Time to answer some reader questions.
Q: steve49 said:
Do you really think it was worth it to bring Farmer out of redshirt? Do you think his contribution will make the winning difference?
A: I personally do not think it was worth burning his redshirt year. Look at the facts: He’s played two games now and barely played against Notre Dame. And now there are five games left. Is he going to play against Stanford? His ankle prevented him from practicing today. If he was just going to play wide receiver I’d be less against it. But right now I’d have rather used him for a full season his first year.
Q: dtksr1 said:
Scott, there is definitely something not allowing this team to grow. There is no leadership that I can sense. It seems like its a lunchpale crew punching their timecards. SC should have scored 60 points on that CAL team. But we are seeing this week in & week out on how under-acheiving this team is. And in my opinion, this is a coaching staff problem. It doesn’t help that the offensive playcaller feels he has to get fancy inside the red zone and not just “ram” the ball in for a score… My personal view is Lane Kiffin is not a perfectionist and doesn’t spend a lot of time running the same plays over & over again in practice for proficiency and this is why his offense will suddenly get sloppy and stop any momentum they have.
A: This question was asked before Notre Dame so obviously Lane Kiffin will say the offense worked pretty well last weekend. I’m not sure if Lane Kiffin is or isn’t a perfectionist. But a lot of times poor execution is because of poor fundamentals. USC played a pretty clean game against Notre Dame. It will be interesting to see how the Trojans perform against Stanford.
Q: Dr. Watson said:
Please explain the actual end results of the 30 scholarship sanction. In one scenario, because each scholarship is good for 4 years the Trojans will be down 10 in year 1, down 20 in year 2, down 30 in year three, down 30 in year 4, down 20 in year 5, down 10 in year six; and will only be able to have a full roster again in year 7; or, are the Trojans allowed to make up the deficit at year 4?
A: Here’s the bottom line: USC can have 75 players on scholarship. So they are going to give out midyear scholarships in addition to the 15 allowed. So they will be down only 10. I’m not sure if they can give out midyear scholarships the following year. So they might be under 75 the next season. But I don’t think it’s as drastic as people think. And this week Lane Kiffin said probation wasn’t as bad as many predicted.
Q: marvgoux said:
Was leapfrogging a projected redshirt over Dillon Baxter in the depth chart the biggest slam in recent USC history?
A: It was close. Taking Brandon Hance’s number and giving it to Whitney Lewis is still one of the all-timers.
Q: BruinRob said:
Scott, you had a contest two weeks ago, regarding a picture of Land Kiffin, and it’s obvious that I was the clear winner. What is my prize, and where can I pick it up?
A: You receive a DVD of the UCLA-Arizona game from ESPN.
