It seems like yesterday that the season just started - wow, how time flies!
Today, we say goodbye to Big Sed, LoJack, Keith Rivers, Sam Baker, CW and John David Booty among others as they play in their last game at USC. They have given us some great memories and they will always be Trojans through and though.
This may not have been the game we wanted to play in but that is in the past and we need to focus on today and beating Illinois. There will be plenty of time to look back on what could have been. SC needs to focus on the task at hand and not pay attention to what some in the press would see as a disappointment for having to play in our 3rd straight Rose Bowl. There are nine other teams in the Pac-10 who would kill for this opportunity, for SC it is the minimum expectation.
SC needs to come out strong and remove all doubt from our detractors. SC needs to set the tone early on offense, as this is where we have been up and down all year. If the offense is solid in its production SC should win this game handily, if they sputter it will be a closer game than they would like and that could be all the motivation Illinois needs to pull off an upset. I am not worried about the defense but they will have their work cut out for them as they defend against Illinois' version of the spread/zone-read offense.
Williams and Mendenhall will get their yardage but SC will stuff the box daring Williams to throw it down field, if SC comes out unmotivated Williams will emboldened to make plays so SC needs to send him a message early in the game.
To me it is as simple as that.
Leave your comments, questions, and rants here. I will be around all day.
FIGHT ON!