Trojans in must-win situation
By Brian Spiegel
Special to the Daily Forty-Niner
After falling asleep at the wheel last
weekend against Oregon State, the USC "road to the Cotton Bowl" rolls through
Tucson on Saturday afternoon as the 22nd-ranked Trojans take on the quickly
fading Arizona Wildcats.
The Trojans (3-1, 1-1 in the Pac-10) should
thank their lucky stars that theyíre not 0-2 in the Pac-10 following their
fourth quarter debacle last weekend against the Oregon State Beavers.
After dominating the Beavers for three
quarters and building a 37-7 lead, the Trojans seemed to forget that
there was another 15 minutes of football left.
Arizona (3-2, 1-1) is coming off a much-needed
bye week. The Wildcats needed the rest after what has been a slow start
to the season.
The Wildcats began the season by getting
humiliated 41-7 by Penn State. In its next two games, Arizona gave two
sub-par performances, but still managed to win against Texas Christian
University and Middle Tennessee.
Then the Pac-10 season began.
Arizona was crushed 50-22 in their Pac-10
opener against Stanford. Next, the Wildcats needed a last-second touchdown
pass by quarterback Kevin Smith to pull out a 30-24 victory against winless
Washington State.
This bye week was very important for the
Wildcats so star tailback Trung Canidate could rest his knees. Canidate
took it easy during practices this week after suffering from a bad case
of tendinitis.
Look for Canidate to be 100 percent for
Saturdayís game.
PREDICTION: Arizona by 3. |
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