Could it Possibly...

...........happen? Fresno State and USC are playing as even as they can, Fresno State 237 total yards and USC 238 total yards. But the Bulldogs have the 8 point lead, 21-13 at the half. Fresno State gets the ball to start the third. They need to score to keep the pressure on the Trojans.

Fresno State has already proved it can hang with the best in the nation. Now, they have a chance to prove they can beat the best in the nation. USC is in for a game. If the Trojan players didn't believe the Bulldog hype before the game; they are now. USC will come out on fire in the second half, and the Bulldogs can not let up.

Fresno State can smell it!

Gameday

Fresno State (8-1) at USC (10-0)

TIME/SITE: 7:15 p.m. (PT); Los Angeles, Calif.; Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (92,000/Grass)
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net; Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis, Jim Watson
SERIES LOOK: Fresno State won the only other meeting back in 1992 when the Bulldogs beat USC, 24-7, in the Freedom Bowl at Anaheim, Calif.
COACHES: Fresno State’s Pat Hill is in his ninth season as a head coach and has a record of 72-39.
GAME NOTES: Fresno State – has a seven-game winning streak, tied for the fifth longest in the nation ... has punted 10 times over its last five games ... its only loss came at 10th-ranked Oregon, 37-34 ... the Bulldogs led 17-0 in that game ... Wendell Mathis, a transfer from UCLA, has rushed for more than 100 yards in four straight games and has scored at least one touchdown in every game this season ... Paul Pinegar has thrown a touchdown pass in 18 straight games. USC – played at California last week and won 35-10 ...has won 32 consecutive games, the eighth longest streak in NCAA history ... has won 25 straight at home ... opened its season at Hawai‘i where it won 63-17. -wacsports.com


The Real Gameday

The folks at ESPN will be airing a feature on Pat Hill and the Bulldogs this morning on ESPN Gameday. The first time I remember ESPN Gameday ran a feature on Fresno State was in 1989, when the 10-0 Bulldogs were preparing to finish 11-0. Fresno State lost that day 45-22 to a 1-10 New Mexico Lobo team.

Gameday ran another feature about Fresno State and the "Shut and Hit Somebody" mantra in 2001. Fresno State upset Wisconsin that day, let see what happens today?

Injuries

Clint Stitser is out for the season. Jason Shirley, Joe Fernandez and Ahijah Lane are expected to play. Who would miss this game?

NCAA 06 Prediction

According to Sony Playstation's NCAA Football 06 Paul Pinegar throws for a school record 576 yards but it was not enough as the 'Dogs were beaten by USC. The Trojans jumped out to a 21-0 lead and Fresno State never recovered.

USC jumped out to a 28-7 lead towards the end of the half, but Fresno State responded to cut the lead to 28-14. Reggie Bush put the game away with 74 yard touchdown run to give USC a 35-14 lead. Pinegar threw the ball over the place in the second half but stalled drives and interceptions killed any comeback hopes. Fresno State loses 42-21.

Guest Analysis and Prediction

1) Special Teams: If Fresno State is to play with USC the special teams will be one of the most important areas for the Dogs. They cannot consistently play on a long field in turn giving USC a short field to work with. Both teams have electrifying players with respect to the kick return game. Both Adam Jennings and Reggie Bush are two of the fastest return men in the nation. Currently Adam Jennings is the only player in the nation in the top ten in both returning kickoffs and punts. However, Reggie Bush is Reggie Bush and not much more needs to be said. If Fresno State is to win the battle of field position Fresno State's punter Lingua will have to show his usual five second hang-time which severely limits any chance of a return from Bush. Fresno State has the advantage with respect to special teams, but that is the case regardless of who Fresno State plays.

2) QB Play: Obviously Matt Leinart is going to play well; one would be crazy to think he won't have a big game. He is the best qb in college football and probably has been the best qb for the past three years. He never seems uncomfortable when throwing the ball and rarely makes mistakes. Fresno State is going to have to pressure Leinart often in order to force him to throw the ball earlier than he wants. This may sound easy but honestly aside Notre Dame Leinart has played amazing this season. Paul Pinegar has come along nicely for Fresno State and finally has developed into that qb that dog fans can count on week after week. He throws the ball over the middle well and always seems to get the ball into Williams's hands on the outside when it is needed. Pinegar will also play well against USC's defense as the Bulldog offensive line rarely lets Pinegar feel the pressure. However, the advantage here still sits with USC and Leinart.

