Measures Of Progress

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Clay Helton said winning the Pac-12 South and making the Pac-12 title game is a sign of the program improving on a year ago. But does that mean if USC finishes this season ranked lower than No. 3 (last season’s ranking) that it is a sign of regression?

225 thoughts on “Measures Of Progress”

  1. The rankings, literally, don’t mean anything. It’s just a number based on opinions. Nobody gets a million dollars for a high ranking or a raise because their ranking is higher than somebody elses. Winning the Division is a tangible achievement. Winning the conference– you get a cool trophy, you can see the progress. Set the Pac-12 championship trophy next to the Rose Bowl trophy in Helts trophy case, and then whatever bowl game trophy the runner up gets for whatever bowl SC ends up in, and that is progress.

    • Rah rah rah.

      Team was supposed to be in the CFP, they won’t, season is total regression

    • The rankings don’t mean anything? Really, Sandy? Last time I checked, the TOP 4 TEAMS WILL PLAY FOR THE FREAKIN’ NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! We WON’T be one of those teams….BUT WE WE’RE EXPECTED TO BE, OR IN THE HUNT! We finished #3 last year! Do you believe “progress” is finishing lower this year-which we positively will! Winning Ugly is unacceptable and will lead to NOT WINNING in future! This is a tried and true fact! TROJANS SHOULD BE GREAT, NOT GOOD!!!!

    • PROGRESS MEANS TO MOVE FORWARD! Sandy-we are talking about TROJAN football, not Minnesota Gophers or Northwestern….Stevie Wonder can see the completely erratic play of this team! NOT WELL COACHED-ATHLETES COME TO USC FOR TOP FLIGHT INSTRUCTION….IT AIN’T HAPPENING!

  2. Short of CH saying he is a fraud and is a terrible coach there is nothing and I mean NOTHING that CH can say that SW will not demean. It is in SW’s interest to foment turmoil & upset. In doing so he guarantees more hits for his blog and possibly for his newspaper reports. He is often “right” in his reporting but he is seldom thorough or even handed. If you placed the successes, failures, strengths and weaknesses, & professional reputations of SW & CH side by side we all know who would be the winner.

  3. Winning the Pac-12 South was a no brainer. Too many crappy teams in the South to not win the division. Helton should focus on the team’s lackluster performances each week during the past season. If he could say the team improved, and his coaching staff’s performance improved with each game, he might be credible. But he is not. Helton is the new Tollner/Hackett of USC football.

    • SW is a rankings outlier. He should know how subjective they are because he is wrong on so many teams.

  5. Gomer doesn’t get it , never will.

    You finished 2016 ranked #3, you started 2017 ranked #4, you lost to the only 2 ranked teams you played ( so far ), you were prison raped by your rival, you struggled all season against inferior opponents, your team has regressed, yet he thinks his team is improving, Gomer is an unqualified head coach and a moron to boot

  6. He uses a sliding scale. Every season is different. Who knew Miami would develop so soon or that Oklahoma would step up so strongly. Had USC not lost to ND, they would be in the discussion. Simple. Wolf, call it what you want, the rest of us are still pulling for USC.

      • What coach in his right mind would come to a school that just fired a guy that went 22-2 in his last 24 games?
        If he doesn’t win out, it might be different. Most don’t remember how PC ended up here, do you. Everybody says what a great job this is, yet we couldn’t find any takers, nobody they interviewed and there were top name coaches, turned us down. Fire a coach that goes 22-2 and see who comes.

  7. Helton is way in over his head at usc. He brought his brother in to get ready for another job. As you can see ucla got rid of Mora. Helton is next unless he somehow convinces swann to keep him. I was 10 ft from swann when the WE are SC chat went. Let’s just say this. Swann shook his head and said this guy gotta go. Not to mention usc royalty turning there backs on Helton. All I’m saying get ready for a ride cause the coaching situation gonna change. Please someone ask Helton where he plans on coaching next. My guess Florida. Swann please fire Helton get usc back to glory !!!

