In my analysis from the Coliseum, I look at what USC needs to do to go from a top Pac-12 team to a truly elite team that goes to the College Football Playoff.
Excerpt: For the 14,000 who attended Saturday’s non-scrimmage, cornerback should be a concern. There were two healthy cornerbacks at the scrimmage (Iman Marshall, Jack Jones). If the Rose Bowl was a revelation for Burnett, it was a learning experience for Jones. He is not going to be Adoree’ Jackson in Game 1 next season.
“10,000 less fans”…. ouch. Try “fewer” Scottie.
Fairly manageable football schedule for 2017 with no byes – BTW the new guidelines about to be adopted across the board one of the items is a mandated ‘2’ byes per season.
One new reg. this season will have an unexpected result, fall camp will probably start in July due to the no two a day rule.
I think you’re right about manageable schedule, if we get past Stanford, and without too many injuries, I’m thinking that by games 5-6, our offense will have certainly gelled, and the “young” receivers will be coming into their own. And by then our O-line will be a known commodity.
Not just Stanford. I think Utah will be better than most people are giving them credit for.
Yeah, but by then I’m thinking we’ll be on a roll, on both sides of the ball, although Utah is a very tough venue.
Btw, we still don’t know about E.J.Price, and should have a better idea by the middle of summer..would be great to have him back in the fold.
That ‘2’ byes will stretch the season to 14 weeks plus CCG and then bowls/CFB match-ups. They’ll either begin play in mid-August or kick the post-season out to smartly move the college CG to the week off between the NFL conference championships and the the Super Bowl itself – that ‘bye’ for the NFL would be a perfect fit for the College Championship Game!
Whet my appetite!!! Fight On!
price returning would be key. if he’s leaving, why is he still there? i’d be gone if i was leaving, ijs…
Texas, Notre Dame, Stanford, all the Pac-12 South schools. I guess you mean no Wash. or Ore. Isn’t W. Mich. a good program as well?
It’s not a bunch of patsies, that’s for sure. And no bye, as you point out.
Don’t play either WA or OR save the CCG and as for Western-MI, their ‘scientology acting’ head coach is now @ MN and they got their head handed to them last year in their bowl against WI.
All fair points. How did it come to pass that USC plays both WA & OR during one season in “even years”, and just Ore State and WA State during one season in “odd years.” It seems kind of odd.
Always rolls back to ‘Stanford’ and Cal. Before the Pac-8 became the Pac-10 Stanford was determined to block any expansion. USC and UCLA told them you let AZ and AZ St. in or we are leaving. Well fast forward to 2010 and the admission of UT and CO. Once again Stanford wasn’t interested primarily because they would be slotted in the ‘north’ with cal, OR, OR St, WA and WA St.. Sooo to get them on-board Stanford demanded and obtained the deal that they (and Cal) play USC and UCLA every year and the other 4 schools rotate 2 on 2 off=. Same holds true for the other 8 schools i.e. WA/WA St. rotate with the Arizonas and Stanford/Cal w. UT and CO.
Specific as to the WA/OR and WA St./OR St. it makes sense when you think of it i.e. playing at least one school from each of those states each year..
I have no objection to USC and Stanford playing annually, or any objection to USC playing Cal every year.
The part I don’t understand, though, is why USC doesn’t play WA St. the year that it plays Oregon, and then play Washington the year that it plays OR. St. It’s no secret that WA will very likely to be stronger in FB that WA St., or that Oregon will very likely be stronger in FB than OR St. The current rotation causes excessive annual shifts in the difficulty of USC’s schedule.
That doesn’t seem desirable for USC, given that we know USC will play ND annually, and it was no shock to see AL on the schedule last year, or Texas this year. I’m pretty sure Ohio State will show up again on the schedule, etc., etc.
Well old stick let’s just say the discussion neither you nor I nor the rest of the hoi polloi was privy to wherein the Washington and Oregon schools decided to align their two ‘state universities’ into one bloc and the ‘university of’ into another.
