Countdown to Kickoff: 32 Days

As we continue on our daily countdown towards the 2007 season, we are now 32 days away from getting big things poppin' against the University of Idaho. Jersey #32 has been worn by many running backs, but none quite like the "Juice" O.J. Simpson...

The one major question on this year's USC team is how will Pete Carroll manage the dilemma at running back? I don't think even Carroll knows yet, but I do know one thing, there'd be no race if O.J. Simpson were here. All 10 of the backs competing for playing time would either transfer or change positions, and all of them are blue chip recruits and/or high school All-Americans. That's just how good O.J. was! He is, without question, the king of "Tailback U." Earlier in the countdown I showed why he was so great, here are the links: 67 Days 'til, 68 Days 'til.

Fight On!

Countdown to Kickoff: 67 Days

As we continue on our daily countdown towards the 2007 season, we are now at 67. The date was November 18th, 1967, a day that will long live in college football lore, when USC took down their hated cross-town rivals in what many have called the "Game of the Century."

To say this game had championship drama would be an understatement. A Rose Bowl appearance, and thus a chance at a national title, was at stake for both teams, as top ranked UC-Los Angeles (7-0-1 overall) took on the Trojans (8-1 overall) who were ranked 2nd (Coaches) and 4th (AP), respectively. An interesting sub-plot, as seen by the SI cover above, was the race for the Heisman Trophy between bruins QB Gary Beban and USC tailback O.J. Simpson. Though he finished 2nd for the Heisman, Simpson used this game as a spring board to the 1968 Heisman Trophy which he won the following the season (see previous post). The Trojans triumphed over the bruins once again by a score of 21-20, with O.J. rushing 64 yards for the game-winning TD. Here's the link to view highlights from the entire game and below is a clip of Simpson's amazing run...

USC would go on to win the Rose Bowl and be crowned National Champions.

Fight On!

Countdown to Kickoff: 68 Days

As we continue on our daily countdown towards the 2007 season, we have now reached 68, and to represent this number is USC's 1968 Heisman Trophy award winner O.J. Simpson. The College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana has a display featuring art portraits of every Heisman Trophy winner, and below you can see O.J.'s...

Say what you will about this guy, but he is easily one of the top 5 running backs ever to play the game. This blog is celebrating his time at USC, especially the year 1968, in which he brought home the program's 2nd Heisman Trophy award. When someone mentions Tailback U, the first player that comes to mind is usually Simpson. He ran for 1,709 yards and 22 TDs during that 1968 season, which was good enough to win the Heisman by a record margin of 1,750 points that still stands today. He also took home the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award that season, and was an All-American.

Fight On!