    • Pure Cr@p. Not one favorable comment concerning Coach Helton. Nothing but smear and condemnation of a man who took his Trojans to the 2017 Rose Bowl Game and BEAT a talented Penn State Team HIS FIRST YEAR AS A HEAD COACH AT TROY. if you are capable of rational thinking, I suggest you delete your entire post and either stay off the Bog or post something that stands the test of time. If Helton does not have a 5 year contract, I would give him one now, and if he wins out, I’d add another 5 years for him and a total of 4 years for his Staff.

      • You must have missed the last 12 games, which have been embarrassing. Outside of Uchenna and Budrovich, what player has performed above their ability? Cam? Maybe. McGrath? He’s a walk-on, so YES.

        RJII will likely surpass his goal of 1500 yards (1346 with 2 games to play). Is that excelling to get 5% past your goal?

        Who has been terrible? Jack-Jack, for sure. Houston stunk in the beginning, but he’s one of the few who have gotten better since game 1 (I mean game 8).

        400 yards and 21 points against THAT defense? Humiliating.

        Giving up 421 passing yards to a team with NO run game and only 2 receivers and a rarely-used TE (12 of his 19 receptions were in last 2 games)?

        • All the young receivers have improved and the injuries have been tough. I know all teams have injuries, but we have had more then our share, but pulled out 10 victories.

          • You’re right. Apologies to Tyler Vaughns. However, I expected him to have done this well and the rest to have done more.

            I expected
            Deontay to get 85-90
            Tyler 40-50
            Pittman and Mitchell 30-40 each
            Imatorbhebhe to get 30 as main TE
            Petite got his 20, but since Imatorbhebhe was out and he got the lion’s share of action, this is not so good.

            We also didn’t get much for 2 burnt redshirts.

        • Pure Cr@p. Not one compliment given to Coach Helton and Staff. A Head Coach who overcame a historical number of injuries, beginning with Game 3, who was able to finish the regular season 8-2, winning the Southern Division. HooHoo, even you can’t do better than that Division win. No one can. HooHoo, you are enjoying smearing a successful person. Where does that leave you ? Junkyard Dogs are constantly venomous. Ring a Bell ?

          • Compliments are earned as is scorn.

            If you have a problem with my response, address points specifically. Just because you can copy and paste doesn’t make your feeble retort the least bit valuable.

            You are welcome to enjoy watching great talent play like children (so long as they win most games), but I for one think watching such people flail is tragic, regardless of the outcome.

            We are irrelevant AGAIN, and we looked horrible getting there. USC should play for championships, not participation trophies.

            If your goal is to win more than you lose, then maybe you should go root for the bRuins. Here at USC it’s about National Championships and not getting our asps handed to us on national TV each year.

          • hoohoolian will be one of the reasons we return to rarified air-he completely understands that when you go to climb Mt. Everest, you don’t stop 50 ft. from the top and plant your flag there….WITH THE LEVEL OF TALENT IN OUR OWN BACKYARD, COMBINED WITH ABSOLUTELY STELLAR TROJAN TRADITION, WE SHOULD EXPECT TO BE WHERE ALABAMA IS EVERY DAMN YEAR-CHALLENGING FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP….PETE C. AGREES! Demand greatness, like hoohoolian does!

          • schammer47-are you the kind of dude who enjoys a nice tall glass of TAPWATER!?! Or a beautiful vacation in IRAQ?!? You’d probably prefer dating the “BEFORE” model, over the “AFTER” model! Would you rather drive a LAMBORGHINI or a 73′ FORD PINTO? STEAK or A GREASY PORK SANDWICH SERVED IN A DIRTY ASHTRAY? You’re trying to decide….aren’t you??? “WE ARE USC”, brother! DEMAND MORE THAN JUST “GOOD”!!! Trojan football is LEGENDARY and requires leadership worthy of our jaw-dropping history of rarified athletes!!! NOW GET DOWN AND GIVE ME TWENTY!!!

