Bleacher Report - Articles by Dave Dewan

Three Under-the-Radar Trojans to Watch Out For in 2009

Dave Dewan — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:21:25 -0500

1. Curtis McNeal (Tailback, 5'8"/180, Fr*)– Like all the names on this list, Curtis hasn’t been picked up on the media radar, but don’t underestimate his potential to embarrass defenders with knee-buckling jukes and blazing-fast speed.He is relatively undersized, so I expect that he’ll settle into a specialized scat-back role this year.

2. Tyron Smith (Offensive Tackle, 6'6"/270, So) – Tyron is a monstrous looking sophomore who will challenge Charles Brown for the starting left tackle position this season. This man has only gone under-the-radar because of the position he plays. Smith was a Rivals Five-star recruit from Pete’s 2008 recruiting class, and he saw some significant game action during his freshman campaign. Left tackle will be an interesting position battle to watch throughout the year.

3. David Ausberry (Wide Receiver, 6'4"/225, Jr*) – A fresh offensive scheme may have been exactly what the doctor ordered for Ausberry. Despite his obvious talent and ideal size, David hasn’t been able to land himself a consistent spot among the wide receivers during the last two seasons. I see that changing quickly thanks to Jeremy Bates coming as assistant head coach to the offense/quarterbacks coach/play caller. Many people don’t know that Bates was also a wide receivers coach with the Broncos in 2007. His coaching allowed Brandon Marshall (similar build, 6'4"/230) to catch over two hundred balls during the last two seasons. There is still time for a Patrick Turner’esque resurrection.

What about you, do you have any “under-the-radar” players that you’re looking out for?

This article was originally published on USCBlitz.com

Recruiting The Future: 2009 Trojan Targets

Dave Dewan — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:26:22 -0500

While the future appears bright for USC's football program as a whole, Pete Carroll's Trojans will have some major reloading to do on defense if they hope to sustain this success. Here's a list of our defensive starters who are expected to be gone in 2009...

   Kyle Moore
   Fili Moala
   Clay Matthews
   Brian Cushing
   Rey Maualuga
   Kaluka Maiava
   Josh Pinkard
   Cary Harris
   Kevin Ellison
   Taylor Mays

Losing 10 starters on either side of the ball could be disastrous for any team. However, don't fret, Trojan fans...coach Carroll to the rescue!

This weekend, the USC coaching staff will be scouring the country, gawking at the best and brightest from the high school football world.

Way back in May, I gave you four names to watch out for in this year's recruiting class; Matt Barkley (verbal commit), Devon Kennard, Manti Te'o, and Vontaze Burfict (verbal commit).

Barkley struggled early in his senior season, but he has managed find his groove again.

Kennard, meanwhile, suffered a season ending knee injury in September. He'll be in LA on Dec. 12 for one of his official visits.

As for linebackers Manti Te'o and Vontaze Burfict, they have been nothing short of spectacular.

Today, I present you with four more "gotta have 'em" recruits...

1. Frankie Telfort - LB/S
Watching tape on Frankie, his instincts and aggressiveness remind me of Kevin Ellison. He's undersized, at 5'11, 200 pounds, meaning that college coaches will probably put him at strong safety. Telfort reportedly gave a high rating when asked about his visit to USC earlier this year.
Considering: USC, Florida, LSU, Duke, Stanford

2. Jarvis Jones - LB
Jones, an outside 'backer from Georgia, has everything the scouts are looking for; a big frame (6'3, 225 pounds), a good football IQ, tremendous speed, quick lateral movement, and a passion for destroying the ball carrier. Like Telfort, he loved his visit to USC.
Considering: USC, Florida, Georgia, Miami, LSU, Texas

3. Jawanza Starling - FS
Starling is a hard-hitting free safety from Lincoln High School in Tallahassee (FL). If that rings a bell, it's because freshman TJ Bryant went to that same high school; which is normally a breeding ground for Gator and Seminole recruits. Jawanza would be another big out-of-state steal.
Considering: Florida State, Georgia, USC, Florida, Oregon, Alabama, California

4. Tyler Gaffney - TB/FB
Tyler is a production machine down in San Diego. In his senior season, he's had over 1500 yards on the ground, 30 touchdowns, and a 10+ yds/carry average. Most schools are recruiting him as a tailback, but I think USC views this kid in a similar fashion to the way they saw fullback Stanley Havili.
Considering: USC, Stanford, Notre Dame

This article was originally published on USCBlitz.com

USC-Stanford Preview: Senior Redemption

Dave Dewan — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:46:21 -0500

This game was one to forget for Trojan fans last year. A truly miraculous win for Stanford and their football program. What about this year?

