There's a Hole in My Trojan!!!

[digamma]

Given the apparent emphasis on starting prestige in BBCF, I thought it might be interesting to give an old anti-dynasty challenge a try.

This is inspired by the legendary Poop on the Golden Helmets Anti-Dynasty by Godzilla Blitz.

The goal is to take USC from the top to the bottom. Nothing less than ranking 119th in the nation will be accepted. Well, that or being fired, whichever comes first. (My suspicion is the firing...)

I'll be borrowing some of those rules that can be applied to BBCF from TCY. Here's a summary:

1. The Kindergarten Rule. I can't cut anybody--everyone who wants on the team can be on the team.
2. I have to use all study hall hours.
3. I can only switch two position players a year.
4. I must use assistant coach recommendations for game planning and strategy options. I will also use their recommendations for my depth chart.
5. In the first week of recruiting, all of my scholarship offers must go to recruits with a "10" in interest for USC. If I have scholarships left after this allotment, I have free reign.
6. I must also offer scholarships on the spot to anyone from whom I receive a "My daddy went to USC" e-mail.
7. I have to maintain at least the minimum required number of players at each roster spot. In other words, I can't recruit 22 punters.

Other rules may be added as time goes on and as needed.

I'll also implement GB's excellent Rudy Challenge--the quest to find the absolute dumbest recruit in the nation. We'll welcome him with open arms to the University of Spoiled Children. Unfortunately, though, for our Rudy, he'll have to be an academic qualifier.

That is probably good for the basics....

Away we go....

[digamma]

I survey my roster, and we're actually not as good as I had feared. Sure, we're ranked #4 to start the season, but we have only one guy who is currently "blue." There are a ton of high potential guys, but they do have to be developed...

Here is the roster (breakdown to come in the next post):

USC Team Roster Links: | Attributes | Depth Chart | Off/Def Ratings | Overview | Roster | Special Teams Ratings | Stats |

Quarterbacks # POS NAME HT WT YR GPA WE INT STATUS High School OVR POT 02 QB Randy Frost 6-3 206 So 1.82 64 50 OK Riverton (Riverton, WY) 1.5 4.0 08 QB Spencer Henderson 6-3 203 (Jr) 1.86 77 47 OK Point Arena (Point Arena, CA) 2.5 2.5 13 QB Isaac Jordan (S) 6-2 189 Jr 2.38 83 67 OK Granite Hills (Porterville, CA) 3.0 3.5 16 QB Mark Wiggins 6-2 224 Fr 3.58 70 78 OK Hunter (West Valley City, UT) 1.0 2.5

Running Backs # POS NAME HT WT YR GPA WE INT STATUS High School OVR POT 40 RB Dick Flutie 5-9 190 (So) 1.87 63 59 OK Yuma Catholic (Yuma, AZ) 1.5 3.0 46 RB LaShaun Harris 5-8 173 Fr 1.88 73 50 OK Woodrow Wilson (Long Beach, CA) 2.0 5.0 35 RB Antoine McFarland 5-10 221 (Jr) 2.46 42 39 OK University San Diego (San Diego, CA) 4.0 4.0 32 RB Jim Weary (S) 5-11 185 So 1.97 78 44 OK Kapa`a (Kapaa, HI) 4.0 5.0 23 FB Anthony Lockett (S) 5-11 219 Jr 2.01 66 53 OK Burns (Burns, WY) 3.5 5.0 38 FB Emmitt Perryman 5-11 229 So 2.30 89 48 OK Francis Parker (San Diego, CA) 2.5 4.0 42 FB Derrick Taylor 6-1 213 Jr 3.80 47 72 OK Calvary Chapel Christian (CA) 1.0 1.5

Receivers # POS NAME HT WT YR GPA WE INT STATUS High School OVR POT 83 WR Ron Duerson 6-3 178 (So) 2.09 31 51 OK Harrisburg (Harrisburg, OR) 3.5 5.0 81 WR Rob Holly (S) 6-1 177 (Jr) 2.21 56 52 OK Harker Academy (San Jose, CA) 4.5 4.5 09 WR Charlie Keyworth 6-2 204 Sr 1.89 71 49 OK Livermore (Livermore, CA) 2.0 2.0 89 WR Casey Nowatzke 5-8 173 (So) 1.70 92 48 OK Amador Valley (Pleasanton, CA) 2.5 3.0 87 WR Damone Scott (S) 6-3 189 Sr 1.66 57 56 OK Fresno Christian (Fresno, CA) 4.0 4.0 85 WR Eric Seymour 6-4 202 So 2.13 29 53 OK Baker (Baker, MT) 3.0 5.0 86 WR Larry Smith 5-10 166 Fr 2.47 81 35 OK Simi Valley (Simi Valley, CA) 2.0 5.0 69 WR Shannon Smith 5-9 174 (Fr) 3.92 58 86 OK San Diego (San Diego, CA) 1.0 3.0 79 WR Robert Wiggins 6-3 193 Jr 1.70 50 47 OK McClymonds (Oakland, CA) 2.0 2.5 82 TE Keith Glick 6-3 240 Fr 3.64 36 70 OK Rosemead (Rosemead, CA) 1.5 4.0 80 TE Marques Henderson (S) 6-4 243 (So) 2.03 84 61 OK Radford (Honolulu, HI) 3.0 5.0 88 TE Musa Hooks 6-0 228 Sr 2.41 89 50 OK New Plymouth (New Plymouth, ID) 3.0 3.0 84 TE Tim Wright 6-6 229 So 2.32 27 49 OK Cobre (Bayard, NM) 2.5 4.5

