sAArk’s 12-POINT PROGRAM

Sarkiss him goodbye — u$c’s Offense is bottled up, dispensing only 12 points AT HOME against unranked, 17-point underdog Washington, in a 17-12 upset that plasters the loaded 3-2 trojans back out of the polls, as the talent at Sarkisian’s disposal remains un-tapped

Someone must be hung over today…

Is it Steve Sarkisian, or is it me?  Was I totally drunk last night?  Because I cannot believe what I saw.  I wasn’t going to even watch the u$c-Washington game, because I was so sure that the 17-point underdog, severely overmatched Huskies were going to get smashed.  So I was at a Thursday Night Football (NFL) party, watching the Colts/Texans, in which Bruin star Rahim Moore made a remarkable game-saving Interception for Houston, only to have it nullified by a teammate’s penalty.  Meanwhile, I was checking the sc score on my phone, expecting a blowout that I wouldn’t want to witness anyway.

But it was only 6-3 sc at Halftime, with Cody Kessler having thrown two horrible Interceptions.  In the third quarter, the Huskies took a 10-6 lead, and in the fourth, they extended the lead to 17-6.  That’s when, in shock, I excused myself from the party in the living room, went into my friend’s den, and watched the rest of the sc game.  And boy, I’m glad I did,

Of course, from the moment I turned it on, sc looked dominant, running all over the Huskies, and immediately driving for a Touchdown that cut the lead to 17-12.  But when the trojans tried a 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 3 (a good decision by Sarkisian), the troy Running Back dropped the swing pass on what should have been an easy two points.  The Back was wide open with no one between him and the end zone.  But the ball went right through his hands, so the trojans would need more than a Field Goal to tie the game up or win.

After that failed attempt, the trojans kicked off, and Washington’s Offense looked pathetic, going 3-and-out, losing 8 yards, and punting the ball right back to sc with about 10 minutes to go in the game.  I was sure sc would drive right down for the winning TD.  Instead, they too went 3-and-out, and punted.  But the Huskies’ Offense looked tired and wasted, and they went 3-and-out AGAIN, punting it back to sc with 7 minutes to go.

This time, sc marched, gaining three quick first downs, and penetrating to the Washington 25-yard line.  But on a 3rd down, Kessler — who got hit hard all night and was playing SPOOKED and nervous in the 4th quarter — panicked and got sacked, with under 4 minutes to go.  So what does Sarkisian dial up on this crucial 4th down?  Would you believe he tried a 46-yard Field Goal?  As the trojan fans booed, the kicker booted it, SHORT of the goal post.

SC still had time to get the ball back, but on UW’s 3rd down, they completed a slant pass for a first down, and were then able to take a knee and run out the clock.

SC fans are now clamoring for the booze-addled head of Sarkisian, the empty heads of most of his Assistant Coaches, the impotent head of Pat Haden, and even the lofty head of the “University” President, who hired Haden, who hired Sarkisian.

It’s been a brutal last five days for trojan Football, if you include what happened last weekend in the Pro’s.  Former trojan Nelson Agholor — a top draft pick of Philadelphia but who still hasn’t scored all year, or even caught more than 3 passes in a game — made a spectacular one-handed catch, but then lost a fumble that cost the Eagles the game.  And in Arizona, the Cardinals came back against the Rams, and had a sure victory until two errant passes by ex-trojan Carson Palmer missed wide-open Receivers, choking away the victory.  And in Chicago, former trojan-turned Raider Head Coach Jack Del Rio blew a 4th quarter lead and lost to the lowly Bears, who hadn’t won a SINGLE game in OVER 10 MONTHS!  Finally, Pete Carroll would have also been in this group of chokers, as his Seahawks blew a lead against winless Detroit, who was on the one-inch line with the game-winning score, but they fumbled into the end zone.  Seattle intentionally batted the ball through the end zone, and the refs MISTAKENLY called a touchback — Seattle ball.  But the NFL has ADMITTED that they Refs SCREWED UP, and should have called a penalty on the Seahawks for the illegal bat, and the Lions should have gotten the ball back at the one.

Simply amazing how Carroll — and trojans in general — always seem to get the benefit of horrible calls.  In the sc game, a Husky was ejected for targeting Kessler, and the penalty gave sc 15 yards and a huge first down.  The hit was not illegally late, nor was it with the helmet, nor near Kessler’s head.  But they looked at the replay and confirmed the ejection.  If this hit was worthy of ejection, they need to change the rules.  Another “late” hit was called on the Huskies, when a player pulled up before barely brushing Kessler.  But it got flagged and helped sc’s momentum dramatically.  Even with all this help, sc still choked away their season’s aspirations.

One more thing happened on Sunday that I wanted to mention:  Former star at UCLA Anthony Barr was on TV for the Vikings against the Broncos, and he snagged a huge Interception against the immortal Peyton Manning.  It helped the underdog Vikings take the undefeated Broncos all the way down to the wire before Denver won on a late Field Goal.  But Barr, in only his second year, is already a huge NFL star, and was receiving major respect and kudos from the Announcers.  Barr’s teammate on the Vikings and UCLA, Eric Kendricks, was also having an impact for Minnesota.  With Myles Jack announcing his plan to enter the upcoming Draft, the Bruins are about to have THREE All-Pro level Linebackers in the League.  Too bad Kessler is sucking so bad, he may not be in the Pro’s for those three Bruins to blitz and pummel.