USC Trojans

With the release of the first edition of the BCS standings, we ask what's on the minds of the most diehard USC fans: Can the Trojans climb back into the national championship picture?

The answer is, it's possible . . . if they win out.

If the Trojans win their remaining seven games, they could still be one of the top two teams in the BCS standings come December and in Miami come January. They sit at No. 10 right now, without yet having played a team the computers or pollsters consider elite, and coming down the stretch the Trojans could play three games against teams in the current BCS top 10.

They have upcoming regular-season matchups with Oregon and Notre Dame and could potentially square off in a Pac-12 championship game with either Oregon a second time or Oregon State (if the Beavers beat the Ducks in the Civil War). If they won each of those games they would jump at least those three teams -- No. 3 Oregon, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 8 Oregon State.

They wouldn't be a lock for the No. 2 spot, of course (Oregon, Notre Dame and OSU would need to continue their winning ways and Kansas State would need to lose), but four of the remaining teams in the current top 10 -- Alabama, Florida, LSU and South Carolina -- play in the same conference (SEC), so further attrition seems likely. And a 12-1 USC team that began the year as the preseason AP No. 1, lost its only game in mid-September, and finished strong against quality opponents would seem to have a resume strong enough to compete with any other one-loss teams, even ones from the SEC.

So it's possible. If they win out.

But is it a lock? No.

First, they need help. Kansas State has yet to lose a game and has already beaten its toughest opponent -- No. 9-ranked Oklahoma. Jumping them would be unlikely were they to remain undefeated.

Second, they need to get better. The Trojans have demonstrated significant deficiencies through the first six games of the season -- including a 57th-ranked offense and the highest penalty average among all FBS teams – that would make beating a team like Oregon twice a seriously tall order.

In order to win out, in order to have any hope of beating teams like Oregon, Notre Dame and Oregon State, USC will have to show real improvement in both areas and continue to perform at a very high level on defense.

It’s possible they can do that. And the end of the season gets very intriguing if they pull it off. But don’t hold your breath. Not yet. Let them beat Oregon (at least once) first.

College GameDay's Kirk Herbstreit covers Alabama's No. 1 ranking, his expectations for USC, Mack Brown's future at Texas, Notre Dame's 6-0 start, the state of the Big Ten and more.

Listen to the complete ESPN Radio interview.

Scouts Inc.'s Todd McShay takes a look at five true sophomores who could be first-round picks in this year's draft, if they were eligible.

USC's Marqise Lee is second on the list, behind South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney. According to McShay, Lee would have a chance to be the first receiver off the board.

Read the full story here.

Some selected quotes from Lane Kiffin’s Sunday night conference call following the Trojans’ 24-14 victory over Washington.

Open:
“I thought that our team did a lot of the things that you need to do when you go on the road that we talk about, and that’s play really good defense -- starting up front with the defensive line. They’ve been big for us all year. Our defensive line has 21 of our 22 sacks this season. It’s great to see that, which was a big question mark coming in, especially after the injury to [Devon] Kennard, and with J.R. Tavai out for so long.”

“The second thing is you play good special teams. We weren’t perfect, but we changed the energy in the stadium there for a while by scoring for the second year in a row on special teams against Washington. And that was a really big play, and that was Anthony Brown making the block. We always talk about backups knowing what they need to do -- he was actually the third guy on Tuesday at that position on the punt blocking team. Two guys had gone out already in the game at that spot, so he was the third guy.

“And then the third thing is your run game. To run the ball for 200 yards on the road like that and take care of the football -- no fumbles -- for the second week in a row by our running backs or skilled guys, that was good to see.

“So we hit the midpoint, with one game that we played really bad in and coached really bad in, and five double-digit wins. So we’re happy to get back home in front of our crowd.”

On the release of the first set of BCS standings of the year (USC is at No. 10):
“Well, I think first off, they do mean nothing right now. Whether you want to pay attention to them or not -- it shuffles itself out. It takes care of itself because so many teams play each other. But obviously you want to be in those conversations somewhere on the board the whole year.

“I think a lot of people, a few years ago when our sanctions were handed down, wouldn’t think that we’d be in these discussions for a long time. So, it’s good to be in there.”

On the fact that USC was 2-for-12 on third down conversions against Washington:
“I think it was a combination of things [Saturday] night. We didn’t do very well, obviously, with those numbers. And then part of it was we put ourselves -- with penalties -- into some really long situations where we played a field position game, and had some third-and-long runs where we were getting 10 or 12 yards, and helping the field position battle and pinning them deep and playing to our defense, which is the same way I would do it if I were to do it again.”

