The Foley Report, Week 13 College Football

Online, December 2, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Foley Trojan Football Updateâ€
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THE FOLEY REPORT

The PAC 10

The 13th week of the 2009 college football season is in the books. It was rivalry weekend for many schools around the country, starting with USC and UCLA in their 79th meeting at the Coliseum. USC ground out a tight game with an exclamation point down the stretch to beat the Bruins 28-7. Arizona won a tight one over Arizona State 20-17, with a last second field goal as time expired. Washington shut out Washington State 30-0, to take the Apple Cup. Stanford came from behind to hand Notre Dame their 3rd straight loss and put the nail in the coffin for Charlie Weis' run at Notre Dame. All eyes will be on the Civil War showdown this Thursday night which matches Oregon State at Oregon with the winner take all Rose Bowl berth at stake, the first time ever in this series. USC will face the much improved Arizona Wildcats in the regular season finale for both teams. A Trojan win and an Oregon State loss will likely take the Trojans to the Holiday Bowl.

The National Picture

Alabama survived a scare from their rival Auburn in the annual Iron Bowl coming from behind to win 26-21, staying on track for a shot at the national title vs. Florida this Saturday at the Georgia Dome. Florida flattened Florida State 37-10 in Tim Tebow's farewell tour at the Swamp. Texas stayed the course holding off a pesky Texas A & M team on Thanksgiving night 49-39. Texas faces 9-3 Nebraska for the BIG 12 Conference Championship this Saturday in Arlington, Texas. Cincinnati QB Tony Pike threw six touchdown passes to lead the Bearcats to a 49-36 victory over Illinois. TCU demolished New Mexico 51-10 to complete its first undefeated season since 1938, the year of its only national championship. Boise State also remained undefeated with their 44-33 victory over Nevada. #7 ranked Georgia Tech was upset by rival Georgia but is still slated to play Clemson in the ACC Championship in Tampa, Florida. Cincinnati has a big matchup Saturday playing at Pittsburgh. It is unprecedented that there are still six undefeated teams in Division I football this late in the season.

UCLA Game Overview

USC and UCLA squared off last Saturday night with both teams in need of a win. USC had won nine of the last ten outings but the Trojans came into the game looking for respect and redemption after being humiliated at home against Stanford on November 14th in their Homecoming game. They had also struggled in wins over Arizona State, Oregon State and Notre Dame as well as getting ambushed in Eugene on Halloween night. UCLA was coming into the game with renewed confidence, winners of their last three games against ASU, Washington State, and Washington. This game was not about "style points" or about looking pretty; it was about finding a way to get the W and get back to playing Trojan football. The final analysis shows a very even game statistically. The Bruins rushed for 134 net yards compared to the Trojans 130 net yards. USC passed for 206 yards to UCLA's 188. UCLA had 74 plays to USC's 60 and UCLA's time of possession was 30:55 compared to the Trojans' 29:05. UCLA finished 5 of 16 on 3rd down for a 31% conversion ratio and USC finished 4 of 12 for 33% ratio. In the end, the difference came down to big plays and turnovers with USC getting four turnovers and giving up one. Malcolm Smith's opportunistic 62 yard interception return on a slant pass in the 1st quarter gave the Trojans a 7-0 advantage that they took into halftime. Will Harris' interception in the 3rd quarter deep in UCLA territory set up the 2nd Trojan score with Allen Bradford barreling over from the one yard line. The Bruins did not score until late in the 4th quarter with running back Chane Moline scoring from the 2 yard line out of their "wildcat" formation. USC put their best drive of the game together on the following series, going 73 yards in nine plays to ice the game 21-7. After USC stopped the Bruins on downs on the following possession, they got the ball back and were poised to run out the clock with 54 seconds left in the game. Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley was instructed to take a knee to run out the clock but UCLA exercised the first of their timeouts. After the timeout, USC delivered a controversial 48 yard scoring strike from Matt Barkley to a wide open Damian Williams for a 28-7 lead, culminating with a very emotional outburst from both sides.

