There are some interesting comments by Steve Dilbeck in this mornings DN about why Booty should remain the starter. I understand the logic but sports at times is anything but logical. Mark Sanchez passed another test by having a good performance on the road against a really bad team. If Sanchez starts this week at Oregon the test will be much tougher in a very loud stadium with a pretty good team in front of him.
And you know where this is going. Sanchez steps in for the injured John David Booty on a marvelous fall afternoon and leads USC to a staggeringly easy 38-0victory Saturday against struggling Notre Dame.
Only Booty's broken finger is just about healed and he expects to start next Saturday at Oregon.
"I do in my mind," Booty said. "Totally. No doubt about it."
Sanchez, buoyed by his performance, would like to keep going.
"I don't want to let it go,"
Sanchez said. "Now that I have it, I don't want to look back. I just want to keep rolling."
It is the unexpected USC quarterback controversy. A midseason surprise that coach Pete Carroll only figures will make his team stronger.
My quibble here is that I do not think that Booty is healed and Pete Carroll said as much in the article. If Sanchez had to wait 3-4 weeks for his finger fracture to heal at the beginning of the season then how is it that Booty is ready to go after just two weeks?
Again my problem with Booty in the Stanford game was that he continued to throw passes that failed to hit their proper mark while he was injured. I'm not sure that two weeks to heal while he still attempts to throw passes is the right answer here. I won't even bother to get into the orthopedic aspect of it all, but I will say this fractures like to heal with peace and quiet so I don't see how throwing a football while trying to test the injury helps the healing process.
The fact is the offense under Sanchez looks a little more exciting right now. Dilbeck attempts to bring up all the accolades that Booty amassed last season. I'm not buying it, would prefer that I counter with Booty's two critical INTS in the Oresgon St. and ucla games in retort? That was then and this is now like it or not there is no loyalty in sports. Booty may have gotten it done then but I didn't see any earth shattering progress in Booty's game form last season to this season that gives me the warm and fuzzies. I have said it before, I could care less who starts as long as we win but I wouldn't start a guy who isn't 100% in the one area that is so vital to his game.
Of course if you read Paschke this morning you get the complete opposite take.
The Trojans' stormy leader should be the starting quarterback for the rest of this stormy season.
"We'll have to see," said Coach Pete Carroll.
See what?
How can you bench a guy who just led USC to its biggest beating of Notre Dame in the rivalry's 79-year history.
How can you bench a guy who, in one of the most storied arenas in sport, just completed 21 of 38 passes for four touchdowns with zero wilts under pressure?
All I want is the right decision to be made and from my cheap seats Sanchez starting for the foreseeable future is the way to go.
USC fans feel good right now after the loss to Stanford and if Sanchez is making them feel better while being effective than I see no reason to change and even more so if Booty is not 100%. I said yesterday that SC was in a no win situation in playing ND as they would be either criticized or given minimal credit for their performance because Notre Dame is just terrible. Fine that is how it is, SC needed this win to take the bad taste out their mouths from the past three weeks and now they need to use this win as a spring board as they hit the "tougher" part of their schedule.
DC Trojan will have more on the Pac 10 Later on in the week but suffice it to say things are not as they appear.
FIGHT ON!