Content provided in partnership with

Troy fecta: USC will win its third straight national championship with a glut of talent that's downright offensive

Sporting News, The, Dec 23, 2005 by Matt Hayes

Assistant coaches. Remember that? That was the key "issue" last summer. You know, the one fatal flaw for Southern California, the kryptonite, the beginning of the end for the powerful dynasty and all that other cliched jibberish that every armchair dork worth his weight in Cheetos spewed when the talk radio host cued him up.

All the talk was about the loss of offensive guru Norm Chow. And defensive line coach Ed Orgeron. And a handful of other guys who ran the show and helped coach Pete Carroll mold the scariest back-to-back national champions ever. Yeah, well, a funny thing happened on the way to 9-3 and the Holiday Bowl.

Talent won out.

Most Popular Articles in Sports: The first family: Archie, Peyton and Eli are incredibly famous, immensely ...; The growing gap: driving distances are skyrocketing on the PGA Tour. So why ...; Which pistol caliber for self defense? Four different people come to four ...; Drag racing - National Hot Rod Association; The world's most popular .22: the Marlin Model 60 just keeps on ticking; More »

"Sometimes," says USC quarterback Matt Leinart, "I look around this locker room and see the guys we have and think, 'Man, does anyone really know how good we have it?'

"We're beginning to get the idea.

A year after it couldn't possibly get better in Troy, USC struts to the stage and presents yet another best: the best offense in the history of the game. Doesn't matter that the defense is in transition or that the team occasionally plays bored and flips the switch when it feels ready. Or, as Carroll boasts, that USC still hasn't played a complete game. The offense--the thrill-a-minute, did-you-just-see-that offense--can get these Trojans out of any jam. That includes what will be their biggest test in three years: Texas in the Rose Bowl.

"To beat them," says one Pac-10 defensive coordinator, "you've got to have the kind of players that can match up physically, that can knock them down a peg and make them start to think instead of instinctively reacting. More times than not, it's about the players."

If anyone has recruited as well as USC over the past four years, it's Texas. If anyone has the speed and physical ability to match up with USC, it's Texas. If anyone has the right guy pushing the right buttons as coach, it's Texas. Yeah, Texas. All those wisecracks about Mack Brown and his inability to win the big one? In the past 12 months, the Longhorns have come back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to win last season's Rose Bowl, from six down in the fourth quarter to win at Ohio State, tossed around nemesis Oklahoma and won a conference championship for the first time since 1996. Whew.

And--deep breath, everyone--they insist the transformation isn't complete. There's one game remaining.

"It has been a fantastic year," says tight end David Thomas. "Now we have to make it memorable."

And look who's in the way. The team that, according to one NFL scout, has "at least 40 players that will be drafted over the next three years." So how, for the love of God, does Texas keep from avoiding the sins of the Big 12's past? The USC-Oklahoma Orange Bowl national title game last season was supposed to be the biggest thing in college football since facemasks.

Midway through the second quarter, the unbeaten, untested Big 12 champion Sooners (sound familiar, Texas?) looked like any other overmatched Pac-10 team, searching for anything to slow the freight train. Now all of a sudden another Big 12 team--this one with zero recent championship game history--is going to be the team that does what no one has done since California's three-overtime win in September 2003?

"You can't duplicate their speed," says Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, whose team lost, 70-17, to USC in September. "I think we have some pretty fast players in our conference. But, boy, can they run. And it's not just one or two guys. That's what shocks you from the first snap of the game."

The reality is Texas is going to need help. Whether it be from turnovers, mental mistakes or missed opportunities, the Longhorns have to capitalize on any gifts and have to play to win at every turn. Fourth-down conversions, fake punts, gadget plays--whatever it takes. "You can't kick field goals and beat them," says Fresno State coach Pat Hill.

For all those slow starts this season (Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona) and the two near losses (Notre Dame, Fresno State), the Trojans always have the extra gear to get out of trouble. Whether it's a fourth-and-long throw from Leinart or a jaw-dropping 500-plus total yards from Reggie Bush or an interception by Darnell Bing, this team doesn't flinch.

"If you remember, we had a bunch of close games last year," Bush says. "But the one that mattered wasn't close."

Talent won out then against Oklahoma--55-19. It will win out again against Texas.

BLOG ALERT

'Play this game in Pasadena, Texas. Then we'd have ourselves a real y'allgame, and Texas wins going away.'

Think College Football Insider Matt Hayes is all hat and no Longhorns? Executive editor Bob Hille does, and that's why he defends Texas and blasts Pasadena, Calif., as a "neutral site" in our Rose Bowl blog-o-rama. Go ahead and jump in on either side at s sportingnews.com.

Look how far they've come

Troy fecta: USC will win its third straight national championship with a glut of talent that's downright offensive

Sporting News, The, Dec 23, 2005 by Matt Hayes

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Health

Most Popular Articles in Sports

Most Popular Publications in Sports