USC has established a lot of separation from the "Notorious Nine".:grin: I was surprised at how close some of your conf. games were last year but you all really overcame some big time injuries in the first half of the season (For sure- don't remember how many returned towards the end). Plus, JDB was in his first year as a starter, and I remember him locking in on DJ and not going through his check-offs but as the season progressed and the game slowed down he ended showing a lot of improvement. I don't know if you were on the USC forum then but it really had USC fans divided tween Booty or Sanchez........course we had plenty here who wanted Flynn too and ours ended up being, as you know, the first pic in the draft so it goes to show you how hard it is to convince college fans.
I was not on any forum until last November, but the support Sanchez had from a good portion of the USC fanbase was understandable, given Booty was untested and both have an extraordinary amount of talent. The heat is on everyone to win PT at USC and QB is no exception. On Flynn vs. Jemarcus last year, go figure? Jemarcus is a superior QB, as he proved, but this will be Flynn's year to shine and lead the Tigers to the SEC championship. If he stay's healthy, I believe he will.
No doubt, though I'm not a USC fan, I felt the same- I didn't think Booty was going to pan out, honestly, still not sold on him and think saying his name in the same sentence as the Heismann is silly but who knows; nevertheless, had most USC fans (And I use that term loosely cause many were "Bandwagon") had their way, the position wouldn't be JDB's to lose right now. :thumb: I have NO DOUBT about Dorsey though. :wink:
Booty came out of the shadows with a good (but not great) season in '06, leading the Trojans in a rebuilding year to 11-2 and a #3 ranking. He deserves the first look and he looked better (more consistant) in Spring Practice, but Sanchez is in the wings and everyone knows it. PC doesn't get into QB controversies because it's straight up competition every week to earn the start and everyone gets reps in practice, so the start is there for the taking. On the early Hiesman-hype, IMO it's way too early to say who will emerge and personal performance is only one aspect. Team play and win/loss record figures prominantly and unfortunately offensive production seems more compelling to the voters than dominant defensive play. All that said, you really have to give the early lead to McFadden based on last year's production, but it's a new season and there are plenty of worthy candidates. On the defensive-side, based on his tangibles, extraordinary skill and dominant performance in '06, IMO Dorsey's name should get serious mention too, but (unfortunately) it'll be a cold day in hell before a defensive lineman wins the Hiesman. If he has the kind of year he's capable of and IF a few of the "O-wizards" stumble, then he may very well end up in the top 5 vote-getters with a real shot at winning the award - espcially if LSU runs the table.
Not in agreement that Sanchez' support was from a good portion. Yes, some outspoken fans wanted to boot Booty but they would have been screaming for anyone who was the backup, not just Sanchez. Booty proved his worth in leading USC to a comeback (albeit eventual loss) against the beavs and avoiding total humiliation at that point in the season. Who knows what success he may have had in an offense that occasionally used the shotgun. He stepped into some big shoes and the loss of over 80% of our offense from the previous year. Sanchez has never started a game. Sanchez does not get "equal" reps in practice. Sanchez struggled mentally with the off-field issues. I look forward to what he does when he takes over...........in another year.
Fixed it for you, we cant have USC taking our #3 spot that LSU earned and this year the coaches and the AP agreed.:grin:
Absolutely and good catch. In fact both polls agreed only through #4 and then completely diverged. Considering aOSU ended up at #2, how do ya'll think you would have matched up with them?
Considering Fla. was our "Bad" game, I'd expect much of the same against tOSU from us......like 44-14?? :hihi: If you can't make it to the NC game, walloping Notre Dame has to be the next best thing. :grin:
I thought OSU was great last year and then I saw the NC game. They should have been ranked behind both LSU and USC and maybe a few others after that performance. IMO, LSU was playing at its peak at the end of the year and probably better than any team the last few games. If we had a shot at Florida in the SECCG I would have said we would have pulled that one out. But might be a little biased. OSU would have been a cake walk.
