I wrote an article after USC was demolished by Oregon where I stated that the Trojans “just weren’t very good.”

Let me amend that.

The Trojans are mediocre and getting worse by the week.

This team isn’t awful by any stretch of the imagination but I am almost completely certain, assuming they aren’t playing teams even worse than they are, like Arizona State and UCLA, in other words, “decent” teams like Arizona, they would lose more than they would win.

How far the mighty have fallen.

Like most of the USC faithful, I was sucked into the early season mirage of this edition of the Trojans being a quality team.

And I, like everyone else, was dead wrong.

There is just no getting around it.

This team is not good. Note that I have removed the “very” from my earlier assessment.

Even the 8-4 record is misleading.

If the season were to start today, I would not be in the least surprised if USC couldn’t even manage a .500 record.

Now, I know many of you will say I am going to extremes.

And perhaps you are right.

Maybe I am measuring this years Trojans by meeting the expectations of those in recent years gone by.

And maybe that is both unfair and unrealistic.

That is the price this years Trojans will have to pay when years of excellence are measured against a team that has continually gone backwards for the last seven games.

And today put the finishing touches on an embarrassing second half of the season.

On a day when the Trojans said goodbye to 19 seniors at home, they couldn’t even muster a victory against a marginal Arizona Wildcat team that was playing without their best tailback, Nic Grigsby and a quarterback playing with one good hand.

Thanks for showing up guys.

But that is about all you did.

I also wrote an article this week questioning whether or not offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates would leave for the NFL.

Now I am holding the door for Mr. Bates.

And don’t let it hit you on the way out.

Bates continued today what he has done all year long.

Calling pass plays when the run was working and running when he should pass.

Memo to Jeremy Bates: You set up the pass with the run in a pro set offense.

Not the other way around.

Meanwhile, Matt Barkley, a true freshman, continues to play like one.

But I can’t fault him when his offensive coordinator can’t figure out when to run or when to pass.

I just hope he hasn’t ruined Barkley for the coming years.

Yes, I understand that these are words of negativity and that I could be logically labeled an abject pessimist when it comes to this years Trojans.

Which brings me to my final thought.

This hasn’t been the greatest year for me.

I am coming off a year where my fiance and I broke up and, as a teacher in California, I have been laid off for the entirety of 2009.

So, in my spare time, of which I have plenty of lately, I decided to turn to two of my passions and combine them in one glorious package that would ease my blues.

Writing about my beloved USC Trojans.

Who knew that this would be the year that they would fall on their face?

So please 2009, end and lets let 2010 be a banner year for both myself and the Trojans.

I promise to try real hard to do better.

How about you USC?

Along with that comes a berth for the Ducks in the Rose Bowl, where they will face the Ohio State Buckeyes.

This appearance will mark the first time since 1995 that the Ducks will participate in the “Granddaddy” of all bowl games.

In addition, several paths to lesser bowls have been defined, one of which is the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

By virtue of USC’s earlier victory against the Beavers, the Trojans now have the inside track to sunny San Diego.

Had the Beavers won last night’s game, it would have been the Ducks of Oregon who would have been offered the Holiday Bowl berth, and USC would have been looking at a post-Christmas game in beautiful El Paso at the Sun Bowl.

However, there is still one sticky detail to be dealt with before any invitations can be extended.

USC must beat the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday at the Coliseum.

By no means is this a given for the Trojans.

Arizona, 7-4 and led by quarterback Nick Foles and running back Nic Grigsby, presents a far more formidable challenge to the Trojan defense than that of the UCLA Bruin offense, which by any account has been anemic at best this year.

The good news for the Trojan defense is that Grigsby won’t play this Saturday due to a shoulder injury, and Foles will be playing with a broken (non-throwing) hand.

Still, the Trojan offense has its own issues to deal with.

Against UCLA, admittedly a team with a formidable defense, the Trojans couldn’t muster much offense until the controversial touchdown pass at the end of the game.

Additionally, the Trojans haven’t scored more than 20 points against the Wildcat defense since 2005.

For the Trojans, a win Saturday gives them an opportunity to play close to home and wash some of the bad taste of this season out of their collective mouth.

If USC is victorious against Arizona, they will have an opportunity to extend their string of double-digit season victories to eight.

However, they will have to do it against a projected Big 12 team, possibly someone like Oklahoma State.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The first order of business is Saturday’s game against a tough Wildcat team. For the Trojans, who have been wildly inconsistent this year, the focus needs to be on the business of the present, not the possibilities for the future.

