3afan
01-03-2006, 02:36 PM
kinda long, but .....................
USC (12-0) vs. Texas (12-0)
It seems like every year there's a new Greatest (something) Ever, but this really does have the potential to be a history-making event from USC's attempt at a second straight BCS national title, and a third straight AP championship, to Matt Leinart's claim to being the most accomplished college quarterback of all-time, to Vince Young possibly being ranked among the best college quarterbacks ever, to Reggie Bush possibly finalizing his spot among the all-time running back greats. Most importantly, this has the potential to be a flat-out killer of a game.
Unlike last year when the controversy of an unbeaten Auburn being left out of the national title mix put a damper on what turned out to be a dud of an Orange Bowl, there's no question that the two best teams are playing for the championship.
USC finished first in the nation in total offense, Texas finished third. Texas finished first in scoring, USC finished second. Texas outscored its opponents by an average of over 36 points per game, USC outscored its opponents by an average of 29 points per game. These are two mega-watt, star-powered teams that started the year 1-2 and have been building week after week to create a game of Super Bowl proportions.
USC has won 34 straight including an AP national title in 2003 and a BCS national championship last year. It's a star-studded team that's tougher, both mentally and physically, than it gets credit for, able to navigate its way to a second-straight unbeaten season despite having a ten-mile wide target on its back. It was able to come up with an epic comeback win to beat Notre Dame, simply outslugged Fresno State when challenged, and every time some pumped up team thought it had a shot, USC answered by going nuclear.
Texas, for all of its hype, coverage, and notoriety, still appears to be underrated on a national scale. Despite winning 19 straight and 23 of its last 24, it's not being given much of a chance by most prognosticators. After all, Oklahoma was supposed to be just as good as USC last year.
All the pieces are there to live up to all of the buildup, and then some. These are two ridiculously talented, dead even teams that can both be considered among the best ever. Texas is better on the lines, but USC has the superior skill players. Mack Brown won some big games, but Pete Carroll knows how to win a national title. These two teams, and the stars, have played in the biggest of big games over the last few years and shouldn't let nerves be an issue. Both know how to pull off impressive comebacks, so a big early lead for either side won't necessarily mean it's over.
Expect and demand a classic.
Players to watch: You know everything there is to know about Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Vince Young, and the other main stars. They'll be the ones who'll be the biggest playmakers, but it'll take big performances from a few unsung playmakers to turn the tide.
RT Justin Blalock, RG Will Allen, C Lyle Sendlein, LG Kasey Studdard, and LT Jonathan Scott. These five form the nation's best offensive line, and they have to dominate if Texas is going to win. Blalock, if he chooses to leave early, and Scott are near locks for the first round of next year's draft. They're both surprisingly mobile for their size (6-7, 310 for Scott and 6-4, 329 for Blalock), with Blalock almost certain to be a top guard at the next level. While these two are the All-Americans, Studdard, the nastiest one of the bunch, might be the key. Texas has to have an attitude and punch USC right in the mouth from the opening snap. That will have to come from the front five.
Oklahoma had a talented, best-in-the-nation offensive line going into the 2005 Orange Bowl and still got whupped. This isn't the same USC defensive line as last year's, when it was led by Mike Patterson and Shaun Cody, but it's still good. Sophomore Lawrence Jackson became exactly what the team needed leading the way with ten sacks and 13 tackles for loss. On the other side, senior Frostee Rucker had to be the leader of the line as the team's most experienced player coming into the season, and he came through finishing second in tackles with 51 stops to go along with 6.5 sacks. These two have to get a little bit of pressure on Young and not let him get comfortable in the pocket. While Young is one of college football's greatest scramblers, he's an average passer on the move.
While Aaron Harris is UT's best linebacker, the outside LBs, Robert Killebrew and Rashad Bobino, must be the defense's biggest playmakers to keep Bush in check and disguise their blitzes well against Leinart. Killebrew is the better pass rusher, while Bobino, just a redshirt freshman, is growing into a rock against the run.
