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| Monday, August 13 QB Palmer embracing Chow's new offense By Brad Edwards Special to ESPN.com |
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USC Trojans 2000 record: 5-7 (2-6). Coach: Pete Carroll (first year). Starters returning 8 offense, 6 defense, 2 kickers. Outlook: Wins over Penn State and Colorado to begin last season seemed to serve notice that USC football was back. But it turned out to be nothing more than a false alarm. This year's early gauge should be more accurate -- the Trojans play host to Kansas State and then travel to Eugene to face the Ducks. Now, the head coach is Pete Carroll, who hired longtime BYU quarterbacks guru Norm Chow to run the offense and mentor Carson Palmer. There is good skill all around Palmer, so it will be interesting to see what Chow is able to do in the Pac-10. Carroll is a defensive guy, and he likes what he sees in defensive end Lonnie Ford, who has adapted well to the new 4-3 alignment. The glaring weakness in the unit is a lack of experience at linebacker, but a veteran secondary might make up for some of that. The schedule is also very demanding, so don't expect Carroll to work miracles in year one. Keep an eye on: WR Kareem Kelly. Chow has been working with Palmer, which not only should improve Palmer's game but also makes life more tolerable for his often-frustrated receivers. The most talented of these is Kelly, who probably envisioned a brief and prolific college career when he signed to play with Palmer a few years ago. Perhaps Chow will bring out the best in his young quarterback and inject life into Kelly's football days in the process. Key game: Oct. 20 at Notre Dame. They can beat Penn State and Colorado. They can even beat Kansas State and Oregon. But the national impression of USC football is almost always formed by what the Trojans do against Notre Dame and UCLA. The first chance to make a statement comes in South Bend. It's a good year if... The Trojans win three road games. The road schedule includes Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Arizona and Cal. Three wins out of that bunch will likely require an upset, which would restore the faith of some in the Trojan army. Overall, it looks like seven or eight wins from this team is a reasonable expectation for 2001. Brad Edwards is a college football researcher at ESPN. |
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