- One of the major issues currently going on at SC is the quarterback situation. According to the Los Angeles Times (sub. Req'd) , Sanchez is looking more like the choice on Saturday:
Booty threw passes for the first time since warm-ups for last Saturday's game at Notre Dame. Forsaking the glove he used to protect his finger last week, Booty threw short, mid-range and deep balls with good accuracy.
Carroll, however, said Booty "wasn't all the way back. This is not John at his best."
Either way, this has to play in our favor, at least a bit. If they go with Booty, he's been inconsistent, and now unhealthy. If they go with Sanchez, he's an unproven commodity who's convinced that playing at Notre Dame has prepared him for Autzen. I'm not trying to say that they're not good quarterbacks, because both clearly are. But we're not facing Carson Palmer or Matt Leinart out there.
- Although SC's offensive line was expected to get healthy this week, that may not be happening. According to the same LA Times article above, starter Chilo Rachal, and All-American Sam Baker both suffered setbacks, making their game status unclear. Baker appears to be more serious, as his hamstring troubles may be a tear and not just a pull. He doesn't know if he'll play. Rachal has soreness in his right calf that has kept him out of practice. He's likely to play, but could be uncomfortable.
- The Daily Trojan gives us their keys to the game. Most of it is generic stuff; run the football, don't turn the ball over, etc. But in talking about SC's defense, they remind us that while SC's front seven are great, the secondary is not so much. The Daily Trojan says that they want to pressure the QB to force bad decisions, but its awfully hard to key in on the QB in this offense. I'd try to soften that pass rush up with some bubble screens to J-Will and some shots to Pflugrad in the flat.
We'll have our Q&A with Conquest Chronicles up on Thursday night.
GO DUCKS!!!
--Dave