On the play of the USC offensive tackles against Washington:
“[It was] just OK. We played worse at Stanford than that, and we’ve played better in other games. We’re having too many penalties at the left tackle position, and obviously we give up the big sack on the fourth down at the right tackle position, so we need to play better.”

On the penalty issues that have plagued USC (averaging 10 per game):
“We’re not doing a very a good job, obviously, of playing with great composure. And we’ve got to coach better because there [have been] some really critical penalties.”

On whether Matt Barkley is enjoying the season:
“You can say all you want, I don’t care who you are, as a quarterback you’d like to throw for big numbers. Winning the game is the No. 1 goal, but that’s going to be normal. He’s not going to be jumping up and down, throwing 20 passes, in the post-game press conference -- 10-for-20. So you know, it is what it is. We’re doing the best thing to win.”

On whether or not Josh Shaw is the No. 2 cornerback:
“Well, we lost two guys in the game, so really, you look at it like he was No. 4 – Torin [Harris] and Kevon [Seymour] both came out.”

On the play of Josh Shaw:
“I think Josh did about as good as you can expect for somebody who just got put over there. He’s very competitive, a good tackler and did a really good job for just throwing him in there like that.”

On the play of Leonard Williams:
“First off, he’s playing really good. And that was a big move a couple of weeks ago when we moved him to start him -- because he was playing so good we needed to get more snaps out of him, and he certainly responded. For a true freshman, a kid who just got here, to have 5.5 sacks through the first half of the season, that’s a heck of a job coming from the d-tackle spot. He’s a really good rusher, he’s powerful, he’s very, very big, very strong -- he’s the real deal. He’s what they line up with down there in the SEC. We need to get more guys like him, obviously.”

What: USC (5-1 overall, 3-1 Pac-12) vs. Colorado (1-5 overall, 1-2 Pac-12)

When: Saturday, Oct. 20, 3 p.m. PT

Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

TV: Pac-12 Networks

Radio: ESPNLA 710 (pre-game show starts at 10 a.m. PT)

Scouting Colorado: Colorado, under second-year coach Jon Embree (CU’s former All-Big 8 tight end), has lost all but once (a 35-34 victory at Washington State) this season, including falling last Thursday against Arizona State, 51-17. Statistically, CU ranks in the bottom 20 nationally in total offense (327.3) and total defense (494.2).

The Buffalo offense is guided by junior QB Jordan Webb (109-of-193, 56.5 completion percentage, 1,141 yards, 8 TD, 4 INT in 2012). Freshman FB/TB Christian Powell (69 carries, 294 yards, 4.3 avg, three TD, plus three receptions for 16 yards) and sophomore TB Tony Jones (39 carries, 218 yards, 5.6 avg, two touchdowns, plus 14 receptions for 55 yards) are the top runners, while redshirt freshman WR Nelson Spruce (27 receptions, 291 yds, 10.8 avg, two TD) and sophomore WR Tyler McCullouch (20 rec, 243 yds, 12.2 avg, two TD in 2012) are the leading pass-catchers.

On defense, watch for junior SS Terrel Smith (52 tackles, three deflections, two fumble recoveries), junior ILB Derrick Webb (48 tackles, four for loss, one sack), freshman CB Kenneth Crawley (45 tackles, two for loss, four deflections, plus nine punt returns for 57 yards) and senior OLB Jon Major (43 tackles, three for loss, one sack), plus junior DE Chidera Uzo-Diribe (24 tackles, eight for loss, six sacks), who is tied for 17th nationally in sacks. Sophomore punter Darragh O’Neill (43.4 avg) is 20th nationally. – courtesy USC sports information

SEATTLE -- USC Trojans coach Lane Kiffin addressed the media in his normal day-after game conference call Sunday night, discussing several topics pertaining to Saturday's 24-14 win over Washington and looking forward to the rest of the Trojans' season.

Here are notes and quotes from the call:

BCS standings of little importance

The first BCS standings of the 2012 season, released Sunday evening, feature USC as the No. 10 team, and predictably, Kiffin downplayed their importance.

"First off," Kiffin said in response to a question about them, "they do mean nothing right now, whether you want to believe that or not."

He did eventually allow for some value to be taken away from the news, saying USC obviously wants to be in the national-championship conversation "after two years of not being there" because of NCAA sanctions.