      • The teams they lost to says it all. If you really think they lost to quality teams your blind. Answer this name the number of years Helton has been a head coach? Tell me how many times Helton coaching has won a game? Also when you can recruit 4 and 5 star players then playing the weak pac 12 south. No games should be close. Usc 2 losses this year had an average class ranking of 25. Usc class has an average ranking of 7 in the country no answer me if he should have lost those 2 games. Also penn State really that rose bowl should have never been close. Penn State starting 22 this year average star ranking is 3.25 stars usc is 4.45 stars my thought way under achieved due to poor coaching

        • What about Washington last year? Came into their house and smacked the Huskies! Whooped them in every phase. The team improved throughout the year!

        • Not one of those playoff teams last year wanted to play Penn State or SC at the end of a the year!

        • Recruiting rankings don’t win football games, has anyone ever tolds you that. Your argument is very subjective and pointless….just saying

          • Your correct however recruiting ranking are based on players ready to play in college college ready players. My point was usc has more college ready players ready to play. Usc got out coached. It has nothing to do with injuries or the lack of a bye week. It has everything to do with coaching.

        • Outright lie. You’re just a blithering liar. Look up psu’s numbers and ours 4.46 means everyone is a five star except a few fours. Not the case at all.

      • Just ask these jokers who USC should go get and you’ll hear crickets. They don’t have an answer because every name they’ve thrown out the past 2 years Helton has either beat or their team has looked atrocious at times. Say what you want about CH, but he beat Herman, Peterson and Franklin head to head and didn’t lose by 30 to Iowa.

          • Neither does Meyer, Herman, Peterson or Franklin according to the Debbie downers on this site. So who’s your replacement? Every name I’ve heard we “should” have hired Helton has either beat or they are failing miserably (Sumlin). It’s easy and lazy to say fire Helton w nobody to lit forward as a replacement so who’s the next guy?

        • You can’t really believe this current Trojan team is WELL- COACHED! This team wins on sheer talent, big plays made by superior athletes! When the same lack of adjustments, sloppiness, mistakes, vanilla play calling, idiotic penalties occurs over and over again….that is deficient coaching, plain and simple! TROJAN FOOTBALL DESERVES BETTER! Picking head coaches can be a total crapshoot( I, and many others, were furious when Pete C. was announced as HC!) and it’s NOT OUR job to select the next HC! Swanney has to summon his considerable knowledge and intellect and make the very best choice he can! It will be a gamble, but to stick with inferior Clay and average, or below-average assistants is futile!!! Don’t you want to see a team that actually has an identity, consistently improves week to week, dominates teams we are superior to….PLAYS TO POTENTIAL!!! Our incredible athletes should be guided to maximize their talents-with coaches that are WORTHY! STOP SETTLING, BRENT! Fight On!

          • I think our talent gap/experience is greatly overstated. Who is so talented on our DL? Green is pretty good, Fatu was a last minute JC guy, Pili a true frosh, Rector a 2nd string soph, Nwosu a 3 star bright spot. Our OL we’ve missed on a couple guys in our 12-15 man classes a few years ago hoping they’d be dominant and they are just ok. Our younger guys are getting some valuable PT this year innslot duty that should pay off next year. WR we have some emerging stars. LB has been a disappointment except for Cam, but then again when we could only take 12-15 guys we had to pick and chose. Take another OL then you can’t offer the extra LB so when Houston tops out at 210 instead of 235 it becomes an issue. This isn’t a perfect science. If we need help anywhere it’s probably at DB and Strength. Our DBs have been a huge disappointment. Biggie is simply teeinke for the size he brings. For those who say move him to safety do you not see how many tackles he misses every game. That is a bigger issue then the PIs. Our biggest talent positive is at QB, by then again many in here refuse to recognize SD has not played very well this year. His TO have been a Hauge factor in our inability to our teams away and have put the D behind the 8 ball numerous times. I believe he leads FBS in fumbles and possibly total TO. For a guy who doesn’t run very much he has fumbled an awful lot. It is starting to impact his draft status.