Well, I think it's clear that they are a better football team, with a respectable 5-5 record that includes an eight-point win over Oregon State. You might think, then, that I'd come into this preview with some caution. Not a chance.

Something tells me that Pete Carroll will find a way to harness all the talent around him. The offense has flashed it in bursts. The defense has flashed it consistently. And for the most part, the effort on both sides has been led by USC's seniors.

A handful of names off the top of my head? Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, Fili Moala, Kyle Moore, Josh Pinkard, Clay Matthews, Patrick Turner, Cary Harris, Jeff Byers, Kaluka Maiava, David Buehler. These aren't just our seniors. They're our consistent MVP's.

Younger, maybe even more talented, players (ie. Sanchez, Joe McKnight, Everson Griffen) haven't proven themselves as consistent performers yet.

It's that senior factor that I think will help the Trojans finish strong. Particularly in this game, where Pete and his guys will be as jacked as up as ever to embarrass Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal team at home. Remember, this will probably be their most attended game of the year.

Looking at the X's & O's, I think our passing attack has a chance to get back in rhythm vs. Stanford's 98th-ranked pass defense. Their safeties play far off the line of the scrimmage, in a similar fashion to Taylor Mays and Will Harris (Ellison is out with knee injury).

That should give Patrick and Damian room to work inside. Dare I say the tight ends finally get in on the action as well. We'll see.

The running backs should watch out for MLB Pat Maynor. He and safety Bo McNally are tackling machines.

However, those guys could get blocked out if the Trojans can dominate their d-line like I feel they should.

Tavita Pritchard is Stanford's QB, but we may see some of Alex Loukas. He's more of a runner than Pritchard, who is a respectable runner in his own right.

In the passing department, they lack efficiency, especially for a team that likes to throw as many short routes as they do. Those quick hitters can be effective against our defense. Whalen (WR) , Baldwin (WR), Gunder (TE), and Kimble (TB) are the names to watch for on the receiving end.

Aforementioned Anthony Kimble reminds me of Stafon Johnson with his shifty running style. Toby Gerhart is the main tailback, however, because of his size and strength.

Those guys will be running behind a line that will benefit from a banged up Trojan d-line. Moala is questionable with a groin injury and Spicer is probable with an ankle injury.

I hope that gives reps to some young talent, like Malik Jackson and Armond Armstead, should we build a lead in the second half.

SCORE PREDICTION: USC 45, Stanford 6

See you for the live blog.

This article was originally published on USCBlitz.com

Southern California's Dream BCS Scenario

Dave Dewan — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:24:37 -0500

This article was originally published on USCBlitz.com

USC's defense ran another clinic against California and got the win, 17-3, on a night when the offense wasn't doing them many favors. Despite the dominating defensive performance against a top 20 team, early BCS projections have us right back at No. 7 this week. I guess that's because style points on defense aren't as valuable as Harrell-to-Crabtree style points.

So, how can these defensive-minded Trojans snag themselves a spot in the national championship game? It's going to be tough, there's no question about that.

To understand how tough, let's take a look at the competition and see what they have left:

Alabama (Nov. 15—Mississippi State, Nov. 29—Auburn)
Texas Tech (Nov. 22—@ Oklahoma, Nov. 29—Baylor)
Texas (Nov. 15—@ Kansas, Nov. 27—Texas A&M)
Florida (Nov. 15—South Carolina, Nov. 22—Citadel, Nov. 29—@ Florida State)
Oklahoma (Nov. 22—Texas Tech, Nov. 29—@ Oklahoma State)

Although Penn State may sneak into the No. 6 spot, in front of USC, it's long been assumed that their only title chance was to finish the season undefeated. That's why I didn't include them in this conversation.

With so little time to maneuver at the end of the season, USC is lucky that the SEC and Big-12 both have conference championship games. In fact, I see it as the only reason why the Trojans are still in the title talk at all.

For Florida and Alabama, it's simple. If they win out in the regular season, the winner of the SEC Championship will be guaranteed a spot in the national title game. That's likely in my mind.

The SEC's opponent? Texas Tech...if they can get by Oklahoma on Nov. 22nd. I think a few people will tune in for that one.

The problem (or perhaps, the solution, depending on your viewpoint) is that Oklahoma will probably be the favorite at home vs. Texas Tech. So, let's say the Sooners pull it off, and win that game, then the Big-12 would have a dilemma; the Longhorns only loss would have come against Texas Tech, and Texas Tech's only loss would have come against Oklahoma, and Oklahoma's only loss would have come against Texas.

Three teams from the Big-12 south involved in some sort of endless comparison loop. You can't make this stuff up. Well actually, I did sort of make it up, because this hasn't fully happened yet. Anyways, I'll just move on.