What does matter is that USC avoids the trap door of facing the same presumed no-Pc-12 champion twice i.e. WA or OR. I’d say we are blessed as we shall be prepared to defeat any such and I also sense the ‘final four shall hail from: Big-10 (OH St6/MI) Big 12 (OK ST/OK) ACC (FL St.) and USC leaving the corrupt SEC out of the frame this year for the 1st time since Micheal Slive engineered the depth charging of USC way back in 2008 from which Pete Carroll scampered to the hills rather than stay one year and ‘…play the man!’ Not our Pete he did a John Robinson and booked – he most certainly did and it’s taken us 9 years to recover….thanks Pete.
Opps almost forgot….good luck bel-air tech with Jimmah and you too ‘the princess’ with Kelly…’the princess’ smells a lot like the NYY or better yet the dodgers…in fact brooklyn and ‘the princess’ last won their championships the same years….29 years and couting….’vinnie my vinnie…if only why…?
I think this team is still a year a or two away from being great. There are still some holes to fill. Their focus should be on winning the Pac 12 and being in the conversation for the playoff. The great thing is USC football is back!
With magic man Darnold at the helm for his last year (no, he won’t be here in 2018), now is the time for USC to strike. Whomever replaces Darnold simply won’t be as good.
Darnold’s the type who not only gets you to the playoff, he wins when he is there. This is our year.
Sam is no doubt great, but if he does not get some big help from the rest of the team (play makers on both side of the ball) he will not shine as bright as he did last season. Do not get me wrong i am a Sam fan, i just did not see any player step up in a big way in spring ball.
I’m obviously in the minority, but I don’t care about spring ball. In Sept, I don’t see this team looking anything like now. No urgency in the spring, obviously. Why would there be?
Since Sam is a Heisman favorite and likely #1 pick, I don’t see how his loss doesn’t hurt you big. And our OL should be better than last year once healthy. I don’t see the losses of Wheeler and Banner as any big deal whatsoever. Neither is that strong, athletic or quick and the NFL sees it the same way.
Our receivers are very good and will be superior once you see them catching balls from Darnold every play and not a hodpodge of whomever is getting reps behind center.
Spring ball is as meaningful as the NFL preseason or the MLB spring training. It is the time to try out the subs and work on things. Darnold is a proven commodity now.
Agree that, for Sam, it will be all about the OL. It seems likely to me that the skill players will be adequate and then some. What did we know about Robert Woods before his FR year, or Marqise Lee before his FR year.
I expect good things from RoJo II, although I know you disagree. (By the way, Saquon Barkley of Penn State is considered by many to be THE top returning RB.) But for RoJo as well, the OL will be key.
Why are so many OLs injured so often at USC?
Even before the Rose Bowl, I came to think of Sam as a dagger in the heart of opposing defenses A defense appeared to to have stopped a drive, but Sam woudl scramble and find a WR down field. or runs for the 1st down. He just took the “hope” and energy right out of the defense, again and again.
That said, the The QB play in the Pac-12 South should be very good. The two QBs whom Yogi Roth said outshined Sam at “The Opening” were Rosen (UCLA, of course) and Barnett (transfd to ASU). Rosen had seemed like an entitled jerk before his injury, but in a recent interview, he seemed chastened and humble–just working to get better. I was quite surprised; what that may mean for his play remains to be seen. Barnett is an unknown quantity, but ASU has capable coaches.
Neither Rosen nor Barnett has the surrounding “skill” talent that Sam has. Still, those games should be interesting, if only for the QB play.
Rosen’s been humiliated and it was probably good for him. From SI cover boy to face-in-the-dirt-has-been. Darnold just blew his doors off.
Darnold does just suck the wind out of defenses with his toughness, adeptness in the pocket, ability to throw on the run and desire to be the guy-on-the-line. He’s a demoralizer. In a more limited sense, Notre Dame’s Tony Rice was like that against USC. We’d have him bottled up and he would somehow make a play and USC would suddenly be on its heels. But Darnold will be a big-time pro, something Rice couldn’t transition to.
