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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 3585, member: 289"] Saturday September 17th 8PM at Southern California TV: FX (Fox) When this game was scheduled, it was to be a confrontation of two old buddies and college roommates, Pete Carroll and Greg Robinson. Our AD, Daryl Gross, had come here from USC and asked Carroll who he thought Gross should hire for the SU job and he immediately said “Greg Robinson”. Both are now gone from the scene, Carroll escaping NCAA sanctions by jumping to the NFL and G-Rob having been ridden out of town on a rail after going a pathetic 10-37. Ironically Lane Kiffin was mentioned for the SU job after Robinson left. Instead he got a job he liked better at Tennessee and one he liked even more at USC. The guy has a career head coaching record of 20 wins and 26 losses yet he keeps getting these great jobs, mostly because he brings his father, legendary defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, with him. Both teams were 8-5 last year. That’s where the comparison ends. At Syracuse, that was a major accomplishment. At USC, that was a disaster they are trying to recover from. USC is facing probation that will deprive them of scholarships and keep them off TV for a time- but it hasn’t been put into effect yet. They went out and recruited one of the nation’s top recruiting classes to tide them over until the sanctions wear off. This game will be a battle of our 2 and 3 star recruits vs. their 4 and 5 star recruits. I’m sure our guys will be reminded of that and they will be motivated to prove those ratings wrong. But an entire team of more highly rated players is going to be tough to beat. If you combined the teams the vast majority of the starters would likely be their guys. Quarterback Matt Barkley had the kind of year last year we are hoping Ryan Nassib will have this year: 236 of 377 (62.6) 2791 yards, 26TDs, 12 interceptions. His top target is the Pac 10 offensive freshman of the year, Robert Woods, who had 65 catches but for a somewhat modest 792 yards, (12.2) and 6 TDs. Marc Tyler and Dillon Baxter are “a devastating tailback tandem” per The Sporting News. But they lack experience in the offensive line losing three starters. Monte Kiffin’s defense gave up a shocking 400.1 yards per game last year. His legend comes from his stint in the pros and sometimes pro coaches have a tough time adjusting to college talent and schemes, (G-Rob had two Super Bowl rings as a defensive coordinator). Athlon: If there is a strength to this unit, it’s up front, where there is a talented group of experienced players led by end Nick Perry. The linebacking was somewhat less than credible a year ago. “. TJ McDonald is a” a star in the making” at safety. They’ve got a freshman place-kicker and punter, so their kicking game is a question mark. Five teams beat these guys a year ago, three of them in the LA Coliseum. When SU last played there, 11/25/67, Rick Cassata and Larry Csonka walked all over Gary Beban’s UCLA team, 32-14 a week after their famous confrontation with OJ Simpson‘s USC team. So we can win there. We probably won’t but we have to believe we can to play well at all. Their stats from last year: Offense- rushing 189.3 (25th) passing 242.2 (41st ), total 431.5 (26th) scoring 31.0 (37th) Defense- rushing 140.5 (49th) passing 259.5 (109th) total 400.1 (84th) scoring 26.7 (63rd ) Turnover margin: +4 (36th) [/QUOTE]

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