After all, they would rather be on “Holiday” in San Diego than staring into the “Sun” in El Paso.

As any fan of the Trojans knows, recruiting is the foundation upon which a successful college football program rests, and in the Pete Carroll era, no one has done it better.

This year, however, marks a departure from coach Carroll’s “tried and true” methods of recruiting.

To keep from losing recruits on the Feb. 2 signing day to other programs who bad mouth the Trojans, USC has withheld offers to some recruits until later in the season.

This tactic, while understandable, has cost the Trojans some fine talent, including wide receiver Kenny Stills, a sub 4.4 guy who desperately wanted to play for the Trojans but when no offer was received, looked elsewhere.

However, yesterday, I received an updated list of recruits that USC was still in the hunt for, and I was amazed at the volume of four and five star recruits still in the Trojans line of sight.

Before, I get into that list, in which I will be highlighting the five star recruits, there is an interesting side story going on with a local stud, Tony Jefferson.

Jefferson, an ESPN top 150 recruit, ranked overall at #9, was a verbal commit of the UCLA Bruins.

The operative word in that last sentence is “was.”

Jefferson has decommitted from the Bruins and is now only considering USC and Oklahoma.

Jefferson, whom I believe attended the USC-UCLA game, decommitted yesterday and it makes one wonder how the controversy over the game played out in Jefferson’s mind.

Apparently, Jefferson liked what he saw from the Trojans eh?

Also, bear in mind that USC already has verbal commitments from five star recruits, wide receiver, Robert Woods and tight end, Xavier Grimble.

In any event, here are some thumbnail sketches of the five star recruits and my thoughts on whether the Trojans can land these talented prep players:

Seantrel Henderson (offensive guard, 6′8″, 301 lbs., Minnesota): Great player with good mobility. Trojans have a shot at this difference maker on the o-line.

Garrison Smith (defensive tackle, 6′3.5″, 255 lbs., Georgia): Cat-like quick though undersized. However, the Trojans will be on the outside looking in for Smith’s services on signing day.

Jackson Jeffcoat (linebacker or defensive end, 6′3″, 233 lbs., Texas): Either Jeffcoat, son of the former NFL player or Jeff Luc, is the best prep linebacker in the country. Period. The Trojans stand a real shot at getting Jeffcoat, who really liked his visit.

Jeff Luc (linebacker, 6′1″, 240 lbs., Florida): Luc is a beast. Fast and physical, Luc would look great in Cardinal and Gold but chances of landing him are fairly remote.

Lache Seastrunk (running back, 5′10″, 180 lbs., 4.4, Texas): Seastrunk, who I believe might be the best running back in high school football, has been making some noise regarding the Trojans. If they get him, it won’t shock me.

Ronald Powell (defensive end, 6′4″, 250 lbs., 4.6, California): Powell, who is quick enough to also play linebacker, will either play for the Trojans or the Florida Gators.

Jordan Hicks (linebacker, 6′2″, 200 lbs., Ohio): Another quick and fast ‘backer, with the kind of frame that will put on weight, Hicks is considered a long shot to sign with the Trojans.

Lamarcus Joyner (corner back, 5′8.5″, 165 lbs., 4.4, Florida): Despite his diminutive size, this kid can really bring it. Also a great special teams player. Considered a fairly long shot to play for USC.

George Uko (defensive tackle, 6′4″, 297 lbs., 4.9, California): If this guy can stay focused (not a given), Uko can be a difference maker on the d-line. Uko has been much more consistent this year, thus his inclusion as a five star. I think Uko is almost a lock to wear Crimson and Gold next year.

Christian Green (wide receiver, 6′2″, 185 lbs., Florida): A great talent but very unlikely to play for the Trojans who have not yet extended him an offer.

Sharrif Floyd (defensive tackle, 6′2″, 311 lbs., Pennsylvania): A marvellous talent but not considered a player who has USC high on his list.

Anthony Barr (running back, 6′4″, 225 lbs., 4.55, California): A bruising runner in the mold of Lendale White but faster, Barr is a considered to have the Trojans high on his list.

So there you have it.

The complete list, as of now, of five star prep prospects on the Trojans radar.

One more name of note:

Kyle Prater, the 6′5″ five star wide receiver from Illinois who gave the Trojans a verbal commitment a couple of months ago is now considered a “soft commitment.” I have heard that despite this, Prater will still sign with USC. However, I have also heard that his parents have been leaning on Prater to stay local thus making Illinois the favorite to land his services.

