USC Morning Buzz: Nothing Like A Less-Than-Hostile Environment

Does USC look like a top 5 team? It certainly has the talent to be one. But in four games, it probably only looked like it once (vs. Stanford). This is where being in the Pac-12 helps. USC goes to Cal and plays before about 40,000 including the usual large group of Trojan fans making the Bay Area trip. Cal is a waltzing stadium. So is Stanford. And Arizona State. And Arizona. And Oregon State. And Washington State. And . . .

How many waltzing stadiums are in the SEC? South Carolina had 71,821 at Williams-Brice Stadium for Louisiana Tech on Saturday. Kentucky had a sellout crowd of 62,945 at Kroger Field for Florida. And lost 28-27.

You think the crowd made a difference in those games? I haven’t even mentioned the traditional hostile atmospheres like LSU, Auburn, Alabama, Florida and Tennessee. The point is the crowd makes it more difficult. USC and Washington won’t really deal with anything like it. So there’s less chance for upsets.

134 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Nothing Like A Less-Than-Hostile Environment

  1. Does everybody go through exactly the same things and events in life? No. Should every team in every conference have exactly the same kind of crowd and stadium experience? What would be the answer to that, SW?

    • You mean f uucla with their empty stadium the rest of the season. That is some crowd and stadium experience. You can sit wherever you want, no lines for the bathrooms and snack bar, no traffic jams before or after the game and the students can study during the game because the place is so quiet .

      • You had to really love watching the little gutties pull a super face plant against STAN. It was worse than I ever imagined and ucla’s ghost defense was a mirage to remember!

        • If we don’t put 70 on that Swiss Cheese defense I will consider it a failure. How can Mora’s teams be getting worse and worse the longer he is there?

          • Because he finally got his players, he was using Karl Dorrell’s guys before, and Win-ning!!

  2. The “best” thing a crowd does is jam the opposing team’s signals with its noise. I have always found that so bush, but it is here to stay.

    Now, back to the SC-Cal game, and good takeaways:
    Darnold was poor on his long throws, but his usual stellar self on the intermediate passes
    Defensive line held the Cal running attack pretty much in check
    Carr had some nice runs, and so did his back-ups. He even power punched his way into the end zone on one play.
    Defense got to the quarterback a few times and created those turnovers.
    Field goal kicker looks like a keeper
    Come from behind victory again. Are these the incarnate 1969 Cardiac Kids?
    Noticed that some other “Top-10” teams (poll-wise anyway) struggled in their games. Looks as if after Alabama there will be some stiff competition for those Nos 2, 3 and 4 spots in the playoffs.

  3. It’s true. I’m from the south, making the decision, going to USC wasn’t easy. But I’m a proud Trojan. Nothing against the PAC 12, no stadium tops the worst stadium in the SEC. Tailgating, football, crowd noise it’s insane in the south. If you haven’t experienced it, honestly you haven’t experienced the true college experience. It’s just different, everything is different in the south when it comes to football. Texas had 10, 000 at USC. That couldn’t and wouldn’t happen at Mississippi state, South Catalina must less LSU or Alabama. But we’re 4-0, Fight On!

  4. We might be playing like crap offensively but we keep winning so I’m happy! I do wish we would have finished Cal off though. 37-13 would have made me feel better than 30-20 but hey we won and I will take a season full of ugly victories over a loss any day. Just my opinion.

    • Agree totally. Too bad USC folded at the end of the game, making us look weak against a team that had literally given us the game with six turnovers (some unforced) anyway.

      With all those turnovers and we only win by 10. Not good. SC should drop in the polls, which I believe matter. Bye, bye top 5. It was fun while it lasted.

      • USC is good, just not good as advertised before the season started, especially that offensive line

        • Ya, the OL is a bad place to be bad. Funny how everyone knows football success all starts there but so many teams, like the Trojans, remain weak there.

          Our fantastic RBs won’t get the shot to show what they can really do. We’ll still make a pretty good bowl, but I’ve kissed off a PO spot. Just don’t see it absent some miracle change in USC’s OL and DBs, which raises the question – why hasn’t it already happened? Talent levels are tough to disguise.

          • Did you get to watch the UW-CO game? What do you think of both those teams? I thought UW looked shaky on offense until their defense created turnovers and gave the offense great field position.

          • Really liked UW. Super solid and versatile. CU not good enough in the trenches and overall disappointing, No contest between those schools.

            I would say UW is the class of the Pac-12 now.

            USC is a solid #2 but weakness in the OL keeps Darnold under constant pressure and takes our RBs down. Our DB coverage is strangely gap-filled on 3 and 4 downs.

