And the tide turns (no Bama reference here for a change) USC leads BC 14-13

Emeralds are generally considered a precious stone with poor toughness because of the mineral within the mineral nature of the stone. And watching the Trojans D in the Emerald Bowl one cannot but conclude that they lack toughness in much the same way. A no-name running back like Montel Harris is shredding them between tackles. And a no-name ex baseball player Shinskie at QB has shred the Trojan secondary. They lead 14-13 however due to a missed extra point.

Slouches on D - maybe. But USC started off strong on Offense. They were aided in large part of course by a terrible call by the refs on a long pass play and 3 missed tackles on 1 pass to Havili that went for a TD.

Watching the game I couldn't help notice how much power the media yields in terms of their ability in creating perception. We have had the folks at ESPN hype Taylor Mays throughout the season as the best safety in America, 1st round pick etc. etc. And yet every USC game I have watched, teams have picked on him and burnt him for huge plays as he has a poor reading for the game and almost always takes bad angles. The long pass play that BC scored on was just yet another example. And are you surprised then with the likes of Jamarcus Russell getting drafted in the first round and Tom Brady getting drafted in the 5th round?

For those that had conveniently jumped onto the USC bandwagon in the past few years, all I have to say is - the tide turns. Teams have up and down years; some more up than down. But there is too much parity in CFB for a team to just stay at the pinnacle forever. Yes USC - that is true for you too. Last year you fielded Matthews, Cushing and Maluaga at the same time as linebackers. And this year teams are running the ball on you as if you were the open Prairies in Canada.

The tide has turned in the game itself. USC jumped out to a 14 point lead but BC has come back strong with 13 unanswered points. What will the second half bring? Stay tuned folks.