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LOS ANGELES - Southern Cal's dominating win over Auburn, Saturday night, was a hot topic on national football highlight TV shows over the weekend, with commentators on ESPN and Fox Sports Net saying the game was the best of the day, and how the Trojans' defense may be the best in the country.
But Southern Cal's win may have been even more surprising to fans in Southern California, many of whom were nervous about opening the season on the road in rabid place like Auburn without this year's Heisman Trophy-winner Carson Palmer at quarterback and reliable Justin Vargas at tailback.
Last season, Southern Cal played Auburn in Los Angeles and the game was close until the Trojans took control in the second half, winning 24-17.
It's only the first game, and there's a tough Pacific-10 schedule to play, but the Trojans look to be even better than the 11-2 team that trounced Iowa in the Orange Bowl nine months ago.
Sophomore quarterback Matt Leinart, Palmer's replacement, played solid. He threw a touchdown pass to Mike Williams, last year's Freshman All-American, to start the scoring in the first quarter and then guided the offense to 315 total yards, effectively carrying out Norm Chow's game plan, which mixed the run with the pass.
Herschel Dennis gained 85 yards in his first game as the starting tailback.
But the defense was the story, holding the heralded Tiger running attack to just 46 yards rushing while sacking quarterback Jason Campbell six times. The Tigers totaled just 164 yards. "Big, aggressive and fast" was how CBS' announcers described the Trojans defensive players, who will now face Brigham Young at the Coliseum this Saturday.
In a switch, the Tigers had a Trojan by the tale on Saturday and Southern Cal coach Pete Carroll may have the best team in the country. We'll see.
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Rose Bowl
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Final
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1-Southern Cal
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28 |
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| 4-Michigan |
7 |
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Orange Bowl
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Final
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9-Florida State
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14 |
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| 10-Miami, Fla. |
16 |
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Fiesta Bowl
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1st Quarter
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7-Ohio State
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7 |
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| 8-Kansas State |
0 |
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Sugar Bowl
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Sunday, 8 PM Eastern
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2-Louisiana State (12-1)
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| 8-Oklahoma (12-1) |
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