Picture the setting: USC’s Brand new Ronald Tutor Campus Center. 300+ Students and Staff. 11 Members of the USC Trojan Marching Band. One Big Screen. One Objective. To witness the coronation of a new era of Trojan Football. This year fans, students, and faculty of the University of Southern California see a brand new age of the University. Not long ago USC had it’s dedication ceremony for it’s brand new Ronald Tutor Campus Center. They have a new president in Mr. Max Nikais. A completely reorganized Sporting Administration from top to bottom now occupy the offices in Heritage Hall. Not to mention the departure of USC coaching legend Pete Carroll results in the Hiring of former USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. The USC Football program has been handed a set of sanctions which are the harshest penalties given to a Unuversity since 1986 when SMU was revealed to be paying their players under the table.
The USC Sanctions in a nutshell are as followed:
-Two year postseason ban
-Four Years Probation
-The loss of 30 scholarships over three years
-Forfeit of the 2005 Season
It seemed like a dark cloud would hang over the USC Sporting division for years to come. However, the university may have just been handed the greatest rallying cry, the best motivation out there. USC is expected to go 9-4 at best this season. Only a few years ago that would would have been a joke. Only a few years ago a two loss season was reason for concern. Now 9-4 would be an accomplishment. When Lane Kiffin was named head coach, people were very skeptical of his ability to carry on the successful reign of Pete Carroll. Immediately the atmosphere changed. Kiffin and Carroll are opposites in their temperament. Kiffin’s Fall training camp was very serious and business like. There was no goofing around. One thing about Fall camp that drew much skepticism from analysts, was that fact that the defense never engaged in full contact tackle drills. Reason is, due to sanctions, USC no longer has the depth that they’ve been able to capitalize on in the past.
The defense consisted of an experienced front seven, however, the secondary were all true freshman players who made their first full, game speed tackles in Thursday nights game. That lack of hitting practice really showed itself. The Trojans suffered from many missed tackles. Warrior ball carriers were able to, on more than one occasion, break free into open space and make huge plays. The warriors racked up 588 total yards on the Trojan defense. 459 of those were gained by attacking the secondary through the air. USC had or more even approach to their 524 yards, with them gaining only 32 more passing yards than rushing. Now for those of you who like to make the situation worse than it is, I tell you there is hope. Hawaii plays a unique offense known as the “Run and Shoot” offense which takes advantage of a very flexible offense that adjusts as the plays unfold. Hawaii is the only team who uses this type of Offense on USC’s calendar.
Next week USC will face off against Virginia, whose offense was ranked 118 out of 120 teams. Minnesota and Washington State aren’t ranked much higher. So, USC’s secondary will have the opportunity to gain some maturity and game time experience before entering the Pac-10 fight. The litmus test for the effectiveness of the USC team as a whole cohesive unit will undoubtedly be Stanford on 10/9/10. Another thing to look forward to will the success of Matt Barkley at the quarterback position. He finished the game with a 78.3 pass completion percentage for 257 yards and five touchdowns. He hit David Ausberry for one TD, but his big time go to guy was clearly Ronald Johnson with 3 touchdown passes. The USC Trojans take a clear victory 49-36. No doubt USC is motivated to prove to the world that you can hand down sanctions, you can restrict players but you can never waver the Unrelenting Spirit of Troy
Long distance runners are often praised for their lean bodies, immense discipline, and immeasurable stamina. Unlike the occasional gym-goer, runners tend to eat, sleep, and breathe this sport. A focused mind and years of training take place before a person can run a 7 minute mile.
Maye Musk, MS RD is a registered dietitian in New York City. In the past forty years, she has lived and worked in South Africa, Canada, and now the United States.
We’ve watched enough of MTV’s hit show 16 and Pregnant to know what happens when a teenage couple take care of an unplanned baby – it’s the most challenging obstacle when you're still a kid yourself.
