LightningRod
Legend
There are problems in Paradise. White openly complaining about Bush scoring a TD on a short yardage play? What happened to "team", or is "team" only relevant when it features "me". Jarrett starting the taunting behavior. It is going to be fun watching this season's Trojan team - will they eventually tear themselves apart, or will they fight with each other on the way to the Rose Bowl? The score against an outmanned Hawaii ballclub was certainly impressive, but the rumblings about internal discord in Troy is now starting to surface publically, and IMO it will cost them down the road.
White Unhappy
Unhappy Trojans - Part II
Article Launched: 09/04/2005 12:00:00 AM
RB White expresses frustration
By Scott Wolf, Staff Writer
HONOLULU - When USC scored a touchdown against Hawaii on Saturday, 10 players ran down to the end zone to celebrate, but tailback LenDale White jogged straight to the sideline.
White was angry and upset after USC's 63-17 victory at Aloha Stadium, because he clearly took a back seat to tailback Reggie Bush.
"That's what happens when you've got the Heisman Trophy tailback on the team," White said. "I don't worry about it. I don't talk to Pete (Carroll) and I don't talk to (running backs coach Todd McNair) about my carries ever.
"I have no clue at all what's going on. You've got Bush on the team and that's what happens."
Perhaps the cruelest blow to White was Bush's 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave USC a 42-10 lead. Normally, White plays in goal-line situations, but not this year.
"I can't tell them what they can do, all I can do is play football," White said. "They switched it up I guess. Reggie's good enough to get the ball to the goal line. I don't know who calls the plays, (Steve Sarkisian or Lane Kiffin), they called a good game and that's all that matters.
"I'll leave it to the coaches. They'll take care of it. We won, so I'm not complaining."
White's expression and demeanor told another story. Although he rushed 13 times for 69 yards, he clearly was behind Bush. Of USC's first 10 rushes, Bush carried eight times and White two.
"We're just going with the backs that are in there," Carroll said. "There's no reason to sub when Reggie's in there. LenDale will
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get plenty of chances."
Bush seemed elated at his larger-than-expected role.
"They gave me a lot more chances," he said. "I got the ball a lot more. I think it was a good first game. Some plays didn't go so good but we got the cob webs out."
Bush said he thought the carries would even out in the coming weeks, although White actually ended up with one more carry than Bush, who rushed for 86 yards but also caught four passes for 69 yards.
"We've got to do a good job distributing the ball and picking people apart," Bush said.
Carroll noted that even quarterback Matt Leinart didn't feel great about his performance.
"Matt felt frustrated," Carroll said. "He didn't feel as good as you might think."
It's probably going to be an on-going battle for the Trojans, with so many stars, to make sure everyone's happy. Tight end Dominique Byrd caught just one pass and got reprimanded following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing a ball at a Hawaii player.
None of that is likely to soothe White the next two weeks until USC plays Arkansas at the Coliseum. So why didn't he celebrate the touchdown with his teammates?
"It was hot," White said. "I was tired."
White Unhappy
Article Launched: 09/04/2005 12:00:00 AM
Not satisfied
Jarrett, Bush lead Trojans
By Scott Wolf, Staff Writer
Receiver Dwayne Jarrett, right, is congratulated by Dominique Byrd after scoring one of his three touchdowns in USC's romp over Hawaii.Not satisfiedRomp over Hawaii not enough to please USCKevork Djansezian/Associated Press
USC's Steve Smith (2) loses his helmet as he's gang-tackled in the first quarter by Hawaii defenders.Jarrett, Bush lead TrojansBy Scott Wolf, Staff Writer HONOLULU - If USC coach Pete Carroll ever returns to the NFL, credit days like Saturday as a reason.
USC traveled almost 3,000 miles for its first game and learned virtually nothing Saturday in a 63-17 victory over Hawaii in front of 50,000 at Aloha Stadium.
With Hawaii alternating quarterbacks on each play and running a gimmicky offense, Carroll couldn't answer some of the questions he had about his defense. Another way of looking at it: USC's soft spots remain exposed, as Hawaii rolled up 23 first downs and 437 yards total offense.
