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.”