Only time will tell regarding Prater.

Update!! Within an hour of writing this piece, I received word that Scout.com has removed the “soft verbal” from Kyle Prater’s profile and now has him a solid commit for the Trojans.

Based on this list and an equally impressive list of four star athletes still considering the Trojans, the future looks very promising.

Pete Carroll always has recruited extremely well nationally and I expect that this year will be no exception.

In a year where the Trojans have not played up to hopes and expectations on the field, a good recruiting class will give the Trojans momentum heading into 2010.

Circle February 2 on your calendars and get ready to smile.

I think the Trojans cupboard will be re-stocked and ready to make waves for years to come.

Note: If you enjoyed this article and would like an update of the four star athletes that USC has targeted, please let me know via the comments section.

However, I have found this exercise to be tedious and limiting in terms of being able to express what I want to say.

So, in what can only be described as a stroke of inspiration, I have decided to combine a pseudo report card with a commentary on what I saw last night at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.

USC beat UCLA 28-7 in a completely forgettable game.

At least until the last Trojan drive of the contest.

But more on that later.

Here is the report card:

Offense: D-

Defense: A-

Special Teams: B+

Coaching: C+

Controversy: A+++++

Now for the breakdown:

The offense was abysmal. Period.

And it all starts, or in this case, ends with the offensive line.

The supposed strength of this year’s USC team has been, at best, mediocre this year.

Unable to consistently open holes for Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford, the Trojan running game has suffered.

In turn, this has impacted the passing game, which, without a steady running game, is unable to effectively call play action passes.

Because of this, Matt Barkley has had to operate in less than optimum conditions.

I know, a simplistic analysis, but one that nonetheless, has merit.

Of course, Matt Barkley has to take responsibility for some bonehead passes but he is a true freshman and this is to be expected.

Last night, the Trojans were the recipient of four turnovers and managed, until the controversial last drive, one score.

One.

Now, I understand that UCLA has a good defense and that UCLA defensive tackle, Brian Price, is a beast, but come on…

One score?

All of this was reflected in the Trojan offense last night and is something that will have to be focus for next week’s Arizona game and beyond.

Meanwhile, the Trojan defense continued with its Jekyl and Hyde performance with last night being of the good doctor variety.

However, this was against an anemic UCLA offense that must have their offensive coordinator, Norm Chow up at night munching Rolaids like they are going out of style.

Regardless, the Trojan defense was magnificent all night long, including creating those four turnovers that the offense pretty much squandered.

Included in those turnovers, was Malcolm Smith’s “pick-six” interception, which got the scoring started for USC.

So, despite the woeful UCLA offense, it is hard to take exception with the Trojan defense.

As far as the special teams go, they did fine.

UCLA was supposed to have a big advantage in this area but not last night.

Jacob Harfman delivered many big punts (with the Trojan offense in continual “stall mode,” he had to).

And Damien Williams, the nations second best punt returner, often gave the Trojan offense good field position from which to bog down.

As far as the coaching goes, again, defense (Pete Carroll) did well while the offense (Jeremy Bates), not so much.

Which brings us to the Trojans final offensive series of the game.

And the long bomb touchdown that Matt Barkley threw to make a game already won, 28-7.

Many people, especially Trojan haters, are going to label me a hypocrite for my support of Pete Carroll.

After all, I recently wrote an article blasting Jim Harbaugh for running up the score against the Trojans but this is fundamentally different.

Pete Carroll had no intention of passing or even running in that final series.

Leading 21-7 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Carroll had the offense lined up in the “victory” formation and ordered Matt Barkley take a knee.

Then Rick Nueheisel called a time out.

And they had two more time outs as well.

This, according to coach Carroll, convinced him that UCLA wanted to continue playing the game.

So Pete Carroll and Matt Barkley obliged him.

The resulting long touchdown pass drew the ire of the UCLA bench and their players, who streamed out to the playing field in indignation.

But why the indignation?

Was USC supposed to just stop playing when it became apparent that the Bruins still intended to?

UCLA should use that indignant energy to play football the whole 60 minutes, especially when it was they, who by calling the timeout, motivated the notion that this game was still to be contested.

Of course, the bottom line here is that this now one sided rivalry has an undertone of bad blood between Nueheisel and coach Carroll.

Good.

With the Trojans winning nine out of the last ten in this series, it needed some controversy.

