613 yards of total offense. 391 rushing yards. 31 first downs. Nearly eight yards per play.
It all added up to a 47-20 drubbing at the hands of Oregon and the end of Southern Cal's seven-year Pac-10 reign. After going over the tape, head coach Pete Carroll said one thing was certain.
The defensive scheme utilized in the game will be banished from the football facility.
Carroll told the media that the scheme the Trojans went with was too complicated for his young defense, and led to them playing tentative and a half-step behind the Ducks.
"You couldn't ask for more experience than we had last year," Carroll said, "so we had the absolute maximum attention and focus and ability. And this might be an indication of that.
"Up until now, I haven't felt like that, but this plan in particular ... it's going in the can. I'm real disappointed it turned out that way."
Overrated team that didn't deserve the ranking that had ........ USC always gets a free pass from the polls.
Hardly a free pass. Rankings are based on wins and losses, strength of schedule, and perceived talent level, as well as recent history. Right or wrong, this is how the system works. USC has been screwed by the poll system before. And BTW, give Oregon some credit - they are a talented team.
I do agree that USC is often overrated. But, they do have a very good team. The big problem that they had with Oregon is that the Ducks are just playing fantastic football. Right now they are most likely the best in the country. Super offense and an even better defense. You can't blame USC for that.
The only teams that I could see maybe beating the Ducks right now would be Boise St. or TCU. Two very underrated teams.
Everytime the Ducks have beat a decent team (Utah, Cal, USC) many fans said the defeated team was overrated. Now we see how Utah and Cal have rebounded and have risen in the polls. USC is a good team; I think they will win out and will rise in the polls. It is time to give the Ducks credit for being good team. The Ducks are a young team, and with a new coach this year, they really blew their first game, and played poorly in the second game (Purdue). But, the Ducks have impressively improved every game. USC will make adjustments and also continue with impressive wins.