          • Brent-nice comprehensive breakdown of problem areas-Biggie has been living on reputation for more than a minute and Houston is getting manhandled…My take on our overall talent level remains the same-I firmly believe, can see it with my own two eyes, that there is an overriding theme at work here that consists of numerous players not being coached up, not showing a high enough degree of improvement! I see the raw, athletic talent all over the field, and it shows in sporadic bursts(Pittman, Green, Carr, Jack Jones(if shown better technique-Coach Bradford ain’t getting it done!) Porter Gustin injury really hurts…No, this team has pieces to SPARKLE-but with absolutely NO identity yet established, completely predictable play calling( our 3rd down inefficiency has left me grinding my teeth down to chiclets size!) running game gets going strong-then we just abandon it completely?!? How about complete lack of killer instinct-time and time again, letting inferior teams back in game….horrible punt returns, until recently… Sam regressing, as you mentioned, staring down receivers and poor ball security….I am looking at our entire coaching staff and they receive a “D” grade for this season! Brent-I’ll give you a name right now for head coach-David Shaw! We all see what he’s done at Stanford, imagine him with our TALENT!!!

          • Shaw might as well be Gruden. Neither one of them is comif to SC although I’d takenShaw over Gruden any day. Actually I’d take CH over Gruden. I think the idea of Gruden is way better then what he’d actually do in CFB. I agree we have athletic talent but not always the right talent for the right spot. I also believe our injuries w/o a bye week have had a significant negative impact.

          • Right Brent-“chucky” Gruden( just love that nickname, and it fits when remembering Gruden’s facial expressions on sidelines!) is the “go to” name that is dropped when coaching vacancies occur, but is he really that great a HC? And for college? The no bye week with a ton of injuries, even some at practice, was brutal! Of course, the O-line especially not being able to sync up due to players coming and going. I am now of the belief that a team’s offensive front is THE most essential piece of the puzzle, aside from QB, of course! The Stanford game (pure bliss!) had me so jacked up, as Stanford has been the physical, ball control team that we used to be and watching them dominate line of scrimmage over the last 5 or 6 yrs. really filled me with envy, that used to be US! But that game had me, and many others, believing we had turned a corner, that we would now simply impose our will on opponents and turn our skill position players loose! It turned out to be a “set up” and I’ve been searching for THAT Trojan team ever since, hence my critical posts on this site. The widespread amount of injuries has to play a significant part, but hard to quantify just how much, every team deals with this. Damn sure miss Porter Gustin! And Stephen Carr coming out of backfield, was huge loss…he’s back but is he still hurt? Anyway, to win Pac12 title, hopefully vs. Wash. St. and finish in a top 6 Bowl game-pretty good season! Most programs would kill for success like that! Still, a very draining season and would like to see more consistent play and an identity firmly established. Yes, the assistant coaches should ALL be heavily scrutinized at seasons end, along with Clay! Happy Thanksgiving!

    • There is a reason I do not think you are for real. People in the position you claim to be in are usually pretty quiet about it, if not they don’t end up being in that position for long. You feeding your own ego on here, with us? I would have to say 99% of the guys on here are not impressed. So far all your predictions have been false.

  8. USC’s about dead even with last year. Good, not great team. Driven by a few outstanding players. Trojans could have easily lost to PSU in Rose Bowl last year and finished between 10-15. USC could finish strong now, win a Fiesta and get to about 5, as compared to 3/5 last year.

    I think Helton’s got the message about how fans feel about his sloppy, uneven, error-prone, but successful team. Now that ucla will be going forward with a better HC, expect Swann and CH to make some asst coach and approach changes that will help USC get to the POs.

    Nest step is watching who we sign in the early period beginning on Dec 20 for 3 days.

    • If USC can win out and finish 12-2, I believe they can attract some very good coaches, if they are looking to replace only assistant coaches.

      To play as sloppy, uneven,error-prone, but successful, as you noted, good coaches know that can be fixed and a solid PO contender can be built.

      My only issue is, if Helton is being led by Swann, then how much of a head coach is this guy? He should be able to see these things and know changes need to be made.

      • Gomer can’t attract good assistants. He wanted Robinson retained, Swann said nada, the new RB coach is an upgrade, you think Swann or Gomer got him ?

