Written by USC blog contributor, Andie Hagemann
The next two weeks will be the biggest challenge for USC as the Trojans will play Pac-12 South opponents, Arizona State and UCLA for the Pac-12 South title. Despite the Trojans 6-3 overall record and 4-3 conference mark, they still have much to play for this season.
"We have a lot of football left and the season is not over," said quarterback Matt Barkley. "We have to make the most of the remaining games. At this point in the season, our focus is on Arizona State and Arizona State only."
Though it might be easy to start looking at the potential finish line, USC must remain focused on the task at hand. "We are just thinking about one game at a time," said linebacker Hayes Pullard. "We need to go in and watch film so we can overcome these struggles that we have been going through."
Since UCLA defeated Arizona last night, USC must win its remaining conference games in order to have the chance to compete in the Pac-12 Conference Championship game on Nov. 30. Permitting that occurs, the Trojans may face the Oregon Ducks for the second time this season.
However, USC would not have the comfort of playing in front of a home crowd. Instead, the team would face the daunting task of playing at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
Senior safety T.J. McDonald believes that USC would perform better if a rematch with Oregon would occur. "If we get the chance, I'm sure we would come more prepared and ready to go," McDonald said.
Although the Trojans currently possess three conference losses, it is not outrageous to think that they may end up in the Rose Bowl. USC controls its own destiny and most importantly the Trojans must keep the faith.
The next two weeks will be the biggest challenge for USC as the Trojans will play Pac-12 South opponents, Arizona State and UCLA for the Pac-12 South title. Despite the Trojans 6-3 overall record and 4-3 conference mark, they still have much to play for this season.
"We have a lot of football left and the season is not over," said quarterback Matt Barkley. "We have to make the most of the remaining games. At this point in the season, our focus is on Arizona State and Arizona State only."Though it might be easy to start looking at the potential finish line, USC must remain focused on the task at hand. "We are just thinking about one game at a time," said linebacker Hayes Pullard. "We need to go in and watch film so we can overcome these struggles that we have been going through."
Since UCLA defeated Arizona last night, USC must win its remaining conference games in order to have the chance to compete in the Pac-12 Conference Championship game on Nov. 30. Permitting that occurs, the Trojans may face the Oregon Ducks for the second time this season.
However, USC would not have the comfort of playing in front of a home crowd. Instead, the team would face the daunting task of playing at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
Senior safety T.J. McDonald believes that USC would perform better if a rematch with Oregon would occur. "If we get the chance, I'm sure we would come more prepared and ready to go," McDonald said.
Although the Trojans currently possess three conference losses, it is not outrageous to think that they may end up in the Rose Bowl. USC controls its own destiny and most importantly the Trojans must keep the faith.
I was just watching a recording of the game, and with the exception of the first quarter, the Trojans stayed right with Oregon the whole game: Oregon won the first quarter by 11 points and the rest of the game was a tie. Eliminate two turnovers in the red zone in the first half, and SC wins the game. Personally I'm positively salivating over the thought of a rematch in the Pac-12 title game.