Determination rewards USC's Matthews

MICHAEL LEV OCRegister.com

LOS ANGELES – When Clay Matthews was a relatively scrawny walk-on freshman fighting just to get noticed, only one person unwaveringly believed he would turn out to be one of USC's top defenders and a future NFL draft pick:

Clay Matthews.

His football-playing family supported him fully, of course, but even his famous father — 19-year NFL linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. — wasn't sure at first.

"We've got some hard-headed people in our family," the elder Matthews said. "You've got to give him credit for that. He thought he could go down there and compete."

The younger Matthews knew, as he put it, that he'd "be able to hang with these guys" — these guys being the so-called "five-star" recruits who arrived with more fanfare and received more attention.

Four years later, Matthews has proved to be a prophet. He's hanging with the guys who form the best defense in the country.

Matthews has transformed himself from walk-on to critical starter, a standup and standout defensive end who's tied for first on the team in fumbles forced and recovered (2 apiece), tied for second in sacks (4) and ranks third in total tackles for losses (7.5).

He is about to enjoy his final game at the Coliseum, against Notre Dame on Saturday, with his fellow seniors, including can't-miss players such as Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga. Matthews always envisioned that this day would come, even if no one else did.

"In my own mind I knew I could play with all these guys here, the prestigious recruits we bring in," Matthews said. "Obviously some were thinking I was crazy. But I knew if I stuck with it and I was persistent that I could be where I'm at today.

"I'm really proud of all my accomplishments, but there's still so much more to accomplish."

Such as approximating the careers of his father and uncle.

FAMILY TIES

Matthews is part of football's royal family, at least the non-Manning branch.

His dad starred at USC and played in 278 games – most among linebackers in NFL history — for Cleveland and Atlanta. His uncle, Bruce, starred at USC and earned a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a 19-year offensive lineman for the Houston/Tennessee franchise. One of Matthews' brothers, Kyle, played safety for USC, and another, Casey, is a sophomore linebacker at Oregon.

All of which didn't do Clay a bit of good coming out of high school.

"I wasn't the biggest guy, I wasn't the fastest, I wasn't the best football player in high school," Matthews said. "Rightfully so, I didn't get the interest from major Division I universities."

While other Trojans have paragraph-long, bold-faced descriptions of their various All-America accolades and recruiting-service rankings in the USC media guide, Matthews' bio features just one sentence in the high school section: "He prepped at Agoura (Calif.) High."

Matthews said he received one scholarship offer from a Division I school (Idaho) and several from I-AA schools and junior colleges. He elected to walk on at USC, where his family had a history. But the decision was solely his; his father didn't pressure him into it.

"I said, 'If that's where you want to go, fine,' " the elder Matthews said. " 'Don't go there because you think you should, because I went there and your uncle went there.'

"He had a concept of what he could do. And he never seemed to waver from that."

A classic late bloomer who weighed 199 pounds at a Nike camp before his senior year of high school, Matthews redshirted at USC in 2004. He played in 12 of 13 games as a reserve linebacker and special-teamer in 2005 and, by the fall of 2006, earned a scholarship. It was the first tangible sign that others — in particular USC coach Pete Carroll -- believed in him.

"He got paid," senior defensive end Kyle Moore said. "Coach gave him his scholarship. That was a big moment for him."

But it was far from the pinnacle.

RISING STOCK

Matthews continued to get bigger — he's nearly 250 pounds now — and better. Four games into this season, the coaches couldn't keep him out of the lineup any longer, elevating him from valuable part-timer to invaluable starter.

"He stuck with it, and look at what he's done: He's one of our best defensive players," defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. "Clay is a playmaker."

Matthews has excelled at the "Elephant" defensive end spot, which is basically the equivalent of an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme – the position that probably suits Matthews best in the NFL.

Much like his transition from high school to college, Matthews has moved from afterthought to the forefront among pro scouts. Pro Football Weekly draft expert Nolan Nawrocki said Matthews probably will go in the first three rounds and possibly could sneak into the second.

Unlike his high school recruitment, Matthews' bloodlines only will help him come April. Not only were his dad and uncle great players, but amazingly durable ones as well.

"It means a lot," Nawrocki said. "It's like (No. 2 pick) Chris Long last year. A lot of people felt he would have been the 20th pick in the draft if not for the bullet-proof reputation of his father (Hall of Famer Howie Long). It makes the pick so much safer. That'll add to his value."

But perhaps not as much as Matthews' self-determination.

"That's just the way he's made," Carroll said. "He never backed off. He's one of the great success stories."

