Trojans will need to quit sleepwalking
LOS ANGELES – Here we go again, another slow-mo start for the nation’s No. 1 team, a group with a short history of opening like the average casket does, with great creaking and obvious hesitation, the end result revealing very little life.
You say the USC Trojans did what to start this game? Stopped Arizona’s offense when three plays netted six entire feet? They then did what on their first play? Gained 34 yards? And on their first drive? Traveled 96 yards into the end zone, where a 7-0 lead and a rockslide of momentum seemed to be waiting?
No, the Trojans didn’t start slow this time, they just continued that way, again permitting a lesser opponent to remain relevant deep into the second half.
And this opponent wasn’t ranked, like Oregon and Arizona State. This opponent was just rank, the one-win Wildcats hanging around on a day that, for the Trojans, was supposed to be just basic calisthenics with intermittent heavy breathing.
It seems strange, badgering a program that has produced 27 victories in a row, consecutive national titles and enough sweet memories to fill the heads on Mount Rushmore. Especially when, you know, USC did technically just win by three touchdowns.
But, when trying to cruise at such dizzying heights, the quality of the takeoff must be scrutinized as closely as the rest of the flight. This is particularly true when the next destination is South Bend, Ind., where, apparently having unearthed their football team, they might not be so willing to fade at the end.
“The standards we’ve set are so high that there is a feeling of frustration that we aren’t playing better,” coach Pete Carroll said. “But that’s good, that’s OK. I liked today’s win.”
True, but the only thing convincing about this victory is that the Trojans certainly will have to be better next weekend. This is not their older brother’s Fighting Irish, the uneven teams of Davie and Willingham. This Notre Dame appears to be more like that Notre Dame, the ancient lore machine that relishes these opportunities.
Entering the fourth quarter with the score tied or tight beneath Touchdown Jesus isn’t the most comfortable path to take. Nor is it considered healthy for things like winning streaks and title dreams.
Yet, the Trojans do seem to squeeze such moments as snugly as the peel squeezes the apple. The truth remains they haven’t failed to finish in 741 days now, and until they do fail, picking against them is like picking against the sun rising.
“You never know what’s going to happen on Saturday, but I still like our chances,” said sophomore wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who hasn’t lost a game since high school. “It’s all about us. I really believe that. We execute, take care of our business, we’ll be fine.”
Still, this is a team playing like it’s inconvenienced by the regular season, or maybe bored with it, knowing how much more fun it is to play games after which a crystal trophy is awarded. The Trojans aren’t exactly sleep-walking, but they have cat-napped their way into mid-October.