Offensive Lineman # POS NAME HT WT YR GPA WE INT STATUS High School OVR POT 65 OT Cory Dickinson 6-8 291 Fr 1.82 59 57 OK Eielson (Eielson AFB, AK) 1.0 3.0 75 OT Jim Jones (S) 6-0 315 Sr 3.70 40 78 OK West Side (Dayton, ID) 3.5 3.5 73 OT Hardy Brooks 6-6 294 Jr 2.36 87 43 OK Sylmar (Sylmar, CA) 2.5 4.5 74 OT George Muhammad 6-8 311 (Jr) 3.15 99 68 OK Mendocino (Mendocino, CA) 2.5 2.5 66 OT Tre Corbett 6-3 283 So 2.17 83 48 OK Royal (Royal City, WA) 1.5 4.5 76 OT John Yoder (S) 6-7 304 Sr 1.93 84 53 OK John Swett (Crockett, CA) 4.0 4.0 61 OG Stoney Barnett 6-6 285 So 2.42 86 37 OK Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, CA) 1.5 4.5 77 OG Nat Herndon (S) 6-8 304 (So) 2.05 44 43 OK Canyon (Canyon Country, CA) 2.5 5.0 71 OG Ryan Swann 6-5 286 Fr 2.01 65 53 OK Downey (Downey, CA) 1.0 3.5 67 OG Jeremy Thompson 6-1 310 Fr 2.29 52 52 OK Navajo Prep (Farmington, NM) 1.0 5.0 72 OG Rick Gammon (S) 6-6 289 Sr 3.20 99 66 OK Faith Lutheran (Las Vegas, NV) 3.5 3.5 62 OG Frank Braxton 6-4 286 Jr 3.48 53 82 OK Rancho Cucamonga (CA) 1.5 2.5 60 C Steven Myers 6-6 294 (Fr) 3.59 49 87 OK Justin-Siena (Napa, CA) 1.5 4.5 68 C Greg Crowell 6-2 283 So 3.66 52 88 OK Bellarmine-Jefferson (Burbank, CA) 1.0 2.0 53 C Pete Jolley (S) 6-2 285 (So) 3.52 33 92 OK Edison (Huntington Beach, CA) 3.0 4.5

Defensive Lineman # POS NAME HT WT YR GPA WE INT STATUS High School OVR POT 93 DE Sam Burnett 6-7 290 So 3.39 92 67 OK Galileo Academy (San Francisco, CA) 1.5 4.0 97 DE Brian Glover (S) 6-5 261 Jr 3.58 78 68 OK St. Bonaventure (Ventura, CA) 3.5 4.0 94 DE Derek Witherspoon (S) 6-6 256 Sr 2.16 64 55 OK Kearns (Kearns, UT) 2.5 2.5 91 DE John Wright 6-3 264 Sr 3.95 94 79 OK Valhalla (El Cajon, CA) 2.5 2.5 99 DE Gary James 6-2 249 Fr 1.71 99 50 OK Thurgood Marshall (San Francisco, CA) 1.5 4.0 95 DT Tim Lynch (S) 6-0 283 Sr 3.62 60 70 OK Monticello (Monticello, UT) 2.5 2.5 90 DT Nemiah Rivers 6-1 273 So 1.84 87 40 OK Clovis East (Clovis, CA) 1.0 3.0 92 DT Dan Fields 6-2 251 Fr 3.87 65 87 OK Dorsey (Los Angeles, CA) 1.0 4.0 96 DT Michael Brown 6-1 296 (So) 2.60 69 61 OK S.E. Burroughs (Ridgecrest, CA) 2.5 5.0

Linebackers # POS NAME HT WT YR GPA WE INT STATUS High School OVR POT 43 ILB Timm Alexander 6-0 224 So 1.92 63 53 OK Benjamin Franklin (Los Angeles, CA) 2.0 4.5 48 ILB Jeremy Jordan (S) 6-0 232 Jr 3.48 99 86 OK Calexico (Calexico, CA) 3.0 4.0 57 ILB Jim Blades 6-1 237 Fr 1.84 71 62 OK Rim of the World (Lake Arrowhead, CA) 2.5 5.0 52 ILB Derrick Malinchak (S) 6-1 240 Sr 2.34 55 44 OK W.C. Wood (Vacaville, CA) 3.5 3.5 56 ILB Isaiah Woodbury 6-2 229 Fr 3.36 53 94 OK Cesar Chavez (Delano, CA) 1.0 2.0 44 OLB Will Sauer (S) 6-1 234 Sr 2.26 98 28 OK Ironwood Ridge (Tucson, AZ) 3.5 3.5 55 OLB Jameel McMahon (S) 6-0 226 (So) 3.16 57 74 OK Weed (Weed, CA) 2.5 4.5 59 OLB Quinn Faulk 6-0 234 Sr 3.60 68 85 OK Baldwin (Wailuku, HI) 2.0 2.0 54 OLB Steve Wood 6-2 244 Fr 3.09 67 65 OK Hemet (Hemet, CA) 2.5 5.0 58 OLB Jesse Woody 6-2 237 So 2.40 92 44 OK Fresno (Fresno, CA) 2.0 4.0 51 OLB Johnny Jackson 6-0 222 (Fr) 2.30 59 25 OK Deming (Deming, NM) 1.0 2.5

