Trojans learned lesson about respect after Stanford pushed them to limit

For a time, it appeared that the impossible might happen.

It didn’t, as No. 1 USC stormed back from a 28-17 halftime deficit at Stanford to escape with a 31-28 victory. But the insight gained from that game still has both Stanford coach Buddy Teevens and USC coach Pete Carroll talking.

“It’s very disappointing. We played hard,” Teevens said Tuesday. “I think we had a good plan against them offensively and defensively. Our special teams executed well, and our players played hard. That’s the approach that we took with our guys, to have tremendous respect for them.”

That respect, unsurprisingly, is mutual.

“They’re really good. I thought they were a very good team,” Carroll said. “We found out that if you don’t have your act together, they can knock you off and make you look bad.”

As much as Saturday night’s near-upset may have been about USC taking two quarters off before waking up and playing up to its mighty potential, it would also seem to indicate — as Washington State head coach Bill Doba said after his team’s close win on Saturday — that there are a number of teams within the Pac-10 capable of doing damage this season.

Stanford was picked to finish ninth in the conference before the year started. But the Cardinal have given impressive efforts in all three of their games.

That’s been the case around much of the conference.

Arizona, picked to finish last, has played three consecutive tough games, displaying the capability to knock off much more highly regarded foes. Oregon State, despite its 1-3 record, gave LSU all it could handle and also challenged two ranked teams in Boise State and Arizona State.

Only one team, Washington, hasn’t won a game. It could be argued that the Huskies are the lone team that has yet to put in a showing that would make them a legitimate upset candidate as the season progresses.

Thumbs up or down

Conference coaches reacted similarly when asked for their opinions on two proposed rule changes.

One, the granting of a fifth year of eligibility to all players, was met with nearly unanimous support. The other, a removal of the mandatory one-year wait for transfers before seeing the playing field, was not greeted as warmly.

The first proposal would do away with the redshirt year, giving all players the opportunity to play collegiate football for five seasons instead of the current four.

“I think it’s an excellent proposal,” Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. “I think it helps kids probably stay on track for a degree and takes all that redshirting out of the equation. That, to me, is something that will benefit all the players.”

The proposal regarding transfers found some support, but most coaches said the current system works better.

The possibility of recruiting players already at another school was brought up on multiple occasions.

“Recruiting is so competitive between the schools,” said Arizona State’s Dirk Koetter. “In the Pac-10 we’re all recruiting the same guys.

“So if a kid goes somewhere and is disgruntled for any reason — he doesn’t get to play as soon as he thought he would — and then if he has the ability to transfer free and clear, I think you’re opening the door for chaos.”

Notes

Oregon State, similar to Washington State, is starting to experiment with a two-back look on offense. Head coach Mike Riley doesn’t have fullbacks on his roster, but he has used an H-back this season in a similar role. “I would like to be able to, as we recruit and grow, develop that part of our game with a lead blocker more,” he said. … In addition to WSU, USC and Arizona have the week off.