3) Reggie Bush/Lendale White vs. Wendell Mathis/Bryson Sumlin: USC and Fresno State are similar with respect to their running backs. Fresno State primarily uses Mathis as their starter but Sumlin can come in and dominate a game very easily. Mathis may be the faster running back but Sumlin is the kind of running back that will not go down the first time he is hit. USC may be surprised at the strength in these two running backs for Fresno State. Of course USC has two Rb's that are over 1000 yards already and are both high draft picks if they leave this year. Fresno has been suspect against the run this year allowing big plays from time to time. The advantage here has to go to USC.

4) Dwayne Jarrett/Steve Smith vs. Marcus McCauley/Richard Marshall: Jarrett has already eclipsed the 1000 yard mark for the season and Smith should also get there before the season is over. Leinart will throw the ball often against these two corners, but if he is smart he will stay away from McCauley as he will not let a receiver beat him two times. Zambranski tried to throw McCauley's way twice in a four down series and the second pass was intercepted. It will be up to these two corners to limit Matt Leinart and what options he will have deep down the field. There is no clear advantage here as the db's and receivers match up evenly against one another.

5) Paul Williams/Joe Fernandez vs. USC corners: Fresno State will try to run the ball as it has all year. However, their offense has become vertical of late getting both of these receivers involved often. Williams will make catches that most receivers cannot get to. In the end Pinegar is going to need a big day from both of these men in order to keep the game close. In the end you can break down FSU-USC however you want to. Any fan will find a reason why their team can win the game. FSU is the underdog and rightly so. If FSU can keep the game close in the first half they will begin to see they can beat USC. This Bulldog fan believes Fresno will play the best game of the year but will come up short due to the fact they are playing the best team of the decade. USC - 35 FSU - 24 -Neil Coppola

Bark Board Plug

Eric Prisbell is a former columnist for the Fresno Bee and now writes for the Washington Post. His piece today takes a look at Fresno State's chance at the upset over USC, but the best part was the plug about the Bark Board.

A Lot at Stake

Everyone is viewing the Big Game as David vs Goliath, but what did Goliath have to gain by beating David? In that scenario only David is to gain in victory. That is not the case for Goliath USC tomorrow at the Coliseum. USC has plenty gain with a big win, including its 15th straight win over a AP top 25 ranked team, a 33rd straight win, and most importantly to remain on pace to become national champions for a unprecedented third straight year.

Pete Carroll is saying all the right words to the media to hype up the matchup with Fresno State, but is anyone really buying it? The Trojans have plowed through everyone this year at the Coliseum, yet only one team that has played in L.A. has a winning record, Stanford. USC beat the Cardinal 51-21 and only Arizona has kept the Trojans under 50 points at home, but still lost by 21.

Why should Carroll be worried about a Western Athletic Conference team? Because Fresno State is ready to play. Win or lose, the Bulldogs are going to give it their all, and hopefully USC brings their A game. I really want to see where this year's Fresno State team stacks up against the best in the country.

The Bulldogs that played at no. 1 Oklahoma in 2003 was not a great team. They were a decent team, but were no where near the level of the 2005 squad.

From CBS: USC will get Beaten Up

By Dennis DoddCBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer

The Fresno Factor: Here's what most people don't know -- Fresno State is as tough as L.A. is la-la. That's why, win or lose, USC will come out of Saturday beaten up.

Physically.

Bulldogs coach Pat Hill is famous for his biker look (Fu Manchu mustache, trucker hat) and hard-nosed teams. Perhaps he made his chops as an assistant for Bill Belichick the year Cleveland announced its move to Baltimore.

Here's the Gospel According to Pat: Coaches' cars were turned over in the municipal stadium parking lot. They needed police escorts to get from the press box to the locker room and, oh yeah, Art Modell is a great person.

"I like Art Modell," he said this week. "Cleveland got their new stadium and Baltimore got their team back. But you had to have a fall guy. I think Art Modell is a great person."

That should go over well in Cleveland. In L.A., the Bulldogs should take this one into the fourth quarter. We mean it. This is the biggest game in Fresno history. Part of the reason the Coliseum is a sell-out is because thousands of fans are coming from the Central Valley.

"I'd love to play the California schools every week," Hill said. "Soon they'll start thinking they've got something to gain from playing us."

Hollywood Dog

Kevin Ward, Fresno State's #1 all-time quarterback.