Defensive Backs # POS NAME HT WT YR GPA WE INT STATUS High School OVR POT 27 CB Dave Devoe 6-2 165 So 2.06 46 63 OK Gallup (Gallup, NM) 2.0 3.5 29 CB Dewey Williams (S) 6-3 182 Jr 3.02 99 73 OK Springer (Springer, NM) 3.0 4.5 31 CB Roger Ransom (S) 6-2 200 Sr 2.74 59 61 OK Gardena (Gardena, CA) 4.0 4.0 26 CB Glyn Mitchell 5-10 161 Fr 2.62 95 71 OK Hermiston (Hermiston, OR) 1.0 1.5 22 CB Nick Mariscal 6-0 170 Fr 2.36 63 41 OK Colton (Colton, CA) 1.5 4.5 33 CB Bibbles Jervey 6-2 176 Fr 1.75 70 53 OK Aiea (Aiea, HI) 2.5 4.0 39 FS Nat Peters (S) 6-0 202 (Jr) 2.73 69 70 OK East Nicolaus (Nicolaus, CA) 4.0 4.0 28 FS Mike Avinger 5-11 182 Fr 1.85 90 53 OK Havre (Havre, MT) 1.0 3.0 21 FS Josh Lewis 6-2 208 So 2.23 89 48 OK Santa Rosa (Santa Rosa, CA) 1.5 3.0 47 SS Rich Sherman 6-2 192 Fr 3.58 48 99 OK Yerba Buena (San Jose, CA) 1.0 2.0 45 SS Erik Johnson (S) 6-0 177 (So) 2.37 41 42 OK Linfield Christian (Temecula, CA) 3.0 3.0 49 SS Marion Hamilton 6-4 192 (Fr) 3.37 99 78 OK Pinedale (Pinedale, WY) 2.0 4.5

Special teams # POS NAME HT WT YR GPA WE INT STATUS High School OVR POT 06 K Correll Smolinski 6-2 178 Fr 1.72 33 53 OK Fairfield (Fairfield, MT) 2.0 2.5 11 K Leonard Fisher (S) 6-0 206 (Jr) 3.16 50 75 OK Marin Catholic (Kentfield, CA) 3.5 3.5 18 P Ryan Blount (S) 5-8 192 Jr 3.41 80 83 OK McQueen (Reno, NV) 3.5 3.5 01 P Ron Thomas 6-2 191 So 3.59 56 65 OK Grass Range (Grass Range, MT) 2.5 3.0

[digamma]

Quarterbacks:

Jordan has slightly better than average arm strength and accuracy. He's a good scrambler though. It looks like he'll be the starter heading into the season, which I don't find to be a bad thing. He's not a flat out stud.

Frost has more potential and better arm strength, but fortunately he's not ready to start this year. The better news is that he appears to be a moron. He has a 1.82 GPA, so it looks like he'll have to go to study hall to start the season. Hopefully, he'll make paper airplanes or something while he's in there.

Wiggins and Henderson are both bad, so we can hope for injuries that get them some real playing time. Wiggins is a true freshman, without a ton of potential. He seems exactly like the kind of guy you want to have around your program for five years, so I think he'll get to wear the red shirt this year. Here's hoping we have to burn it to put him in the game.

Running Backs:

Jim Weary is a stud. Unfortunately, he's also a sophomore stud. At first glance, he may be our top candidate for one of our two position switches this year. Great speed and agility, excellent hands. Maybe a defensive tackle?

Antoine McFarland is also a very good back-up. He's a junior with good speed and good agility. With only average durability and below average work ethic, we'll have to hope he gets hurt and can't get himself back into game shape.

Harris is a blue chip recruit. He's a freshman, so he's scrawny, but he's got a ton of potential. Here's hoping for another injury.

Dick Flutie (was there ever a better name for a Flutie?) is a serviceable back-up for most teams. We're going to hope like hell he's pressed into starting action for the Trojans.

Fullbacks:

Lockett has great instincts and is a very good blocker. Just the kind of guy most teams would want to be their fullback. He's a junior, so we'll have to put up with his kind for two years.

Perryman's also a very good blocker. He doesn't have the strength as Lockett, but he does have an extra year with the program.

Derrick Taylor is the kind of guy we aim to build this program around.

Receivers:

This is a deep group, led by Rob Holly. Holly is our one "blue" guy to start the season. He's got fantastic hands and excellent acceleration. Good news is he's only got slightly better than average speed. Also of note is that he's a 23 year old college junior. Hopefully, he'll tire of college life this year and turn pro.