        • When Helton was hired, there wasn’t very many who were going to come and coach, with everything that was happening. You had Haden and the issues surrounding sark.

          The McCullough hire was definitely a good hire, but he did not turn it done because Helton was the coach. He was sold by someone and I can’t say who. I was not there. I can only speculate, but he is here and has done a good job.

          The same can be done with other coaches. If Swann is serious, it will be done.

      • Truth is Nikias (not Haden) hired a coach learning on the fly. Helton even describes himself publicly as not a finished product. Nikias just wanted some solid guy who would get USC away from the Kiffin/Sark years. Really. He wasn’t looking for greatness, that’s for sure.

        Swann wants CH to succeed and is trying to help him the best he can. I think Swann’s our hole card. He got experience with greatness CH can’t even dream of. Helton’s got at least through 2018 to prove he can take a hint, fix obvious problems, and the ucla game didn’t help him even though the Trojans won. If anything, the ucla game exposed Helton’s weaknesses. That’s a real benefit USC brings out of last Saturday.

        • sorry, but swann is just coddling helton until he fires him. swann doesnt want the end of year to be a wash-out. if you have to help a head coach, you are wasting your time. head coaches at top teams must already “get” it.

        • Nikias and Haden both hired Helton. The ultimate decision was Haden’s. When Chris Petersen came down to L.A. to be interviewed for the job, he already knew the problems that existed with Sark and Haden. He also knew the inner workings of the athletic department through Darryl Gross, the former USC Assistant Athletic director under Mike Garrett, who was Petersen’s wide receiver at UC Davis when Petersen was quarterback there and won the Division II National Championship. Petersen was already aware of Haden’s ego and when the two met, differences in style and philosophy were immediate. Haden wanted to retain some control over the team, and Petersen balked. At UW, Petersen was given full control, and had lesser talent when he arrived. He’s making the school into a winner again. Helton, on the other hand, has been a part of the program since 2010 under Kiffin and Sarkisian.Helton knew the problems with Sark and kept his mouth shut about those problems in order to retain his job. When Sark was found balled up in a corner, crying and drunk, Helton kept quiet and it was Jared Blank, Sark’s director of football operations, who took the heat from Haden, before Sark was ultimately fired. Helton is not the coach for the future of USC. He is a placeholder, and his time is up. There is no indication that CH is ready, or able, to win a National Championship for USC. I think Swann understands this. As quiet as Swann is, he is also a politician from Pennsylvania and he understands politics better than most. In time, Helton will be gone.

          • Sorry but Nikias, who had his own agenda and it wasn’t coaching excellence, hired Helton and he didn’t care what Haden thought. Haden, who was already mentally on the way out, took no part in the final decision process.

            Obviously, all of USC’s assts knew Sark had a drinking problem. You ever been around a drunk who wasn’t a closet housewife alky who wasn’t pegged as a problem by his friends or work associates?

            Who cares if Jared Blank took any heat. So, what? Irrelevant.

            Most people believe Helton is not the long term solution but what does that matter now? He’ll be here for the next year or two, so you may as well get used to it.

            Swann’s our hole card. Helton knows he’s got to perform better.

      • I respectively disagree. I think the uncertainty of Helton’s job, and him not being “Swann’s guy,” sends a message to potential top assistants. Don’t get me wrong, sloppy as it has been, I’m happy for 10-2, and the potential to win-out. I just don’t see top assistants drooling to come help Helton at USC.

        • Helton’s gonna have to use all his powers to bring in good people who value job security. We’ll see how adept he really is at using his position, which has some negatives, to his immediate advantage. I don’t see him being able to survive with no changes, especially since ucla has decided they can’t stand USC owing L.A. like we do.

          • I just see an uphill battle with Helton hiring top assistants. Again, cannot stress enough that I’m happy with 10-2, as sloppy and struggling as it’s been. Could be worse!

          • When Helton hired Deland it sure was a breath of fresh air, let’s see what happens then next 7 weeks.

