USC

USC football: Injury opens door for Jackson, Kennard

Michael Lev, staff writer — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:42:38 +0000

USC defensive Everson Griffen (toe) didn’t make the trip with the team to Arizona State, putting sophomore Malik Jackson in position to make his first career start in a must-win game. (Aren’t they all?)

Jackson has shown a knack for making plays in limited duty; he has 2.5 sacks and 2 pass breakups this season. He also has lacked discipline at times, leading to penalties.

Jackson is expected to split time with freshman Devon Kennard, who will be playing just minutes from his home in Phoenix.

USC received some rare good news on the injury front this week when defensive linemen Nick Perry (shoulder) and Armond Armstead (wrist) responded well to rest. Their availability should ensure a deep DL rotation.

In other injury news:

** Receiver Brandon Carswell didn’t travel because of a toe injury. He had risen to the No. 3 receiver spot as of last week and is a valued blocker. His absence means more playing time for Brice Butler, Travon Patterson and possibly Jordan Cameron.

** Fullback Stanley Havili will play after missing the past two weeks. Coach Pete Carroll said Havili is “about 90 percent” recovered from his shoulder injury.

Related link:

USC is laying it on the offensive line

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USC at Arizona State: And the winner is …

Michael Lev, staff writer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:00:25 +0000

There’s no way USC loses at Arizona State on Saturday, right?

That was my thinking as I broke down the matchup and predicted the outcome. (Of course, I didn’t have much of a choice after predicting earlier this week that the Trojans would win out.)

What about you? Have you lost the faith?

Tell us what you think:

Who will win the USC-Arizona State game?

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USC football: Can Tailback U. run on ASU?

SCOTT M. REID, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:34:16 +0000

Just how far USC gets down the road to recovery Saturday against Arizona State will likely depend on Tailback U.’s ability to get through the Pac-10’s stingiest defense against the run.

“They’re difficult and challenging,” USC coach Pete Carroll said Thursday.

How challenging?

The Sun Devils held California tailback Jahvid Best, not so long ago a Heisman Trophy candidate, to 63 yards on 18 carries in the Golden Bears’ last minute 23-21 victory last Saturday. That’s 3.8 yards per carry and Best’s longest run against ASU was just 8 yards.

Not that Best is alone in struggling against the Sun Devils. Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers, the 2008 Pac-10 Player of the Year, was limited to 81 yards by ASU earlier this year. Rodgers averaged 120.1 ypg in his other seven games In fact only Stanford’s Toby Gerhart has broke the 100-yard barrier against the nation’s No. 4 rushing defense in 2009.

“We want to run the ball on these guys and that’s our challenge this week is to be able to run the ball and run the ball effectively and they’re going to give us a great game and that’s what we want,” Trojan center Jeff Byers said.

ASU is allowing just 80.1 ypg on the ground, a 26.5 ypg improvement over 2008. The difference is not so much schematic as it is a change of attitude.

“They’ve really just focused on attacking the line of scrimmage and hitting the running game with really great energy,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “They’ve just been very physical. They haven’t changed their scheme much but they just hit the line of scrimmage and they keep attacking and attacking and causing things to happen and it’s helped them in a lot of ways.”

Like turnovers.

ASU leads the Pac-10 in both take aways (21) and interceptions (13).

“We just have to play with poise,” Trojan tailback Joe McKnight said. “They’ve got a lot of players on their team that get in your face.”

USC football: Everson Griffen will play. Or won’t he?

SCOTT M. REID, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:55:03 +0000

It depends on who you ask.

USC coach Pete Carroll said after Thursday’s practice that Trojan defensive end Everson Griffen, the Pac-10 sack leader who has been battling turf toe this week, will play against Arizona State on Saturday.

But Griffen had a different take as he limped off Howard Jones Field Thursday night, his left leg sockless and shoeless.

“No, I can’t play this week,” Griffen said. “I’ll probably be able to go next Saturday.”

Griffen earlier worked out with the Trojan training staff to judge his fitness.

“He’s going to go,” Carroll said. “He made it through today’s work-out with the trainers so tomorrow he’ll do some stuff with us.”

In other words, stay tuned.

Here’s the rest of the injury update:

*Defensive tackle Armond Armstead (fractured hand) was back at practice and will play in Tempe.

“Mondo made it back today which I didn’t know if he would,” Carroll said.

*Tight end Anthony McCoy will miss his second consecutive game with a sprained ankle.

“We worked out Anthony and he’s not quite there,” Carroll said.

*Starting weakside linebacker Malcolm Smith is out with a shoulder injury. Shane Horton will start in his place.

*Defensive end Nick Perry (shoulder), and wide receiver/kick returner Damian Williams (glute) practiced.

*Split end Brandon Carswell is questionable with turf toe.