            UW’s Browning had all day to pass and lives a much easier life than Darnold who is always a split-second from getting hit.

          • UW’s defense seems to be better than last year and that little running back of theirs is talented and tough. Their field goal kicker may doom them in a close game though.

          • I’d still rather have UW’s problems than our stinky OL and inconsistent DBs. CAL’s gonna get hammered by some teams. Too bad we couldn’t do it too. The Bears are always a crappy bunch.

          • So much of the PAC-12 passing scheme is based on timing. We need to play tight at the snap and bump the receivers at the line of scrimmage to ruin the timing. Out DB’s are fast enough to stay with them. The extra second or two will give our linemen to get into the WB’ s face.

          • i would love to see what you say come true…but I don’t believe our coaches have enough confidence in our DB’s ability to pull that off.

            No way “Grabby” Marshall could survive on that technique IMO. He’d be a hot lunch. Well, he already is, so maybe a B/R approach would be worth a try.

          • The O line is still gelling. They have some experience just not as a unit and at their specific position; Chris Brown,new starter; Toa, 1 start at OT coming off ACL tear; Chuma, in the doghouse last year, only 1 start previously; Nico and Vianne each have 13 starts, Vianne split time the last 2 years. Looking at it this way, I have hope for improvement.

          • With all due respect, I’d say USC’s OL looks a lot more like jello than jelling. Problem is, I’m serious.

      • It’s hard to drop all the winners in the top 10 for looking bad in their wins yesterday. Probably just move USC ahead of OK and PSU.

        • No way USC will move above PSU. USC finished like a broken water pistol and PSU had the comeback win of the day. Not even close.

          • They are showing the Penn State finish on all the morning news shows, not just on the sports channels. Great PR for them. They will go up in the rankings and Saquon Barkley will get a boost for the Heisman.

          • Cal was the #1 scoring team in the 2nd half and USC shut them out in the 2nd half, Cal was undefeated and at home, USC totally blew them away with a super soaker in the 2nd half. Meanwhile Penn St. took the lead on the last play of the game against a crummy Iowa team that went to OT with something called Iowa St. a couple weeks ago. Iowa is basically the Western Michigan of the Big-10, but if you think that’s glorious than you are the Charlie Bucket of 2017.

          • Glorious? Who said anything about glorious. PSU looked better than USC. If you couldn’t see that, you’re blind.

          • PSU looked like a team that got whooped by, and should have lost to, an inferior alsoran. USC dominated the best 2nd half team in the nation, shutting them out in the 2nd half and blowing them away offensively in the 2nd half 17-0. I guess I’m blind, but when PSU gets a back-2-back butt whipping by Michigan and Ohio St., I guess I’ll remember Jack “Pedophile Protector” B. told me I didn’t know nuthin.

        • Good news. That’s the place to be until November. Not too high, not too low. Then the other teams knock each other out.

        • Good for SC! Love it. I consider us very fortunate after we showed we couldn’t run on mediocre CAL (yes, they are) and they passed us silly. Fight On baby!

      • I would have preferred to put in more defensive reserves at the end of the game instead of going to a prevent defense. DB’s playing 15 yards off the receivers is a joke.

  5. How many schools in the SEC are located in or remotely close to major cities where there are professional sports teams and/or other entertainment options? I can’t think of 1. How many are in the Pac-12? SC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Washington, ASU.

    • And of those, only washington has a hostile playing environment. Toughest place for visiting teams in Pac12, from first to worst:
      1 Autzen (most passionate fans)
      2 fusky stadium
      3 Rice Eccles (crowd/elevation)
      4 Folsom (elevation)
      5 Coliseum (when it’s full)
      6 Sun Devil Stadium
      7 Martin Stadium (when the cougs are doing well)
      8 Reser (when the bears are doing well)
      9 Rose Bowl (when its not half empty)
      10 Arizona Stadium
      11 California Memorial
      12 Stanford

    • Texas A &M is located between San Antonio and Dallas. The University of Georgia is located near Atlanta. The University of Tennessee is located between Charlotte and Nashville. Vanderbilt is located in Nashville. LSU is located northwest of New Orleans.

      • Marv, guess the staff at the senior center allowed access to the computer this morning!

        Let’s see, Athens is 2 hours from Atlanta.

        Knoxville is 300 miles from Charlotte and 200 miles from Nashville.

        Baton Rouge is about 100 miles from NOLA.

        College Station is 200 miles from Dallas, 200 miles from San Antonio. It’s actually closer to Houston, only 100 miles away!

        Gainesvilles is 150 miles from Tampa.