          • JB, in all honesty, I really don’t see Helton as the long term solution for the proper head coach at SC who’ll take it to the level expected by us. In fact, I see him as a long term interim coach, who’ll barely make do for the team to put up decent records riding on the high talent level SC brand recruits. He’s a very nice guy and a decent coach, but I don’t think he’ll ever become a top flight, brilliant coach. It’s just not in his bones.

        • As Billy Joel would sing, “You may be right, I may be crazy.” We’ll just have to wait and see how the season ends and what happens afterwards.

          As much as I would like to see him succeed, I think a new staff is better. I think he is too nice of a gentleman for this type of gig.

          • Agreed on all points. Would like nothing better than for Helton to succeed. Just don’t think he’s our next Pete Carroll. “Nice guys finish last,” right?

            Side note: Love Billy Joel. Was one of my first concerts my parents took me to. The Storm Front tour. Because of my parents I know his older/classic stuff too. Billy Joel in my Top 15/10 for sure.

        • You need to be a top-tier head coach yourself to make top-tier assistants work under you. Real pros won’t mingle with amateurs.

        • agreed, because if helton stays another year, he will still have his head on the chopping block. assistant coaches dont want to come out here and then have the head coach fired and potentially lose their job as well. if something is not working it is the responsibility of the head coach.

    • I sure hope your right. This is starting to get frustrating. I keep asking myself “ how frustrated can you get with a 10-2 team”? It was just the way the team, including the staff performed.

      • It truly was a unique experience for a USC win over the little gutties. The game seemed so disjointed and penalty-ridden that I was just more glad it was over so we could chalk it up.

        I think there’s been a cumulative affect too. All year long this team has looked feeble sometimes. They’re draining to watch, even though 10-2. Same problems as early Sept. But we’ve won some great games in spectacular fashion and lost a big one in South Bend like never before.

        Just a crazy year for USC which is still very much undecided. Heck! We could have easily lost to downtrodden, pitiful ucla. That’s how bad things gave gotten, yet we could be playing for a Fiesta Bowl Big Six bid in two weeks. Strangest USC team I’ve ever seen.

          • We all come here for the input from other USC people. Otherwise, no reason! But SW is here to stay I’m afraid. We balance it out, no?

        • Exactly Jack! I come away from most games this year with a feeling of emptiness,our wins feel kind of hollow….I mean we ARE 10-2 but it feels like we’re 6-4 or 5-5! Then I feel guilty for not being grateful to be the fan of a 10-2 football team! This team is a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, surrounded by a thick fog! I think all this is due to “what could be” as compared to “what is” and the puzzling lack of forward progress, which can only be attributed to weaknesses within the coaching staff, as so many of us have pointed out! Clay’s comments about team are SO vanilla and 100% positive at ALL times, no matter how bad the team’s performance was….it’s hard to get a read on what he really believes. I get frustrated reading his “glass half-full and it’s my favorite beverage”! style of glossing over all the negatives and inefficiency that has become this team’s identity! DEMAND MORE FROM YOURSELF AND FROM THE TEAM, DAMMIT! I respect Clay and was “all in” at the start of this season, but just being honest, he simply hasn’t shown the ability to scheme, make adjustments, hold players to a certain level of accountability, motivate….AND YET WE ARE 10-2!?!? “Draining to watch” really sums it up! Jack B-you are correct, sir!

        • Most of our wins this season seemed like losses–looking back, I can’t remember a season like this one. So disappointing in reason and emotion, yet just looking at the W-L number, hey, we’re ten and two, pretty damn good! It’s like having a pocket full of hundred dollar bills, but you have bill collectors calling every day and your credit cards are maxed-out …. You feel rich, but you know you really are not.

    • In a hypothetical matchup between last year’s team and this team, Jack, I’ll take last year for personnel reasons. Adoree by himself makes last year’s team better. Now include JuJu, Darreus Rogers, a better Oline, Steve T better than Fatu, Hutchings better than Houston….need I say more?

