College Football Preview, Pac 10 - UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans

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2005 SEASON IN REVIEW: Once again the USC Trojans came into the season as one of the best teams in the country and had a legitimate shot at claiming their third consecutive national championship. The Trojans came roaring out of the gate, demolishing Hawaii in the season opener, 63-17. In the team's second contest, it steamrolled Arkansas, 70-17, and followed that victory with an impressive 45-13 victory over the nationally-ranked Oregon Ducks on the road. USC then squared off against a solid Arizona State squad away from home and walked away with a hard-fought 38-28 victory. The Trojans continued their march towards a perfect regular season with a tremendous 42-21 win over the Arizona Wildcats. At 5-0 USC went against a well coached and well prepared Notre Dame squad and it was its toughest challenge to date. The Trojans needed a last- minute drive to slip past the Fighting Irish. After almost stumbling against Notre Dame, the Trojans trounced the Washington Huskies and Cougars, defeating the two schools from Washington by a combined score of 106-37. Pete Carroll's juggernaut continued its onslaught of the Pac-10 by defeating Stanford, 51-21, and California, 35-10. USC came home for its final two regular-season matchups to face nationally-ranked Fresno State and UCLA. Fresno State was a surprising challenge for the Trojans, but USC was able to pull off the 50-42 victory. The Bruins were supposed to give USC a fight as well and maybe even threaten the Trojans' perfect season, but that was not the case as USC destroyed UCLA to the tune of a 66-19 final. With another perfect season under their belts and a shot at a third consecutive national crown, the Trojans headed to the Rose Bowl for the much anticipated battle with the Texas Longhorns. Unfortunately for USC the Trojans were unable to capture the title, falling to Texas Longhorns, 41-38, in one of the most memorable college football bouts of all-time.

2006 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: USC Torjans Carroll will have the dubious task of replacing not one, but two Heisman Trophy winners this season. As if the loss of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush were not enough, the Trojans will also have to replace LenDale White and three starters from the OL. Carroll was prepared for the departure of Leinart and has two solid candidates to fill his spot in John David Booty and Mark Sanchez. However, it was a tough off-season for both players, as Booty suffered back spasms and needed surgery, while Sanchez was suspended for off-the-field issues. As of now Booty seems to be healthy and should be ready for the start of the season. No one is expecting Leinart-like numbers from Booty, but he should do well, especially considering the top two wideouts from last year are back in Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett. Smith has been solid throughout his career at USC trojans football", but it was Jarrett last season who proved he is probably the best overall receiver in the nation. As a sophomore, Jarrett pulled down 91 passes for 1,274 yards and 16 touchdowns. It might be hard to duplicate those numbers with a new QB, but he should still be the most dominant wideout in all of college football. The biggest concern for the Trojans in '06 will be their rushing attack. USC will not be able to replace the best running back tandem (Bush and White) to ever play at the collegiate level and to make matters worse Hershel Dennis was lost for the season with a knee injury and Desmond Reed could also miss most, if not all of '06 with a knee injury as well. This leaves the running back duties up to junior Chauncey Washington. As of now Washington looks to be the starting tailback, but regardless of who ends up in the Trojan backfield it will definitely be a weak spot for USC.

DEFENSE: With the offense losing some many key players, the USC defensive unit will have to play much better in '06, but with only six starters returning that could be a tough task as well. Fortunately for Carroll, he should have a solid line, especially with the return of defensive end Lawrence Jackson, who led the Trojans with 10 sacks in '05. Sedrick Ellis is back at the nose tackle position and will hopefully continue to do a nice job stuffing the run. The linebacking corps should be one of the best in the Pac-10, thanks to the return of all three starters. Middle linebacker Oscar Lua is the leader of the group, but super sophomore Brian Cushing looks to have the most talent and should improve vastly on his stats from last season. Linebacker Dallas Sartz, who is returning after being lost for the '05 campaign with an injury, moves to strong safety to help out a defensive backfield that will most likely be the weakest link of the USC defense. The Trojans will have to replace both cornerbacks and as of now its seems as if two sophomore will be thrown into the mix. Cary Harris and Kevin Thomas will likely see the bulk of the time there, but both are inexperienced, combining for just 16 tackles last year. The team does return free safety Josh Pinkard, who led the squad with seven pass breakups.

SPECIAL TEAMS: This unit will also be hurt by the loss of Bush. The superstar runner averaged an impressive 9.9 yards per punt return and returned one punt for a touchdown. Regardless of who finds himself with the job of returning kicks for USC, they will most likely not be nearly as dangerous as Bush. Fortunately the kicking game should be just fine with the return of Mario Danelo. Danelo connected on 83-of-86 extra point attempts and was an impressive 11-of-12 on field goal tries. With the tremendous losses on the offensive side, look for the junior to get many more field goal opportunities.

OUTLOOK: How do you replace two Heisman Trophy winners and a running back who scored 24 touchdowns? Plain and simply...you don't. However, the show must go on at USC and despite the losses you can bet Carroll has recruited some of the best high school players this country has to offer. USC should be one of the top teams once again but obviously it will not be as easy and pretty. The Trojans' schedule is relatively easy with the exception of the team's last two matchups at home against Notre Dame and at UCLA Bruins.