USC has Matt "Hollywood" Leinart, but Fresno State has its own Heisman Trophy winning Hollywood quarterback, Kevin Ward.

Kevin Ward was of course played by former Fresno State football player Brandon Molale. Brandon will be at the game tomorrow. Look for him on the USC sidelines, however, he will be the only one wearing Bulldog Red and NOT Cardinal.

Molale has starred in numerous movies and television shows including, among others, The Longest Yard, Dodgeball, and Mr. Deeds.

CFN's John Harris....

Keys to the Big Game

CFN is fickle at times, but their research and analysis is decent. Take if for what its worth a couple of guys with some opinions on college football.

It Could Not Get Any Better

"Frankly, it has worked out beautifully for Fresno," Pete Carroll said. "This is the best team they have had in a long time. They are going to be as revved up and ready as you can get."

A Quote from a LA Daily News article about the big game. Carroll is right Fresno State could not have asked for anything much better than the national exposure they are getting this week. The game is getting hype from just about everybody who covers college football.

But this article and many others keep stating the Bulldogs have nothing to lose. That statement is totally false. Pat Hill has longed for Fresno State to be included among the elite of college football and now he has a chance to prove it. A blow out loss would almost certainly kill any more advances by Hill to get Fresno State into the big time.

Bing Your Out

USC strong safety Darnell Bing is one of the best in the nation at his position. The hard-hitting Bing will have a huge responsibility containing Fresno State tailbacks Wendell Mathis and Bryson Sumlin. Bing will be the best strong safety Fresno State has faced since James Sanders last year in practice.

Like Sanders, Bing will likely leave early for the NFL, but would like nothing more than shut up the 'Dogs. Fresno State needs to neutralize his presence on defense if they are going to have any to pull out the win.

Former 'Dogs Give Their Support

Fresno State's all time leading rusher, Ron Rivers, and one of his offensive lineman, Ron Collins, will be just be some of the Bulldog faithful in attendance Saturday.

Rivers and Collins were teammates on the 1992 team that beat USC in the Freedom Bowl, and say Fresno State will be ready to play and will not fear the Trojans.

Everyone Talking 'Dogs

It seems every major newspaper or media source is talking Fresno State football. The Bulldogs take on the unthinkable task of unbeaten USC Saturday. Coach Pat Hill's antics and persona has everyone from the Dallas Morning News to the Rocky Mountains News to the Oregon Daily Emerald talking about his team's chances in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Cool Customer

Whether it is winning three straight bowl games or taking down Hawaii and Boise State in the same year. Paul Pinegar always keeps his cool. Pinegar, despite getting the brunt of the blame for last year's three game losing skid, may go down as the greatest quarterback in school history. He has a chance to accomplish feats that have never been done by any other quarterback in college football history.

Hockey Takes Center Stage over 'Dogs-Trojans in Cali, FSN You Suck!

It is very sad that the biggest game of the weekend will be a national broadcast by Fox Sports Net. Not so much because USC homer Petros Papadakis will be the color commentator, but because the two biggest Fox Sports Net affiliates in California will not carry the game live.

Fox Sports Bay Area will broadcast a San Jose Sharks game, and Fox Sports West will carry a LA Kings game. That means only a select few who have Fox Sports West 2 or those who have satellite or digital cable sports packages will be able to see the game live.

FSBA is the local FSN affiliate in Fresno, and last week the Sharks took center stage over the Oregon-Washington State national TV game. However, the folks at Comcast will broadcast this weekend's Fresno State-USC game on the local community channel 14 for the Fresno Area.

What about the rest of the state? FSN has always looked like a second rate broadcast. All 18 affiliates nationally have access to the game, but the two biggest ones in California will not show it due to contracts to show hockey. Nothing against hockey, but the boys on the ice sat out last year due to monetary issues. How do these money hungry athletes get dibs over the greatest sport in the country, college football.

Hockey contracts over college football is just plain stupid, and that just makes the network look even worse. The Bulldogs and Trojans deserve better than a 10:15 ET kickoff on FSN. This game should have been at least a regional ABC telecast with Keith Jackson and Dan Fouts calling the game.

Many who would what to tune in and watch the biggest game of the week will not be able to from the confines of their own home, including those who live in San Diego County.

