NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Pasadena, CA, United States, 11/13/2009 - The 10th week of the college football season is in the books. The PAC-10 continues to prove itself to be the most competitive conference in the land this season.

USC beat Arizona State in a dogfight in the desert last Saturday 14-9. There are no “style point” wins these days and it was crucial to get this win on the road after playing four of the last five away in hostile environments. Stanford played a huge game, upsetting the formerly undefeated in conference Ducks 51-42 in a shootout in Palo Alto. Stanford’s onslaught was lead by redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Luck, the most efficient quarterback in the conference and their 232 lb wrecking ball Toby Gerhart, who pounded the Ducks with 223 yards rushing. Oregon State beat Cal in Berkeley 24-7. Arizona continued its surge with the demolition of Washington State 48-7. UCLA picked up its first conference win by beating the Huskies 24-23 at the Rose Bowl. It is increasingly apparent that any team can win in conference this season not because the teams are down or mediocre but rather because they have all improved and are playing at much higher levels collectively. I believe the primary reason for this is that the coaches in the PAC-10 are second to none from top to bottom. The conference is also loaded with outstanding quarterbacks and their average quarterback rating of 129.37 is ten points better than their counterparts from the SEC.

The National Picture
Alabama took care of business beating LSU, setting up a showdown with Florida December 5th in the SEC Championship Game. Barring a major upset prior to this game, the winner will advance to the BCS Championship, likely to face Texas. The Longhorns continued their dominance putting up huge numbers in rolling UCF 35-3. Iowa fell from the ranks of the unbeaten by stumbling at home to Northwestern 17-10. Cincinnati was taken to the brink but outlasted Connecticut 47-45. Georgia Tech needed two overtimes to get past Wake Forest 30-27. The Buckeyes went to Happy Valley and beat Penn State 24-7. Oregon dropped from the top 10 with their loss to the Cardinal. We are now in the 4th quarter of the season but there is still a lot of football to be played and November will help determine many scenarios. TCU-Utah is a key matchup this Saturday.

ASU Overview
USC came to the desert in search of redemption after suffering the worst loss in the Pete Carroll era against the Ducks. The Oregon debacle was the first “big game” loss that the Trojans had experienced since losing to Vince Young and Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl. It was the first and only game under Coach Carroll in which the Trojans did not finish and looked outclassed. This is increasingly looking like a year of rebuilding vs. reloading but we will know much more in the next few weeks. USC has been forced to overcome many obstacles along the way this season; injuries, new coaches, and the toughest schedule in the country. This game was crucial for the Trojans to get back on track and set the tone for the rest of the season. The defense rebounded in this game holding the Sun Devils to nine points and created four turnovers which felt like an oasis in a never ending desert. They also recorded three sacks and broke up five passes. They held ASU to 81 yards rushing and limited them to 5 of 18 conversions on 3rd downs. Will Harris made a huge play in the 2nd quarter intercepting a pass in the flat and taking it back 55 yards for a touchdown. Christian Tupou also created a huge turnover forcing a fumble in the red zone on ASU’s first drive which was recovered by Josh Pinkard. The USC offense had an anemic day with only 258 yards of total offense and only converted 2 of 13 on the 3rd down. Matt Barkley had his toughest day as a Trojan completing only 7 of 22 passes with an interception (and another 2 turnovers negated by a timeout and a penalty) with only 112 yards passing, 75 of which came on one spectacular play by Damian Williams. The offense was respectable running the ball with 146 net yards rushing but could not sustain any consistency on the ground and the pathetic 3rd down conversion percentage continually placed the Trojans in a vulnerable position. We have to go back five games to Cal in which USC played a solid game on both sides of the football.

Growing Pains
Okay, so the sky is not falling and order will be restored. Young quarterback Matt Barkley has been struggling of late and his decline in efficiency in the 2nd half against Oregon and the entire game vs. Arizona State has been much talked about this week. The common denominator in both of these games has been pressure from the defense on the quarterback. At Oregon two weeks ago, the Duck defense pinned their ears back when they increased the lead over the Trojans in the 2nd half and they created pressure on Barkley. This was the same issue that USC had in the ASU game. Statistically, the offensive line only surrendered one sack but this is very misleading. USC offensive tackles were exposed in this game. ASU’s defensive ends consistently beat them on speed rushes and put pressure on Barkley for the majority of the game. The Trojans got a bitter taste of the best pass defense being a great pass rush. Barkley never settled in and could not get into any type of rhythm. He uncharacteristically threw the ball behind receivers both in the pocket and rolling out on the perimeter. I have talked about his remarkable pocket presence for a freshman but this game he lacked the confidence to stand and deliver and he consistently threw off of his back foot which clearly affected his accuracy. I have no doubt that he will get back on track this week and will lead the Trojans at home down the stretch.

O Line
The game is won and lost in the trenches and the Trojans offensive line must improve quickly in November. Tackles, senior Charles Brown and sophomore Tyron Smith were manhandled by ASU’s defensive ends. The trenches are where the hand to hand combat takes place, frequently with one on one matchups. Offensive linemen must take pride in dominating their opponent, pounding them when running the ball and protecting their quarterback when passing. A lot of the pressure was coming from outside speed pass rushes in which they were getting past the tackles with their quickness and bearing down on Barkley. I have stated that the offensive line is athletic but they will need to get off the ball quickly and get deeper pass sets. It would also help them to take wider splits to move the defensive tackles further outside. The O line has been viewed as a strength of the team going into the season but they have not been playing consistent and disciplined football. Once again, the Trojans racked up penalties with nine for 98 yards. They had several holding penalties that put them in long yardage situations again that made it even more challenging to move the chains. The offense will need to be able to establish the running game with consistency which they have struggled doing. This will be needed so that they can start dominating the line of scrimmage and control games by converting 3rd downs and put long scoring drives together while at the same time keeping dynamic opposing offenses off of the field.

Receivers & Tight Ends
Damian Williams continues to shine every week as a play maker at wide receiver and returning punts. His spectacular 75 yard touchdown reception came after a short catch that he cut back across the field and down the left sideline for a touchdown. This was a huge play that provided the Trojans the points they needed to win the game. Williams picked up some big blocks after catch by tight end Rhett Ellison and a hustling Joe McKnight helped shield him down the sideline. It is highly unlikely that Williams will be well enough to play this weekend. Ronald Johnson will need to step up his productivity and Brice Butler will have an opportunity to make an impact.

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