Obviously not the outcome we wanted. USC was too good, too deep, and too talented. We weren't supposed to win, so I'm somewhat surprised to hear/read all the outrage from fans at the game, on message boards, etc. This was the year that Callahan was supposed to"go for it" and "put all his cards on the table" against USC. Well, he certainly did that and lived up to his end of the bargain. But that wasn't nearly enough this year either, and the final margin was the same as 2006.
The bad:
Defense. Especially the front 7. We got pushed around, and tackling was terrible. We saw guys out there hoping not to make mistakes, rather than attacking the offense, and the results were not pretty. We lack an attitude, a killer instinct, on D. We've got to see some major changes here if we want to get to an NC level team. Now, this is USC, so we're not going to face an offense like this again this year, but if we could've stopped the run at least half-assed, this would've been quite a game, and would've given our offense a chance.
Offensive run blocking was terrible. Again, our problems started inside, mainly at C. Ellis ate us up, rendering our run game useless. I don't care who we had at RB, nobody was going to get yards with 2 DL sitting in the backfield 2 yards deep waiitng for us every play.
The Good:
Offensively, our scheme, playcalling, and QB execution, especially for the first half (before our defense caved) was the best we've seen in a decade. Callahan had Carroll's D on their heels, and this is the best D we've seen in college football in a long time. Keller was absolutely magnificent for as long as he had any semblance of help. Our WRs did well, got open, made catches. Purify was a man out there, as always. When Sam gets hot, there's nobody I'd trade him for, anywhere. A big tip of the cap to Coach C and the rest of our offensive staff to put together a gameplan this good against a D this good. It's especially impressive how well our passing game operated considering how badly our run blocking was. If our offense can play with this level the rest of the year, we'll be very hard to stop (have to get the run game back, but we won't be facing USC again, either).
What to take from the game:
We're not going to face anyone anywhere near as good as USC the rest of the year. This isn't just a top 10 team, it's USC, and not just a #1 team, a #1 team that could be one of the best #1 teams in CFB in recent memory. So let's not go overboard with the fact that we got beat like we did. We played right with them for the first half, and they got the breaks to take the 21-10 halftime lead. We've got to improve, but when we're at our best, we can be pretty darn good. Our D has to start from scratch, and figure out how to play again. They'll have their chances.
The rest of the year:
Hello, has anyone else been watching college football this year? There's nobody left on our schedule we can't beat. If you're not USC, LSU, Florida, or maybe OU, you're a team that's looked pretty mediocre at least 1 game this year. That's why I can't believe some of the fans jumping off bridges already. There were plenty of good things that happenned in the game, and we can match up with the remainder of our schedule pretty well this season, we just have to keep improving, which I fully expect. Our staff (at least offensively) went all out this game, and I was proud of their effort, gameplan, playcalling, etc. I'll be more than happy to see us operate like that the rest of the year, and so will the rest of you, as it will lead us to a lot of wins and the Big 12 CCG, and a shot at the BCS.