Typical Southern Ignorance

[Pat] Dooley's Top 10 from Gainesville.com


FRESNO STATE (8-1) AT SOUTHERN CAL (10-0): If The Bulldogs win I'll shave Pat Hill's mustache. There is talk of Fresno sneaking into the Fiesta Bowl if it wins. Come on. You can't equate beating the Weber States and Idahos of the world with playing in the SEC or ACC. Or even the QVC. Southern Cal, 45-20.

First if Fresno State beats USC, it will more than likely drop the Trojans from the top 2 of the BCS and put the Pac 10 champ in the Fiesta Bowl. Only if UCLA wins the Pac 10, meaning the Bruins beat USC and Oregon loses to Oregon State, is there a slight possibility Fresno State will play UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl. Honestly, if Fresno State can beat USC and snap the 32 game win streak, who in the SEC or ACC would want to play them?

Auburn did not want anything to do with Fresno State this year, and turned down a one and done home game in favor of a I-AA opponent. That is why Fresno State had to play Weber State. The Bulldogs haven't had a problem beating ACC schools. Just ask the Ramblin' Wreck and the Wahoos, neither is seeking a rematch anytime soon.

Fresno State would own the QVC and play in the Home Shopping Club Bowl every year.

Fresno State is undefeated
against the ACC.

Winning One For the City, too

John Branch was a columnist for the Fresno Bee for the last 2-3 plus years before he left for the New York Times a couple of months ago. He was your typical columnist writing crap to stir up the community. Now he comes out of nowhere and writes a great piece about Pat Hill, Fresno State and the City of Fresno.

Branch was not the most loved person among Fresno State fans, but what columnist is ever loved by the readers. But it is hard to imagined that even Branch would write such a decent piece about Fresno.

It is your usual stuff about the little guy taking on the big guy mantra. Am I the only one sick of hearing that crap? Yeah it might apply somewhat for this game, but Fresno State is 8-1 and ranked 16th in the country. The Bulldogs even hold a 1-0 lead in the series.

If Fresno State gets the crap beat out of them, then the media can talk about how the little guy Bulldogs were embarrassed by the mighty Trojans. Fresno State has earned enough respect to be taken seriously this Saturday, and are not your typical non-BCS team. Let the field determine if Fresno State is really a player nationally.

Bubba Will Root For 'Dogs not Trojans

It is bad enough people around the country already think Fresno is a city of rednecks. The citizens did not have to elect the most popular redneck on TV to be mayor, did they?

In 2000 the biggest redneck of them all, Bubba, from In the Heat of the Night was elected mayor of Fresno, California. Alan Autry is a down home type of guy with roots from right here in the Valley, Riverdale to be exact. He was a star high school athlete and earned a scholarship to play football at the University of Pacific in the early seventies.

His named then was Carlos Brown, and former son of a migrant farmworker befriended a sophisticated frat boy teammate, from the Bay Area, named Pete Carroll. Carroll was a hard-hitting defensive back, and Brown was the big Okie quarterback from the Valley.

Fast forward thirty plus years later and the former quarterback will be rooting against his former college teammate. Since returning to the Valley in the mid 1990's, Autry has become an avid supporter of Pat Hill and Fresno State. Saturday's game is one Autry has been waiting for all year, and I am sure Hill and the Bulldogs will not disappoint.

Fresno State Plays the Roll of Rocky This Weekend

Like Apollo Creed, USC needed a last minute replacement to fill a spot on the schedule. Like Apollo Creed, USC is as cocky as they come, but they have every reason to be. Fresno State is the last minute replacement just like Rocky. The Italian Stallion was a hard-nosed blue collar guy who just wanted to fight. Sounds like Fresno State, all the Bulldogs want is a chance to play and show what they got.

If Fresno State takes USC the distance and leaves them bloody and hurt, will the Trojans want a rematch to prove that is was a fluke?

At least one writer thinks Fresno State will come out like Glass Joe instead of Rocky.

Fresno State-Nevada on ESPN2

Fresno State keeps getting the national respect and ESPN is right there for the ride. ESPN2 has asked the University of Nevada to push back the starting time for next week's game against Fresno State to 4pm PT, 7pm ET, to accommodate a national prime time telecast.

It will be Fresno State's first and only ESPN or ESPN2 telecast on a Saturday this year, ESPNU did air two games earlier this year, Weber State and at New Mexico State.

The best thing about it is that the Bulldog Sports Network will not broadcast the game. The Idaho game was enough Ralph Wood and Randy Rosenbloom I take for the season.