"I was disappointed in myself, that I didn't get stuff done better for (the team)," Carroll said. "There were a couple things I didn't have that I needed in the game plan. They hunt and peck through you.
"They made some big-time catches and kicked my butt. That's the first thing I said to their coaches."
Only in college football can one feel this bad after a 46-point victory.
Everyone knew the offense was superb, and USC's new offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin, showcased tailback Reggie Bush like never before.
Bush ran and caught for 144 yards and. in a new twist, stayed in the game on goal-line offense, at the expense of LenDale White.
"Any back wants to be in there at the goal line," Bush said.
White was visibly upset about his reduced role, getting most of his 13 carries and 69 yards in garbage time.
"I can't control what happens," White said. "I have no clue what happened."
Carroll might be nearly as frustrated, trying to gauge the top-ranked Trojans against an unconventional offense from which a quarterback (Tyler Graunke) ran more than any of his running backs. But the Warriors lacked a running game, passing 49 times.
USC's defense, soft and vulnerable against Warriors offense that returned 6 percent of its receiving yards and 4 percent of its rushing yards from last season, needs to be fixed before facing Arkansas in two weeks.
"We have a lot of stuff we need to clean up," Carroll said.
The defensive line applied little pressure and committed several personal-foul penalties, and the secondary could have been embarrassed against a strong passing team. Even the linebackers made mistakes - the usually reliable Dallas Sartz was beaten on a 27-yard touchdown pass.
"That was a miscommunication between myself and the cornerback," Sartz said. "There's going to be some rust in the first game."
After that mistake, USC simply scored on a 67-yard pass from quarterback Matt Leinart to receiver Steve Smith.
It's a good thing quarterback Timmy Chang is no longer playing for the Warriors, or that this Trojans team didn't open against Virginia Tech,
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like last year's did.
Hawaii's weak defense masked the Trojans' shortcomings. The Warriors looked like they had 10 or fewer men on the field on some plays, with USC receivers strolling untouched into the end zone.
Receiver Dwayne Jarrett scored three touchdowns for the first time in his career, and Steve Smith caught seven passes for 185 yards.
So, who cared that Hawaii passed for 377 yards?
"They had a couple good concepts that messed up our rhythm," cornerback Justin Wyatt said. "We need to work on teams gashing us, because they did it a couple times."
It's difficult for the fans to worry much when touchdowns were coming so frequently. Hawaii defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville's blitzing style created a flurry of scoring opportunities for Leinart to exploit in his three quarters of work. Leinart (18 for 24, 332 yards, three touchdowns) wasn't overly impressed with his season debut.
"I have no excuses for some throws, even though it's hot and the ball's moist," Leinart said. "I did my job. We didn't bust anything out on offense. We just ran what we've done the past four years."
There were subtle differences. The offense seemed to favor a fancier array of passes to Bush, Jarrett and Smith. If there were any early signs of change without Norm Chow, the Trojans' offense highlighted Bush and attacked the outside, and White and tight end Dominique Byrd (one catch) had quiet games.
Byrd in particular made little impact, in part because he threw a ball at a Hawaii player and received a personal-foul penalty. Carroll was livid over USC's personal fouls and a couple of taunting displays in the end zone by Jarrett and Darnell Bing.
"I hated it," he said. "I just felt terrible about that. We got out of whack and took penalties we never do. I got to hammer them at halftime about it. That's not what we're about."
Glanville blitzed at all costs, but Carroll has changed his approach defensively, with less blitzing, primarily to protect the unproven cornerbacks. At one point in the third quarter, true freshman Kevin Ellison and sophomore Josh Pinkard were the safeties, with Bing resting a sore hip and Scott Ware taking a break.
"A lot of young guys got in there," Carroll said. "We planned on playing a lot of those guys. It was hot out there. But we played hard against a rough team."
Scott Wolf, (818) 713-3607
[email protected]
Unhappy Trojans - Part II
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