The Stable?

THE STABLE. That's the name that was given to USC's collection of H.S. All-American tailbacks. The Stable performed well in the season opener against Virginia where they amassed over 200 yards rushing and all but Broderick Green found the endzone. The Stable was put on the shelf in the Ohio St. game in favor of the McKnight Show. Where McKnight carried the ball 12 times for 105 yards against the Buckeyes. And now, after a disappointing loss last Thursday in Corvallis, I wonder if Carroll's philosophy behind the Stable can actually work.

I'm going to make the assumption that this concept was devised as a method of managing egos. You have six former H.S. All-American tailbacks, all of which were ranked near the top of their respective classes, they all believe they are the best at their position and they all want the ball. Now there's nothing wrong with this mentality. In fact, this is exactly the type of player Carroll recruits. If you don't think you're the best at your position and that you can beat out any other player, then Carroll wont even consider offering you a scholarship. This should be Carroll's guiding principle in formulating the game plan as well.

The week leading up to a game, whichever two tailbacks execute the game plan the best will play on Saturday. Its as simple as that. True competition. Carroll cannot simply say he wants players to compete, and not reward those competitors for "Winning." Its not a true competition if there's nothing at stake. If the coaches are going to try to get everyone carries on gameday anyway.

Let's look back at the Oregon St. game. Stafon and Gable were the two most productive backs in that game, each averaging over 6 yards a carry. If each of those two backs had carried the ball 15 times we would have had 2 100 yard rushers, not to mention a few rushing touchdowns. Giving each back 15 carries would also allow them to get into a rhythm. You cant expect to hit very many home runs if you're only given one at bat.

So enough with the managing egos philosophy. Only the best should play. And those on the bench can either choose to work harder, get better, and wait for their opportunity or transfer.

Fight On!

Beat the Ducks!

Countdown to Kickoff: 4 Days

As we continue on our daily countdown towards the 2007 season, we are now just 4 days away from kicking off the season this Saturday at the Coliseum. There's a double-shot of Trojans wearing #4 this season, hard-hitting junior safety Kevin Ellison and the top rated recruit of the 2007 freshmen class in Joe McKnight...

Ellison (above) is arguably the hardest hitter in all of college football (although Patrick Cowan might think otherwise), but is also one of the most underrated players in the country. When people talk about USC's defense, you usually hear about the 10 returning starters or the linebacking corps that many consider the best in the country, but rarely is there ever a mention of Ellison. The Pac-10 knows about Ellison though, just ask Berkeley's DeSean Jackson, who provides stability at safety and is also a team leader.

Freshman tailback Joe McKnight came to USC with aspirations of greatness, but is still trying to grasp life as a college football player. Although he seemed to struggle quite a bit during fall camp, he never wavered or hung his head. McKnight is very talented and offers the USC offense so much versatility, and now it's just a matter of time before he catches up to the speed of the game and feels fully comfortable with the playbook. Hopefully he'll be healthy and ready to go for the Idaho game on Saturday.

Fight On!

The Future...

Nice little glimpse into the future of USC Football...

That's incoming freshman center Kristofer O'Dowd snapping to quarterback Mitch Mustain, and the jewel of USC's 2007 recruiting class Joe McKnight in the backfield.

These guys are going to terrorize opposing defenses in 2008.

Fight On!

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