NOTEBOOK: THOMAS CORNERS HIS TEAMMATES.Byline: SCOTT WOLF Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Steven Wolf and Susan Enowitch, Wolf was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. He graduated in 1986 from West Orange High School. Staff Writer PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. -- USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. doesn't really have many team leaders, so cornerback Terrell Thomas Terrell Thomas (born January 8, 1985) is an American football defensive back. College Career Thomas plays college football at the University of Southern California. He was named a 2007 third team preseason All-American. took matters into his own hands Friday night. Thomas challenged the defense to play better and the Trojans responded with a shutout against Stanford, although it's probably easier to get one against the Cardinal than any other team in the Pacific-10 Conference The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Membership Full members . ``We weren't finishing as a team,'' Thomas said. ``We played just the first quarter or the third quarter of games. We really don't have a leader. I think we're all leaders, me and Oscar (Lua) are probably the most vocal.'' Safety Taylor Mays Taylor Mays (born January 7, 1988 in Seattle, Washington, U.S.) is an African-American football free safety at the University of Southern California. High school career Mays is a graduate of O'Dea High School. said Thomas' speech made an impact at the team hotel. ``He definitely challenged the defense,'' Mays said. ``I think everybody was listening and making eye contact with him. We have some silent leaders on defense.'' USC coach Pete Carroll Peter C. Carroll (born September 15, 1951, in San Francisco, California) is the current head coach of the University of Southern California Trojans football team, having held that position since 2001. also singled out Thomas after the game for taking the initiative a week after the Trojans' first loss of the season. ``I was really proud of him,'' Carroll said. ``He called on other guys. He said it was time to step up.'' Revolving kickers: Carroll has grown impatient with kickoff specialist Troy Van Blarcom recently. After several short kickoffs Saturday inserted backup kicker David Buehler. But Buehler's kick only went to the 16-yard line, so Carroll went back to Van Blarcom. ``I just wanted to see if the other guy could hit the ball,'' Carroll said. ``But David Buehler didn't hit it, either. They were both kicking like the ball weighed 100 pounds. Obviously I did a great job motivating (Van Blarcom) because (his last attempt) went all the way to the end zone.'' Another 100: Wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett Dwayne Jarrett (born September 11, 1986 in New Brunswick, New Jersey) is an American football wide receiver in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers. Early years Jarrett attended New Brunswick High School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. recorded his 11th career 100- yard receiving game and second this season with 118yards against the Cardinal. He also increased his Pacific-10 Conference career-touchdown record to 34. Carroll on the crowd: With Stanford winless and USC fans traditionally making the trek to the Bay Area, Carroll was thrilled with the atmosphere. ``This felt like a home game,'' he said. ``It felt like a hometown crowd. It was cool.'' Opposing view: Stanford coach Walt Harris
Walt Harris (born November 9, 1946 in South San Francisco, California) is an American football coach. tried to be diplomatic after the Cardinal's ninth straight loss this season. ``I thought we fought as hard as we could for as long as we could,'' Harris said. ``It's easy to get psyched out by the skill level and talent that they have. USC is USC. They are physical on defense and that often gets overlooked, and we had a real problem with that.'' Mr. November: Carroll is now 17-0 in November while at USC. Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, who plays USC on Nov.25, is 5-0 in the same month. USC has also won its past eight games following a loss. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 6 boxes Photo: (1) USC's Terrell Thomas returns a blocked field-goal attempt for a touchdown against Stanford on Saturday. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images (2) Terrell Thomas, USC cornerback Box: (1) BY THE NUMBERS (2) THEY SAID IT (3) HERO (4) GOATS (5) STAT OF THE GAME (6) USC LOG |
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