USC will win if... it gets into USC championship mode right off the bat, and Leinart plays like Leinart. It's not like the Trojans were overconfident against Fresno State or Notre Dame, but they couldn't seem to find that extra gear until they absolutely had to. This team is like an elite boxer that sometimes needs a few rounds to find the weakness before exploiting it over and over and over again. There might not be time to do that against Texas.
USC hasn't faced a truly strong run defense all season long, with the slight exception of Notre Dame's, whose stats are better than the actual D. While many have already put him in Canton, Bush isn't likely to be much of a factor. This isn't UCLA or Fresno State he's facing; he's not going to have the space or the holes to run through like he's used to.
This one is on Leinart.
He has to be every bit the cool, calm, confident leader he has been throughout USC's phenomenal winning streak, give or take an emotional case of the yips to start out the UCLA game. While USC hasn't faced a killer run D, Texas hasn't dealt with a combination of receivers and passing game like it'll face in Pasadena. Texas Tech can throw, but the receiving corps isn't next-level quality. Ohio State might have one of the most talented 1-2 receiving punches in the nation in Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr., but the passing game wasn't rolling early in the year.
Texas will win if... Vince Young's passing game is finely tuned, and the running backs pound and pound and pound some more. While the supporting cast is better than you think, it's all on Young, who led the nation in passing efficiency, to make the engine run. On the flip side, Leinart can be off and Bush and LenDale White can carry the load, and vice versa.
Young ran 20 times against Ohio State and 21 times against Oklahoma State; it's no coincidence that those were two of the team's three battles this year. The third was against A&M when Young had his worst passing performance of the season. He came up with his biggest passing plays when he was able to sit back behind his tremendous line, relax, wind up and deliver. That only happens if the line is on, the running backs are effective, and the opposing team's pass rush is neutralized.
USC only faced two top offensive lines this year, Notre Dame's and Cal's. Everyone knows what happened against the Irish, while Cal might have made it interesting if QB Joe Ayoob didn't deliver four interceptions. Arkansas was the best running team USC faced, but that was before the young Hogs knew what they were doing. Texas needs Young to deliver with his arm, but it also needs to keep pounding away with its bevy of backs and testing the USC front seven. Most teams abandon the ground game against USC because they have to play catch up, but Texas has to keep on pushing.
What will happen: Oklahoma 26, USC 13. That was the CFN prediction for last year's Orange Bowl, and it might have been just a weeeeee bit off. Learning from the lesson of underestimating Pete Carroll and his staff with over a month to prepare, the pick up until just after Christmas was going to be USC to win in a classic. This appeared to be a dead-even game from the start with USC the slight favorite as long as something didn't tip the scales.
And then ESPN screwed things up.
The college football karma gods tend to kick teams in the cheese and biscuits when they're being called the best ever before the job is actually finished. 2003 Oklahoma was being talked about as the greatest of all-time until Darren Sproles and Kansas State ended that discussion. Articles were written about the 1983 Nebraska team being the most dominant ever before Bernie Kosar and Miami had other ideas. Now, ESPN had this Dewey Defeats Truman idea to compare USC to the top ten teams of all-time and letting the fans vote on who'd win. Shock of shocks, USC is blowing through everyone.
It's as if the world needs to be reminded that Texas is very, very good. College teams have a way of using that "disrespect" tag for motivation better than anyone in any other sport, and Texas is certainly feeling like the Nicole Ritchie on this show. Think Ohio State vs. Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.
Leinart will come up with three touchdown passes and over 300 passing yards, but look for the Longhorn defensive line to keep the Trojan ground game in check, and for Young to make just enough big plays to keep the game alive until one last clutch drive to pull off the semi-shocker. But if VY and UT ends up pulling a Jason White and OU, then it really will be time to call USC one of the best ever.