USC's Rey Maualuga knows he'll battle emotions

Gary Klein Los Angeles Times

Rey Maualuga did not wait until Saturday to get emotional about playing his last game for USC at the Coliseum.

After the Trojans' victory over California on Nov. 8, the senior linebacker's eyes welled as he stammered through a postgame interview. The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Maualuga apologized, citing the fact that he had just completed his second-to-last Coliseum appearance.

"I was just thinking of freshman year, knowing how fast it's all gone," Maualuga said Thursday after a morning practice.

So when the fifth-ranked Trojans gather tonight for team meetings and walk down the Coliseum tunnel on Saturday before playing Notre Dame, Maualuga isn't quite sure how he will react.

Coach Pete Carroll has warned players to avoid letting emotion get the best of them, as former quarterback Matt Leinart did before the Trojans played UCLA in 2005.

"We've handled it really well over the years," Carroll said. "I use Matt's example because I don't want them to create such a frenzy that they can't perform the way they want to."

Maualuga acknowledged that might be easier said than done.

"It's easy for Coach to say because he returns every year with a great team," said Maualuga, a Butkus Award finalist. "I'm saying now I'm not going to be emotional, but it's going to be hard."

Defensive tackle Fili Moala and receiver Patrick Turner are among the seniors who will be introduced before the game.

Neither expects to be overwhelmed.

"I just look forward to playing the game," Moala said. "I'm happy for the opportunity to play my last game there, but that's about it."

Said Turner: "You don't want to waste all your energy on that and then play a sluggish game. You just want to go out and then do good."

Ayles surgery

Carroll said that freshman tight end Blake Ayles would not play against Notre Dame and that he would have knee surgery Monday to remove a bone chip.

Ayles has caught six passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Senior safety Kevin Ellison also will not play.

Ellison had knee surgery Nov. 3 and practiced for the first time Tuesday. But he left the field during warmups Wednesday and did not practice Thursday.

Quick kicks



Trojans players dispersed after practice to spend Thanksgiving with their families. Players from out of the area were invited to gatherings at homes of teammates. Quarterback Mark Sanchez's family was scheduled to host a large group. . . . A toy drive sponsored by Carroll's "A Better L.A." will be held at Saturday's game. Donations and new unwrapped toys or USC gear will be collected at the ESPN booth/tailgate location in front of the statues at the peristyle end of the Coliseum.

USC quarterback Sanchez hopes to air it out

Scott Wolf LA Daily News

When USC quarterback Mark Sanchez faced Notre Dame last season, he threw 32 passes against the Irish. And that was in the first half.

Those two quarters of work were more passes than Sanchez threw in all but two games this season. USC coach Pete Carroll bristles at suggestions the Trojans' offense is going conservative, but with Notre Dame arriving in Los Angeles today, the question remains whether the offense could duplicate a wide-open style after several weeks of playing it safe against Pacific-10 Conference teams.

"We threw the ball quite a bit last year (against Notre Dame)," offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said. "We thought they were good up front and wanted to soften them up. They had a couple guys in the secondary really dedicated to stopping the run. Mark got into a good rhythm."

But Sanchez's rhythm in recent games is inconsistent at best. He threw just 17 passes against Stanford because the Cardinal defense applied too much pressure.

"We tried to throw the ball in the first half against Stanford but they pressured us 90 percent of the time," Carroll said.

Carroll said the previous week's game was an example of the offense playing not to lose, as he was content to let his defense shut down California.

"That was the only game we weren't aggressive," Carroll said. "They dropped a ton of guys."

Then there was the Arizona game, in which Sanchez struggled after a slow start in the Trojans' 17-10 victory at Tucson.

It's been chalked up as a learning experience by Sanchez, who said his proudest moment is that he kept his poise and did not buck the game plan by throwing deep or even mid-range passes.

"When it gets tough and you haven't thrown well, like for three or four games this season, that would have been a chance to really force it but I find myself holding back and playing conservative," Sanchez said. "I'm feeling like I really learned from the Arizona experience and really helped the team."

So far, the results have been hard to quibble with this season. But what happens if USC plays a team like Oklahoma or Texas in a bowl game? Would the Trojans be able to resurrect their passing game so easily against a quality opponent?

"I like being able to balance it out so if you get stopped at one or the other, it doesn't mean you can't be effective," Carroll said.

It's also true that Sanchez enjoyed early season success passing, although Virginia and Ohio State applied little pressure compared to later opponents.

But anyone who watched Sanchez dissect Notre Dame's defense last season in just his second start would probably be surprised at how cautious the offense seems after his 13th start.

