USC Trojans' Road To The National Championship: @ Virginia Cavaliers

Let me start out by saying that August 30th is going to be a great day. There are some terrific opening Saturday matchups...

- Clemson vs. Alabama (in Atlanta)
- Missouri vs. Illinois (in St. Louis)
- Utah at Michigan (The Wolverines have to be on upset watch here)
- Michigan St. at Cal (an early Big 10 vs. Pac 10 showdown)
- Appalachian St. at LSU (back to back to back D1-AA champions still have QB Armanti Edwards and the Tigers still don't have Ryan Perilloux [kicked off team] or Matt Flynn [NFL]. Keep an eye on this one)

And of course the day is highlighted, in my opinion, with the Trojans traveling to Charlottesville to take on the Cavaliers.

This is my first installment in an article series that will break down each team that stands in the way of the USC Trojans and a national championship berth.

Virginia Cavaliers-Offense

Virginia had an ugly offense that was riddled with injuries last year. QB Jameel Sewell had enough moxy to win some games late and was the primary reason why the Cavs were able to win a respectable 9 games (they also play in the ACC, ouch).

Sophmore QB Peter Lalich got some playing time last year and should be Virginia's number one QB come opening day. He's a big guy with a pretty good arm but he's immobile and that's a problem against SC on any day. It's even worse when you consider Virginia's OL lost the likes of Branden Albert along with two other starters.

RB's Mikell Simpson and Cedric Peerman will probably prove the toughest test defensively for the Trojans. Senior tight end John Phillips is a weapon and will keep SC's safeties and outside backers busy all day. Look for Cary and Shareece to be locked up one-on-one in most situations with Virginia's mediocre (at best) receivers.

Defense

I think we can all agree Chris Long is a significant loss from this defense. Their DL also took a pretty big blow when defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald left school for academic reasons. This is good news for Trojan fans worried about the relative lack of experience on the offensive line.

At linebacker, many would consider the likes of ILB Jon Copper and OLB Clint Sintim a top notch crew in the ACC. Watch for lots of blitzing, particularly from the outside, where Trojan RB's will have to protect QB Mark Sanchez, who likes to move around and get comfortable outside the pocket.

I think CB Ras-I Dowling is a budding star and should be watched out for. Virginia's defense knows how to win ugly, and those ugly wins are usually the result of big and timely plays on defense. Hold onto that ball, Trojans!

Special Teams

Both their veteran placekicker and punter have graduated and their replacements have never played a game before. This definitely looks like an area of concern for them.

Needless to say, I think the Cavs are going to have their hands full with a Trojan team that has to keep their minds on Virginia, and not on Ohio State, who I will feature in my next installment of USC's Road to the National Championship!

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