USC Morning Buzz: Another Victory But Questions Persist

Here is my column from the game on how USC won but the same problems do not get corrected.

Excerpt: The Trojans flirt with disaster on a weekly basis, but Helton always reassures the faithful by citing the “wonderful men” he coaches. Meanwhile, fans are on edge as they see the Trojans’ College Football Playoff hopes dangle with each anemic performance.

“We would like to have less close games,” USC quarterback Sam Darnold said.

Darnold fumbled against Utah. Darnold threw touchdown passes against the Utes. These are the plays that suck up the oxygen during games. But they should not mask the deficiencies that get less attention.

Wolf: USC escapes with another dramatic finish but questions persist

136 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Another Victory But Questions Persist

  1. My condolences to all Trojan fans. I was not aware you were suffering through a winless season with little hope for success. Good luck next year.

    • AD … After Darnold
      will he even get a Utah St type job , just soft and clueless
      Utes even baited him into using last TO before 2pt play … but then Utes , over thought it and took qb out of shot gun and behind center !

  2. At this point of the season, the strengths and weaknesses of the team and the coaching staff are very clear. Still, Trojans are 6-1, and this past weekend shows that other highly ranked teams have their own limitations. Washington laid an egg and is no. 12. Wazzu somehow is no. 18. Lots of parity this year. If team is disciplined and smart, and the O-line performs like it did in second half against Utes, then Trojans look good against Irish.

    • O line performed no differently than they did the 1st half. The Utah defense all of a sudden backed off on stopping the run, basically because Sam came out and was the old Sam, hitting passes while off balance or on his heels throwing downfield instead of to the sidelines. We had open receivers on every play because USC exposed how suspect the Utah DB’s are. The linebackers had to play honest, backing up, and then the running lanes were opened.

  3. Sam cannot continue to pull out games each week for this poorly coached team … or can he ! has done it for 2 years now

      • I thought Sunday was a day of worship for you……..we need a break, take the rest of the week off….thanks

        • Halloween is his day of rest, Gabby. We have to wait a bit to get our break from Cortez “The Killer.”

          • I never rest, I’ll be here everyday to keep pointing out how bad this staff is and how without Darnold they would be 2-5

          • There’s a difference between not being perfect all the time (that’s life, Cortez) and being Bad.
            #Yes,IKnowYou’llNeverRest

  4. So Jones thinks he’s the best DB in college football eh. Look at the picture of the 2 point conversion, he’s covering NO ONE, his man is wide open

  5. Another nightmare game for SW. USC wins another classic game at the Coliseum against a very tough UTAH team. I slept well. Sunday morning’s been fantastic so far and USC is back in the top 10!

      • That’s how you roll. Not some big secret around here.

        My SC friends and I are all laughing our arses off about yet another USC win where we were nails when it counted. Goux would have been proud.

        • Lol, the midget QB missed a WIDE OPEN wr or Gomer loses, he is the luckiest coach in college football.

          Nice to see you back on the Gomer bandwagon

          • Wrong. Williams never even looked at or tried to throw to Carrington. He didn’t miss anybody. He had no idea where Carrington was and didn’t until after the play was over.

            Unfortunately for him, he committed himself to running way too early and USC’s team speed nailed him. Nothing lucky about that. USC just refused to let another Vince Young moment happen and that’s why we won.

            Too bad USC won another big game. Eat your heart out. Too bad for you. Too good for me.

          • Did he throw the ball ? No. So, he missed a wide open receiver but not seeing him wide open. If he does throw it, Gomer loses.

            Don’t be a JO Jackie

          • I feel your pain! Not really.

            What’s it like to be so upset when USC wins a close one? You should write a book about it with all the experience you have. Hah, hah, hah. I’m sure it’ll be a best seller.

            I promise I’ll buy. Please let me know when it’s coming out. Now get to work while your pain is still fresh!

