USC-Cal game day musings: first half

It's a beautiful day for a ballgame, but unfortunately I'm playing two. At the same time.

I'll be at the Rose Bowl until UCLA and Oregon State wrap up. Hopefully I'll be at the Coliseum around halftime. Remember that the Beavers still control their own destiny and will be back here on Jan. 1 if they win out.

If USC wins out, the Trojans should definitely be going to a BCS bowl. Penn State lost on a last-second field goal to Iowa today, which gives pollsters the excuse to punish the Big 10 like they've wanted to do all year. Should be interesting to see the reaction to Alabama's overtime victory over LSU. Will people say it just proves how great the SEC is, or will they say the Tide is weak? My hunch is that most analysts will claim the former, but I'm not sure they're right. I agree the SEC is the top conference in America -- but not by leaps and bounds.

Anyway, back at the Coliseum it appears that Cal is struggling to establish the running game. That's its only hope of putting points up on the Trojans. Considering how much USC struggles with mobile quarterbacks, it surprised me when I heard this morning that Nate Longshore would be the starter. Go figure.

This is it for updates until I actually get to the game. No running thoughts, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of postgame stuff to post. If you're coming here for play-by-play, go to latimes.com/sports and look for our game-tracking thingamagig.

-- Adam Rose

Comments

[Paul Padilla]

How can a team, potentially the most exciting team to watch in all of college football, be so boring and frustrating. Just way too many yellow flags. What they have in talent they give away with lack of self control and poise. There is a statement that says, "Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness." The Trojams have great defensive strength but somhow cannot seem to balance that aggressivness. Until they do, I'm afraid they deserve the ranking they currently have.

[gerrrg]

I see it slightly different. I think the Pac-10 really does have lousy officiating. The stops and starts...well heck there could be a foul called on every play if you want to be sticklers on the rules, especially on holding and passing interference.

That's not to excuse the lack of discipline required of an aggressive team. Being aggressive isn't an excuse for the amount of fouls called on late hits and face mask penalties. At the next level, you don't get bailed out...you lose your starting job.