February
• USC Looking Into Potential Recruiting Violation by Reggie Bush w/ Joe McKnight
• College Football Recruit News
• Bush Whacked? - Real World Rules
• Reggie Bush: 'I Didn't Point at Urlacher'
• Super Bowl XLI Champions - Indianapolis Colts
• Reggie Bush Gets Away From Questions
• Saints, Reggie Bush Gets Super Respect

January
• Reggie Bush Cannot Juke Out of Investigation
• Reggie Bush Fined $5,000 for Taunting
• Super Bowl XLI Preview
• Reggie Bush Pays 5 Million for Hollywood Hills Home
• Reggie Bush Admits “I'm a Bush!”
• In One Play, Reggie Bush Shows Talent and Inexperience
• Tell Us Your Thoughts on Reggie Bush's 2006 - 2007 Season!
• Saints’ Reggie Bush Lifts a Franchise and a City
• Reggie Owes Team Lunch
• Saints' Reggie Bush a Big Fan of Eagles' Brian Westbrook
• Eagles Must Deal with the Versatility of Reggie Bush
• Reggie Bush, McAllister Help Keep Opponents Guessing on Game Plan
• Reggie Bush and Deuce Make Saints Contender

December
• 2007 NFL Draft: First Look
• No USC Sideline Pass Upsets Bush
• Bush Not Welcome at USC's Rose Bowl
• Reggie Bush Runs for 126 Yards as Saints Rolls Over the Giants 30-7
• Giants Face Tough Task Going Against Reggie Bush and the Saints
• All Reggie Bush, All the Time
• Reggie Bush Sets NFL Rookie Receptions Record
• Reggie Bush Didn’t Vote for Brady Quinn
• Reggie Bush, NFL Rookie Record-Setter, Leads Saints
• Reggie Bush Tweaked Shoulder on Fourth TD
• Reggie Bush is Golden Against 49ers
• Bush-Gore Rematch Hits the Big Easy on Sunday
• Reggie Bush Ready for School Reunion

November
• Gameloft Signs Reggie Bush for Pro Football 2007
• Reggie Bush Sets Saints Rookie Reception Record
• Bengals Differ on Reggie Bush
• Unfulfilled Promise – Reggie Bush
• Reggie Bush Fires Marketing Agent
• Overpaid Player of the Week: Reggie Bush
• Payton: Reggie Bush Bashers are Off Base
• Reggie Bush is Struggling
• Reggie Bush Confident He`ll Play Sunday vs. Tampa Bay

October
• Reggie Bush Injured Against Ravens
• Bush Says Ankle Injury Isn't Serious
• Jonnie Gets a Warm Welcome from the Saints
• Payton Has Saints in Right Place This Season
• Run, Reggie, Run
• New Orleans Saints Road to Success
• Last Week's Series of Wild Finishes is a Tough Act to Follow
• New Orleans Saints Road to Success
• Leftwich's Status in Doubt
• Inside Slant
• Another Look at Williams vs. Bush
• Saint Reggie says coming to N.O. 'a blessing'
• New Orleans Saints Going National with Reggie Bush
• Saints Using Reggie Bush Much Like Eagles Use Westbrook
• Eagles Concerned About Reggie Bush Matchup
• Reggie Bush Earns NFC Weekly Honors
• McAllister Gladly Takes Backseat to Rookie Reggie Bush
• Reggie Bush Scores on 65-Yard Return
• Reggie Bush Eager to Plant His Feet In End Zone
• Reggie Bush Ready to Give Fans First TD
• Bush Endures Rough Day vs. Panthers

September
• Even If Reggie Bush Broke Rules, He Won't Lose His Heisman
• Reggie Bush Joins John Lovitz for Subway’s Daytime Drama
• Reggie Bush Blastoff Just a Matter of Time
• Minus Big Gains, Saints Still Sense Boost from Reggie Bush
• Reggie Bush Case Stinks All The Way Around
• USC Receiver McFoy Backs Reggie Bush's Stance on Controversy
• Reggie Bush in Danger of Historic Loss
• Reggie Bush Deserved More
• New Orleans Saints Green Bay Win Shows Team Not Reggie Bush League
• Reggie Bush Responds to Gift Allegations
• Reggie Bush, NCAA at Odds
• Reggie Bush Has Good Mate to Run With
• Reggie Bush Opens Professional Career With 141 Total Yards, Win Over Browns
• Browns Drop Opener to Saints, Reggie Bush
• New Orleans Saw Reggie Bush Against Browns
• NFL's Reggie Bush, Top Rookie Endorser, Scores $5 Million in Contracts
• Saints RB Reggie Bush Providing Exclusive Content for CBS SportsLine
• New Orleans Gives Reggie Bush a Lot of Love, and He Returns It
• Saints Rookie Shows He Can Take Big Hits

August
• Reggie Bush is Putting Down Roots In New Orleans
• More Reggie Bush Biography
• In Bush, New Orleans Truly Has a Saint on Its Hands
• Colts-Saints Contest Cooks Up a Bayou Taste
• New Orleans Saints 2006 Season Preview
• Bush NFLDraftblitz Interview
• More Reggie Bush Highlights
• Just Added Reggie Bush Videos
• Reggie Bush Wont Have His Shoes Shined
• Reggie Bush Odds-On Favorite to Capture NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
• Reggie Bush Reggie Bush Fined by NFL for Wearing Unauthorized Cleats
• Saints Vs Titans Preseason Opener
• College Football Preview, Pac 10 - USC Trojans
• NCAA Football Preview
• NFL Rookies
• Reggie Bush Struggles in First Scrimmage
•2006 Reggie Bush News
•2005 Reggie Bush News