Good: USC won, won big, and won against a conference rival who were only two spots behind them in the polls; so much for the doubters who said that losing their entire backfield would mean a rebuilding year. Yeah, Carson Palmer won the Heisman and was the first pick in the NFL draft but soph QB Matt Leinart is hot, three of the four main running backs are freshman (Dennis is a sophomore), and the wide receivers (especially Mike Williams and Keary Colbert) are money.
More good: Virginia Tech did USC a huge favor by decimating previously unbeaten Miami, not even allowing the number two Hurricanes to score until late in the 4th quarter. This is going to make for some interesting reading when the BCS rankings come out Monday. UCLA and Georgia lost, Nets, Sharks, Devils and Rangers won; Sharks finally get a big offensve breakout (Alyn McCauley’s first career hat trick) and defense. Also, Cal had their second big win of the year and Stanford came out of a funk by beating the aforementioned FUCLA.
Less pleasing: The San Jose Earthquakes went down to Carson and gave it up big time, 2-0, to the Galaxy in the first leg of the opening round of the MLS playoffs. This is the second season in a row that the Quakes costed through September and October (they scored ZERO goals in the whole month of October) and fell flat in the playoffs; this loss means that they’ll have to outscore LA by three in the return match at Spartan Stadium next Sunday. Also, the New England Revolution beat the NJ/NY MetroStars by the same score in their opening match and Oklahoma and Florida State, ahead of the Trojans in the BCS standings, each won handily.
Tomorrow: Liverpool can add significantly to my cheer with a good result over the surprising Fullham squad, though I have little hope for the bruised, battered and not playing well anyway 49ers against a Rams team that’s getting revved and getting Marshall Faulk back. Raiders don’t beat the Lions they might as well go to sleep and not wake up until Spring mini-camps start; Callahan and Woodson can glare each other to death, don’t care, but Raiders cannot afford another Cleveland.
Note: Watching the USC-Washington State game reminded me of why I wouldn’t want to be a wide receiver or, more realistically, play any helmet football position since they all get hit and hit hard. Screw that!
BillSaysThis 