Senior cornerback John Walker is about ready to return to his starting spot, but will he get the start over his replacement Josh Pinkard? That is a good thing for USC, as Fresno State has a very underrated receiving corp that could have its best game of the year.
Linebacker Oscar Lua is back in the starting lineup after missing last week's game against Cal with a sprained knee. His backup Rey Maualuga still will get some playing time this after having an astounding game at Cal.
Maualuga was arrested the morning after Halloween for suspicion of misdemeanor battery after allegedly punching a man during a party near campus. His actions were not taken lightly by Trojan fans and students, but Carroll has yet to take any action against his star freshman because, he must believe football can save Rey Maualuga.
1 comment:
I don't know...they just lost another starter at linebacker during the game last week, and Lua has not proven himself to be 100% on the field, and the young guy is...well...young and Pinegar should be able to mess with him.
Personally, I think the USC defense is overrated, but only due to injuries and resulting inexperience, and primarily at linebacker. Early in the season they had issues with the cornerbacks, but not anymore, and their safeties are awesome. The defensive line is solid.
The target for Fresno State is the linebacking corps, plain and simple, and Marshawn Lynch averaging 8 yards a carry in a game that Cal couldn't generate any passing offense is not a good sign for the USC defense. It's been hilarious to listen to the USC blogger talk about "stopping Lynch" when the guy runs for 80+ yards on 13 carries, and the Cal team runs for 160 yards or so total.
Let me repeat that: Cal ran for 167 yards on 31 carries as a team against USC, in a game their lousy quarterback was 9/19 for 98 years and 4 interceptions. For USC, that's not a dominating defensive performance, and more lucky than good that they were able to prey on a weak QB when getting beat down in the running game.
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