The Prediction - Washington 38 USC 35
by John Berkowitz on Nov 11, 2011 9:53 AM PST
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PrintWashington has won two in a row over USC with wins coming over both Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin. This season the Huskies travel to LA for the second time in a row and they probably aren't going to find the Trojans looking past them.
USC started the season looking mediocre but over the past month "Team Kiffin" has been able to coax some impressive performances out of their squad including a down to the wire over time loss to the Stanford Cardinal. That happens to be the same Stanford Cardinal who used Washington as a doormat back in October.
The biggest reason for USC's resurgence has been the play of QB Matt Barkley. Matt is finally playing like the All American everyone expected him to be when he was recruited. He arguably is having a better season than Stanford super sensation Andrew Luck.
UW coach Steve Sarkisian who recruited Barkley while at USC says that if he was an NFL head coach he would select Barkley over Luck in the draft. We all know what UW DC Nick Holt thinks. He says he would rather prepare to play USC than Oregon....both of those playful comments got national play this week.
So who is going to end up winning this game? On paper you have to take the Trojans because they have superior talent and depth at almost every position. Of course you can say that about the Trojans almost every year but doesn't guarantee a win for the men of Troy.
Washington traditionally plays its best game of the season against USC. Most of the Washington roster is made up of players from the golden state and most of them dreamed of playing for or beating the crap out of USC. The last two games have gone down to the last tick of the clock and I expect the same scenario tomorrow.
The team that wins is going to be the one that does the best job of handling the football. The turnover ratio is going to be key in what should be a high scoring game featuring a couple of defenses who are prone to allow the opposition plenty of points.
I am pulling for Washington to bounce back strongly after a tough loss to Oregon last week. I am picking UW to win for the third year in a row via the foot of Erik Folk as the clock ticks down to zero....UW 38 USC 35.
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USC's Super Bowl was the chance to beat Stanford
While I think there definitely is an angle of revenge against the Huskies that will motivate upperclassmen, this team is young and most of the players weren’t around for the epic Seattle upset.
I like the pick. Though, I am still waiting for Keith to reignite after 3 weeks of subpar QB play. The only way that score is a reality is if Keith can throw at least 3 TDs and take care of the **** ball.
thisjustinlee.wordpress.com
I think the weather might play a factor
as its raining right now in SoCal, and predicted to have scattered showers tomorrow. Hopefully, the wet grass might slow down USCs speed. If we can stand toe to toe on the lines with them, then Polk might be the deciding factor. I picked UW by 4.
As for the rain, naturally all of our rain gear is up in Seattle, so tomorrow might be miserable for us also, in that far far away tucked corner behind the end zone bleachers at the colisseum. Not sure because its been a few years since we were in Rome, but the Colisseum there might be in bettter shape (lol).
by prrbrr on Nov 11, 2011 10:14 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
I'm old enough to have seen quite a few UW/USC games,
and we’ve always done better in the rain . . .
by HuskyInExile on Nov 11, 2011 10:56 PM PST up reply actions
can USC cover Kasen or stop Polk?
I know it’s in vogue to assume the worst of our defense, but I think these are important numbers to keep in mind heading into this game:
How UW & USC compare in conference-only stats
These stats are more informative than overall season stats because the opponents are much more normalized. It’s not a perfect measure of course, but it’s somewhat illuminating how close the two teams look.
USC is going to be a tough match-up, but it’s not like they have the same advantages over us that Stanford & Oregon did.
Lets compare how both teams did against Stanford.
I think the stats undersell how dreadful our defense has been at times this year. When we are bad, we are fucking unwatchable.
at least when it comes to sports scores ...
Formerly the fan known as Denvdawg.
"You can observe a lot by just watching." - Yogi Berra
by Randall Floyd on Nov 11, 2011 3:07 PM PST up reply actions
Stats can lie, and the one's used were all backward looking.
The fact is we got fucking destroyed by a team SC basically tied. That doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.
Texas Tech beat Oklahoma
… And is getting killed by Ok St 42-0 at halftime today.
Transitive property is worthless. We were just really bad @ Stan. It happens when this team let’s things snowball. We aren’t 50 points worse than Stan talent wise. And we are pretty much the same team as USC right now with a little more depth and a couple of fewer first round picks of the future. Don’t underestimate how young and prone to mistakes USC is
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
by Gekko Mojo on Nov 12, 2011 10:40 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
or...
…we could compare how each did against Arizona, Colorado & Cal.
Teams are not robots, playing exactly as well as they are capable every week. Things change from week to week, which is why it’s generally better to look at more data points instead of less.
From what I’ve seen the last few weeks it looks to me like USC is trending up and has been playing at a high level the last 2+ weeks. UW looks to me to be have plateaued or even trending slightly down. USC is physical and athletic, too much so for UW if USC shows up and brings it’s A game.
USC started 7 freshmen against Colorado,
The learning curve is steep, this team’s improvement since the ASU game is almost bewildering.
"Ain't no tuition for having no ambition." -Brandon Carswell
The arguments suck
To look at how a team did against similar opponents is no way to compare teams. It is an argument that doesn’t work in sports period. It’s all about matchups.
Saying USC has more talent is also stupid. How did we beat them the last two seasons if that is a viable argument? I would argue that on offense Dawgs have equal talent, except at QB. We have a better running back and when the receivers actually want to catch receptions, we have one of the best wide receivers corps in the nation.
by datboyeddiep on Nov 12, 2011 4:16 AM PST up reply actions
Dawgs win big, and it's not even close.
34-17! The fall of Troy. Bow down to Washington!
by datboyeddiep on Nov 12, 2011 4:18 AM PST up reply actions
Nope
I am on vacation in Hawaii so everything I am doing this week is a bit hurried. Will correct it when I get back to the room.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Nov 11, 2011 12:08 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I hope you enjoy your vitamin D while on your vacation!
Also hope the Dawgs bring their high potency “D” to at least slow down the high potency U$C offense! Please pass the Kool-aid! 3 in a row would truely be a charm!!! Here’s to Hope! Here’s to Holt! (Don’t forget the mudders!)
if we finish the 4th quarter strong we win the game
we need to be within a score at half. our 3rd quarters have been weak. USC’s 4th quarters have been terrible this year. this is either poor mental or physical conditioning.
SC has either been good against the run or the pass not both. our balance is a huge positive for us.
the last two games have been close, low scoring games. the weather will keep the fair weather fans at home for a neutral field advantage.
Dawgs win, 34-30.
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