Scott, Duerson and Seymour aren't much of a step down from Holly. Scott is a senior but the other two are juniors. There's not a burner in the group, but they all have good hands and serve as ample targets. If there is a silver lining to this group, it is that Duerson and Seymour both have poor work ethic (29 and 31), so I won't be crushed if they don't reach their potential.

Larry Smith is another blue chip recruit. Normally a redshirt would be out of the question for someone with his potential, but maybe if I do, he'll decide to transfer. Worth a shot--he's got to see how difficult it is to climb the depth chart here.

If he leaves, that'll leave the door open for other program guys like Wiggins, Shannon Smith and Keyworth. Keyworth is a true senior, so we might have to tag him with the red shirt as well, just to keep him around another year.

Tight end:

The tight ends as a group are unremarkable. Henderson is the best of the bunch with excellent future potential. He's also extremely durable. I wonder how he'll like playing 100% of the time and on special teams?

Tim Wright is a blocking tight end. Maybe we can run a spread offense and neutralize his skills.

Offensive line:

We catch a break, in that our top three offensive linemen are seniors. Jones, Yoder and Gammon will only be able to sustain our current level of play for one season. Behind them though, there is a world of potential. Corbett and Brooks at tackle; Thompson and Barnett at guard. Again, though, these guys have to be developed. Here's hoping we screw that part up.

Next, we move to the defense...

[digamma]

Defensive Linemen:

There's good news here. We're thin at both positions on the DL. Our best lineman is Brian Glover, a junior end with good size. He's a sure tackler and a pretty good pass rusher. Luckily, he's the best we have, for now anyway. Derek Witherspoon is the other starting end. He's average everything. Hopefully, there will be more Derek's starting in the future here.

The back-ups are young, with potential, but neither Burnett or James are ready to play this year. Maybe we'll find a way to force them into action.

Oh, I forgot John Wright who is a Witherspoon clone.

The interior portion of the line is our best or worst position, depending on how you want to look at it. Currently we project into a 3-4 defense, with Tim Wright manning the Nose. He's all average as well. There isn't much depth behind him. Michael Brown has the most potential, but he's a sophomore who's already used his redshirt. Time's ticking away Michael. Rivers and Fields are both bad, but Fields has potential.

Linebackers:

We're also surprisingly thin at inside backer for such a high prestige team. Malinchak and Jordan will start. Both are decent, but not like the stars we have on offense. Better than that Malinchak is a senior and Jordan is a junior. We don't have to put up with players of this caliber for long.

The back-ups are young and full of potential. Blades and Alexander both have the capability of being all conference players. But, again, we come back to that "D" word...development. We've got to find a way to stunt their growth.

Woodbury is a walk on. Nothing lifts a school's spirit like a contributing walk on.

The outside backers also aren't world beaters. Sauer's the best of the bunch right now, but he's also a true senior. What a shame for the program to lose a guy with such great work ethic after only one season.

McMahon is the other starter. He has great potential and is only a sophomore. He also has very good durability. We're going to have to be very careful with him.

Wood and Woody are also young potential guys. Drink your coffee, boys! Lots of it.

Our main man, walk on Quinn Faulk...he's begging us for the red shirt because he thinks he can contribute next year. Quinn, we believe you! Let's do it!

Defensive Backs:

Like the rest of the defense, a ton of potential, but only slightly better than average right now.

Ransom is a senior corner with fantastic speed. Best thing about him is that he's only average durability wise.

Dewey Williams will man the other corner. He's better than average, but we can live with this type of player.

Our best potential guy is Bibbles Jervey. If your first name was Bibbles, wouldn't you quit the football team and join the circus...as a clown? Come on, Bibbles, find your true calling.

The safeties are also young, not a senior among them. Peters is the best of the bunch, with good cover skills and good speed and agility. Hamilton has the most potential at the strong safety spot. He also has good work ethic, so we might have to give him some accutane for his horrid complexion in order to stunt his growth.

Special Teams:

Fisher and Blount are good a good kicker/punter combo, but they aren't out of this world. They're also maxed on potential, so we're going to have to live with them for two seasons.

[digamma]

The Staff...

Offensive Coordinator Matt Shelley is good. Too good. He's very good at motivating the troops and crafting a game plan. He's got a keen eye for scouting offensive linemen, and is pretty good scouting the other positions. He's also good at developing all position groups. Hopefully, he finds a head coaching opportunity somewhere very, very soon.

Which brings me to my staff hiring rule. I'm going to say I can't fire my staff. I can replace them when they leave on their own, but I'm stuck with Shelley until he makes that call. Now, there's nothing that says I can't man the phones to find this guy a better gig.

The defensive coordinator isn't as stellar. We can live with Jim Currie for a few years. He can motivate, but he's an average game planner. But the best news comes on the development front. He's good at developing LB's, but only average at developing lineman and he's below average at developing DB's.

Ken McKinnie is an excellent motivator on special teams. We'll take that because he's god awful at developing special teams skills. If we need to make a big kick, our guy's going to have the heart to do it, he just may not have the skills. We'll take that trade off.

[digamma]

Initial expectations from the AD (who goes only by the single name "Vishante"):

Win the Pac Ten and get a GDCS bowl bid. Nothing less than a top ten finish is acceptable.

