In preparation for tomorrow's game with #1 USC, we bring in Jim from Conquest Chronicles to drop some knowledge on the Trojans.
One: There are many pre-season predictions about your team. Why are they all so horribly wrong? Give us specifics.
There was a lot of questions about USC at the start of the season. How would the O line perform? Would the receivers finally live up to their potential? How would Mark Sanchez perform as Captain and starter?
For the most part those question have been answered in the affirmative so now there is a lot of hype over USC because of two convincing wins, but already the detractors are out discounting both the UVA and Ohio State games. I would like to see how SC does in the next couple of weeks to see if they are for real or if they stumble once again. This 2008 team does seem to be different in regards to leadership and intensity but they need to put big wins up every week going forward to prove our detractors wrong.
Two: Last season was a dream-come-true/nightmare/uneventful for your team. How do you expect that to effect this year's team? Convince us with a meaningless, out of context statistic.
Well, given the Stanford loss and how it probably kept us out of the BCS title game I would say it was a nightmare scenario. Win that game and we are in even with the loss to Oregon. As for a meaningless statistic...it's the second year in a row where SC had an unexpected loss that kept us out of the title game. Beat either you guys or ucla in 2006 and we're the BCS title game there as well that would have been 4 BCS title games in a row...oh what could have been.
Three: Who is your best player--what is the signature play of his career? Convince us of his greatness by comparing him to a superhero or movie character.
Joe McKnight - not because he's carrying the team, but because he's the one most likely to pull off a spectacular move.
Three-A: Who does he rely on to achieve such greatness? Who is his sidekick or supporting character?
Stanley Havili - a fantastic lead blocker who allows McKnight to get clear through the middle and take off, instead of having to try and get round the corner of the D-line.
Four: Your fans have many traditions surrounding the sport of football. What are some of your most questionable traditions? Do you have any good ones that aren't laughably ridiculous?
How about playing Conquest a million times during the game. I know it drives people nuts. But of course its all about the horse...we love it when he runs a lot if you know what I mean.
(click play below to hear Conquest --ed)
Five: Napoleon (and later, Abba) had Waterloo, Sen. Larry Craig had difficulties meeting like-minded men; what will be the downfall of your team this year?
Complacency...looking ahead. People won't believe USC is legit until it gets through the entire Pac-10 slate, and does so convincingly. Everyone knows the pattern and USC has to break it.
Six: Your team would be unrecognizable to its own fans without strength in a certain area. What is your team's secret sauce?
Pete Carroll...enough said.
We're #2?!?! (via Don Petersen/ AP)
Thanks, Jim! Best of luck.