Will Beanie Wells Be Ready for the USC-Ohio State Game?

This morning, we almost had the second upset of the weekend, following last night’s Vandy win over the Gamecocks. In a scrimmage that capped off a 7 a.m. practice at USC, the hodgepodge Black Shirts nearly upset the first and second unit team.

Jurrell Casey’s interception of a tipped pass and his 56-yard TD return put the Black Shirts up 7-0.

Mark Sanchez had to lead a 91-yard TD drive with 1:35 left in the scrimmage to tie the score on a 19-yard pass to Patrick Turner. David Buehler kicked a 28-yard field goal in OT to send the stubborn Black Shirts down to defeat.

The Word from Rumor Central

Beanie Wells has more than a simple sprain. According to rumors on the Bucknuts board, it’s a tear in his foot. If that is true, he won’t be 100 percent for the Trojans game next week. More than likely, though, he will play with painkillers.

It Wasn’t Rey Maualuga, or Was It?

It may not have been the Trojan rush that caused those passes that Peter Lalich threw last Saturday to sail high over everyone’s head. Lalich was arrested on a drinking charge back in July and given a differed judgment pending the outcome of supervised probation.

During a probation interview on Aug. 26, Lalich admitted to using alcohol and marijuana. So, it seems his passes weren’t the only things that were high.

But now that I think about it, maybe it was seeing game film of Maualuga and Co. that caused Lalich to light up and imbibe. I wondered why he was grinning after all those incompletes.

A Little Traveling Music, Folks

Ever wonder how USC coaches relax during a bye week? They catch flights but not to their favorite vacation spots. Instead, they hit the recruiting trail to watch high school games Friday and Saturday nights.

I Think I Shall Never See Anything As Lovely As A…Where’d They All Go?

This afternoon tree removal began up at Berkeley after a court of appeals in San Francisco ruled yesterday that UC Berkeley can begin the construction of an athletic center next to the stadium. Tree cutting will continue through Saturday when officials expect to have all the trees cut except for one.

There are still four tree sitters occupying the one remaining redwood. Officials said they have given the occupants 72 hours to clear out. Okay, but after that, if they’re still in the tree, then what? Timberrrrr!

Finally, the women's softball team won’t have to change in their cars. Good news for the young ladies. Bad news for Peeping Toms.

From the Ford…Stanford Top 25?

Cardinal fans feel they should be ranked in the Top 25 if they upset the Sun Devils in Arizona Saturday evening. Their logic: UCLA upset Tennessee and jumped into the Top 25. Okay, but that was then and this is now. First, you’ve got to pull off the upset.

 

What Does the Gannett Louisiana News Service Know Anyway?

Meanwhile, in the desert, Sun Devil fans are fuming over an AP pollster, Glenn Guilbeau of the Gannett Louisiana News Service. It seems that in his ballot, he found no love at all for the Sun Devils, omitting them completely from his Top 25.

Well, it might be your moniker, the Sun Devils. Guilbeau may be a strict fundamentalist. And then again, it may be the overwhelming performance you had against perennial powerhouse, Northern Arizona.

You’ll be glad to know. I still have you ranked in my poll. But I did drop you four or five spots, deservedly so. Northern Arizona? Wow!

Holy Toledo

Mike Stoops takes his Wildcats on the road this week to meet Toledo. Feeling pretty optimistic after his Cats tore apart the Idaho defense last week, Stoops said, "I thought our ones obviously took care of business but I thought with our twos that there was not a significant drop off.

"To go out there and execute the game plan pretty flawlessly was pretty good. It gives us a lot to look forward to."

Arizona is a 23-point favorite.

In other games...

Oregon takes on Utah State at home. QB Justin Roper is expected to play for the Ducks following a concussion last week against Washington. The Ducks are a 35-point favorite.

Washington hosts BYU. The Cougars are a nine-point favorite and are looking for their first win at Washington.

California is a 13.5-point favorite against the perennially rebuilding team of the Pac-10, Washington State.

Upset special

Oregon State travels to Happy Valley, where they are 21.5-point dogs against Penn State. Joe Paterno suspended three of his players who were found with marijuana in their apartment. Ah, come on, Joe. Don’t you remember what it’s like to be young?