates open up the playbook for Barkley, and will that give hope to the Trojan fans for next year?
The NFL rumor mill is running rampant around offensive assistant Jeremy Bates and that just might be the Christmas present Trojan fans have been begging for.
Much of the year, fans have been calling on Bates to take the shackles off Barkley and show creativity in the offensive play calling, but Bates has been trapped between a freshman quarterback and a stable of great running backs.
Now, word is that the NFL might come calling to the assistant leaving this game as the final visual calling card to the owners and head coaches. If Bates wants to impress the NFL onlookers, then he will try to put up big numbers on the scoreboard generally reserved for baseball scores.
If that happens and the Trojans show some offensive firepower, Bates could be running to the NFL and Trojan fans could be overjoyed about next year for more than one reason.
* * * * * *
These questions and many more will be answered at as the game airs on ESPN at 5 p.m. PST. However as always, the biggest question that will be answered is: “Who is going to win this game?”
Related posts:
- ⊚ Déjà vu at Tradition U
- ⊚ A BCS Bowl Prediction from The Sports Union
- ⊚ Much Ado About A Quarterback
- ⊚ The Pac-10: A Perfect Storm and a 6-Way Tie
- ⊚ The Sports Union’s College Football Preview
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Thank you very much for that marvelous article
“The drop-off is significant from McKnight to McNeal, which will greatly impact the play calling and more importantly the freshman quarterback, Matt Barkley. The diminished threat of a running game will allow the Eagles to focus on the pass and try to confuse the freshman playing in his first bowl game.”
Why was this even in your story? McNeal really he is like the 6th RB and as expected by most didn’t see the field. Obviously with no McKnight it was up to Bradford and Gable to carry the load, and they did a fine job, and allowed Barkley to make some nice throws. You really missed the mark on that one.
Hahahaha – Chris, maybe you missed it when you were listen to that annoying windbag of a band leader shouting but McNeal did play. Listed as #3 RB on depth chart and had one carry (just two less than CJ Gable). If you have been to any practices (like I have on a weekly basis) you would have noticed that, your boy, Gable has been practicing with the scout offense for the first-team defense … He has been in the dog house all year with Pete and assigned to the return team (when Damian needs a breather) … When McKnight goes pro (because he will have to because of his selfishness with the vehicle) McNeal will beat out CJ Gable for the backup position behind Bradford.
And btw – “Bradford and Gable to carry the load, and they did a fine job” … Bradford got just a couple carries more than usual and they sent the other attempts to the passing game.