Fresno State-USC Preview

Read the preview at Valley411.com. It All Comes Down to This: USC Preview.

Uphill Battle

Ever since Pat Hill arrived back at Fresno State, in 1997, to coach the Bulldogs he has faced an uphill battle. What Hill faces today and this week against USC is nothing compared to what he faced in his first year. Back in 1997 Hill was replacing the best coach in Bulldog history, Jim Sweeney, took over a program that had three straight losing seasons, and had only about 60 scholarship players. It was the lowest point in the program since the late 1970's.

Hill came in with the mantra "that we will play big time football." Everyone in the community chuckled as no one seemed to think Fresno State could ever the play the likes of Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin or USC in the regular season, let alone on national television.

Well, here we are in 2005 and the community has embraced this no-nonsense coach for over eight years. No one in 1997 could have ever imagined that Fresno State would be ranked 16th in the country and be headed to the Coliseum to face off against the no. 1 ranked USC Trojans on national television.

Rivals.com Outlook for Saturday

No. 16 Fresno State (8-1) at No.1 USC (10-0)
Saturday, 7:15 p.m., FSN
The Daily Line: USC -23.5

Fresno State player to watch: Senior quarterback Paul Pinegar has a 30-9 record – including 3-0 in bowl games – as a starter for the Bulldogs. Pinegar has moved up the career charts in passing yards, total offense and touchdown passes. For his career, Pinegar has 8,843 passing yards and 72 career touchdown passes.
USC players to watch: USC may have the best pair of wide receivers in the land in Steve Smith (47 receptions, 858 yards, 18.3 per catch and 4 TDs) and sophomore Dwayne Jarrett (70 receptions, 1,033 yards, 14.8 per catch and 14 TDs). They are on pace to become USC's second pair of receivers with 1,000 yards receiving each.
The inside scoop: Fresno State will present the toughest challenge for the Trojans in several weeks. The Bulldogs have both a capable offense and a stingy defense. While nobody has beaten USC in the last 32 games, certainly Fresno State's combination a good offense and solid defense are ingredients you would need to pull the upset. The Trojans, however, seem to be tightening their focus recently and when they do that, they are next to unbeatable. In fact, they are unbeatable.
Fresno State will win if … Pinegar and the Bulldogs can manage to keep the Trojans' offense on the sidelines while also scoring points. That's the gameplan to beat the Trojans, but the last 32 opponents have failed to do that.
USC will win if … it doesn't look ahead to the showdown with UCLA and plays as if it is a little miffed with all the attention Texas has received of late. The Trojans may want to make their own statement Saturday night.
Note: This will be the first meeting between the two schools since the 1992 Freedom Bowl.
The pick: USC 44, Fresno State 20. -rivals.com

Tahoe Says USC be Wary, Very Wary

The Tahoe Dailey Tribune is taking a step ahead of everyone else in the media. The folks in Tahoe are giving Fresno State some major love as they head to the Coliseum.

All that nonsense said, USC better be careful on Saturday night. The Bulldogs' only loss was a three-point defeat at No. 10 Oregon, a game Fresno State's top defensive player - Garrett McIntyre - missed because of injury. And didn't USC trail Oregon at halftime earlier this season?

To say that the two-time defending national champion Trojans (10-0) are ripe for upset is an understatement.

Let's just hope that the BCS has the vision to rank the Bulldogs among the top eight teams after their shocker on Saturday night.

USA Today's Erik Smith .02

And if rivalries aren't your thing, you can stay up late to watch Southern California face one of its final tests when Fresno State comes to town. The Bulldogs have one loss — by three points at Oregon — and have a recent tradition of toppling some big schools, including Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Kansas State, UCLA and Oregon State. It is not a good time for USC to be looking ahead to its finale against UCLA.

No. 1 Southern California vs. No. 16 Fresno State, 10:15 p.m.

UCLA may still be left on the Trojans schedule. Fresno State, however, will be their toughest opponent. This would be the ultimate prize for giant-killer Pat Hill and the Bulldogs. They could make SC fans and the BCS sweat for most of this game. Southern California 40, Fresno State 23.

The boys at CSTV should be taking some notes from Erik Smith. Amsinger? Curtis? Who knows maybe they could be right and Fresno State does get blown out of the water. If that did happen it would be a surprise not the norm and most experts agree.