And maybe next time Nueheisel will think twice before calling useless timeouts.

DJ Morgan, the speedy tailback out of Woodland Hills, CA (Taft High) and rated the No. 36 top prep prospect by ESPN, tore his ACL in his last game.

This injury will end the season for Morgan and will require surgery.

DJ Morgan was the top running back prospect for the Trojans, a player whose speed and shifty moves are reminiscent of current Trojan tailback, Joe McKnight.

It should also be noted that recently there has been speculation that Morgan might forgo his verbal commitment to USC and join his brother at Arizona.

How this injury affects those plans is unclear.

What is clear is that this year’s Trojan recruiting class, while deep in quality in certain areas, such as tight end, remains in a state of flux as many USC targets are withholding commitments until the Feb. 2 signing date draws near.

Meanwhile, other verbal commitments, such as Illinois wide receiver, Kyle Prater, are only considered “soft verbals,” which in recruiting speak means prepare for signing day surprises.

Trojan faithful need only go back to last year to recall two of these signing day shocks, Morrel Pressley to UCLA and Vontaze Burfict to Arizona State.

The loss of Burfict, in particular, is one that still sticks in the craw of USC fans as Burfict would have looked awfully good in Cardinal and Gold right now.

Of course, in Burfict’s case, there were eligibility issues involved in his decision to enroll at ASU so perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be.

Nonetheless, there appears to be a disturbing trend where either opposing programs are badmouthing USC, costing them recruits or, and this might be even more disturbing, the luster has worn off the USC Trojan shine.

Either way, this is a critical year for USC to replenish its talent reserves, and this year’s class will play a crucial role as the Trojans try to move on from a disappointing season.

The injury to Morgan, the soft status of Kyle Prater, and the transient state of verbal commitments to USC make this one of the more difficult recruiting seasons to project.

By Feb. 2, the signing day for high school recruits, this will all become crystal clear and the Trojans can move forward knowing what needs have been filled and which remain in question.

Expect the USC coaching staff to hit the recruiting trail long and hard between now and signing day.

After this year’s team’s disappointment on the field, a successful season recruiting will take some of the sour taste out of both the program and their fans mouth’s and will provide an optimistic path to spring practice.

Lord knows the Trojans and their fans could use a smile right about now.

Bench Matt Barkley?

Are you serious?

The short answer is yes. But with an explanation.

I am aware that for USC, the future is Matt Barkley.

But is it fair to the team if the quarterback of the future is not playing well enough to be the quarterback of now?

Barkley, the nations darling when the Trojans were 6-1 is now just another struggling young quarterback trying to find his way on a Trojan team that has slipped to 7-3.

Along with his flashes of brilliance, so evident early in the season, now comes the true freshman mistakes that resulted in four turnovers in USC’s home debacle against the Stanford Cardinal.

Saddled side by side with his eleven touchdown passes are ten interceptions, the majority of which have come recently.

Now, I know that the Trojans slide is far from young Mr. Barkley’s fault.

It goes without saying that even a “typical” Trojan defensive effort would have possibly resulted in one or two more victories.

So this line of questioning isn’t wrapped around an accusation that Matt Barkley is the reason for the Trojans less than stellar record.

But given the deterioration of that same defense, can the Trojans afford to couple that with another poor performance by Matt Barkley?

Please understand that in the grand scheme of things, there is no greater fan of Barkley than myself.

I fully believe that this talented young man will lead the USC Trojans to the promised land and that soon, perhaps even next year, he will be hoisting that crystal football as the Trojans celebrate a national championship.

However, I also believe that at this point in time, there may be other options available that might suit this years Trojans better should Barkley struggle again.

I also know that the Trojan coaching staff has thrown their support fully to Matt.

I get that.

It is a show of support meant to prop up the confidence of a young quarterback who is struggling.

Yet, there is also an obligation that must be considered to the senior players and others who came to USC to forge their own success as part of this traditional powerhouse.

Is it fair to them to stubbornly refuse to consider Mitch Mustain as a possible option should Barkley stumble once again?

And lets not forget the opponent themselves this week.

It is UCLA. Need I say more?

Should Pete Carroll and Jeremy Bates keep refusing to explore other options against this opponent should Barkley fail to produce?

In my opinion, no, any and all options must be considered and utilized against UCLA this week.

So while many may consider my suggestion blasphemy, please forgive me.

And more importantly, lets do whatever it takes to beat UCLA.

Big time.