[digamma]

Our first job is to pick our recruiting service and set our budget.

We want to expand our recruiting horizons, so we pick the College Guru scouting service which focuses on the Atlantic East region.

We have a ton of bucks to play with. I'm honestly not sure how to allocate them. My suggested budget maxes out strength and conditioning and academic tutors. I'm not sure that's the kind of program we want to run. We want our kids to have fun. Fun, fun, fun, in the California sun.

We go $40k on strength and conditioning and $40k on academics. Who needs to study.

We waste the other money on recruiting on special teams, and we bump up our Atlantic and Southeast recruiting budgets to the max.

[digamma]

Well, Matt Shelley, even though he personally prefers the West Coast Offense, has recommended that we run the option this year. No problem, Matt. We're open to that system. We have all that talent at wide receiver, but I'm sure they won't mind developing their blocking skills.

And, Currie's a 3-3-5 guy, but he's recommending we run a 3-4 base. Whatever you think, Jim.

[digamma]

Scheduling presents an interesting dilemma.

Do we schedule up and hope we lose some tough games early? Or, do we schedule down and damage our strength of schedule?

[Coffee Warlord]

You gotta play Notre Dame.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

You gotta play Notre Dame.

We get Notre Dame every year in our rivalry game!

I decide to split the difference.

My first schedule request goes to Florida Atlantic, who currently rates as the 119th best team in the nation. I want to give our fans a glimpse of what we aspire to be.

With our second schedule request, we ask for a home and home with Texas. That just seems fitting.

Good news. Both are accepted.

The schedule shapes up as follows:

Team Schedule
WEEK	OPPONENT	SCORE
1	Florida Atlantic	-
2	at #11 Texas	-
3	OPEN	-
4	Stanford	-
5	at #18 Notre Dame	-
6	OPEN	-
7	at Oregon	-
8	Oregon State	-
9	California	-
10	at Arizona	-
11	at Arizona State	-
12	Washington	-
13	OPEN	-
14	at UCLA	-
15	OPEN	-

[digamma]

I'll ask for a little crowd participation in picking my second position switch. We definitely can't afford to have Weary running the ball for three seasons. I'm open to suggestions for the second guy though. I'm playing this game from my work computer, so I'll be away until tomorrow morning. We'll see who the peanut gallery has in mind and go from there.

Fight on!

[hoopsguy]

OG Jeremy Thompson looks like a decent option to switch. The talent is graduating and you don't want to have high potential guys accidently develop on you.

Bad lines are a huge help to slowing down the rest of your team, based on what I've seen so far. Plus you aren't as likely to accidently get a stud offensive lineman with 10 interest right out of the gate as compared to WR, CB, RB - this is based on five years of running USC and another couple at UCLA which is after the same California talent base.

Following along - it appears we share the same goal, but I'm hopeful you can work faster from the inside than I can from across town.

[digamma]

I agree with you hoops. Jeremy Thompson is our lucky second position switch of 2005.

Jeremy, here's a play book. Live it, breathe it, love it. You're a quarterback now.

Thompson goes from a blue chip to a 1.0-1.0 player. His ideal weight is now 230, so at 310, he's got some dieting to do.

Quite the opposite problem for Mr. Weary. At 186 lbs., he's our smallest interior lineman. He's going to have to beef up quite a bit if he wants to exceed his new 1.0 potential.

[digamma]

It appears that Jeremy will get to see the field this year. Ken McKinnie thinks he's good enough to be our holder.

[digamma]

Time to set study hall hours.

We've got a load of kids who need them. I'm thinking we might want to burn most of them early this season. I mean, when it gets to crunch time, who wants to be in study hall. If we have to lose a kid due to grades for a big game in the season, well, that's just a risk we'll have to take.

18 guys are below a 2.0 GPA, and thus eligible for study hall blocks. At this point, I think I'll be equitable about this. Three blocks for everyone!!! Hip, hip, hooray!!!

Actually, I lied. Weary gets special treatment. 6 blocks for him. We don't want our new star DT to be ineligible.

[digamma]

In checking recruiting pool's interest level, we find bad news.

Four of the top ten recruits in the nation have blue level interest in the Trojans.

[digamma]

Game time.

Game 1 #5 USC vs. Florida Atlantic

It's a 45-14 waltz in the park for the Trojans.

McFarland rushes for 283 on 25 carries.

Isaac Jordan throws 3 TD passes.

And the news gets worse. Only Steven Myers, our back-up center, was banged up in the game. He's questionable for Texas, but other than that, we'll have a completely healthy squad as we visit Austin.

[digamma]

Game 2 #4 USC at #11 Texas

The men of Troy jump out to an early 7-0 lead on a Randy Frost touchdown pass. (I'm not changing the recommendation that my starting QB play only 60% of the time.) Texas drives down to tie the game and we get hit with the double whammy: fumble on the kick off and quick Texas score. The Horns lead it 14-7.

On the next possession, our main man Antoine McFarland goes down with an ankle injury and can't return. We manage to keep it respectable (darn!) into the fourth quarter, before Texas adds two touchdowns. We add a garbage touchdown with :21 left to make the final tally 31-13.

