While USC may not have the star power that it has had in seasons
past, this year’s version of the Trojans may be just as
potent as any in recent history.
Although big-time names such as Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and
LenDale White have all departed for the NFL, USC has not seen a
drop-off in offensive production as a myriad of Trojans have
stepped right into the void left by their former teammates. If UCLA
has any chance at defeating its crosstown rival, it lies with the
ability of the Bruins’ revamped defense to contain the Trojan
offensive attack.
USC comes into Saturday’s contest with a bevy of options
on offense with five first-team All-Pac-10 players on that side of
the ball.
This offensive smorgasbord will undoubtedly be the Bruin’s
toughest test of the season, but the Trojans are well aware that
UCLA’s defense is not to be taken lightly.
“I thought this would be the more difficult game because
of (the) style of defense that UCLA plays,” USC head coach
Pete Carroll said when comparing his matchup with UCLA to their
blowout win against Notre Dame.
“Being that it’s the last game of the year, we have
to stay on course with our preparation. We’re going to do
that by having a great practice each day this week. I know it
sounds boring; it’s not something anyone is going to write a
book about, but that’s all that we can do,” Carroll
said.
The USC offense comes in with a number of options both on the
ground and through the air. Led by senior Dwayne Jarrett, the
Trojans boast one of the best wide receiving corps in the country.
Covering these big and athletic receivers could be the key to
keeping USC in check.
“I believe that we are going to match up well,”
freshman cornerback Alterraun Verner said. “We just have to
work hard; nothing is going to be given to us, and we aren’t
going to give them anything. … It’s going to be a challenge
this weekend, but it is a challenge that we are all looking forward
to.”
Under center, quarterback John David Booty has shown to be a
worthy replacement for Leinart, making full use of his arsenal of
talented receivers while taking advantage of an offensive line that
has given up a paltry 14 sacks this season. The responsibility of
putting pressure on Booty will fall on the Bruins’ formidable
duo of defensive ends Justin Hickman and Bruce Davis.
“Everyone has been writing us off all season for this game
and put (USC) in the national championship, and that’s
fine,” Davis said.
“We don’t want to spoil anything, we just want to go
out there and win the game. We have been watching a lot of film,
and we have a pretty good idea of what they are going to run, so we
are just going to go out and play football and give 100 percent and
everything will take care of itself.”
Davis and the rest of the defensive line will also have their
hands full with USC’s trio of talented running backs, led by
C.J. Gable who has shown to be the most reliable runner in the
Trojans’ arsenal.
In the end, the game may very well come down to turnovers. In
USC’s only loss of the season, the Trojans committed four
costly turnovers against Oregon State. The Bruins are taking the
approach that if they can take the ball away from the Trojan
offense, they will have the best chance at winning the game.
“When you can get a team to turn the ball over four times
and capitalize on it and score, that’s 28 points you can get
right there,” junior linebacker Christian Taylor said.
“Taking something away from the OSU game is that we just
have to create turnovers.”