Second, I am not too proud to take absolute delight in the suffering of a newly despised program via the hands of another besides my beloved Trojans.

Of course, that “newly despised” program is the Stanford Cardinal led by their chief villain and head coach, Jim Harbaugh.

And the program that handed Harbaugh and the Cardinal that defeat is none other than their hated rival, the California Golden Bears.

You know, those same Cal Bears that the Trojans thumped 30-3 in Berkeley some weeks ago.

Now, many would say that my delight in the defeat of the Cardinal is motivated by Stanford’s destruction of USC 55-21, two weeks ago at the coliseum.

True, but of course, as any good Trojan fan will tell you, it goes deeper than that.

The real source of my hostile attitude toward the Cardinal can be summed up in one play.

That play is, of course, the infamous two point attempt Harbaugh called for when leading the Trojans by three touchdowns late in the game.

The Trojans stuffed it but that is besides the point.

After the game, at the midfield handshake, Pete Carroll questioned Harbaugh as to his motivation for the play, although it wasn’t necessary to do so.

Everyone knew Harbaugh was trying to show up the Trojans, including coach Carroll.

In the week that followed the game, Jim Harbaugh was hailed by the national media as the “hot coach.” leading the “hot program” to the promised land.

Except that the Cal Bears had something (I say gleefully) to say about it.

And the “hot coach” made some bad decisions.

Like going for it on fourth down, with 3-1/2 minutes to go and all of his timeouts left, Harbaugh rolled the dice and came up snakeyes when Andrew Luck ran out of same and threw an harmless pass which fell incomplete.

So much for Stanford’s Rose Bowl aspirations.

Of course, many would say it is cheap to acquire such joy in the defeat of a program by someone other than the team you follow.

Guilty as charged.

However, while in my perfect world, the Trojans would have won two weeks ago, it wasn’t meant to be.

The Trojans got beat by a better team that day.

So now I will gladly get my “jollies” vicariously through the Cal Bears and I have only one thing to say:

Choke on it Jim Harbaugh.

Distant rumblings of smug assertions by those whose teams have suffered through eight years of Trojan dominance, either directly or indirectly, are becoming louder.

Has Pete Carroll lost his magic touch with the USC Trojans?

After last Saturday’s 47-20 blowout loss to Oregon, some are saying that the luster has come off the Trojans and that Pete Carroll is no longer capable of casting the spell over his opponents that has led to his sterling 94-17 record since he took the helm of USC football.

Others additionally point to the somewhat close victories over Oregon State and Notre Dame in the two games prior to the debacle in Oregon and say this is a trend of deteriorating Trojan football.

What can’t be denied is that the Oregon loss represented, by far, the worst loss in the Pete Carroll era.

Not just on the scoreboard, which provides tangible proof for even the casual observer, but also in the game itself where the Trojan defense, the unit that Pete Carroll claims mastery over, acquitted itself most miserably.

As Trojan haters gleefully watched the Ducks run around, over, and through the anemic USC defense, the assertions that the Trojans were coming apart became the standard fare for the internet mavens.

In the maelstrom of criticism, Pete Carroll has just smiled and cautioned those who have predicted the Trojans demise to take a deep breath.

After viewing the horror show that was the Oregon game, Pete Carroll shuddered and took the blame.

Saying that he installed an overly ambitious defense in preparation for the Ducks, Carroll said he will get back to basics against the Sun Devils Saturday night in Tempe.

If he is successful and the Trojans can get a victory against Arizona State, it will represent a new start for USC who will have played its last road game of the season on that night.

After Saturday, USC will play its last three games at the coliseum where they are almost unbeatable.

As many have prognosticated, a Trojan run of the table and a 10-2 record should land USC in a BCS bowl game.

Not exactly how Coach Carroll and the Trojans would have drawn it up prior to the season, but not a bad consolation prize either.

Now, I understand that the Trojans have played an abundance of huge games in recent years.

Games that have decided BCS bowls and clinched titles.

However, all of these big games have been played while the Trojans have rode on the crest of success.

The game against Arizona State is fundamentally different.

For the first time in recent memory, the Trojans will try to prove they are still among the college football elite.

But it all starts Saturday night against the Sun Devils.

When the Trojans play the most important game in the Pete Carroll era.

What the hell happened out there?

Was the Trojan defense truly that bad or was the Oregon Duck offense that good?

Or was it a combination of both?

Truth be told, this shouldn’t have come as a total surprise to anyone.