Hill, 'Dogs Earning Respect

Pat Hill and Fresno State has been earning respect in the college football world since the magical run in early 2001. The Whittier Daily News is just reiterating what just about every news source says when Fresno State is on a national stage. It happened in early 2001 after wins over Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin. It happened again when the Bulldogs whipped Kansas State last year, and now it is happening again as Hill and Fresno State set to take on no. 1 USC.

It is always good to get some respect nationally, and the great part about this year is Fresno State has not beaten a ranked BCS school to get it.

55-10, CSTV Sucks!

That is one prediction from the "gurus" on CSTV's Crystal Ball preview show airing as I type. Specifically, it was from Greg Amsinger. What an idiot. USC has only held Cal to such a low point output, and Fresno State's offense is better than the Bears.

Amsinger is a poor man's Chris Fowler, with about 1/100th of Fowler's knowledge. He looks and acts like the Ryan Seacrest of college football television. If I didn't know any better. I would think he was a Trojan alum, but he is a 2001 graduate of Lindenwood University. Which is a NAIA school in Missouri. WTF? 55-10. USC will not beat Fresno State by 45 points, and the Trojan defense will not hold the Bulldogs to 10 points. If you are going to predict such a score as 55-10, give your analysis Amsinger. Just don't blurt it out like your predicting a Texas Tech-Indiana State game.

Then another idiot, Brian Curtis, jumps on board and says Fresno State will lose by 35 to 40 points. Curtis is a Virginia alum, I guess he didn't catch the Bulldogs putting 37 points on a very good Wahoo defense last year. But, the offense is much better this year, and the Fresno State defense is the best in the Pat Hill era.

It is evident that neither of these dumbshits watched any film or did any research and are just putting Fresno State in the same class as Washington State and Cal. Whatever, at least Brian Jones and Ray Lucas had some sense to say it will be a much closer game and a good test for USC.

34-20

That is the Sports Network prediction for this weekend's game, in the Trojan's favor, of course. Who has the guts to predict a Fresno State win, other than a Fresno homer? Nobody!

That's What I Would Say

Being a homer is not a bad thing, it just means you love your hometown team or alma mater. When your team has a game against an inferior opponent it is easy to predict a big win and focus your attention on something else.

Hey when Fresno State played New Mexico State, Utah State and Idaho that was a joke and those games did not need any special attention. If I was a USC homer and had no idea about Fresno State, other than their stats, games played, and conference affiliation, I would probably say this:

The Trojans are spending the week preparing for this Saturday's game against the Fresno State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are coming into the Coliseum this weekend ranked 16th in the nation with an 8-1 record. The Bulldogs' only loss this season came in their second game where they lost by three points at Oregon.

Of course, there are going to be the people who will say Fresno State has a great chance to pull off the upset, but there really is little to no chance at all on this one. The Trojans' stats blow Fresno State out of the water. When their schedules are compared, it makes USC's stats seem even stronger. It could also be added that the Trojan's starters often come out early in games, so their stats are a lot lower than they could be.

For those of you who don't believe in comparing stats, let's take a look at the "common opponents theory." It works out well for these two teams as they both played Oregon on the road, and they both played Hawaii on the road. At Hawaii, Fresno State won 27-13, while the Trojans won their game 63-17. At Oregon, the Bulldogs lost 37-34, and the Trojans won 45-13.

Don't look for an upset this week because there isn't one coming. USC should have another impressive win, leading to their final game of the season at home against UCLA on December 3. - Shane Carney

Press Conference Notes and Quotes

Usual pregame props by opposing coaches said during the press conference. The quotes from Pete Carroll and Pat Hill on this Saturday's game.

USC Getting Healthy on Defense

One major advantage the Fresno State offense had was facing a beat up USC defense, especially Paul Pinegar and his receivers against the secondary. But, the Trojans are getting healthy, and for once this year are overloaded at cornerback.

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.

Bring it On

Don't you wish every coach in America had Pete Carroll's mentality. If college coaches did, mega non-conference games would be the norm, and the Texas Tech pussies of the world would not exist. This is from the Bothell Herald:

Bring it on: Never let it be said that top-ranked USC tries to avoid a challenge. The Trojans plays out of conference this week, hosting No. 16 Fresno State. USC coach Pete Carroll says he used to believe that allowing your team to play easier opponents to pad your record was beneficial, but he's changed his mind.

"The way we look at it, we've got to play great football every week, no matter what," Carroll said. "The challenges help us. ... There's no challenge we're not up for and we feel we can't handle."