ALL RIGHT NOW. Less than 60 days to Opening Kickoff (Sept. 5):
This is as good as the schedule will get… EVER. We finish with Oregon, Cal, N.Dame – all at home. The tables have turned, the Pac12 South is definitely the beast division now with 5 ranked bowl teams. The Pac12 North remains the Big Two: Ducks, Cardinal. No QB at UW (C.Miles gone). Cal sucks… on Def.
Nice weather: We face the opposite of the horrible schedule last year.
It might be this simple: Take down the Ducks to get to Pac12 champ game, vs… an LA school ? USC picked up great 5-star talent (Ron Jones will be fastest RB in Pac12). And UCLA landed top spread throwing QB Josh Rosen, who looks like Goff at Cal, or Manion at ORST last year, but not great runner.
USC does not play ORST or WAST, the two worst in Pac12.
Trojans play @N.Dame; @AZST; @OREG. That helps us.
Oregon misses UCLA and ARIZ. This could mean that UCLA makes it back to Pac12 Champ game if they beat USC. The AZ schools will certainly be in the mix as last year, but lost some key talent. AZST vs USC could set the top of the table early (Sept 26). Utah the Spoiler – plagued by coaching turmoil. COLO not there yet.
The pivot points for our Hogan’s Heroes:
1) Game 3: Beat #5 USC on ABC national TV in Coliseum. Media are in behind speedy Trojans mucho. Bring it, baby! Go look at our INFAMOUS back-breaking defeats of Troy in the Coliseum (1979, 1991, 1999, 2007, 2009, 2011)
2) Handle UCLA Oct 15 in PA on ESPN Thurs night nationwide. Both teams ranked, could be 5-0. We smoked ‘em in Rose Bowl to close it out last year (Hogan’s best game); now they don’t have QB Hundley. Up tempo game. UCLA defense might be best in Pac12.
3) Showdown time vs Ducks Nov 14, probably a night game with big ESPN coverage. Both teams rated. They will have settled on a QB by then. Transfer QB Vern Adams, very mobile, could be a major threat.
4) Finale again vs N.Dame – with revenge for their late Rosary bead TD in South Bend slop last year. This game is bigger than Cal, if Domers come in with 2 or fewer losses. [Did I mention Cal really sucks, on D?]
We don’t play AZST or UTAH. Beating Oregon likely puts us back to the Pac12 Champ game. Most ratings will have us in Alamo or Holiday Bowl, until we beat both USC and Oregon.
CHECKLIST
QB: Set. RBs: Watch McCaffrey dance, and maybe Frosh RB Bryce Love? Wright, Sanders. Swing passes; Read option for Hogan -- 7 or 8 great targets for throws, with more "cowbell" (Tight Ends). Hogan is solid; can run. Yes, Shaw will open it up. WRs Rector, Owuzu, Cajuste – maybe frosh T.Irwin.
"I've got a fever, baby; and the cure is more cowbell !" [SNL parady of the Reaper]
OF Line: Better than last year; back at par, minus Andrus Peat to NFL. Good Pipeline. Not a 10 (like 2009-11) but a solid 8, up from 5-6.
DEF Line: Most question marks with hefty grads gone; but picked up a Cal transfer (B.Scarlett), other talent. S.Thomas a 4-5 star steps up. Aziz comes back. Frosh get playing time.
LB Corp: Despite losing Tarpley and Vaughters, the LB group is deep and strong. Might be faster. Not much falloff; like last year. Blake Martinez is as good as Shayne Skov was; Watch Kalambayi (the "preying mantis") eat people. Reserves are 4-stars, not 2-stars.
DBs: Lost key talent to NFL, but Coach Akina won BEST DB class ever recruited to Stanford (IMO). Young, but better raw skills. Set your sights on the next Richard Sherman. [F.Buncom, B.Edwards, J.Reid, Q.Meeks]
Wealth: the transfers we lost off-season were because they were not going to get playing time. WOW.
More passes will be thrown in Pac12 perhaps than ANY season yet; US Air Force will be jealous. Lot of pressure on Defenses, so we need to get more turnovers, more blitzing pressure. We will be in it every week. Gone are the dog days of 2005-6. Best Defense last year in Pac12, but last in turnovers.