To break the tie, the team with the highest BCS rank would move onto the conference championship game. It really wouldn't matter who that team was, from SC's perspective. The key component to this scenario is that the South representative in the Big-12 needs at least one loss.

Therefore, if Texas Tech went into the conference championship and lost vs. the two loss North team (Missouri, probably), then both teams, including the Big-12 champion, would have two losses.

Oklahoma and Texas are left in a dreadful spot. How many voters will put a team at No. 1 or No. 2 in the country, if they aren't even No. 1 or No. 2 in their own conference?

Do you see where we've landed here? Southern California's dream BCS scenario. It presumably puts them in the national championship with either Florida or Alabama.

Among all the uncertainty that remains in college football, I'm sure of one thing: This will be fun to watch!

Quick Takes Before Kickoff: California

Dave Dewan — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:03:22 -0500

If you notice a different style of defense from Tedford's Bears tonight, it's because they made the switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in the off-season. That additional linebacker often drops into coverage, creating a formidable eight-man secondary.

Corner backs Syd'Quan Thompson and Darian Hagan form one of the better duos in the Pac-10 at that position. Sean Cattouse (three interceptions) is another ball hawker in their secondary.

Mark Sanchez, who has had a tendency to be risky with some of his throws, should watch out in obvious passing situations.

Both defenses are terrific a) on third down and b) in the red zone, ranking eighth or better nationally.

The kickers for each team are standouts as well, collecting a total of 74 touchbacks between them. That's good for No. 1 and 2 in the nation.

There have been a few nasty hits, by Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison specifically, on Cal receivers over the past half-decade. I'll be excited to see if that continues, because there has been some bad blood built up in this rivalry.

The last thing USC wants to do is get in an emotional battle, as that's when you see top teams get upset.

Zack Follett and Mike Mohamed are Cal's best linebackers, and they will have their hands full if the Trojans' athletic offensive line can spring their blocks into the second level.

As badly as I don't want to see it, the men in stripes could have a lot to say before this Pac-10 battle is over. California and USC are two of the most penalized teams in the nation, 86th and 113th unrespectfully.

I see some parallels between this match up and the USC vs. Fresno State game of 2005. That game featured a lot of speed, like we'll see tonight, and the coaches, Pat Hill and Pete Carroll, really let their players play.

If you can remember, Reggie Bush responded with a ridiculous performance that won him the Heisman, and allowed the Trojans to escape with a 50-42 win (and their No. 1 ranking).

I have two key matchups that I'll be watching in the game tonight;

1) SC's running game vs. Cal's three-man defensive line, when Sarkisian spreads it out with three, four and five wide receivers.

2) Cal's offensive line vs. whoever rushes the QB for the Trojans. Nate Longshore, who is less athletic than injured Kevin Riley, will get the start at quarterback for the Golden Bears. Arizona had a boatload of success by blitzing him (on virtually every play) earlier this season.

Under two hours til the USC Blitz live blog, fight on Trojans!

Preseason Rankings Galore: USC No. 1 According to Rivals.com!

Dave Dewan — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:14:39 -0400

The dominant online college football influence, Rivals.com, seem to agree with my preseason rankings. USC is No. 1!

Rivals.com Preseason Rankings 1-120

With Georgia at No. 2, all that's left is the official announcement tomorrow that these Trojans will be heading into the season with a major target on their backs. What's new?

USCBlitz.com's Preseason Pac-10 Rankings

Dave Dewan — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:41:22 -0400

Pac-10 media day was business as usual (besides the strange first place vote that Cal stole from us in the media poll). Anyways, let's get right to it.

Here's my 1-10 rankings of the conference's teams (SC gets all one of my first place votes):

1. Southern California
2. Oregon
3. Arizona State
4. Oregon State
5. California
6. Washington
7. Arizona
8. UCLA
9. Stanford
10. Washington State

The Future of College Football...?

Dave Dewan — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:30:33 -0400

This is an entry in the USCBlitz.com contest. It's a terrific look into the possible future of college football (written by Trey). Hope you enjoy the read, and thanks for supporting the site!

June 9th, 2016

Yesterday, on the fiftieth anniversary of the NFL-AFL merger, the National Football League announced another landmark merger. For the last few years, the NFL has been attempting to recover from a cheating and steroids scandal that brought the sport to its knees and brought on the baseball renaissance and the surging popularity of the NHL and NASCAR.

This scandal eventually resulted in the contraction of the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Arizona Cardinals, and the formation of the Las Vegas Gamblers from the relocation of the New Orleans Saints, leaving the number of NFL teams at 29.