Line: USC -7 ... CFN Prediction: Texas 38 ... USC 34
USC (12-0) vs. Texas (12-0)
It seems like every year there's a new Greatest (something) Ever, but this really does have the potential to be a history-making event from USC's attempt at a second straight BCS national title, and a third straight AP championship, to Matt Leinart's claim to being the most accomplished college quarterback of all-time, to Vince Young possibly being ranked among the best college quarterbacks ever, to Reggie Bush possibly finalizing his spot among the all-time running back greats. Most importantly, this has the potential to be a flat-out killer of a game.
Unlike last year when the controversy of an unbeaten Auburn being left out of the national title mix put a damper on what turned out to be a dud of an Orange Bowl, there's no question that the two best teams are playing for the championship.
USC finished first in the nation in total offense, Texas finished third. Texas finished first in scoring, USC finished second. Texas outscored its opponents by an average of over 36 points per game, USC outscored its opponents by an average of 29 points per game. These are two mega-watt, star-powered teams that started the year 1-2 and have been building week after week to create a game of Super Bowl proportions.
USC has won 34 straight including an AP national title in 2003 and a BCS national championship last year. It's a star-studded team that's tougher, both mentally and physically, than it gets credit for, able to navigate its way to a second-straight unbeaten season despite having a ten-mile wide target on its back. It was able to come up with an epic comeback win to beat Notre Dame, simply outslugged Fresno State when challenged, and every time some pumped up team thought it had a shot, USC answered by going nuclear.
Texas, for all of its hype, coverage, and notoriety, still appears to be underrated on a national scale. Despite winning 19 straight and 23 of its last 24, it's not being given much of a chance by most prognosticators. After all, Oklahoma was supposed to be just as good as USC last year.
All the pieces are there to live up to all of the buildup, and then some. These are two ridiculously talented, dead even teams that can both be considered among the best ever. Texas is better on the lines, but USC has the superior skill players. Mack Brown won some big games, but Pete Carroll knows how to win a national title. These two teams, and the stars, have played in the biggest of big games over the last few years and shouldn't let nerves be an issue. Both know how to pull off impressive comebacks, so a big early lead for either side won't necessarily mean it's over.
Expect and demand a classic.
Players to watch: You know everything there is to know about Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Vince Young, and the other main stars. They'll be the ones who'll be the biggest playmakers, but it'll take big performances from a few unsung playmakers to turn the tide.
RT Justin Blalock, RG Will Allen, C Lyle Sendlein, LG Kasey Studdard, and LT Jonathan Scott. These five form the nation's best offensive line, and they have to dominate if Texas is going to win. Blalock, if he chooses to leave early, and Scott are near locks for the first round of next year's draft. They're both surprisingly mobile for their size (6-7, 310 for Scott and 6-4, 329 for Blalock), with Blalock almost certain to be a top guard at the next level. While these two are the All-Americans, Studdard, the nastiest one of the bunch, might be the key. Texas has to have an attitude and punch USC right in the mouth from the opening snap. That will have to come from the front five.
Oklahoma had a talented, best-in-the-nation offensive line going into the 2005 Orange Bowl and still got whupped. This isn't the same USC defensive line as last year's, when it was led by Mike Patterson and Shaun Cody, but it's still good. Sophomore Lawrence Jackson became exactly what the team needed leading the way with ten sacks and 13 tackles for loss. On the other side, senior Frostee Rucker had to be the leader of the line as the team's most experienced player coming into the season, and he came through finishing second in tackles with 51 stops to go along with 6.5 sacks. These two have to get a little bit of pressure on Young and not let him get comfortable in the pocket. While Young is one of college football's greatest scramblers, he's an average passer on the move.
While Aaron Harris is UT's best linebacker, the outside LBs, Robert Killebrew and Rashad Bobino, must be the defense's biggest playmakers to keep Bush in check and disguise their blitzes well against Leinart. Killebrew is the better pass rusher, while Bobino, just a redshirt freshman, is growing into a rock against the run.
