For fourth-ranked USC, it's more of a bad nightmare -- Vince Young striding into the south end zone of the Rose Bowl, giving Texas a national championship that the Trojans felt was theirs -- a third straight -- and ending a potential dynasty.
The 2006 Rose Bowl on a loop, it haunts USC fans, so you can bet they are beyond thrilled to be hosting the Longhorns this Saturday night in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
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| Freshman Stephen Carr is a vital cog in USC's ground game (Los Angeles Times) |
USC is coming off of a dominant 42-24 victory over Stanford, a nemesis that has derailed many recent seasons before they even began. The Trojans out-Stanforded Stanford, rushing for 307 yards -- no one does that to the Cardinal. It put an end to the finesse talk that follows USC around, and branded the Trojans as a legitimate player in the College Football Playoff chase.
A week after playing an average opener, USC quarterback Sam Darnold was brilliant against Stanford, completing 21-of-26 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns.
"You could tell he had his jaw set right," Trojans coach Clay Helton said. "He was coming in there to win that game, and he had a mental focus that was truly special."
That mental focus turns to Texas, which was waylaid at home in week one by Maryland, but rebounded with a stellar performance last weekend against San Jose State, rushing for 406 yards in a 56-0 romp over San Jose State.
Helton knows that the Longhorns will come in with nothing to lose and everything to prove, and first-year coach Tom Herman branded himself as something of a giant killer in his time at Houston, beating Oklahoma and Louisville last season when both teams were ranked.
"I think Tom is one of the most brilliant offensive minds in college football," Helton said. "He's done it at Ohio State (where he was offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes 2014 national champions), he's done it at Houston, and he's going to do it at Texas."
If Herman is going to do it this week, he will need to find a tonic that stops both Darnold and the USC ground attack. Freshman Stephen Carr averaged 10.8 yards per carry on the way to 119 yards and Ronald Jones II added 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns, giving him five in just two games.
USC's defense, which took some heat after allowing Western Michigan to rush for 263 yards, beat back the Stanford ground game, limiting the Cardinal to 170 yards, a 75-yard cutback touchdown run by Bryce Love being the only real home run of the evening.
Texas has a question at quarterback, where incumbent Shane Buechele missed last week's game with an injury. Freshman Sam Ehlinger played well in his first collegiate start, throwing for 222 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 48 yards on seven carries. The Longhorns like to put pressure on a defense with a dual threat quarterback, and both Buechele and Ehlinger can run the read option when called upon.
Whoever takes the snaps will need to deal with a raucous environment, as the Coliseum is a sellout.
"The challenge is sticking to your routine," Herman said. "We talk to our players about every great player. One thing that's commonplace, whether it's Michael Jordan or Peyton Manning or Jerome Bettis, every great player has a routine, and they do the same thing every day. They do the same thing every Friday of game week. They do the same thing every Saturday morning of the game. If you can make just getting on the plane the only deviation in that routine, then you've succeeded."
The Texas defense will need to be stout on money downs against USC, which leads the nation in third down conversion percentage at 73.7.
"I think on defense we took some major, major strides from a recklessness standpoint," Herman said. "I hate to use that word in football because maybe people might interpret it as you're not playing disciplined. I mean, figuratively, lighting your hair on fire and just going. That's what we have to do this weekend."
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| Texas battering ram Chris Warren merits attention (Inside Texas) |
USC will need to be wary not just of the quarterback run, but of running back Chris Warren, who rambled for 166 yards and two scores against San Jose State.
"You could see they brought a physical mentality to the game," Helton said. "We have to be strong enough to stop their rushing attack, or else it's going to a long night."
Herman liked being the underdog at Houston, and he will make sure his team knows on Saturday that is viewed as the weakling in this fight.
"We are an underdog," he said. "I mean this is -- they've been doing this a while at Southern Cal, we haven't. So yeah, I mean, I would say they're definitely the favorite."
A program as proud as Texas' doesn't need gimmicks to get the job done, but even the slightest edge, mentally or physically, will keep the Longhorns focused and in the ballgame.
So it couldn't hurt to dredge up a couple of old memories, especially if they will make the Trojans sweat a little bit.
"Vince (Young) comes around, so I'm sure he'll be around this week," Herman said. "We welcome that. We've got one on our staff in Michael Huff that is -- you know, knows very intimately about that game in '05. So everybody's welcome. Every former player is always welcome. So will there be a few more this week than most? Maybe. Because those guys like to relive those things, you know."
The Trojans lead the series 4-1, but oh, that one.
"I do remember watching Vince and just being awestruck and remembering how many great players were on that field," Herman said. "Then obviously, that fourth down call down there on whatever it was, the seven-yard line or four-yard line, was one that I remember watching very closely.
"I like the fact that we play these games. I think it's great that two of the premier brands in college football history are going to face off."
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