Wow, what a dream BCS NC matchup. Both teams have 2 heisman contenders, great coaching staffs, great talent, great traditional programs, etc. etc. etc.
Trojans looked HUNG OVER tonite, a little FAT and HAPPY w/themselves....while Oklahoma looked lean, mean, and HUNGRY!
This is what a team (USC in this case) looks like when they are more worried about the following (pick one or ALL) than playing a game:
1) coaches leaving/staying...
2) the Heisman Trophy...
3) looking good for pollsters...
4) am I going to the NFL or not?
5) what's my stat-line look like?
6) is ESPN here?
Looks like Pete & Co. have ALOT of work to do. Ucla (and Oklahoma) may have done them a BIG favor tonite. .
One thing's for sure: the SC team that came to the Rose Bowl tonite gets beat badly in the Orange Bowl. I highly doubt you will see a repeat of tonights performance in the OB. Remember how USC played in their last 2 BCS bowl games
OU has not faced a team like USC all year. Same could be said for USC. However, I think USC has played the slightly stronger SOS. USC defense has faced better offenses all year. I am not sure which team has faced better defenses. I do know USC has beat 2 BCS teams this year which is very impressive. I think schedule opponents favor USC over OU.
QB's are prob. a wash except we don't know how well White will react against pressure and a sophisticated defense. OU only put up 13pts against the best defense they faced all year and that was against Texas. Everyone here knows White gets ALL DAY to throw with that SUPERB/VETERAN OL he has protecting him. Same is said about Peterson. That same OL opens some PRETTY BIG holes for AD.
Can the USC DL stop the OU rushing attack and put pressure on White? I don't think anybody really can answer that question and that will be the key to the game IMO.
Can OU defense stop all the explosive weapons on the USC offense? Chow will have a month to prepare for OU and we all know how good he is. OU has not faced a player like Reggie Bush all year and an offense with as many explosive weapons as USC. On the other hand, the USC defense has faced CAL which has an explosive offense. Especially when they were healthy when they played USC. UCLA has an explosive offense with tons of talent and USC defense shut them down pretty well today for the most part.
Where is OU's biggest advantage? EXPERIENCE! This is an extremely young USC team, especially on offense. USC starts only 1 senior and he splits time with a junior. This is a very very young offense and they are NOT consistent. Who would expect them to be? Carroll should get coach of the year award with this young of a USC team. Truly amazing. Next year is USC's NC run. Not this year due to all the injuries/suspensions.
USC has been excellent on special teams coverage up until today. They better get that straightened out and NOT give OU short field position. UCLA killed USC on special teams today except for field goal kicking. OU has excellent special team returners.
I think this will be a fantastic game and I honestly don't know who will win. As of right now I can't make a prediction. Have to see how USC looks in upcoming practices and what the coaches say. I am def. hedging my USC futures wager and will be wagering around 5k total on OU ML or spread. Already on OU ML +173 prop bet for $950 to win over $1500 I put in last night. Right now I see the line is USC -4 and money going on OU. I hope the line starts going the other direction. If USC was playing Auburn, I would NOT be hedging my futures wager. I was hoping for a USC vs AU matchup because I am a lot more confident with a USC win against AU vs OU.
All in all, I do not think you can focus on USC's performance against UCLA today and OU's performance against CO. CO is not a good team and NOT a talented team. Everyone knows that. UCLA is very very talented offense and average at best defense (prob. below average but they played well today). Remember, UCLA had 3 weeks to prepare for USC while USC had 1 week to prepare for UCLA. USC just beat rival ND and then 1 week later had rival UCLA @UCLA. Not easy thing to do beating rivals back to back weeks. Remember that and give credit to UCLA. They played very well today and Dorell had his team prepared and showed no sign of rust today with 3 weeks off.
Any other thoughts on this matchup?
Trojans looked HUNG OVER tonite, a little FAT and HAPPY w/themselves....while Oklahoma looked lean, mean, and HUNGRY!
This is what a team (USC in this case) looks like when they are more worried about the following (pick one or ALL) than playing a game:
1) coaches leaving/staying...
2) the Heisman Trophy...
3) looking good for pollsters...
4) am I going to the NFL or not?
5) what's my stat-line look like?
6) is ESPN here?
Looks like Pete & Co. have ALOT of work to do. Ucla (and Oklahoma) may have done them a BIG favor tonite. .
One thing's for sure: the SC team that came to the Rose Bowl tonite gets beat badly in the Orange Bowl. I highly doubt you will see a repeat of tonights performance in the OB. Remember how USC played in their last 2 BCS bowl games
OU has not faced a team like USC all year. Same could be said for USC. However, I think USC has played the slightly stronger SOS. USC defense has faced better offenses all year. I am not sure which team has faced better defenses. I do know USC has beat 2 BCS teams this year which is very impressive. I think schedule opponents favor USC over OU.
QB's are prob. a wash except we don't know how well White will react against pressure and a sophisticated defense. OU only put up 13pts against the best defense they faced all year and that was against Texas. Everyone here knows White gets ALL DAY to throw with that SUPERB/VETERAN OL he has protecting him. Same is said about Peterson. That same OL opens some PRETTY BIG holes for AD.
Can the USC DL stop the OU rushing attack and put pressure on White? I don't think anybody really can answer that question and that will be the key to the game IMO.
Can OU defense stop all the explosive weapons on the USC offense? Chow will have a month to prepare for OU and we all know how good he is. OU has not faced a player like Reggie Bush all year and an offense with as many explosive weapons as USC. On the other hand, the USC defense has faced CAL which has an explosive offense. Especially when they were healthy when they played USC. UCLA has an explosive offense with tons of talent and USC defense shut them down pretty well today for the most part.
Where is OU's biggest advantage? EXPERIENCE! This is an extremely young USC team, especially on offense. USC starts only 1 senior and he splits time with a junior. This is a very very young offense and they are NOT consistent. Who would expect them to be? Carroll should get coach of the year award with this young of a USC team. Truly amazing. Next year is USC's NC run. Not this year due to all the injuries/suspensions.
USC has been excellent on special teams coverage up until today. They better get that straightened out and NOT give OU short field position. UCLA killed USC on special teams today except for field goal kicking. OU has excellent special team returners.
I think this will be a fantastic game and I honestly don't know who will win. As of right now I can't make a prediction. Have to see how USC looks in upcoming practices and what the coaches say. I am def. hedging my USC futures wager and will be wagering around 5k total on OU ML or spread. Already on OU ML +173 prop bet for $950 to win over $1500 I put in last night. Right now I see the line is USC -4 and money going on OU. I hope the line starts going the other direction. If USC was playing Auburn, I would NOT be hedging my futures wager. I was hoping for a USC vs AU matchup because I am a lot more confident with a USC win against AU vs OU.
All in all, I do not think you can focus on USC's performance against UCLA today and OU's performance against CO. CO is not a good team and NOT a talented team. Everyone knows that. UCLA is very very talented offense and average at best defense (prob. below average but they played well today). Remember, UCLA had 3 weeks to prepare for USC while USC had 1 week to prepare for UCLA. USC just beat rival ND and then 1 week later had rival UCLA @UCLA. Not easy thing to do beating rivals back to back weeks. Remember that and give credit to UCLA. They played very well today and Dorell had his team prepared and showed no sign of rust today with 3 weeks off.
Any other thoughts on this matchup?
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