By Mitch Chortkoff
Sports editor
The first weekend of the college football season brought a surprise to fans in Los Angeles.
A heralded UCLA team looked ordinary in a 28-20 victory at Virginia, which had a 2-10 record last season.
A troubled USC team, which had internal problems all week, trampled Fresno State, 52-13.
UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley, regarded as a Heisman Trophy candidate, struggled. In fact, UCLA had to rely on its defense for three touchdowns in the second quarter while the offense sputtered.
The Bruins have a lot of quality players and I expect Coach Jim Mora to correct the mistakes. But that’s going to be necessary considering how tough the Pac-12 Conference figures to be.
USC looked terrific, but that was against Fresno State. A much more difficult challenge will be presented Saturday by Stanford.
But USC came through beautifully after new coach Stave Sarkisian dealt with two major issues in the days leading up to the opening game.
One player was removed from the team after apparently lying about rescuing a seven-year-old relative, a claim that quickly lost credibility.
Another player quit the squad and called Sarkisian a racist.
Players and coaches from numerous college teams came to Sarkisian’s defense and he appeared to be stunned by the charge. Many in the profession said they never heard anything to support what the player said.
On the field, Sarkisian put his stamp on the Trojans’ program.
He introduced a go-go attack and USC ran more plays than they had last season.
Quarterback Cody Kessler ran the offense like a veteran and completed 25 of 37 passes..
Stunningly, USC introduced 11 true freshmen, many with considerable talent. Scholarship limits due to an NCAA penalty had hurt the Trojans badly in recent years.
Buck Allen is a superb runner and Leonard Williams is a big man who’ll be picked high in the NFL draft.
I’m also anxious to watch the progress of George Farmer, who was regarded as the best receiver at talent-rich Serra High before he was injured.
The Pac-12 may be the strongest conference in the country. Oregon and Stanford are highly regarded nationally. UCLA was a consensus national contender too. Oregon State’s 6-foot-6 quarterback, Shawn Mannion, will be a very high choice in the next NFL draft.
So, lrt’s see what happens. Let’s not reach conclusions after one week of play.
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