USC Morning Buzz: Expectations At All-Time Season High

darnold-ucla-2With seven straight victories, USC’s goals keep increasing and should only go higher with lowly Notre Dame ahead. That’s what I analyzed in this story:

Excerpt: A couple months ago, USC victories over Washington, UCLA and Notre Dame to end the regular season would be considered an emphatic success, even if the Bruins and Irish are a combined 8-14.

Today, everything’s changed. A Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl victory are now being mentioned and there is even speculation USC has an outside shot at the College Football Playoff. That is almost amazing after a 1-3 start.

The (Sam) Darnold Factor is what blinds the media at times to any possible shortcomings the Trojans still might have in November. No matter what happens the rest of this season, the expectations for next year will be reminiscent of the Pete Carroll era.

Full story here

47 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Expectations At All-Time Season High

  1. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Darnold lost at Utah, and I don’t believe Colorado will blow it this Saturday. We barely beat the Buffs without their first string quarterback at the coliseum. But then I see Washington beating Colorado and possibly the Huskies go to the “Final-4,” which could place the Trojans in the Rose Bowl. That is the best scenario SC can hope for.

    • Remember that JuJu took a knee at the end rather than pile on another TD. You are right though, people are forgetting the 2nd Team QB we faced. Colorado is a solid team.

  2. 2012 followed 2011 I recall….but this one feels different…who returns along the lines?

  3. I wasn’t expecting USC to make the playoffs this year, because there not quite ready along the line of scrimmage. But I’m hoping they go to a major bowl game, that will make the school millions after expenses.

  4. I think the fans are excited for this team not for the record but for the team improving every game. This is something that we were not used to during Goatboy or Fireball’s reign.

  5. There is always an element of luck in football. Times where the botched snap bounces back to the quarterback. USC has been lucky this season, but for all of the chips to fall in place is going to take extra luck.
    Do we get this? I don’t know but luck has always been fickle, so we need to be good …

  6. Wow! It’s really amazing what the Sam Darnold phenomenon is doing to our team right now! The team has literally transformed into the national caliber since he became the starter, which could never been possible with someone less talented than Darnold himself.

  7. I don’t know about expectations for this season, but since week 5 there has been a lot of hope in the program. We can have expectations for next season, but this rebirth of the Trojans this season has put a great deal of hope in all of us. It has sure been a wild ride, this season will be historical.

  8. Hope for the birth of a real rivalry btwn. UT and CO beginning this Saturday @ 4:30 PST – this is good for the conference to have the two newest members with little previous interchange btwn. them suddenly finding their final game btwn. the two of them having major impact on the conference.

    Let’s go Utes!

    • For the “rivalry” the conference concocted for these two teams to really take hold they’ll need a Utah win knocking Colorado out of the championship game. If that happens, rivalry on! Should be a good one.

  9. In Darnold We Trust.

    I’ve never seen one player ever change the entire team personality, chemistry and capability as much is Darnold has since he literally rescued the Trojans after our dismal STAN beatdown. He literally came out after that game and told the press that it looked like the Trojans had quit in that game during halftime. Remarkable.

    Best overall USC player since Reggie Bush and best pure QB talent ever. Already has a good chance to win the Heisman next season after starting only 8 games this year, Darnold’s got much more pure throwing talent than Tim Tebow, another big-time leader, so we all know where this can lead.

    Get ready for the massive media onslaught on this performer supreme as USC surprisingly and suddenly rebounds into elite stature. Wonder where the Playoff Committee will have us tonight, then after ND?

    The kid’s truly a phenomena and hopefully he will be a recruiting magnet for both the OLs and DLs our program sorely needs moving forward.

    • Without his stellar receiving corp, Sam might be less than the Superman he’s being made to be. Also, remember that 1 or 2 interceptions at the wrong times can change the game pretty dramatically.

      • Darnold is great, but you are correct. Sometimes Darnold reminds me of Johnny football throwing to Mike Evans. Manziel would stay alive long enough to launch it and Evans would go up and get it. Darnold would have thrown a couple more interceptions if not for the great receiver play, including one of the touchdowns last weekend. But, Darnold has also converted on impossible, broken 3rd downs with great vision, movement and accuracy on the run. Just like a few bad inceptions, a few of those plays change a game.

        Maybe someone with inside USC info can identify the true team leaders who emerged to lead us out of September. Darnold has to be a big part of it. Who is leading the defense?

        • Best part about Darnold is that when he makes those mistakes they dont seem to affect his confidence moving forward.

          • Why don’t you ucla little gutties stick to analyzing the never ending, underachieving saga of ucla football. Quite a story there, if you like rinse, repeat.

