USC seeks return to form
Most of the USC Trojans were in high school when the team last lost a regular-season game, but head coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that his team is handling Saturday’s loss at Oregon State well.
The Trojans slid six spots in the polls to No. 9 after the loss and may find themselves on the outside looking in on the national championship game, even if they manage to win out and claim yet another Pac-10 title.
USC had been flirting with defeat for some time in this season of transition, playing close conference games against Washington State, Washington and Arizona State before finally falling to the Beavers.
But Carroll managed to sound a positive note, complimenting the way his team fought back from what was once a 23-point deficit to make it a 33-31 game before an unsuccessful two-point conversion with 7 seconds left.
“So far, I think the response has been right on the mark,” Carroll said of his team’s reaction. “We’re certainly not going to be sitting around and kicking the ground in frustration.
“We went out and had a very upbeat, fast-moving practice on Monday.”
If there’s anything that might make the head coach feel especially good about the state of his team, it’s probably the schedule.
USC draws 0-8 Stanford this week, a team that’s been outscored 173-30 in five conference losses.
“They’re going to be looking to get things right real fast,” acknowledged Cardinal coach Walt Harris, who once recruited and coached Carroll in college at the University of Pacific.
Olson won’t play
UCLA coach Karl Dorrell, sounding noticeably concerned in light of his team’s current three-game losing streak, said quarterback Ben Olson’s knee has not healed enough for him to play this weekend against No. 10 Cal, which stands alone atop the conference standings.
It might not be a coincidence that Olson was injured just before the skid as backup Patrick Cowan has struggled to move the Bruins offense, a malady on full display in WSU’s 37-15 win on Saturday.
“It’s kind of a week-to-week thing,” Dorrell said. “He’s probably more in that 60-70 percent range.”
Olson is practicing with the Bruins this week on a limited basis, giving Dorrell hope that his signal-caller might be ready for next week’s game against Oregon State.
The 4-4 Bruins still have Arizona State and USC on the schedule, and will need two wins to become bowl-eligible.
Notes
Oregon is finding itself in the unenviable position of burning redshirts late in the season. Quarterback Nathan Costa played last week against Portland State because head coach Mike Bellotti wants to have three quarterbacks ready in case of an emergency. Running back Andre Crenshaw will play this week, the coach said. The Ducks lost both their third- and fourth-string running backs to injury, pushing Crenshaw into the fold. … Cal coach Jeff Tedford said Marshawn Lynch’s ankle is doing much better after his team’s bye week. The Golden Bears will also benefit from having senior offensive lineman Andrew Cameron back from injury.