          • I saw the Cardiac Kids, they had a real coach, this is Darnold saving Gomer’s behind

          • I saw the Cardiac Kids too in person and was at the ucla game where we got a gift PI call on bruin Danny Graham and were saved when Sam Dickerson was given a TD on a questionable corner of the end zone TD.

            Darnold’s WRs were nails last night and saved him from a weirdly uneven performance where he was constantly fumbling the ball. Darnold didn’t save SC last night. It was his supporting cast that came to his rescue, which is why some of his poorly thrown balls were turned into receptions by our WRs – who had a great game.

            Darnold stunk to high heaven in the first half and if it wasn’t for him, USC wouldn’t have been in such trouble in the first place.

          • If you had the 3 Stooges coaching you and calling your plays you would suffer as well

          • Hang in there buddy, Things will get better for you some day. But I’m not sure when – so were I you, I’d try watching the Poseidon Adventure and The Towering inferno over and over until your nightmare ends! May the force be with you…

          • Get a life.

            I never said Helton was great ever because he’s not. You’re deluded. Try to stay on topic without switching off to the ridiculous in order to salvage your point in your mind.

            You’re getting a little boring here. Bye bye.

          • How come I miss Darnold saving us every week. I saw Vaughns bail out Sam with a crazy 1 handed catch. I saw our defense rally to keep us close as Sam kept turning the ball over. I saw a coaching staff motivate a team to come from behind to win. But I never saw Sam bail us out. A few good plays but certainly not a one man effort.

          • You change the channel? Blackout from drinking? Watch your wife eating the woman next door?

          • Agreed, it was not a one man show. But without Sam this team is nothing special. QB is the most important position on the field. If you have a top level QB your chance of victory rises exponentially. Ask a FL fan if the QB is important.

          • Swann seemed pretty pointed in both the Daily n3ws as wells as the (imes about how we should be undefeated.

          • Look how well Clemson was playing until they lost their qb. A good qb does make a difference.

          • Every championship caliber team has a QB that can perform, but that does not discount the play of the other 10 on the field. A bad passing game cannot open the run, especially when there are 8 in the box on defense. Everyone thinks the run opens the pass, the truth is that they work together, and it keeps a defense honest and on its heels.

          • He never threw the ball, how was it a miss?

            You are just like wolf, looking for any angle to voice negative comments. If the product is junk quit watching it.

            Just a pathetic old man who lives down in the basement with no friends

          • He throws statements out there like facts and when you confront him with the facts he fakes it like his girlfriend..

      • The big glaring deficiencies were the play of Darnold, the O line, and the DB’s. Darnold found himself and dropped all the techniques they imposed on him, he didn’t even fumble 2nd half. As SD got in his groove, the defense had to honor the pass, and bingo, the O line play got holes open. The DB’s are half fixed as Jones proved himself, but the other side with Marshall is a work in progress. So what is Wolf talking about here actually? He is hanging on to what he thinks are issues, when in reality, that 2nd half team was championship caliber. Clancy needs to figure out the nickel is not what we need in close games at the end.

    • Hey Jack, don’t know how many I can take like that, that first half was as wicked as I’ve seen. And the turnaround after halftime, wow! This season has been as fun as any I can remember, not dominating but exciting for sure. Can’t wait for them irish.

      F’ the domers! Fight On!

      • We have a psycho team on our hands with some major weaknesses, but we keep on winning ugly and you’ve got to love these Trojans for that. Troopers for sure.

        The entire college football season has just been crazy so far, so I guess we fit right in. We just look bizarre EVERY week.

        As long as we can run the ball, I’m happy and last night we ran it like the glory days of old. If we can run the ball like that against ND, we win. If not, I say no. ND WILL run on us IMO.

        I don’t think we are a PO team and if I were a USC opponent, I would throw at “Grabby” Marshall every single play. He is so beatable, I just can’t believe he is the best we have. But he apparently is – just further evidence of our outright limitations.

