How the Trojans & Dawgs match up
Dawgs need to shy away from picks, sacks; run ball
By: Richard Linde, Updated 22 October 2003

On Saturday, Mike and Reggie will battle for the Best of the Williams's, ET defends his title as the Fastest Man on Turf,  and Cody and Matt engage in an all-game talkathon--all of them participating in the 74th renewal of an ancient rivalry that dates back to 1923, when once more it's Washington versus USC at Husky Stadium.

Washington (4-3) hold a 16-15-4 advantage over USC (6-1) in the games played at Husky Stadium; however, USC leads the overall series 43-26-4.

Intriguing match ups highlight a game in which two outstanding quarterbacks and four wide receivers test their throwing and pass-catching skills respectively.

In the main event, two of the nation's outstanding wide receivers named Williams battle for the the title, The Best of the Williams's. In receiving yards per game, the Trojans' Mike Williams (106.4 yards) ranks fifth nationally, while the Huskies' Reggie Williams (94.3 yards) ranks thirteenth.

In a special event, the Trojans' Keary Colbert (79.7 yards per game), who ranks ninth in the Pac-10, goes up against the conference's tenth-ranked Charles "ET" Frederick (75.6 yards per game), who comes off a record-setting performance against Oregon State.

ET holds the title, "The Fastest Man on Turf," after generating 371 all-purpose yards on Reser Stadium's Atroturf carpet. He's all set to prove that he's as lightning fast on Husky Stadium's field turf, which promises to be dry on Saturday afternoon according to the weather forecasters.

In another contest, featuring two talkative quarterbacks, Matt Lienart of the Trojans, who ranks first in the Pac-10 in pass efficiency, is matched against Cody Pickett of Washington, who ranks sixth. He who talks loudest with his arm wins the "Loquacious Arm Award" after all is said and done.

On the coaching level, Keith Gilbertson and Pete Carroll vie for the Most-Intense Trophy, as they pace the sidelines in front of TV cameras. In his first year at Washington, the fifty-five year old Gilbertson is 53-38 overall, counting stints at Idaho and Cal, and Carroll (52) is 23-9 at the collegiate level, having been with USC for the past three seasons.

Intriguing match ups aside, the overall battle will be decided in the trenches, where the Trojans' defensive front four will attempt to undo Pickett's DNA, leaving it one protein molecule short of a full helix. In the game at Los Angeles last year, Pickett threw 61 times completing 34 passes, amassing 350 yards on the game; however, totally devoid of a running game (minus five-yards rushing), the Huskies lost 41-21.

Meanwhile, the Huskies' front four hopes to put some pressure on Lienart, as he had eons of time in getting off passes against Notre Dame on Saturday. In the winning effort (45-14), Lienart was 26 out of 34 for 351 yards and 4 touchdowns.

TBs LenDale White and Hershel Dennis of the Trojans are combining for 108.5 rushing yards per game. The Huskies leading rusher, Rich Alexis (80.9 yards), is iffy for the contest because of a deep thigh bruise he suffered against the Beavers.  

In the overall statistics shown by Table 1 below, the Trojans trump the Dawgs in 13 out of 20 categories. The Trojans lead the conference in pass-efficiency offense, where average yards per attempt factors heavily, along with having a dearth of  interceptions. They also lead in red zone offense, punting, and scoring. The Trojans have an average ranking of 4.1 compared to the Dawgs' 5.25 ranking, where less is best. 

Curiously, 'SC ranks eighth in the conference in Time of Possession, which doesn't mean diddly-squat when you consider that the Trojans are ranked fourth in the nation.

The C-town Cowboy, Pickett, has been picked 8 times this season and has thrown 10 touchdown passes, while "Lefty" Lienart has suffered 7 picks and thrown for 17 touchdowns. Pickett hails from Caldwell, Idaho, Chicken Dinner Road. It took the bribe of a chicken dinner to get the old road paved, according to local legend.

The left-handed, beach-boy Lienart is a redshirt sophomore out of Mater Dei High, who like Pickett is somewhat taciturn. Lienart took professional surfer/model Monica Kay to several places without talking to her before his brother, Ryan, finally introduced them. Ms. Kay says that, "Matt's kind of a shy guy."

The team that shies away from sacks and picks, while not shy about running the ball, wins the game.

Now that USC is on a roll, people are calling the Pacific Ten Conference "USC and the Nine Dwarves" once more. On Saturday, the UW hopes to make it a ten-dwarf conference and, as Happy, take Snow White to the Rose Bowl.

Our forecast: USC 35-21. USC is a ten-point favorite.

Punter/Kicker Sean Douglas (17) is pictured above. ET Frederick (10) sits on a chair waiting to sign autographs.

Telecast: Nationally on ABC, 12:30 PM, PDT

 Table 1. How they stand in the Pac-10