USC will face both Notre Dame and Oregon next month, and both teams are currently above the Trojans at No. 5 and No. 3, respectively.

So there will be opportunities to improve.

The three concerns

Kiffin had an interesting observation Sunday night. He said he has three primary concerns about his team with half the regular season remaining.

In order, they are: third-down efficiency on offense, penalties in all phases of the game and pass defense.

The first two are obvious. The third is less so, because the Trojans haven't had serious issues there this season.

But the competition is going to get tougher and USC's secondary will be facing significantly better passing offenses in the coming weeks.

"We know what's coming," Kiffin said.

Shaw not locked in yet

Redshirt sophomore Josh Shaw made his corner debut for the Trojans in the second quarter of Saturday's game and performed well, but Kiffin is not ready to hand the No. 2 corner job to him just yet.

Shaw was just the fourth corner on the depth chart entering the game but was pressed into duty when Torin Harris and Kevon Seymour went down with injuries. He "played about as good as you could expect," Kiffin said.

The second corner spot has been USC's most problematic position all season. Shaw spent some time at the position in fall camp but was almost exclusively a safety until the last week of practice.

He now has two interceptions on the season after recording one in the fourth quarter against Washington.

Final notes: Kiffin cited Bill Belichick's New England Patriots and their Sunday loss to the Seahawks in asserting that CenturyLink Field is a difficult place to play. ... Twenty-one of the Trojans' 22 sacks this season have been made by a defensive linemen. Backup linebacker Anthony Sarao has the other. Kiffin pointed out that stat Sunday. ... Left tackle Aundrey Walker's effort wasn't an issue against Washington, Kiffin said, but his technique needs work. Walker was whistled for a false start on multiple occasions. Freshman Max Tuerk could still challenge him despite switching to No. 84 and playing as an extra lineman/tight end on Saturday.

SEATTLE -- All season, Matt Barkley and Lane Kiffin have maintained that they're OK with not blowing teams out, OK with winning ugly against lesser competition.

And their approaches in recent weeks have given credence to that. Kiffin made little attempt to break open Saturday's game against Washington, rather relying on the run game to slowly grind it out against a not-terribly-impressive Huskies squad.

But the truth is that dominant college football teams do blow their opponents out, at least on occasion. It's just how it goes, and to fight it may not be the best idea. If the Trojans end up only squeaking by most of the teams on their schedule, then they're probably going to end up outside of the top two in the BCS rankings two months from now.

Evidence: USC dropped a spot from No. 10 to No. 11 in the Harris poll, which helps determine the BCS rankings, after Saturday's 24-14 road win. The Oregon State team that jumped it beat BYU 42-24, also on the road. The victories were of similar caliber over similar opponents. The difference is that the Beavers made it look a little better.

"It wasn't a glamorous win," Barkley said Saturday. "But if we're scoring and winning, then I'm happy with that."

Asked, then, if USC needed a glamorous win at some point this season, Barkley nodded.

"It'll happen," he said. "I think it'll happen. But we're not aiming for that."

Maybe they should be. Maybe a bit of a different approach is needed, replete with more risks and more passes. The good thing is that the Trojans are heading into their easiest remaining game this season on Saturday against Colorado.

USC has opened as a 40-point favorite, according to VegasInsider.com. If USC doesn't win by more than 30, it's not a good sign. Because the good teams are going to roll in after that, starting with a road game against an Arizona team that has played everybody tough, except Oregon.

Then the Ducks themselves will come to the Coliseum 20 days from today. It crept up sort of quickly, but it has been on the Trojans' radar for a while now.

Kiffin indirectly referenced those upcoming battles in his postgame news conference Saturday.

"Every game forever's not gonna be able to be like (this)," Kiffin said. "We're gonna have to score more at some point. We have played some lower-ranked offenses compared to what's coming, so every game will be different.

"But the bottom line is to win the game."

He's basically right. As long as USC keeps winning, it'll be in the national-championship conversation. A 10-point win isn't going to completely burst the Trojans' bubble. But if you can do both -- meaning win and win big -- then why not?

USC is now halfway through the 2012 regular season. A 5-1 record is by no means a devastating mark in six games. But there's progress to be made -- or "room for improvement," as running back Silas Redd put it.

Asked where he thought his team was at the halfway point, Barkley said he didn't have a definite answer. Then he summed it up succinctly.

"We're not there yet," he said.

'There' is where a lot of USC fans -- and plenty of national experts -- thought this team would be by now.

It's also where the Trojans need to be in the next two or three weeks, but there's still time.