        Good to see some of our other players bail out Darnold! In the end, he came through, but not w/o a lot of help. We’re becoming a real team that is not just all about Darnold. Good for us! Coaches deserve some credit for that even though USC looks bleak half the time it’s on the field.

        A truly shocking CFB weekend. Don’t you love it!

        • Biggie is in good position most of the time, he just can’t locate the ball well. I think Lockett would have beat him out if healthy. Ykilli Ross, Isaiah Langley, I guess those guys are just nickel backs. Maybe a little more zone defense?

          • Grabby’s best skill is holding onto a WR’s jersey. He gets an A for that. I’m not sure why the coaches don’t tell him the next time he’s caught doing it, he’ll be benched for a few series. That’s what I would do.

  6. As I’ve said before, the great Charlie Chaplain commented, “always make the audience suffer a little bit before you give them the happy ending.”
    Ladies and gentleman, I present your 2017 Trojans.

  7. It’s much more fun to break a team’s heart by handing them a hard fought, tough loss late in the game. Those are the best victories and the kind that haunt teams for years. USC owed UTAH after last year. That skeleton is officially out of our closet now and it’s UTAH that has to live with this loss until they get another crack at us.

    Fight On Baby! Beat the Irish!

  8. For the A.P. to put Oklahoma State [with their total joke schedule] ahead of USC is actually pretty funny. They only played one good team and got creamed —while we creamed Stanford.

    • The BIAS is way to obvious. I think they will all be humbled when the playoff standings come out, it will be much different. Even Miami does not deserve to be up there.

    • There will be a concerted effort by espn to keep us and the pac 12 out of the playoffs and include 2 teams from either the sec or acc, which are both their affiliates.

      • The biggest joke is that the only two people on the selection committee with ties to the Pac 12 are from northern Pac 12 schools (including Ty Willingham) who hate USC.

        • Ty is not a big fan in any case. Was fired several times. espn has been against us for weeks now, tantamount to conditioning the public opinion against us.

          • When all is said and done, no one can hurt us if we take care of business and win out. I know that’s easier said than done —-but that’s the way it is, my friend.

  9. Once again SW is wet blanket. By the way Darnold, while we are glad he is our guy, is THE reason we struggle. As he goes, so does the offense Go figure.

    Fight On!!!!

  10. i here lots of poeple talk abuot transgender logic with colege foot ball, but like what teechers all ways say to me, ed dont go in the bath room with jack b cuz the lassed time he tuoched a womyn is when he was a lone in the trans gender bath room,

  11. Since ESPN/ABC does not have the broadcast of next week’s USC vs. notre dame (NBC) college game day is going to State College-PA for the PA St. vs. MI game – same start time for both 4:30 pm PDT.

    • Game Day is working to be politically correct instead of going where the action is. James Madison????? espn is such a clown network.

      • Well NBC isn’t going to let that one game get snatched this year by ABC/ESPN – aside from MI @ PA St. there is nothing really enticing assuming there are no more upsets.

        The USC vs ‘the princess’ is the best game out there with a 7:30 pm start time EDT

  12. Except for the 2ndary I was pleased to see progress. I am glad 2ndary can tackle after the receptions. We must lead the nation in pass interference/holding calls for a 2ndary.Read option has fumbles especially when rarely used.I think this game vs a very good team gets them ready for an excellent ND team…

    • They should be ready for ND, but I don’t think ND is excellent, they are blessed with a very suspect schedule, kind of like Miami.

  13. We hired a HC that is learning on the job. There were other established coaches out there who had a resume of winning but PH wanted CH. Therefore, I think that we should give him a chance. Sometimes these coaches do learn and become great coaches. We just can’t be hiring a new coach every 2 years. It’s not as if he has a team that looks like the keystone cops out there. He has won 15 out of his last 16 games. If his contract is for 5 years, they should give him the full 5 years unless extenuating circumstances make it necessary to go in another direction.

Comments are closed.