USC will win if... it gets into USC championship mode right off the bat, and Leinart plays like Leinart. It's not like the Trojans were overconfident against Fresno State or Notre Dame, but they couldn't seem to find that extra gear until they absolutely had to. This team is like an elite boxer that sometimes needs a few rounds to find the weakness before exploiting it over and over and over again. There might not be time to do that against Texas.
USC hasn't faced a truly strong run defense all season long, with the slight exception of Notre Dame's, whose stats are better than the actual D. While many have already put him in Canton, Bush isn't likely to be much of a factor. This isn't UCLA or Fresno State he's facing; he's not going to have the space or the holes to run through like he's used to.
This one is on Leinart.
He has to be every bit the cool, calm, confident leader he has been throughout USC's phenomenal winning streak, give or take an emotional case of the yips to start out the UCLA game. While USC hasn't faced a killer run D, Texas hasn't dealt with a combination of receivers and passing game like it'll face in Pasadena. Texas Tech can throw, but the receiving corps isn't next-level quality. Ohio State might have one of the most talented 1-2 receiving punches in the nation in Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr., but the passing game wasn't rolling early in the year.
Texas will win if... Vince Young's passing game is finely tuned, and the running backs pound and pound and pound some more. While the supporting cast is better than you think, it's all on Young, who led the nation in passing efficiency, to make the engine run. On the flip side, Leinart can be off and Bush and LenDale White can carry the load, and vice versa.
Young ran 20 times against Ohio State and 21 times against Oklahoma State; it's no coincidence that those were two of the team's three battles this year. The third was against A&M when Young had his worst passing performance of the season. He came up with his biggest passing plays when he was able to sit back behind his tremendous line, relax, wind up and deliver. That only happens if the line is on, the running backs are effective, and the opposing team's pass rush is neutralized.
USC only faced two top offensive lines this year, Notre Dame's and Cal's. Everyone knows what happened against the Irish, while Cal might have made it interesting if QB Joe Ayoob didn't deliver four interceptions. Arkansas was the best running team USC faced, but that was before the young Hogs knew what they were doing. Texas needs Young to deliver with his arm, but it also needs to keep pounding away with its bevy of backs and testing the USC front seven. Most teams abandon the ground game against USC because they have to play catch up, but Texas has to keep on pushing.
What will happen: Oklahoma 26, USC 13. That was the CFN prediction for last year's Orange Bowl, and it might have been just a weeeeee bit off. Learning from the lesson of underestimating Pete Carroll and his staff with over a month to prepare, the pick up until just after Christmas was going to be USC to win in a classic. This appeared to be a dead-even game from the start with USC the slight favorite as long as something didn't tip the scales.
And then ESPN screwed things up.
The college football karma gods tend to kick teams in the cheese and biscuits when they're being called the best ever before the job is actually finished. 2003 Oklahoma was being talked about as the greatest of all-time until Darren Sproles and Kansas State ended that discussion. Articles were written about the 1983 Nebraska team being the most dominant ever before Bernie Kosar and Miami had other ideas. Now, ESPN had this Dewey Defeats Truman idea to compare USC to the top ten teams of all-time and letting the fans vote on who'd win. Shock of shocks, USC is blowing through everyone.
It's as if the world needs to be reminded that Texas is very, very good. College teams have a way of using that "disrespect" tag for motivation better than anyone in any other sport, and Texas is certainly feeling like the Nicole Ritchie on this show. Think Ohio State vs. Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.
Leinart will come up with three touchdown passes and over 300 passing yards, but look for the Longhorn defensive line to keep the Trojan ground game in check, and for Young to make just enough big plays to keep the game alive until one last clutch drive to pull off the semi-shocker. But if VY and UT ends up pulling a Jason White and OU, then it really will be time to call USC one of the best ever.
Line: USC -7 ... CFN Prediction: Texas 38 ... USC 34