We don't even manage 300 yards of total offense. We threw to Holly and Scott 27 times and they only catch 11 of them. McFarland managed only 23 yards on 5 carries before leaving the game. Dick Flutie was awful, gaining 32 yards on 15 carries.

If there is bad news, it is the play of Frost. He looks like he could be the real deal and a quarterback of the future. He was 8-15 for 123 yards, including his 57 yard TD strike.

More bad news is that McFarland isn't dinged up after the game at all. He'll be ready to go as we head into conference play.

With the loss at Texas, we fall to #13 in the polls.

[digamma]

Academic Report:

Only 3rd String DT Nehemiah Rivers gets suspended. That's good news for Weary. He moves up the depth chart a slot.

We have 22 study hall hours left and 9 guys who need attention. We'll be equitable again and give them two each.

[digamma]

Game 3 #17 USC vs. Stanford

We dropped four spots without even playing a game!!!

More good news from the locker room. Jim Weary is frustrated. Better yet, his teammates are growing tired of his antics. You're like a cancer, Jim. Grow!

Unfortunately, the news from the Coliseum isn't as good. We jump out to a 35-0 lead at the half on the Cardinal and walk away with a 51-14 win. McFarland is back on track with another 200 yard effort. Holly also breaks out with 7 catches for 180 yards. Both quarterbacks look good. They go a combined 24-36, for 349 yards.

On the bright side, several guys get nicked up against Stanford.

The full report:

From: Training staff Subject: Weekly injury report

Weekly injury report



QB Randy Frost is recovering from an injury to his Foot (Stress Fracture). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.



RB Dick Flutie is saddled with an injury to his Foot (Complete Ligament Tear). His performance would certainly suffer if you played him so we recommend letting have a little more time to get back closer to 100%.



RB Antoine McFarland is recovering from an injury to his Elbow (Tennis Elbow). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.



TE Musa Hooks is trying to play through an injury to his Groin (Torn Muscle). He seems willing to give it a go, but we would recommend giving him another week to recover.



CB Roger Ransom is recovering from an injury to his Forearm (Torn Tendon). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.

[digamma]

And the big one...

#20 USC at Notre Dame

We fall in the rankings despite our big win over Stanford. I can't complain. We head to South Bend to take on the 3-1 Irish. The computer likes Notre Dame by six. We'll take that.

Notre Dame leads 17-10 at the half and things are looking good. In the third quarter, though, we add a field goal and a McFarland TD to take a 20-17 lead. We add another kick in the fourth and win 23-17, despite managing only 298 yards of total offense.

[digamma]

I'm positively giddy when I open up my academic suspension e-mail. Our boys aren't studying a lick.

Duerson, Herndon, Malinchak, Rivers (again) and Erik Johnson are suspended.

Better yet, we only have four study hall blocks left.

We might be hurting during the heart of our conference schedule.

We're off in week 6.

We randomly assign the remaining four time blocks. I resist the urge to give them all to Jim Weary, who despite getting 6 hours of attention in week one, is back below the 2.0 mark. What a dummy.

The Notre Dame win bumped us back up to #17 in the polls.

The first GDCS rankings are also out and we check in at #16.

[Toddzilla]

I love this kind of dynasty! Can't wait for the next installemnt.

One note - with a high prestige team, you will be flooded with recruits that have a "10" interest in USC, so picking through them for the worst of the lot will be easy - plenty of non-qualifiers, too. Also, the interest can change wildly from week to week, so a "10" on week 1 can become a "3" in week 2, so some clarification of that house rule may help.

You may or may not want to think about if you want to force yourself to spend all of your recruiting money each week. I know there is no minimum, but I don't know if the money carries over to the next week/next year or if it is just lost.

[digamma]

Game 5 at Oregon

Let's hope Autzen is as tough a place to play as they say it is. I'm not hopeful. Oregon is 2-3, and hasn't exactly played a bunch of world beaters. Their defense is ranked around #100 in the country. We should roll.

We get down 14-3 early. Then we give up a TD just before the end of the first half and another on Oregon's first possession of the second half. Suddenly the Ducks are up 28-10. That proves too much for us to overcome, and we fall 45-31.

McFarland does rush for 137.

We're 3-2 and we fall to #23 in the country.

[digamma]

Game 6 vs. #24 Oregon State

This becomes sort of a big Pac 10 game for us. We risk falling out of the top 25 (darn!) and almost certainly eliminating ourselves from the Pac 10 title race. Who would have thought we could have accomplished so much so soon?

We come into the game fairly healthy (not counting our academic troubles). Only Damone Scott is banged up. The doctors have given him the green light to play, however.

The game is tight, and we take a 23-20 lead into the fourth quarter. Unbelievably, we give up a safety and a field goal in the fourth to lose 25-23!

We dominated the game holding OSU to under 300 yards of total offense, while gaining 414 ourselves. Fisher misses two field goals, including a 48 yarder with 13 seconds left.

We fall to 3-3 and 1-2 in the conference. I'm beginning to hear rumblings from the USC faithful.

Does Paul Hackett live again?

[digamma]

Game 7 vs. #6 Cal

It doesn't get any easier with the CalBears coming to town. First, we got a bit banged up against the Beavers. On offense, Lockett and Guard Barnett are questionable. On defense, half of our starting defensive backfield, including our best defensive player CB Ransom are hurting.

