And now to really kick you while you're down - it's a MCL sprain for Lobbestael. He'll be out two to four weeks. Of course, with the way our offensive line is playing, be glad it wasn't a MCL or ACL tear.
Dan Wagner or a sans-redshirt J.T. Levenseller will be may be your starter for the USC game. UPDATE: Per ESPN's Ted Miller, Kevin Lopina may be ready to go this upcoming Saturday. Don't be shocked, though, if you hear this chant:
Pe-ter Rob-erts (clap clap clap-clap-clap)
Pe-ter Rob-erts (clap clap clap-clap-clap)
Hey, if you're going to lose, might as well make it interesting, right?
I think there's a lot of arguing going on about what gets the blame for this season: the talent, the coaching, or the injuries? The sad fact is it's a combination of all three. And when I say the coaching, I don't necessarily mean bad coaching (although there is some of that going on). What I mean is that a system change can really destroy a team's confidence and abilities, especially on offense. Look at Michigan, who got beat 13-10 by Toledo in the Big House yesterday.
Wulff has already ditched the no-huddle and is running a much more simplified version of the offense with Lobbestael. Can you imagine what it will look like with Wagner or Levenseller under center? It may be three straight handoffs to the RB, and then get off the field on every posession against USC. We may set some kind of record for the point spread.
About the QB battle for next week (that may or may not happen if Lopina is ready to go, as I mentioned earlier): I say, go with Levenseller. Yesterday I was upset that Levy Jr's redshirt might get burned prematurely. But then Nuss hit me with something that should have been obvious: you can always redshirt him next year. As the depth chart stands, we would head into next year with Lopina #1 (senior), Ocho Rojo #2 (RS soph.), and Levenseller #3 (soph. or RS freshman). Now, I know injuries could force our hand again next year, but I hope it doesn't come to that.
I know Levenseller over Wagner only increases our chance of winning next week from about 2% to 4%, but it's worth a shot. The fact that Wagner didn't have a single pass attempt yesterday shows me that the coaching staff either doesn't have much confidence in his arm, or hasn't given Dan enough reps in practice to be comfortable. Probably a little of both.
In slightly happier news, Oklahoma State felled #2/#3 Missouri last night, and the #17 ranked Cowboys will most certainly see a jump in the new polls. They are 6-0 overall and 2-0 in conference. Who'd have thought a 39-13 loss in our first game might actually turn out to be our best performance against a FBS opponent this year?