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About that Loyalty...

Chauncey Washington will against Oregon on Saturday.

From Scott Wolf:

USC coach Pete Carroll said senior tailback Chauncey Washington remains the starter despite the superior statistics of sophomore Stafon Johnson and recent emergence freshman Joe McKnight.

Johnson has gained one fewer yard (425) than Washington on 42 fewer carries. He is averaging 7.9 yards per carry compared to Washington's 4.4. McKnight is averaging 6.1 yards on 36 carries.

"It's one of the things I feel really comfortable with right now, going with Chauncey as the starter and Stafon doing his thing and then Joe coming in," Carroll said. "We're going to continue to do that."

This really isn't a big deal, and just like the QB position I could care less. Pete Carroll has shown that the starter is usually rotated out after the first series so it is more of a symbolic gesture more than anything else.

The only thing that matters to me is production, if rotating 3 backs gives Oregon a number of different looks to have to defend against there is a good chance we could catch them in the wrong coverage and take advantage of it. My only quibble is not using some of the other horses we have in the stable when we should have, like 4th and goal against Stanford.

Chauncey has not been as productive as some of the other backs based on stats but I see no reason not use him if it is in the scheme or situation. This to me is a minor deal because we still need to work on the dropped passes and the Special teams issues that could still bite us at the wrong time.

The running game is fine provided it is used properly, it's the other issues that still concern me.