        But yeah, everything looks close when you are sitting chair staring at a Thomas Guide!

        Here’s a tip, Marv. DO. NOT. THINK. Especially Sunday morning, when the senior center staff hasn’t handed out the meds yet.

        • Here’s a tip, George. Don’t post after you have that first Irish Coffee in the morning.

          Christian asked if there were any SEC teams “remotely close” to major cities where there are professional sports teams and/or other entertainment options.

          To paraphrase your hero Bill Clinton, “It depends on the meaning of what “remotely” is”.

          To most thinking human people, a three hour drive is considered “remotely close” for football fans.

          You might be surprised how many SC fans drive up from San Diego or SLO. I knew people who used to drive 3 hours one way from Ventura and Santa Barbara to go to Rams games when they were in Anaheim and drive that far to see an Angel games.

          This very weekend ten thousand SC fans drove 8 hours or flew up to the Bay Area to watch the Trojans defeat Cal.

          Imagine how many more do that in the football crazy South?

          Oh wait I forget… you can’t imagine.

          The Alzheimers had taken it’s toll on that small brain of yours.

  6. The Darnold magic is starting to fade, as great as he is. Teams are forcing him to his left, where he is less effective and taking away the never ending T Bone Martin drags over the middle.
    Throw in a beaten down Jones, crappy receivers and a soft, slow , undersized D and a big time loss or 3 is looming.
    Sam will truly be a great one if he can win at Wazzu ( oh my, what the Pirate might do to that secondary ) and ND, where they may run wild with that qb and backs.
    Some seasoned talent opposing qbs are coming up … Gomer hasn’t had to face many of those in his Darnold saved career.

    • The only magic Darnold has is the power to get broadcasters to talk about how great he is for an entire game, every game while he throws the ball directly to the other team all game long. I swear he’s Tim Tebow 2017 without the great play.

  7. I think that is ridiculous. You really believe that the crowd is going to make a major difference in the outcome. It is tougher in the SEC than the PAC 12. You are reaching!

    • You don’t think it’s harder to win at Oregon or LSU than at Cal? The crowd makes a big difference.

      • I guess what I’m saying is that great players like Darnold and the best aren’t fazed by hostile crowds. SEC or not. See Sam Cunningham! Yes, Oregon and even Washington State can be tough places to play. As tough as LSU. But the great ones feed off it!

        • But the rest are fazed and that affects the whole team. There’s a reason they call Clemson’s stadium “Death Valley”.

  8. Some people make excuses for SC losses, SW does this for when they win. Already pre-empting their next 5-6 games a built-in “buyer beware” angle just in case….

  9. USC finally used the TEs in the red zone and it paid off. Then, well you know the rest of the story..Tee Martin went away from the TEs later in the game in the red zone.

  10. Top 5 teams control the line of scrimmage, especially against a lesser opponent… That is all !

    • Fred, I know you’re smart enough to know that that can’t happen all the time. Nor can it happen overnight. Their is 1 team in the nation that consistently controls both lines of scrimmage- Saban’s bunch. Even Clemson was only up 14-7 going into the fourth. This Oline is a finesse group. Period. Accept this.

      • Accept a finesse OL ? Even Bill Walsh had O lines who were tough, finesse on the OL is UNACCEPTABLE

        • There are two starters on the O line weighing more than 300 lbs. You play to your personnel’s strength- this group just isn’t going to physically impose it’s will on opponents week in and week out.

  11. Does Penn St look like a top 5 team? Their game against Iowa was a lot closer than our game, but I bet you’ll vote them in the Top 5.

  12. I’d trade living out West and playing in semi full stadiums for living in the South any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

  13. There is some incongruity in the way that this offense finishes games and its inability to finish drives. The focus and sense of urgency that we display on the final drive needs to be there on every drive, but it’s not. This is probably just as true for the coaches as it is for the players.

    If you’re better than the teams you’re playing, show them that. Don’t let them think for a moment that they belong on the same field as you. Relish the opportunity to crush hope. There should be a recurring question after every game this year: at what point did the other team give up? It should be something that’s debated in the locker room amongst yourselves after every game. When could you tell we broke them? We’re not even close to asking that question let alone answering it. But since we’re asking questions, ask some of the former Trojans that come around about what it’s like when you feel and see an opponent quit during the game. After you ask them that, ask yourselves why you never see it happen. When USC’s program and mystique are where they are supposed to be, that happens.

  14. Poor Vanderbilt has to play in a hostile environment at some of their own home games. About 40,000 in attendance yesterday with 75% being Bama fans to witness the 59-0 beat down. The science and mathematics competition season cannot begin soon enough for ol’ Vandy.