Even the most ardent Trojan fan knew that coming into this season, the Trojans had to replace nine starters from last years stalwart defensive unit.

When the season started, the predominant notion was that the offense was going to be good and the defense was going to take time to jell.

So the fact that USC’s defense is struggling shouldn’t be a revelation.

What is a surprise is how and when it is happening.

For the first five games of the season, the Trojan defense was good.

Damn good.

Top five in almost every defensive category, USC’s defense asserted itself right out of the gate and it seemed that they were only going to get better with defensive guru Pete Carroll at the helm.

Except that isn’t what happened.

What happened is that after those first five games, the defense took a step back.

Make that a leap.

Beginning in the second half of the Notre Dame game, continuing with the second half of the Oregon State game and blossoming to full ugliness against the Ducks, The Trojan defense suddenly has forgotten how to play fundamental football.

Gap responsibility, zone coverage and solid tackling are now just a concept for this beleagured unit.

After getting rolled by the Duck offense to the tune of 613 yards (613 yards? Good Lord), the luster is off this years version of the men of Troy.

This might be expected if it were the first or second game of the season and the inexperienced defense was just getting acclimated to the rigors of big time college football.

However, this is eighth game and reasonable expectations should be that this unit would be getting better instead of dramatically worse.

The fact that the defense is so bad should be a concern for both Pete Carroll and Trojan fans goes without saying.

But of deeper concern is the circumstances surrounding the deterioration of the defense.

We are at that time of the season when this unit should be fairly seasoned and finding ways to polish their efforts on the field.

Instead, the defense will be going back to square one and learning what the definition of fundamental tackling is.

There is still time for Coach Carroll to work his magic on this unit and salvage the rest of the season.

And Pete Carroll has earned the time to get it done.

For most college football fans, a 10-2 record and a berth in a lesser, but still significant, bowl would be a blessing.

For USC fans, it is lamentable.

Yet, good things can come from a resurrection of the defense that leads to a solid foundation for 2010, which is the year I personally thought would be the Trojans season for contention in the national championship.

This is unfamiliar ground for Trojan fans and they should not jump ship yet by any means.

But what happens from here on out will preface the story that will be told in 2010.

Good luck Pete.

Based on the scream in Eugene, you are going to need it.

This isn’t about the running game itself per se.

With the two-headed monster of Joe McKnight (more on him later) and Allen Bradford, the results are starting to speak for themselves.

The Trojans are becoming very effective indeed.

Mike Riley, Oregon State’s head coach and recipient of the 227 yard rushing outburst led by Bradford’s 147 yards (almost a ten yard per carry average), said that “USC’s offense seems to be getting better every week.”

The Trojan rushing game has a lot to do with that statement.

No, this has nothing to do with the effectiveness of USC’s rushing attack.

Rather, it has to do with who is doing the rushing.

You know, that “veritable embarrassment of riches” that the Trojans had at their disposal to tote the ball.

Or, as it has been said so often, “The stable of Trojan running backs.”

The “stable” has been turned into a “stall.”

Okay, maybe two or three stalls.

The one time never ending stream of talented running backs the Trojans had at their beck and call, has been turned into a trickle.

Stafon Johnson, as everyone knows, has been lost for the season due to his unfortunate weight room accident.

Marc Tyler, who was rounding into shape and who has “star” written all over him, is also out for the season with a toe injury that required surgery.

CJ Gable, the one time Trojan starter, has spent this season alternating between the trainers room and Pete Carroll’s doghouse, and has yet to see the playing field with any regularity.

Meanwhile, Curtis McNeal, the Darren Sproles clone, has been fighting nagging injuries all year long which has reduced his effectiveness.

Stanley Havili, the Trojan fullback who may very well be the best at his position in the nation, has a shoulder injury which may keep him out of the Oregon game this Saturday night.

Even Joe McKnight isn’t in perfect health (not that any running back is at this time of the year), although the cut hand he suffered against the Beavers isn’t expected to keep him out of this Saturday’s game.

That leaves Allen Bradford as the one healthy back…at least the one that doesn’t have an asterisk by his name denoting a specific injury.

And Bradford is operating on a rebuilt hip that came as a result of off season surgery.

In effect, this stable of Trojan horses is now just a couple of very talented running backs who can’t afford an injury.

What used to be a mad shuffle of gifted ball carriers, has been reduced to Pete Carroll and his staff crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.

And if things do go wrong and either McKnight or Bradford are hurt, the Trojans stable of running backs will turn into a stall.

Literally.