      • USC had great athletes in numerous positions and was still going downhill fast until Darnold was allowed to start. He changed everything.

        He’s the one variable that changed. If you put Max Browne back in charge, this is just an average team with a poor OL, Adoree and JuJu, going nowhere, certainly not to a New Year’s Six Bowl.

        It’s easy to say USC was going to magically improve somehow, on both offense and defense, with Browne as the starter.

        This is one of those issues where you have two camps. All I know is before Darnold started we were horrible. USC was crap. Swann had the all-important big meeting with CH and nothing has been the same about USC football since.

        • Agree. Sam Darnold is the key ingredient to a pretty potent mix of talent. His skills & leadership makes everyone around him better. The defense, special teams and coaching have all improved since he was inserted as the starter. It can be debated whether those components might have / or probably would have improved without Sam at QB. And those components deserve credit & acknowledgment. But Sam Darnold is the undeniable force of this USC team. Other than AL & maybe Ohio State their are no unbeatable teams this year. With Sam Darnold, I think USC is competitive with anyone.

          • ALA and OHIO ST should be a great one for the NC. The two best coaches in the game with the most talent as well as great pedigrees.

            I’d like to see MICH upset OHIO ST, but I don’t see it happening. And if AUB upsets ALA, it’ll officially be the craziest football season of all time.

  10. Wolf just can’t give the coaches or the rest of the team any credit.
    Everything that has happened to turn this season around is all because
    of Sam. Now don’t get me wrong, Sam is certainly responsible for part of
    that, but any great team has a great QB and you pretty much cannot win
    consistently without one. But Sam is not playing defense and he’s not
    game planning and he’s not catching his own passes, etc. Give some
    credit to the rest of the team for a change and what the coaches have done.

    • Agree Sam is all and more.Amazing player.The Coaches have come together and risen…On D look at Green ,Porter,Biggie,Stevie on and on.There’s a list a Dozen plus long of guys who have gone to a new level.Both D and O.

  11. Even with ND being weak, the spotlight on this game is national. The game is a break out party and will showcase Darnold to the bias east coasters. Luckily, Pac12 didn’t schedule the game for 1030pm eastern. Remember ND was the Heisman launch party for Carson Palmer!!!

  12. Expectations for next year are where they were 2 years ago. Hopes were high when SC went to the Holiday Bowl and bear Nebraska. Trouble was Sark was just high. Now they are back on track with a superstar QB in Darnold. They will need to get better on the OL. Nothing great happens this year without a Utah win. This weekend we have only hope and crushing ND.

    • I predict we still go to a New Year’s Six Bowl with a ND victory, regardless of what anyone else does. That’s pretty great.

      Nobodies beating ALA this year anyway. Whomever they play for the NC is going down. Not sure we need another taste of that, even though we have Darnold now.

      • I don’t know if USC could beat AL, but I do think the result could be much different. One thing I have noticed about AL is that they do not score quickly. If a team could get out ahead they may have a shot at beating them.

        • Every team is beatable on a bad day. The trick is actually beating them. If ALA is on, nobody can touch them.

          IMHO, ALA did not “barely beat” LSU. They completely choked off the Tigers 10-0 in one of the nation’s most difficult stadiums – Death Valley. LSU managed 6 first downs and only 125 total yds in the entire game. Some threat.

          LSU had absolutely no offense whatsoever against ALA in the entire 2nd half. It was typical ‘Bama. They play around with you like a mouse before they squeeze you to death.

  13. Next year’s schedule is interesting. Along with Texas and Notre Dame, our so called “cupcake” is undefeated Western Michigan.

    • The WMU game is very interesting.They are a Toledo and Solid BOWL game from coming in September with a 13/0+ streak and a chip on their shoulder.Their coach will probably be gone…However the game will likely get major National Attention.

  14. Only one certainty in CFB: on any given day, one team is capable of upsetting the other. SC needs to keep focused…don’t let the win streak get in their heads. “One game at a time”…

  15. Expectations high yes put the work in stayed focus. Stay way from the hype do your job well for a full game and it will all fall into place. Do not take nd lightly they will not take you lightly, be ready for a full hard fought game.
    Fight On

  16. Darnold is MO-JO-RISE-N!…
    Sam Mojo-risen has Lit the fire in the City of Lights!
    USC has Broke on through this season!
    The Figueroa Street boys are The Riders on the storm and need to love LA Two Times more with W’s!
    They need to beat ND and win the bowl game and Roll Baby Roll!
    Ah, USC football has Touched Me this season.
    But, People are strange like SW, who continue to sing the Roadhouse blues.
    Even Petros has begrudgingly opened the Doors and has come around to Love Street.

    Football is Fun…

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