Notre Dame's secondary was atrocious last season but it still demonstrated Carroll and Sarkisian are capable of a pass-first mentality. It just seems to be less noticeable this season. With two regular-season games remaining, Sanchez has thrown 267 passes. Two years ago, quarterback John David Booty threw 324 passes through his first 10 games.

"We're just trying to win the game and give ourselves the best chance and in the (Stanford) game the running game dictated we run the ball," Sarkisian said.

Two years ago, USC abandoned the run in the Rose Bowl against Michigan, as Booty threw 45 passes, including passes on 19 of 22 plays in the third quarter.

"That's a great example of doing what the game called for," Carroll said. "We tried both in the first half against Stanford. But it was just the opposite where we ran the ball in the second half."

USC passed nine times and ran 30 times in the second half against the Cardinal. Sanchez claims he is not worried about the passing game's lack of prominence.

"The only stat that really matters is we're 9-1," he said. "I'll take the Ws."

There is a chance Sanchez might get another opportunity to throw the ball against the Irish on Saturday. Notre Dame's top two tacklers are safeties Kyle McCarthy and David Bruton.

"They like to play really down in the box," Sarkisian said.

That could lead to more passes although Sarkisian said, "we'll see how the game goes."

Like Irish, Clausen in a rut

PE.com

SOUTH BEND, IND. - Jimmy Clausen laughed when he was read a quote from his best friend, USC tailback Mark Tyler, that he was worried about the Notre Dame quarterback making it out of the Los Angeles Coliseum alive on Saturday.

"He doesn't play defense, so he's not going to knock me out or anything like that," Clausen responded.

Maybe not, but Clausen figures he knows about a dozen or so USC players well and about half the team overall.

Story continues below

AP photo

Sophomore Jimmy Clausen has had an up-and-down career: 60 percent completion rate with 20 TD passes and 15 interceptions.

Many of those would probably love to get a shot at the player who passed up on a scholarship offer from his hometown school to travel halfway across the country to play for Notre Dame.

"I just wanted to get away from California, just grow up in a different place," said Clausen, who announced his choice of schools by holding a news conference at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend and saying he planned to try to win four national championships with the Irish.

That seems like a long time ago now -- 51 sacks and 11 losses in 20 starts ago, to be exact.

Clausen was injured and didn't play last year when the Trojans beat the Irish 38-0, the worst Irish home loss in 51 years. It also was the largest margin of victory for the Trojans in the 79-game rivalry.

Some are expecting even worse Saturday. The Irish are 32-point underdogs, the most an opponent has ever been favored over the Irish. The previous high was when USC was favored by 23 points in 2004 and won 41-10.

USC has the best defense in the country. The Trojans are No. 1 against the pass, giving up 132 yards a game. That's 42 yards fewer than Boston College, the next-best pass defense Clausen has faced. The Eagles forced Clausen into a career-high four interceptions and beat the Irish 17-0 three weeks ago.

Clausen threw for career-high yards in three straight games midway through the season -- 275 against Purdue, 347 against Stanford and 383 against North Carolina. Since then, he has seven interceptions and six touchdown passes.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis called it a "rut" that Clausen began to work his way out of against Syracuse.

"He started to manage the game much more efficiently than he had in the last couple of games," Weis said.

Weis conceded he's a bit worried about Clausen, who is from Westlake Village, just west of Los Angeles, trying to do too much Saturday, especially because the Trojans are so good at baiting quarterbacks into making bad passes.

"They'll go press up on you, say, 'Go ahead, try to beat us,' " he said.

Weis said earlier in the season that by end of this year he expected Clausen to be further along than Brady Quinn was when Weis arrived following Quinn's sophomore season. Clausen and Quinn have remarkably similar statistics at this point in their careers.

Clausen is firmly behind Weis as the media speculates on Weis' future.

"They're firing away at Coach Weis," he said. "But when it comes down to it, it's not the coaches that are out there throwing the ball, running the ball, blocking, making tackles. I think we've got to take as much responsibility for this as what everyone's putting on the coaching staff and Coach Weis."

USC could be Fiesta Bowl-bound

Dan Weber PE.com

LOS ANGELES - Pete Carroll has the best answer.

"I keep postponing the thoughts about it because I don't know where it's going," Carroll said this week of the BCS shakeout, and USC's bowl picture.

If there's any sort of official take from Trojanland, it's this: If Oregon State beats Oregon Saturday to nail down a Rose Bowl berth and USC beats Notre Dame and UCLA, the Trojans will likely play in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., against either Texas or Oklahoma.

Fifth-ranked USC would lose the Rose Bowl tiebreaker to the Beavers, becoming an at-large team, and the Fiesta Bowl has the first choice over the Sugar and Orange bowls. That's as simple as it gets.