Plus, it's academic probation time again, y'all. We lose four to suspension. Unfortunately, all are reserve players--including Jim Weary. There's a silver lining. McFarland has been letting the Doak Walker talk get to his head and has been slacking off in the classroom. He's on the watch list along with Damone Scott.

Cal comes into the game at 7-0. They have the best offense in the country, averaging 537 yards a game. They also have a top ten defense statistically.

The game turns into an epic. We slow Cal's offense through three quarters and are tied 17-17 heading into the fourth. Cal strikes first in the fourth on a 96 yard TD pass to take a 24-17 lead. We're able to tie it up with four minutes left and then take the lead 27-24 with 1:47 left. Cal strikes quickly though and kicks a field goal to send it in to OT as time expires.

We trade field goals through the first two OTs. In the third OT, we hold Cal to another field goal. McFarland busts a run for the Trojans though, and we pull of the upset 39-36.

I *almost* get excited about the win. It was a great game. But then I remember my mission. Wins over top ten teams won't be tolerated after this season.

The win puts us back into the top 25 at #21.

The win doesn't even come with much of a price with regard to injuries. Damone Scott suffers a minor injury, but he won't miss any time. A couple of lineman have lingering injuries, but other than that, we're fairly healthy.

[digamma]

Game 8 at #23 Arizona

More developer's bias as the Mildcats find their way into the top 25 in the first season of the dynasty. They're 4-3, just like us, so it should be another pretty even match-up.

Uh oh. We appear to have worked out the kinks. We roll over Arizona 48-17. It's really not that close. We lead 45-3 with 3 minutes left in the game, before the Cats add two garbage TD's sandwiched around a meaningless field goal by our squad. (Hey, at least we're poor sports and try to run up the score when we can.)

McFarland is great again, topping the 200 yard mark. He appears to be a legit national award candidate, over 1100 yards through eight games. Oh, except for that nerve damage he suffered in the win.

The game proves to be the costliest of the season injury-wise. Starting QB Jordan also goes down, as does the back-up fullback Perryman. Ransom again messes up his back and our offensive lineman continue to nurse their scratches like the babies they are.

[digamma]

Game 9 at Arizona State

McFarland will see only limited action against the 2-6 Sun Devils. Let's hope the rest of the team is blinded by the beatiful scenery of Tempe. You know, that scenery. In order to facilitate that, a super secret Trojan booster club has set up a mixer for Friday evening with ASU's famed Double Delta sorority.

The boys do come out a bit ragged. We trail 20-14 heading into the locker room. I think it would be a bit unprofessional to bring the Double Delta's in for the halftime pep talk. Unfortunately, the team gets the idea that if they go out and win, the DD's will be their post game reward. We pull out a squeaker 40-34 in overtime. I herd them onto the bus and head to the airport for the team charter.

We get back to find the study hall report. Most notably, Damone Scott is now suspended. Unfortunately, it's our lightest suspension period. Only two others have to sit out, neither of consequence. And, only three more are on academic probation. These guys may actually be studying.

[digamma]

Another audience participation opportunity.

The super secret unofficial Trojan booster club needs a name. They were kind enough to set up the mixer with the ASU DD's. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post them in the thread.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

I love this kind of dynasty! Can't wait for the next installemnt.

One note - with a high prestige team, you will be flooded with recruits that have a "10" interest in USC, so picking through them for the worst of the lot will be easy - plenty of non-qualifiers, too. Also, the interest can change wildly from week to week, so a "10" on week 1 can become a "3" in week 2, so some clarification of that house rule may help.

You may or may not want to think about if you want to force yourself to spend all of your recruiting money each week. I know there is no minimum, but I don't know if the money carries over to the next week/next year or if it is just lost.

Thanks for reading. I'm definitely going to have to look at more restrictions as recruiting progresses. I think spending all of the cash is a good idea, but other rules may be more wait and see.

[digamma]

Game 10 vs. #19 Washington

We head home to face the #19 Huskies. McFarland will only see action sparingly, and we're going to keep Frost in at QB.

We're back up to #16 in the polls. Vegas sees us as a five point dog in the game, even though we're at home. I'd load up on the Huskies too, but I don't want to get into more trouble with the official Trojan boosters.

Ho hum. We win another tight game. All of a sudden we're 7-3 and, unfortunately only a game out in the Pac 10 race. Two Leonard Fisher field goals seal the deal for us against UW, and LaShaun Harris runs for two bills in place of McFarland.

The good news on the conference race front is that Cal only plays 2-9 Stanford in the Big Game. We've got to feel pretty good about the Bears chances in that one.

We also climb up to #10 in the polls. Can't they see what we're trying to do here?

[digamma]

Rob Holly sneaks in as a finalist for the Biletnikoff award, but McFarland is left off the list for the Doak Walker.

[digamma]

We have an off week before the rivalry game vs. UCLA. Many from the team hop on a flight to Phoenix to visit the DD's.

[digamma]

Game 11 vs. #21 UCLA

Ransom, McFarland and Frost are banged up for this one. McFarland is going to give it a go, though.