Offense

There was much talk coming into the match up about the talented freshman quarterbacks in this game. Matt Barkley, the true freshman from USC and Kevin Prince, the redshirt freshman at UCLA. There was talk that this would be a marquee matchup and the first of at least two more years to come. In reality, both teams utilized conservative game plans and seemed content largely playing field position football. USC outgained the Bruins, 140-138 yards in the first two quarters but neither Barkley nor Prince could engineer a scoring drive. Both teams combined to punt five times in the first half. The Trojans again had a tough time sustaining drives only completing 4 of 12 on 3rd down and they were again plagued by penalties finishing with twelve for 107 yards. USC has continued to have challenges this season picking up yards on 1st and 2nd down which has consistently put them in 3rd and long situations. In this game, penalties and predictable play-calling created four 3rd and 11 plus situations and they had seven 3rd and 5 plus situations. This makes it very difficult for any offense to be efficient converting 3rd downs. USC still sits at # 100 in the country with a 34.09% third down conversion ratio. It will be crucial for USC to improve in this area Saturday against Arizona as well as in their bowl game. The bright spot in the game was the nine-play 73 yard drive that USC responded with after the Bruins lone touchdown late in the 4th quarter. The offensive line took over in the trenches and Allen Bradford turned into a battering ram, hammering UCLA defenders and making them pay along the way. It was great to see the Trojans' determination in closing out the game with a physical finish. Bradford came on to replace a nicked-up Joe McKnight to finish with 62 net yards on 14 carries for a 4.4 average and two touchdowns. UCLA has a beast in the middle with #92 Brian Price and the Trojans did a decent job offsetting his presence. A player of this caliber needs to be game planned around and plays should be designed to go away from him and he should be double teamed on pass plays. He did get a lot of penetration into the backfield and he finished with five tackles and two tackles for losses and one forced fumble that the Trojans recovered.

Passing Game

The offensive line did a decent job giving up no sacks to the Bruins. USC primarily utilized a ball control passing scheme and Barkley completed 18-26 with one interception for a 69% completion percentage. However, until the last offensive play for the Trojans, they did not do much to stretch the defense. USC only had passed for 158 yards prior to the game ending bomb. It was encouraging to see the roll out completion to Anthony McCoy in the first half but I was surprised that they did not follow up on their early success. I am still waiting to see USC's offensive line set the tone early in games by pounding the ball and controlling the line of scrimmage. A good offense takes what the defense gives you. You spend all week preparing; studying players on the opposing team, schemes such as blitz and stunt packages, coverages, and tendencies. It is crucial to have a clear strategy going into the game and a good understanding of the other team's weaknesses. However, if a team starts squatting on routes or they move an 8th player into the box, it is time to exploit that by attacking them and stretching the defense and also running play action passes. It should have made a bigger difference to have all three of their weapons back on the field at the same time. Damian Williams, Anthony McCoy, and Stanley Havili all were healthy and need to be utilized. They are all playmakers and the offense needs to find ways to get the ball into their hands consistently. Damian Williams recovered from his high ankle sprain to stand out against a very good UCLA secondary. He finished with five catches for 82 yards with the exclamation point touchdown at the end of the game.

Defense

It was a relief to see the defense have a much better game after their abysmal performance against the Cardinal two weeks ago. A strong defense always gives a team a chance. USC only gave up seven points in the game and it did not come until 5:41 left in the 4th quarter. This will win football games and it is this kind of effort that has been missing for the Trojans in the 2nd half of this season. USC finished with a plus 3 turnover margin and that was the fundamental difference in this ball game. The Trojans defense scored the first and only touchdown on Malcolm Smith's 62 yard interception return in the first half. Will Harris' pick in UCLA territory in the 3rd quarter set up USC's second score. Josh Pinkard also got into the action with a clutch interception in the 4th quarter when the game was still close and he also forced and recovered a fumble. This style of ball hawking is what the Trojan defense has been lacking a lot of this year as evidenced by their 72nd ranking in the country with only 19 take-a-ways on the season. The defensive line looked much better and was led again by Jurrell Casey in the middle who finished with one sack and one and half tackles for loss. They also employed more depth with senior defensive tackle Averell Spicer getting some reps and Christian Tupou played inspired football as well.

Linebackers

This was the biggest improvement in the game without question. In the last month, the USC defense had given up 111 points in three games, only six fewer than the Trojans gave up in 13 games last year. Malcolm Smith, the younger brother of wide receiver Steve Smith, saved his best game for the big stage. Not only did he have the huge interception return in the 1st half, he also finished with 15 tackles and one and half tackles for loss. Middle linebacker Chris Galippo finished with five tackles and true freshman and converted defensive end, Devon Kennard finished with six. This is the type of production that USC has come to expect from its linebackers. They have been a banged up group this year and one that has also lacked depth. Smith missed four starts because of ankle and shoulder injuries, Michael Morgan has been injured, freshman Jarvis Jones is out, and Kennard missed two games before making his second start against the Bruins. It is worth noting that last years leading tacklers on the season were all four of their linebackers and going into UCLA, Taylor Mays was the leading tackler... from the free safety position. This is not a good sign even with the injuries. The defense gave up 134 net yards rushing with an average of 3.8 yards per carry. The majority of the rushing yardage was surrendered to the Bruin quarterbacks who combined for 78 yards. The Trojans will get some different looks in the Arizona game. They split time with two quarterbacks Nick Foles who is their passer and Matt Scott who is the team's 3rd leading rusher, averaging 7.6 yards per carry.