  15. Hold on, this is waiting to be approved by Inside USC…
    … until it’s irrelevant and posted long after the thread is irrelevant.

    Crap, I hate this censorship over NOTHING…

    What words are offensive? “Clowns”?

  16. I’m enjoying a replay of the Clowns getting whacked last night by the Indians on watchBSPN.

    Jim Mora’s hissy fit is at the 38-minute mark, right after Rosey’s first INT.

      • The rules committee needs to consider when the “victim” is lowering his head, too.

        I just watched that first one of the back-to-back calls. The Clown was leaning forward and lowered his head. the defender has a choice: go for the thighs as he did and was trained to do, or get creamed by the Clown by keeping his face mash up. Keeping his facemask up in that situation puts the defender at extremely high risk for neck/spinal injury.

  17. Instead of the bimbo they had last game, they have two other
    “special”
    people raving about who Rosey is. “He’s polarizing. Either you love him
    or you don’t like him that much.” There’s a nice little photo montage
    of Rosey’s childhood on private tennis courts, etc. I’ll bet teenage
    girls don’t worship Bieber as much as these two (and BSPN) love Rosey.

    And how wonderful Rosey’s parents are because they are rich and
    affluent. Our Messiah Aboma even had daddy Rosey on his short list for
    Surgeon General. Such good elitist 1%ers.

    • It would seem you have been drinking heavily since 12:00 pm yesterday. Time to say “goodnight Gracie”…

      • Rosey lives and breathes the the ideology that cries “white privilege.” I simply point out that he’s a hypocrite as a rich white male openly supporting that and other absurd concepts.

        What’s your problem?

        • troller is a femnazi who brags about how many abortions she has had on other leftist kook websites. That’s her problem.

  18. There is an extreme lack of understanding that we are very banged up (DL and TE) and very inexperienced (WR) in specific places which is hindering the O. This will get better as they play more. The hand wringing on here when they don’t play like national champs in the first month is old. Oklahoma almost lost to Baylor and Penn St should have lost to Iowa. Let’s see if the pollsters hold those teams accountable in the same manner they do SC. You all should be excited it looks like we have a group of young men who rise to the occasion and overcome adversity. I’ll take that any day as a marker for future success then drubbing a team 58-0. You also underestimate Wilcox’s knowledge of our scheme, protections and comfort plays. Cal could not have been more set up to beat us especially with our injury situation right now. Relax and enjoy the fact we own the 4th quarter.

    • Pretty well said. I like looking at 4-0. Sure, there are areas to clean up, but yes, other teams had their own struggles yesterday. Plus, a W in our first road game is a plus. Better than our 2016 start!

    • Very banged up and without a bye week to help with recovery until the Pac-12 title game will make it a little more challenging, but nothing this team can’t handle.

  19. I can’t imagine any ucla Trolls stopping by today. What could they possibly say? Some of those pota*rds actually predicted a little gutty victory over STAN, their official decade-daddy. Yah!

    • I was going to comment earlier that I understand why they always come to this board during football season. I dropped in on the Inside UCLA board yesterday and the site was virtually dead. I started to feel down, but then Bryce Love scored on another long TD run last night and I cheered up instantly.

    • Of course if SC drops a game you know they’ll be back. Whatever happened to Charlie Bucket by the way?

      • I’ve always thought he became Roid Beefcake. They both always think they’re funny and they like to hit and run a lot. When they lose, which is so often, they run.

        Don’t worry. Roid will show. We’re his life.

    • Nice gutsy win over a very much-improved Cal team. As you know, Jack, I don’t troll, neither do I kiss a$$. I still think this SC team will lose at some point–just not enough depth once the injuries start making a dent mid-season, and not enough big-play makers. And Darnold has to snap out of this interception bug he’s got going on. Eventually one of those picks will cost SC a game. Good luck this Friday in The Palouse. Fortunately for SC the weather should be decent.

      • Bravo. If all Trolls were like you, we wouldn’t call them Trolls.

        Most of us SC people know, or at least highly suspect, USC is gonna lose soon. Frankly, I don’t think we’ll get past ND unless our team flips itself over and shows a different side. We’re sure not a PO team IMO despite our #5 ranking.

        All teams tend to play us pretty tough. We get a lot of best shots. But we also tend to make average opponents look very good.

        Sorry about you bruins. You’re in deep trouble with Mora, Bradley, et al, just not good enough.

        Thanks for the well wishes for our team. We’re gonna need them.