The Bruins are 6-4 and don't look very good. Still, we've had a habit of playing down to these sorts of teams. Hopefully a week of frolicking with the DD's has my team feeling a bit soft.

Cal beat Stanford last week, so we're only playing for bowl position here, having been locked out of the Pac Ten title.

The Trojans do come out a bit limp, and fall behind 20-3 early. UCLA is able to hold on for a 23-17 win. We fall to 7-4 and await our bowl fate.

I'm secretly very pleased. I thought we would win at least 9 games. 7-4 is worse than I could have ever expected. The real bulk of our work--the first offseason--is still ahead of us though.

[digamma]

Oh, one other exciting note before the bowls. It appears the mysterious Vishante does have a last name, it just doesn't fit on the team info screen. It's Vishante Zukauskas, a perfectly typical name of an AD if I've ever heard one.

[digamma]

We get shut out of the national awards, but McFarland, Holly and guard Rich Gammon make first team all Pac Ten. A few other guys make the second and third teams, but in truth, we don't like to reward efforts like that.

[digamma]

Bowling:

We land an invite to the Insight Bowl. The players couldn't be more excited. We're going back to Phoenix. Double Delta time, baby.

They don't even notice that, as part of the trip, we have to play a football game against the UConn Huskies.

[digamma]

Insight Bowl vs. UConn

I spend much of the week in Phoenix dodging questions about my team's underwhelming performance for the season. The press is a bit confused when I can't suppress my "MWUHAHAHAHA" laugh a few times.

My team spends the week in Phoenix dodging other things at the DD Dojo in Tempe.

They show up looking like a pretty ragged bunch for the game. Oh well, it's only UConn.

We're completely healthy for the game, minus the noticeable cold sore or two.

We trudge through a 21-12 win over the Huskies to finish the season at 8-4.

[digamma]

In national news, Florida crushes Cal 58-14 for the national title. Florida finished 14-0 and looked like a nasty, nasty squad.

[digamma]

Our Grades:

Team Performance: B

Talent: A

Recruiting: A (last year's class)

Board Expectations: C

Prestige: B

Overall: A-

It looks like we'll definitely have a couple of more years to pop our Trojans based on these grades.

[digamma]

Budget for 2006: Remains the same. $2.45 million.

[digamma]

Rob Holly, Marques Henderson and Nat Herndon are all on the preliminary list of those considering leaving school early. Who am I to stand in the way of these young men from providing for their families?

I also have job offers from UTEP, Stanford, Tulane and BYU. Sorry, gents. I'm really honored, but I've got work to do here.

[digamma]

By the way, McFarland rushed for 1472 last season. Holly had 79 catches for just over 1000 yards.

[digamma]

Week 2 of the offseason brings us some good news. Matt Shelly has decided to opt out of his offensive coordinator position. I'd like to spend a good bit of money on his replacement, but not pay for much in doing it.

Willie Crutchfield seems like our guy. He can scout and develop QB's and draw up a game plan, but he's just average in everything else. At $650,000, he seems like a horrible bargain.

[digamma]

Willie doesn't give us an answer in week 3 of the offseason. I forgot to mention that Willie's favorite offense is the Vertical passing game. Wait till you see the stiffs we have throwing the ball, Willie. You're going to love it.

We sit through week 4 with nary an answer from Willie. What are you waiting for, Willie? Can't you see that your 300 lb. third team quarterback Jeremy Thompson is a diamond in the rough?

Finally!!! Willie accepts in week 5.

[hoopsguy]

Jeremy Thompson = Jared Lorenzen, only minus any high school experience, instinct, or interest in the position.

The best news is that there should be another couple of Trojans who get the same thrill of learning a new craft next season. This makes me smile

[digamma]

Transfer Period

Only Nick Mariscal, a back-up corner, is looking to transfer from USC. He's only a middling-type player, so we wouldn't have minded having him stick around, but there's always the chance he can be replaced with someone worse!

A couple of frustrations about transfers...there doesn't seem to be a way to sort by school on the available transfers screen. And second, Mariscal's player card still says he is content and enjoys playing at USC. Oh well.

I decide to sit the transfer season out.

In Week 7, I do learn that Mariscal has decided to attend BYU. Enjoy that, Nick. And good luck finding some DD's to hang out with.

[digamma]

Recruiting

We only have 13 scholarships available, so we may not be able to make too huge of an impact this season. Our most pressing needs are running back, DE and corner.

Let's see what we can find.

I don't have any e-mails from kids who have dreamed of becoming Trojans.

First up...Rudy Scholarship candidates. Although, we're going to re-name the Rudy Scholarship the Todd Marinovich Scholarship...I mean a guy with that many drug arrests has to be a little bit stupid, right?

A few to watch...though we're going to have to wait until Week 11 to make a decision, based on who qualifies.

John Graddy, CB, from Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, VA. 1.7 GPA. A dumb kid who does what he's told from year's at a military school. We could work with him.

Leo Lehr, K, from Dover High in Dover, NJ. Idiot kickers are always fun.

Randy Maddox, OG, from Jesuit College Prep in Dallas. Jesuit College Prep just sounds like a school for "high" achievers.