Pass Defense

The defensive backs did an outstanding job creating turnovers and helped limit UCLA's starting quarterback Kevin Prince to 10-22 passing for only 90 yards and two interceptions. Their other quarterback, Kevin Craft, did not fare much better and finished 8-17 for 98 yards and one pick. There was a strong push by the defensive line that disrupted UCLA's quarterbacks and kept them out of a rhythm. I have said all season the best pass defense is a great pass rush, especially against a younger quarterback. The Trojans have big, physical defensive backs that can run. They need to continue attacking ball carriers but they must continue to look for interceptions in these last two games. With the conservative game plan being called on the offensive side of the ball, it will be imperative for the defense to be solid against the run and opportunistic against the pass. In very competitive games, which many have been this year, it is crucial for the Trojans to win the turnover margin. Three of the top five tacklers for the Trojans were defensive backs in this game.

Special Teams

The kicking game had a solid night. Jake Harfman punted eight times in the game and averaged 45.4 yards per punt with two over 50 yards and three of them were fair catches. The punt coverage has been stellar all year and once again, they did a great job getting down field forcing fair catches or making great open field tackles. They only gave up three yards per return. In contrast, Damian Williams averaged 14.6 yards per punt return which was huge to have him back and healthy. Garrett Green's season ending knee injury was a big loss for the Trojans, certainly his ability but also his exceptional attitude and leadership.

Emotion and Class

Much has been talked about this week about the end of the game. As I said after Harbaugh went for two with Stanford up against USC in the 4th quarter, 48-21, suck it up. The last thing USC ever needs to be is a victim after losing to Stanford at their own house on Homecoming. USC-UCLA is a rivalry game, one that stretches back some 79 years. There is always extraordinary emotion that comes out in this game. It is different than any other game on their schedule. This game was essentially over when the Bruins were stopped on downs with 54 seconds remaining. UCLA called timeout which is to be expected if you are still competing. The Bruins obviously were. USC called a bomb because Coach Carroll said that they were "jumping around" and that the "score was not that close." In reality, they made a decision to keep competing as well. USC did not line up in a "kneel down" formation. This is a formation when all of the offense is lined up tight, typically with a "safety" lined up behind the quarterback and running backs. They came out in a pro style set with two wide outs. If I was UCLA, I would be more concerned with why my defensive backs are getting beat by 15 yards at the end of the game. The last time I checked, the game is played for 60 minutes. When UCLA said let's keep playing, then be prepared to play. The aftermath of the touchdown went on too long. The Trojans started celebrating the touchdown on the sideline, likely because many of them were just as surprised as UCLA was. The Trojan players were excited and started jumping up and down but when UCLA came across the field, the tension and emotion escalated. By the way, this is not new- I was at the 2007 game at the Rose Bowl when both teams were jumping around and calling each other out during a time out. In my opinion, both teams are responsible for the drawn out drama. There is a fine line between having energy and emotion and classless taunting and the Trojans need to make sure they walk that line. There are times when tempers flare and emotions erupt but it is important to maintain discipline and class. Many of these young men are still kids and they can get caught up in the moment. They are still learning about what it means to be a Trojan. It is always important to pay respect to your opponent even when you want to destroy them.

Moving Ahead

So now it is time to move on, to finish strong, and to keep getting better. It has been a trademark of Pete Carroll teams to win late in the season and to pound opponents in bowl games (other than one). It has been a year with a couple of inexplicable losses to Oregon and to Stanford. However, a win against Arizona and a bowl victory would give the Trojans a 10-win season. That may not seem like a big deal considering the last seven years of success but consider this; USC has had exactly one 10-win season between the years of 1980 and 2001.This is the bar that has been raised. Coach Carroll has never lost to UCLA and Notre Dame in the same season and is currently 8-1 against both rivals. Arizona is very much improved and they will bring a lot of speed and athleticism. Their throwing quarterback, Nick Foles, is completing 67.4% of his passes with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. They also run a spread offense with different personnel, a defense that has consistently given the Trojans problems. They are also ranked 22nd in total defense in the country. It is time for the Trojans to play with maturity, to play together as a team, to bring enthusiasm and heart, to play with intelligence and focus. It is the 12th game of the season and it is time for USC's seniors to play their last game in the Coliseum. It is time to realize what it means to be a Trojan, to Fight On, no matter the opponent, conditions, or circumstances. It is time to rise up again, to raise the sword and to go into battle, to play like warriors, and to always Fight On!

Beat the Wildcats!

Shane Foley
Vice President, Wealth Management Consultant
Wells Fargo - The Private Bank

Shane Foley played quarterback for the Trojans from 1986-1990. He is a Vice President and Wealth Management Consultant for Wells Fargo in Newport Beach. He serves on the executive board for Pete Carroll's A Better LA, The Blind Children's Learning Center in Orange County and is involved in several other charities. He can be reached at [email protected].