2010 Football Schedule, Part II

USC laid waste to UVA, 52-7, in the 2008 season opener.

On Tuesday, we kicked off our Wahooze-style sneak peek at the 2010 football schedule with a rolling diatribe about why it is important for Virginia to notch a few victories in the "throw-away" 2010 season.  I predicted a 24-16 win over [what should be] an overmatched Richmond team in the season opener.  I'd say Virginia's chances of winning the game over the Spiders is about 75%.

Now it's time to move headlong into the second game of the season -- our trip to Los Angeles.  (Thanks for scheduling this game, Al Groh.)


@ USC -- Sept. 11

As anyone who follows sports can tell you, USC just got nailed with the "death penalty" by the NCAA for committing academic fraud, with football and basketball players receiving payment -- not only from boosters, but possibly from coaches.  They received a two-year postseason ban, a 30 scholarship reduction, and a forfeiture of wins.  Upperclassmen on the Trojan roster have been granted the ability to transfer away from the program with the mandatory one year sit-out voided... which means we could soon see a bit of an exodus from the USC program.

Even with that dark cloud hanging over the team, this year's Trojan team remains loaded with talent.  Their third stringers wouldn’t just be first string anywhere else in the country, but would be first string All-American candidates at most schools.  Matt Barkley returns at quarterback after an up-and-down freshman season.  He's talented, but also prone to mistakes.  The running backs and o-line should be very good, which means the Trojans should have an excellent rushing attack to take the pressure off of Barkley.  I assume they'll come into the game against us looking to pound it out on the ground.  The receiving corps needs to be rebuilt from last season, so if we can slow down their running game, the could conceivably struggle to move the ball.  On defense, the front seven returns more or less intact -- and should be an absolute terror for our running game and Marc Verica to handle.  The USC secondary could be shaky, but I'm not sure our passing game will be explosive or dynamic enough to take proper advantage of that potential weakness.  Lane Kiffin's coaching doesn't scare me, but the talent in his program does.

As with most of our games this season, we'll need to be able to produce yards and points via the running game... and I just don't see it happening on the road against USC.  Our D could keep it close for a while, but I think this is a game that will end up looking pretty lopsided after 60 minutes.  Better than 52-7, but still lopsided.  My prediction is 38-13, USC.  (Percentage chance of a Virginia win: 15%)

After the USC game, we will stand at 1-1 heading into the bye week to prepare for... VMI.