USC Defense Not Out of the Woods Yet

After four lackluster performances against unranked teams followed by a last second loss to Washington at the Coliseum, many USC fans had figured a Stanford blowout was on the way and had filed away the Oregon game in the “L” column.

But then a turnaround game at Stanford, where the offense nearly pulled out a victory save for some poor clockwork by the officials and Chris Galippo’s personal foul, put many fans on the fence, wondering how the team would respond against the Cal Bears.

And respond they did.  No lackluster performance here.  The week before the offense turned it around against the Cardinal with a clutch drive in the last two minutes.  This past weekend it was the defense’s turn.

Now fans are actually welcoming a match against the No. 1 Oregon Ducks at the Coliseum in two weeks.

There is bright hope on the horizon where before there was nothing but a dismal overcast much like the weather in Los Angeles this week.

But is that hope overdone?  After all, the Ducks have the highest scoring offense in the nation (54.3 points)—and the fastest.

They also have LaMichael James, a legitimate Heisman candidate, as well as Darron Thomas, a rare athlete who runs the spread option to perfection.

So how does a defense that has played only one complete game so far go about stopping James and Thomas and the third ranked rushing offense?

Prayer and a lot of it might be of some help—especially healing prayer.

If Nick Perry and Wes Horton are healthy by Halloween Eve that could take care of one major issue—containment.

By forcing James and Thomas inside, tackling then becomes the major issue.  A huge sore spot for most of the season, last weekend the tackling improved by 200 percent.

Also, Jurrell Casey and DaJohn Harris need to hold their lanes so that Chris Galippo playing on the outside and Devon Kennard in the middle and Shane Horton on the other side can make some plays. 

The corners need to play fast because it will be an all-out track meet.  But the real key could be the nickel package and freshman phenom, Robert Woods.

If you look at the Oregon-Arizona State game, the Ducks were a pathetic 2-for-13 on third down conversions.  Seven Sun Devil turnovers were the main reason the Ducks were able to put up 42 points.

I don’t expect the Trojans to commit seven turnovers, not unless they want to spend the following week getting up at 6:00 a.m. to run laps.

So, if a speedster with Woods’ skills is in the nickel package, he can cover deep and free up a corner to defend against the option.

And if Thomas should decide to throw, anytime a ball is in the air and Woods is around it, he is the one most likely to pull it in.

Stop a couple of Oregon drives with interceptions, and that gives Barkley and the offense a great chance to outscore the Ducks.

Is it asking too much for Woods to go three ways—offense, defense and special teams—against the nation’s top team? 

Possibly, but I doubt it.  So far he has proven that he is up to anything the coaching staff has asked of him.

The very fact he only came in this summer and has picked up a complicated offense in such a short time testifies to his focus and determination.

It may be a case of guzzling down too much Kool-Aid since Saturday to even imagine that the Trojans can hang with the Ducks.

But that Kool-Aid sure tastes a lot better than the bitter pills USC had to swallow two weeks in a row.