What USC-Stanford Could Have Been?

As ESPN announced GameDay is coming to the Coliseum it is worth noting if USC had a reliable kicking game this season the Trojans could be 9-1 with wins over Washington State and Notre Dame.

21 thoughts on “What USC-Stanford Could Have Been?

  1. If Pat Haden had fired Lane Kiffin after the Sun Bowl brawl we would be 10-0 and #2 behind Bama right now.

      • Or Arizona shouldn’t have fumbled into the end zone giving away the difference in the ruin game last night? Can you believe the gutties finally won in Tucson for the first time in a decade? Better print up the shirts.

        • I think they call that putting the hat on the ball and causing the fumble…as in creating a turnover. It’s all about which side of the aisle one is sitting.

        • IF……The Torgans fumble in the end zone…You knuckleheads say the Refs made a bad call….or come up with some other LAME excuse. Excuses….always excuses. It’s only a GREAT play if the Torgans benefit.
          fit UN Rah Rah’s….

    • I have to agree with you Mr. Bucket. I wondered if Wolf threw-up in his mouth when he wrote this. Ordinarily I don’t like people trolling USC beat writers but when they are as bad as this they’re hard to defend.

  2. Wolf, had we beaten WSU, it is unlikely that Kiffin would have been fired after the ASU game. In other words, you cannot make minor changes here and there without considering their over all effect and how that change would bring about some unintended consequences as a result. Better to lose to WSU and ASU and gain a better coaching staff in the long run. If it means a loss to ND but a 10 win (11 with a bowl victory) season overall, I think most people would hold their noses and accept the trade off.

    • Hasn’t Wolf seen all those time travel movies? You can’t change events without causing major problems. Right McFly?

      • In our case major disruptions in the time/space continuum would have been an improvement. We had arguably our easiest schedule ever and managed to botch it before Pat Haden came to his senses.

    • Of course you’re right about hindsight revisionism, divorced from ripple effect of events as they occur.

      Another aspect of hindsight revisionism is its invariable optimistic quality. We remember what might have improved the outcome, and discard what might have made it worse. Scott forgets that the ND QB was knocked out early in the second half. Had that not occurred, Heidari probably could have made 100% of his attempts, but ND would still have won.

      Speaking of optimism, you’re very optimistic about the remaining games. 🙂

      Scott believe his own BS that the sanctions are just an excuse, and there is no reason why USC couldn’t win an NC anyway. That assertion is unwarranted, plain and simple. They HAVE been crippling, AND Kiffin dwelled on that, but not on his own inflexibility, poor teaching, and deficit in people skills.

      What’s important about the Stanford game isn’t “what it could have been.” What’s important is how USC plays it. There was the loss in 2011, and the loss in 2012. Do you think of them in the same way? I’ll bet that few do.
      memo. In this instance, Scott focuses on the kicking game

  3. With all the soccer played in this country, every football team should have a solid kicking game.

  4. As mentioned before, if the field goals had been made against Washington St and ND, the situation is different, emotions are different, and the approach to the game by the opponent is altered.

    So it is silly to take isolated plays out of the context of the game and state definitively that the result would have been such-and-such.

  5. That’s the most positive blog that SW has written in a while. It’s a tough one: On the one had, the kicking game woes have cost the men of troy. However, without the loss to Wazzou, CLK might still be around and the culture change within the program might have never taken place. The Notre Dame loss is/was the low point in the season IMO.

  6. There is no way this team would be where it is today with the sad, dour, passionless, micro-manager as head coach. We owe AZ St. a big favor now lets see if OR St. – UCLA – AZ can take them down.

    Kiffin’s gone – good riddance – let’s . win out!

  7. And what if they were both undefeated?? Wow! That would have been a game for the ages, Scottie! Gee wilikers! Too bad they aren’t. Darn Wazzou and Utah (and ND and AZ State)

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