The SEC title game loser, Florida or Alabama, goes to the Sugar Bowl, where it will likely play Utah. And it looks as if Cincinnati (Big East) and Georgia Tech (ACC) will meet in the Orange Bowl with the SEC-Big 12 winners facing off in Miami for the BCS championship.

But, as Carroll said, of course it's not that simple. Which is why USC's players roll their eyes when asked about any of this.

"No way," said cornerback Cary Harris. "We've got two games to play."

And what's the point? What if Oklahoma State upsets visiting Oklahoma Saturday, eliminating both the Sooners and Texas from the Big 12 title game in one fell swoop? And what if Missouri, on a bad-weather day in Kansas City in two weeks, beats Texas Tech for the title?

Or what if Florida loses at Florida State this Saturday, or Alabama loses to Auburn?

Where does USC go if one, two, three or maybe four of those "what ifs" should happen?

Certainly the Trojans would move up. But would a matchup featuring USC's top-ranked defense against one of those high-flying offenses from Texas, Florida or Oklahoma, sway the voters and computers to elevate USC to the championship game after all the smoke has cleared?

"We'll see if we have the best defense," Harris said, "after we see how we do the next two games."

Injury Report

Just 10 minutes into Wednesday's practice, senior safety Kevin Ellison grabbed his right knee and informed coaches it "didn't feel right," Carroll said. Carroll said he didn't know what effect that would have on Ellison's status for Notre Dame. Tight end Blake Ayles' is doubtful with a knee contusion. Joe McKnight suffered a stinger when he was hit while trying to pick up a fumbled punt. He should be OK. Freshman defensive tackle Armond Armistead, in a hard cast for his fractured right hand, was held out of practice but has been cleared to play.

Patton: USC-Notre Dame no rivalry

GREGG PATTON PE.com

LOS ANGELES - Notre Dame's visit to USC this Saturday may stir up the familiar passion that accompanies this eight-decade-old rivalry, but for the most part it's just hollow blubbering, for nostalgia's sake.

Right now, one of them has become a Happy Meal for the other.

The Trojans gobbled up the Fighting Irish, 38-0, last year, and the four-touchdown spread by which the experts see them winning this year seems low.

USC-Notre Dame used to be a very attractive couple, but Our Lady really let herself go. Since Pete Carroll arrived at USC in 2002 and lost that first game to the Irish, Troy has won six in a row by margins of 31, 31, 31, 3, 20 and 38.

Once you could count on this game drawing the attention of a nation of college football fans. Those scores draw the attention of fruit flies.

The bullying may seem like a fabulous turn of events for Trojan Nation, but before the band strikes up another rousing three hours of "Conquest" Saturday, just remember that it does USC no special good to keep hammering the Soft Serve from South Bend.

The Trojans' problem with the Bowl Championship Series is strength of schedule. The computers don't whir as favorably for teams that beat cupcakes. Even voters have had trouble putting 9-1 USC into the BCS championship picture because the Trojans don't have an impressive win over someone really good since they smoked Ohio State.

Now imagine if Notre Dame were a top-10 team instead of a 6-5 mattress that doesn't have a single win over a quality opponent, and even lost at home to awful Syracuse last week.

A Notre Dame team that barely sneaked past woeful San Diego State at home. A Notre Dame team that had to come up with a final defensive stand against Navy at home to avoid blowing a 20-point lead in the final minute and a half.

If the Irish carried some weight, this could have been a game to launch one or the other into title contention. But Notre Dame doesn't dine with the big dogs anymore.

"It's unique," Carroll said at his Tuesday press conference. "Rivalries don't usually cross this much distance. It's a classic, the Midwest team playing on the West Coast, then we take it back there."

Yup, and how sad for college football when this game not only means nothing in the national picture, but also presents little in the way of suspense for their faithful.

OK, I take that back. I can say I've heard a raging debate -- over Notre Dame's chances of scoring.

It figured that Irish coach Charlie Weis preferred to downplay the importance of the rivalry when asked this week.

"I know everyone would like me to sit here and say it's just about USC," he said, perhaps hoping everyone will think it's Purdue week. "Notre Dame has so many natural opponents ... you have to take them as they're dialed up."

No doubt the power has swung at times, with one team getting the upper hand for awhile. It may even swing back some day, maybe in that post-Carroll world that Trojans fans dread.

Irish diehards will point to their 11 consecutive wins from 1983 to '93. But for the most part, those games were close, seven decided by 10 points or fewer.

The truth is, this series that began in 1926 with a 13-12 Irish win has never witnessed this kind of extended thumpery. That may not be a real word, but it's not a real rivalry right now, either.