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I wouldn't say that. Numbers don't lie of course, however, USC played probably as good as I can imagine even them playing in that 2nd half, maximizing their talent and balancing the distribution of the ball beautifully throughout. Not only that, but our primary weakness in that game, as well as others throughout the latter part of the season, was LB play, namely our man in the middle A Harris being fatigued at the end, and often out of position. When your primary linebacker in missing gap assignments and allowing a guy like Lendale White to run down hill at you all night, it gives the passing attack much more flexibility and opportunity to work with. Seriously, why else were they so effective? Partly because they're good, but watch the film. D-line occupies linemen, LB's should be there to fill the holes. SHOULD. Where they should be, too often, they were not, and there was nothing to stop Lendale from getting 7, 8 yards before Huff or Griffin came down to pop him. That's not the standard we've set nor the standard anyone should expect we'll be playing at next year. We will improve. Here's why:
In the same way that your offense improved as a unit last year, and looks to continue that this year, despite some lost players, we see the strength of our defense in much the same way; A unit that was very good last year, improving as it went along, and returns its majority this year, all having been battle-tested, with the replacement spots left to mega-talented, seasoned back-ups, in some cases, rearranged starters. Guys like RS-Fr Rod Muckelroy who ran scout team/2nd team in practice, impressed, and probably would've played last year if needed, but Chiz felt it better to let him RS. Replace a seasoned, but fatigued, veteran like Aaron Harris, and his 4.7-4.8 speed with that a guy who runs 4.5. If you can concede even marginally better assignment recognition even 50% of the time, which from watching Harris last year seems very reasonable, its totally plausible to expect marked improvements. Same story injecting freakish talents like Fr Sergio Kindle to wreak havoc at times throughout the game. Increased pash rush where was less prevalent before, reduce run support demands on secondary = improved unit overall.
Bottom line, this unit has the nuts and bolts to be a dominating force even early in the season. Think Buckeye's 2005 unit hyperbole, and you're close (but not quite) to how many Texas fans see our team. More accurately, our unit compared to last year's Buck's unit is probably closer to what will be this year's Bucks' offense vis a vis the VY-led Texas offense of a year ago was. Nonetheless, they're good. Don't let a marginal, albeit victorious, performance against one of the most potent offensive machines in the last 20 years ('05 USC) give you too much confidence about what kind of success you'll have this time around.
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keep spinning xray. Blame it on incredible offense, but there simple was not much defense in the rose bowl (at least not the 2nd half). USC held texas 9 points under their average, is that an accomplishment? Everyone ripped on the USC D, yet they were only 3 points worse than the UT d that night.
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