However, rumors had been swirling for months that the NFL was pursuing a merger with Division I of NCAA football in an attempt to regain the attention and the fan base that left following the devastating string of scandals.

Division I-A itself split into two distinct factions: the current Division I-A and the current Division I-AA. The old Division 1-AA (FCS) was renamed Division I-AAA. The current Division I-A was formed from the ashes of the six BCS conferences, minus a few key teams who left due to academic concerns or a worry that they could not commit enough money to the new system.

Boston College, Duke, Virginia, Rutgers, Syracuse, Northwestern, Purdue, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Cal, Stanford, USC (still a surprise, but the program never recovered from Pete Carroll’s jump to the San Diego Chargers), Vanderbilt, and all of the military academies left, leaving the number of teams in this new Division I-A at 49.

However, Boise State, Florida Atlantic, Southern Methodist (buoyed by June Jones), TCU, Southern Miss, Central Florida, Central Michigan, Utah, Brigham Young, and Troy decided to dedicate the money and effort necessary to jump to the next level, moving the number of teams up to 59.

With fewer teams, the competition (and the injuries) ramped up in Division I-A, and the oft searched-for playoff was immediately dashed off the board for a renewed, more lucrative BCS. Conference alignments remained largely the same due to the teams that left, with the teams that jumped up joining the old conferences.

Division I-AA promptly introduced a playoff, which was won by Jim Harbaugh's Stanford Cardinal in the first season over Boston College.

The NFL attempted to woo the NCAA, but they were met with initial resistance by professors and those concerned that college life (and education) would disappear. However, the historic windfall that would be paid to the teams that jumped, and to Division I-A as a whole (rumored to be over $2 billion—the final number was not released), outshone all detractors.

But the NFL could only accept a limited number of teams. The prelude to the press conference announcing the merger was a tense silence, as universities waited to be named. Only 19 would make the jump (to make a solid 48).

The roll call went as follows.

From the Rocky Mountain Conference (made up of the former Pac-10 and some WAC and MWC teams):

Oregon, Arizona State, and Boise State

*Notably absent from this list was UCLA, who is still recovering from the death penalty the NCAA levied on them at the tail end of Rich Neuheisel's corrupt coaching tenure. A large number of notable programs such as USC and Cal had not remained on the Division I-A side of the split.*

From the Great Plains Conference (The Big 12, Sun Belt, MAC, and C-USA):

Oklahoma, Texas, SMU, Colorado, and Nebraska

*The Big 12 was, along with the SEC, least affected by the first split.*

From the SEC (they didn't even have to change their name; it still worked):

LSU, Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, FAU (Schnellenberger led this program to a championship in 2013...they aren't leaving), and Miami (FL)

*Kentucky quickly faded into obscurity shortly after their "comeback" in 2007, while Georgia was the "first team out"*

From the Appalachian Conference (Big Ten, Big East, ACC):

Ohio State, Michigan, West Virginia, and Virginia Tech

*Florida State and Penn State fell off the map once their star coaches, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno, passed away on the same date in 2012.*

Notre Dame, who already had faced enormous flak for their decision to chase the money over their famed academic programs, could not silence their alumni and staff this time, and the Fighting Irish were forced to remain in Division I-A.

These 19 teams will join Division II of the new NPCFL (National Professional and Collegiate Football League), along with the five worst teams from the final season of the NFL.

The NFL has now implemented a system similar to European soccer in which the top four teams from Division II will jump to Division I, while the bottom four teams in Division I will fall to Division II. This new system will begin in the 2017-2018 season.

The teams will play 12 regular season games (a drop from the NFL's 14, implemented after the 2014 season) and will participate in an eight-team playoff by division.

It is not known what will happen to the teams left in Division I-A, though the consensus is that they will, with their tails between their legs, merge with Division I-AA.

The effects of this merger have yet to be fully known, but the repercussions are already being felt. The 19 universities that merged have been soundly criticized by other institutions of higher learning the world over for agreeing to this merger, seeing as academics seem to be continually pushed under the rug.

A small number of students have begun to transfer to the schools that remain in the NCAA for their academic success and to keep a semblance of college life intact, but with the joint announcement that students will now be paid to play, this number is negligible.

This announcement has sparked talks between the NBA and NCAA Basketball for a 16-team tournament at the end of the year between the top eight teams from the NCAA and the top eight teams from the NBA.

"This is a shining moment of true evolution for collegiate football, and for the NCAA as a whole," says NCAA president Myles Brand. Brand, in his final year, has his legacy.

The question now is, "How will history remember this legacy?" That remains to be seen.

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

Dave Dewan — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:16:32 -0400

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!

Keep checking back and thanks for supporting the site!

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