“He jammed his toe yesterday in practice and he’s real sore today,” Carroll said. “It’s not a serious turf toe, but he sprained it so we’ll have to check him out in the morning and see how he does.”

USC football: D.J. Shoemate’s quiet contributions

Michael Lev, staff writer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:27:42 +0000

When it became apparent fullback Stanley Havili would miss some time because of a sore shoulder, USC’s coaches barely blinked. After all, backup D.J. Shoemate — a onetime receiver — could do all the things Havili could.

Yet in two games as Havili’s replacement, Shoemate didn’t get a single touch.

Play-caller Jeremy Bates explained that Shoemate didn’t carry the ball, as Havili had, because Havili also plays tailback in some sets. Shoemate is not yet that advanced.

As far as Shoemate not having any receptions, Bates said it’s simply a matter of numbers. “We’re going to try to get everyone involved,” he said.

But there is one thing Shoemate is doing very well, and it’s something that doesn’t show up in the boxscore.

“Last week D.J. had a lot of assignments in the blocking game. We were running right behind him all game,” Bates said.

“The No. 1 objective of the fullback is to block. The passes will happen. The runs will happen. We’re looking for our fullbacks to look up their linebackers and hit them in the mouth, and D.J.’s done that two weeks in a row.”

As bad as things were in Oregon, USC tailbacks Joe McKnight, Allen Bradford and C.J. Gable combined for 149 yards on 25 carries for a 6.0-yard average.

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Poll: Is Carroll’s USC dynasty about to end?

Brian Perdue — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:45:53 +0000

Michael Lev wrote an interesting analysis on if the loss to Oregon signaled the beginning of the end for the Carroll dynasty at USC.

What do you think? Take our poll below the jump:

Is Carroll's dynasty at USC coming to an end?

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USC football: Devon Kennard goes home

Michael Lev, staff writer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:15:46 +0000

The timing couldn’t be worse for Everson Griffen, but it just might be perfect for Devon Kennard.

With one defensive end from Arizona (Griffen) nursing a toe injury, the other (Kennard) could be in line for major playing time in his hometown.

If Griffen can’t play at Arizona State on Saturday, Kennard is expected to split time with Malik Jackson. Kennard grew up in Phoenix, 10-15 minutes from the ASU campus.

“I’m very excited,” Kennard said. “I get to play in front of the home crowd. Not too many people get that kind of opportunity.

“It’s unfortunate for Everson. He’s having a great year. But I’m ready to step in and play that role and do what I have to do for the team and myself to make plays and make sure I contribute to a win. That’s what I plan to do Saturday, whether Everson plays or he doesn’t play.”

Kennard has tons of friends who play for the Sun Devils and used to attend their games as a recruit. But he wasn’t necessarily an ASU fan.

“I’ve always been a USC fan,” Kennard said. “The best team growing up. You’ve got to admire that.”

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USC football: ‘Our mission is to score seven on every drive’

Michael Lev, staff writer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:15:08 +0000

Given the USC defense’s recent struggles, you might assume the offense would alter its game plan to emphasize time of possession.

When the reverse was true a year ago and the defense was consistently dominant, the coaches went to a more conservative offensive approach, knowing the Trojans likely would win if they simply didn’t turn the ball over.

But first-year play-caller Jeremy Bates (pictured) doesn’t plan to take his foot off the accelerator.
“It’s definitely a team sport, but as an offense, we’re always going to go into a game attacking,” Bates said. “Our mission is to score seven on every drive. We’re not going to change our philosophy.”

That being said, Bates thought he might have taken it too far once USC fell behind at Oregon.

“We got too aggressive too early,” he said. “We were just trying to make a big play and change the momentum.”

USC football: Are Trojans still king of Pac-10?

Adam Maya, staff writer since 2006 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:12 +0000

Click here for this week’s Pac-10 power poll and predictions on this week’s top college football games.

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USC football: McCoy unlikely to play at ASU

Michael Lev, staff writer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:21:50 +0000

Quick hitters from USC’s Wednesday practice:

** Tight end Anthony McCoy (ankle) still can’t run, decreasing the chances he’ll be available for the Arizona State game. He hasn’t practiced since getting hurt against Oregon State on Oct. 24.

** Defensive end Everson Griffen (toe) did work on the side, including running and side-to-side movements. He said the toe felt good, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to play because his position requires pushing off on every snap.

** Receiver Damian Williams (glute) and fullback Stanley Havili (shoulder) participated in the game-plan portion of practice and should be good to go.

** Tailbacks Allen Bradford (knee) and Joe McKnight (knee) returned to full duty after being limited Tuesday.

** Linebacker Malcolm Smith (shoulder) did some limited work. He is still a long shot to play but is no longer definitively out.

** Reserve linebacker Jarvis Jones (neck) is out.

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