Whenever USC plays in the Bay Area, it rekindles plenty of memories for Pete Carroll. This week Carroll recalled when he went to San Francisco to watch his favorite football player, Chicago Bears tailback Gale Sayers.
"I was playing at Pacific and I went by myself to see him play and bought a scalped ticket and stood on the railing behind the bench so I could watch him,"
Carroll said. "He wasn't wearing pads in his pants so the next game, I didn't wear pads against San Jose State and I got a huge bruise in my thigh."
The worst injury Carroll could incur on this trip is a bruised ego, but it will hurt much more if the No. 6 Trojans (8-1, 6-1) fail to dispose of the Cardinal (5-5, 4-3) for two straight seasons.
This looks like one of those trap games the Trojans struggle with unless you take into account last year's monumental upset at the Coliseum. USC could not possibly overlook the Cardinal this year, right?
Whether it does or not, the stakes are pretty clear now. If USC wins, it keeps its outside chance at the BCS title game and Pacific-10 Conference title hopes alive. If it loses, Carroll likely gets his first trip to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl.
"With all these late-season implications, and guys talking about how our season could go one way or another, we'll be ready,"
USC linebacker Clay Matthews said.
USC is currently doing two types of scoreboard watching. The Trojans check to see how the Alabamas, Floridas and Texas Techs of the world perform, and also are interested in how Oregon State does.
No matter what the Trojans do, they need the Beavers to lose one of their final three games for a berth in the Rose Bowl. Then again, as unpopular as another trip to the Rose Bowl would be for a majority of the players, maybe they want Oregon State to keep winning so USC perhaps could land a place in the Fiesta Bowl.
"We really want to win the Pac-10, so we aren't hoping to finish tied,"
USC defensive end Kyle Moore said. "But we aren't looking that far ahead yet."
And in the middle of all these machinations is Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, who never lacks for drama. Is he going to interview for the Raiders job after the season? Are he and Carroll still bitter rivals? Can he possibly upset USC two consecutive seasons?
You can also throw in the fact Stanford becomes bowl eligible with one more victory.
"USC is at the center stage of college football,"
Harbaugh said. "Our team needs to understand how good USC is as a football team."
"We will look at last year's game in terms of preparation but as far as motivation, you know ... both teams will have fire in their eyes to play this football game. I would expect nothing less. It's a very big game for us."
It's also a big game for quarterback Mark Sanchez. He was held under wraps last week against California's suffocating pass coverage but the Cardinal do not drop eight players back in coverage.
"Coach Carroll had a good heart-to-heart about not doing something on your own,"
Sanchez said. "When you have a good defense, you don't have to force anything. I think I'm doing better with the football and I'm a lot cleaner with the game plan."
"I just can't turn the ball over."
If he does turn it over, it will no doubt rile up the fans, who are always one bad play from turning up the heat on Sanchez. But there is no controversy as far as Carroll and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian are concerned.
"His last three games, his completion (percentage) has crept up to 65 percent and we'd like to see it up to about 70 percent,"
Sarkisian said. "But he's got 24 touchdowns, seven interceptions. We can't ask for more."
Except for maybe three more victories and a trip to the BCS title game. This is USC, after all.