      • That’s one of the things that make Alabama so tough…depth. Keeps guys fresh during a grueling season and plenty of talent to plug in when a starter is lost to injury. SC could definitely use a little more of it.

      • That is about objective perspective as someone in a subjective position can be. Good points- mostly agree.

        On another note, you guys were on your way to a win but some momentum shifts cost you. After the blocked field goal, the wind came out of your sails and you guys never recovered. That game may have turned around Stanford’s season. I hope it hasn’t done the same- in the opposite direction- to you.

        • Thanks Arturo. Dropping a perfectly thrown TD pass was a killer, followed by a blocked fg attempt was the momentum killer. Theo Howard has a bright future, but he played terribly.

          • Forgot about the Howard drop- actually, didn’t see it. You put Rosen on UW, and they win it all. That dude has an arm.
            Good Luck the rest of the year until the finale.

          • How does you field goal kicker hit it so low it gets blocked up the middle from extra point range? That was bad fundamentals.

        • I disagree, I thought ucla was never going to win, but they were competitive up to a point. After that, the run game took over for Stanford and ucla can’t stop the run. That is why Stanford won and ucla lost.

      • Sc’s schedule will get easier in the next three weeks and that will give time for Sc to heal up.

    • Do you guys suspect that Scott Wolf has a nickname that he uses to post on this site? If so, it’s probably his CB Handle aka Bubba Scooter or something similar.

  20. Aside from occasional false start because of crowd noise, most players will tell you a hopped-up stadium doesn’t affect the game much, if at all. Makes it more exciting, perhaps. Might even pump-up the visiting team.

    BTW, Martin stadium will be just as rowdy and loud as any other place…with just 35k packing the stands.

    • Where would we be without your insight, troller? Surely you can’t be that stupid. There’s no way Cal hangs in there through the 3rd quarter if the game is played down here when the Coliseum is rocking. The home field advantage can be worth a touchdown or more.

  21. 4-0 vs 2-2 UCLA team ( who should actually be 1-3) .. I will take that all day long.. We have to realize this is a young team.. At some point the lightbulb will turn on and something special will happen.. SW lack of sharing or stating the team is short handed with injuries is a head scratcher.. Does he just not listen to Helton in the presser.. Im fine where we are now.. The test of maturity begins friday night.. Are we up for the task..I believe we are..

    Once this team is healthy, WATCH OUT!!!

          • Ok then. . I did tell Rents and 88 that Ucla was good for 3 wins.. They both responded that USC would be the’3′ win team due lack of depth…umm USC is 4-0 and the one trick ponies are 2-2, should be 1-3.

          • True.. Lol my typing skills are good…I respond from my phone mostly….but figured you understood what I meant above.

      • The lack of a running game for you guys is where all your troubles start. Pass a lot and the game gets longer= your D having to play more, they tire out. You then fall behind and Rosen has to pass more and the vicious cycle spins away. I feel bad for Rosen and think he’s exceptional. He just takes too many hits and might end up like the Bruin’s greatest pro player ( Beban is, of course, your best college player of all time)- Troy Aikman. Too many blows to the head.

        • I’m amending what I said above after a little research: the Bruins are actually averaging 4.8 ypc in rushing, which is an okay 45th in the nation (slightly better than SC at 4.7). The problem is not that UCLA can’t run the ball, it’s that they don’t run it enough–and are plagued by turnovers, penalties and a propensity to abandon the run early. That’s on Mora and Bradley.

    • It seems to me that gauging USC based on ucla’s games is a really stupid and desperate thing to do. But have fun, by all means….

  22. SW you start with a top-5 ranking question about USC and then you change course about playing in stadium environments???

    Right now, USC does not look like a top-5 program. And I think the coaches & players are aware of it. Hopefully hey are a work in progress trying to get experience in the defensive backfield and the O-line needs to man up in taking control of the line of scrimmage. The difference in execution between the 1st & 2nd string players is noticeable, so injuries are a factor on this team. I wish Tee Martin would stop calling constant runs up the middle that are not working right now.

    • I mean, really…other than Bama, who is a legit Top 5 team?! Last week proved it’s a total crap shoot at this point. Why OBSESS over it?

      Beat The COUGS!

      • Gee troller you ust have forgotten the returning champion Clemson Tigers. Your knoweldge of college football rivals Hillary’s.

  23. Recent history indicates that the main reason for the so-called SEC supremacy has been the lack of upsets and not venue. Kentucky for example, has losing streaks of 31 to Florida and 26 to Tennessee. The number one reason for upsets is having an opponent with decent QB play that can take advantage of the favorite having an off night. There has rarely been any decent QB play in the SEC.

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