Yes, but do any of them scare you?

A reporter from the Old Cranky Lady (reference: here) openly gushes about the quality and quantity of Southern California's tailback position:

"Few teams have ever collected more talent at one position. Each of the Trojans’ 10 tailbacks was a Super Prep All-American. Nine were Prep Star all-Americans. Seven were Parade all-Americans. Together, they were on 38 first-team all-American lists."

This graf, however, represents my favorite part:

"From the moment (Hershel) Dennis arrived on campus, he was behind somebody. First, it was Sultan McCullough and Justin Fargas. Then it was Reggie Bush and LenDale White. Now, as a sixth-year senior, he is fighting off Chauncey Washington and C. J. Gable."

Firstly, all credit to the young man for sticking it out in a tough environment. Admittedly, though, I was in the other room, did Lee Jenkins just compare Washington and Gable to the horses of 2004-05, a. k. a., Thunder and Lightning? Forgive me, I am not able to follow the great game of college football terribly closely from my present location, but didn't USC close the season, presumably with a very similar stable of runners, getting stuffed by UCLA and quitting on the run against M-eee-chigan?

We term this "Student Body Right"? In the days of Allen, the first White, Bell, Davis, Sam-Bam, the One Who Shall Not Be Named, and Garrett, the Trojans stared down dominant run defenses (usually in Pasadena at the onset of a new calendar year) and hammered away. True, Reggie Bush and LenDale White performed comparably just two years ago, but we've seen this current crop, and until further notice, none measure up.

Hey, it's good to have confidence...

"'We’re stacked everywhere,' the sophomore tailback Allen Bradford said. 'It doesn’t really make a difference what position you play.'"

So prove it. Win all of your road games instead of gazing off with glazed eyes as the Beavers and Bruins combine to wreck your championship dreams. Personally, I don't understand this fascination with extreme depth. Would you rather have one Darren McFadden or ten "Super Prep" All America backs? One Mike Hart or five guys buried on the depth chart that were once lauded as "best in the nation"? I think the point is made.

Why is the RBBC an issue?

"Last season, U.S.C. tried to please everybody, using one of those ill-fated running back committees. No player averaged more than 60 yards rushing a game, and the Trojans failed to crack 100 yards on the ground against Oregon State and U.C.L.A., losing both games."

Football, dear readers, for all its sophistication, remains quite simple: run the ball well and win. Now, last year's Rose Bowl (and most of OSU's 2006 Big 10 Championship season) provided a textbook case of how to win sans a superior ground attack, yet I'll have you note that neither team won the national title. (What of Florida? Did they dominate games on the ground?--ed With Tebow, yes, to some extent, plus their superior athletes on defense carried the spread offense across the Glendale finish line)

Mr. Jenkins finishes with a flourish:

"How the coaches sort out their crowded backfield this season — and who they choose as their every-down guy — could determine whether the Trojans win the national championship."

Perhaps one day folks will realize that All America in high school does not always translate at the next level. Most of these backs dominated outclassed competition--no longer. UCLA proved last year that their supposedly more laid-back bunch could roll up USC's ground attack post-Bush/White. They will run away from none of the SEC's finest in a hypothetical Not Sugar bout in N'Orleans.

The fact that Southern California informs us of their incredible depth should also make us aware of a dirty little secret: none of them truly stand out from the others. They failed to adequately bludgeon D-lines last season and need a statement game (200 yards or more rushing on a warm September night in Lincoln, maybe?) to justify all this "greatest backfield depth EVER!" hype.

Many moons ago, Florida State once boasted three or four of the top QBs in all the land, yet easily understood that only one could actually call out the signals. Rather than bragging about holding nine of the, say, twenty-five highest "rated" tailbacks in America, the Trojans should save their scholarships for more needed players.

Like perhaps an offensive line, as opposed to the one physically overwhelmed by UCLA. Just a thought.