All I know is that when Darnold is back there, I always think something good is gonna happen. And it usually does.
You can’t make any judgements from Spring ball. If you are trying to draw conclusions you are no better than the Debbie downer blogger.
But Pete, Sam’s TE is back, his main Rose Bowl target is back, his RBs are mostly back, etc. They recruit TOO many WRs–surely, they can’t ALL all be disappointments. Plus, the “killer” WR and RB from 2017 aren’t even on campus yet.
As Jack alluded, it’s the OL that might spoil the party.
All the killer super tight ends or wide outs will not do much for you if you do not have the time to get them the ball. Running for your life every time you try to drop back and pass will not make a great season
Yes, none of this year or two away crap. I hate that loser f uucla mentality. USC is about winning national championships, not being in the conversation.
Darnold’s a once-in-a-50-year QB. He literally blew the doors off USC football. We need to strike while the iron is hot.
Take no prisoners now. The little gutties never take prisoners. They are the prisoner and USC will keep them in jail again in Nov.
I’m looking forward to another 50-0 annihilation that will completely relegate f uucla to the Pac 12 cellar for the next decade.
marvgoux 1, Your getting way ahead of what needs to be done. Let’s take one game at a time. Western Michigan will want to beat on our Trojans. We beat up on them if the Team brings their A GAME. Thirteen A GAMES and it’s USC against Alabama, Clemson, Penn State, Take tour pick.
I’m not saying we can’t go all the way. Just saying we are not at the level of Alabama/Clemson in terms of O & Dline. Darnold has 10 games under his belt I expect him to have some speed bumps this year. I also could see him staying 1 more year if they don’t make it all the way.
But Clemosn and Bama don’t have a quarterback near the talent and poise under pressure of Sam Darnold.
Tio Rico Suave is correct. Qualty depth on both lines is not at its peak yet. That doesn’t mean they can’t win the Pac 12, but injuries could pose a problem against big physical teams.
You’re 100% right —but even Darnold needs receivers he can count on during crunch time. (I like the fact he’s throwing at the backs of guys’ helmets when they’re late turning around —saying, “I’m talking to them with the ball”)!
Of course you’re right–not necessarily about Darnold, but in general. But most commenters here are saturated in “USC exceptionalism”.
They forget that PC really did turn out a slew of 1st round NFL picks, as did Robinson I, and as did McKay (including a number of NFL HOF members).
Rico, to quote a old NY Times sports writer, “The battle is not always to swift and the strong, but that is the way to bet.” So, take their money, Rico. You’re not going convince them with logic.
Scooter, did you mention that the two corner backs are going against the best qb in the nation and that he will deliver the ball exactly where it needs to be? A lot of qbs will miss the mark wiht the throws, just ask Rosen. The corners do need to work on fundamentals, bu they are not bad. Jones has a tendency to get burned and is out of position. He needs to work on fundementals. But on the other hand, SC has recovers that have stepped up this spring and they are showing why they were recruited by SC. They look like they are the best corp in the PAC 12 and even the nation.
Scooter, maybe you should take a break and play a little soccer and go to a safe zone, where no one will hurt you.
It’s not like Scott doesn’t love to drive us nuts with hypercritical posts, P.T. But this isn’t one of them. From where I sit, Scott’s analysis of this team is dead-on. It has potential —but the pieces need to come together. The corners were flat out dropping balls that hit them in the hands. Same for the receivers. Jack is right when he says that it hurts the receivers to be catching balls from three different quarterbacks in the space of one hour —-but still!
Bottom line: don’t be too surprised if we don’t get out of the gate as fast as we both would like. And it won’t be Scott’s fault.
Happy Easter to everyone, including the ruins here on the blog Happy Passover to our Jewish brethern as well, including the ruin bloggers.
In the video, sw said he didn’t think anyong who attended learned anything about the team. He then goes and gives us an analysis of what was learned from the practice. Boy, am I glad this site is free.