      • Who recruited those guy they are not Helton guys they are sarks guys. Helton cant produce never has never will

      • True. We especially miss Adoree, who was worth so much to USC’s total team just because of his points scored, constant effort and leadership. JuJu was nails too in that Rose Bowl. We don’t win it without him.

          • Sark was a good asst and recruiter, who liked the bottle big and messing around on his wife a lot too, but he should have never been the USC HC. He was horrible at that. Thank God we don’t have Sark anymore. We’d be sunk with that walking expense account.

          • Sark could recruit. Great asst he was not ready to be a hc. Even with that he had more experience than Helton did on his own.

          • Helton was chosen by Nikias, strictly to cool down the Sark insanity.

            You forget Sark was hugely unpopular in Seattle when we took him off UW’s hands in a dose of Haden insanity. He had more experience, but 7-win Sark no more deserved the USC job than Helton. Sark was an immature alcoholic cad, who was never gonna hit it big as a HC. Helton’s already done better than Sark could ever dream. That’s a fact.

          • True sark was not ready to be a hc but answer me this Helton as a position coach who has he coached that has had success in college or nfl Answer no body. Now do sark. Now you see the picture

          • No. I don’t know why you are going on and on about that alcoholic Sark. Get over it. Nikias took the ball out of Haden’s hands and personally picked Helton. If you have a beef, take it up with Nikias. He’s not really all that astute.

            Helton’s a better HC than Sark will ever be. He’s had two 10-win seasons and maybe one 12-win. If he doesn’t fix some things, he’ll be gone after 2018 or 2019.

            In the meantime, USC is winning ugly, but winning. That’s the picture I see and I’ll take it for now.

          • See you can’t answer a simple question instead you try to knock down a guy with a vice. I’m not riding sarks jock. I simply ask a question sark was the worst hc hire for usc period. But at least as a position coach he can coach unlike Helton take from me or not but I have coached division 1 football and you have not. So my experience alone says Helton is not a hc.

          • I don’t care if you’ve coached Pop Warner, powder puff, flag or little tin men. I’m not impressed and couldn’t care less. Get over it.

            Helton’s doing the job now and he’s put together an excellent record at USC.

            What he did before doesn’t matter anymore. Just like your old days as a so-called “coach” don’t mean diddly squat to anyone with a brain.

          • Let me explain something to you. Coaches that can coach dont rely on daddy to get them a job. They go find there own path. As for my experience son I have enough experience coaching at 2 time national championship teams in college so what I saying has weight. So go do me a favor and ask any college football coach if Helton cab coach. They all will say he’s a nice guy period. Not a good or great coach. And to answer my question. Helton has never coached anybody that has success at college or nfl as a position coach. And trust me phone calls habe been made Helton will be gone this year

          • You never coached, least of all at a 2x nc team. Btw where are you from? Idiomatically, you speak as if you’re born and raised elsewhere. That would be truly novel as not many immigrants have coached a D-1 national champion. And you say you were also a player?

          • He’s another troll from left field. I’m glad you called him out, and questioned his background

          • Sure thing. Tell us where you coached. I coached the 3rd grade YMCA Spokane titans. We took 2nd. I wasn’t a great recruiter or motivator but really could dial up some awesome pressure on defense.

          • I don’t get it either. Atlanta looks like it’s gonna beat Seattle in Seattle. Of course the Seahawks have a lot of stars injured. But this is a big win for Sark as the OC against his old mentor, PC.

        • Adoree is on the shortlist of all-time great Trojan’s, we miss him dearly.

          Outside Of Reggie, can you name another hold-your-breath type of player. Everytime he had the ball in-space you just knew he had a chance to go all the way, and if you blinked you missed it

          • Maybe we’re not allowed to say it….but, yeah, there was another such Trojan. His name was O.J. Simpson.

          • Ha! I’m glad I didn’t say Jon Arnett then, Gabby!
            (Check him out on YouTube —it’s worth it).

          • I started playing football the day AFTER watching Jon, as an L. A. Ram, run all over the field against the Bears at the Coliseum.
            Baseball just never seemed as exciting to me again after watching that game with my Dad.
            Jon was the most elegant, athletic runner I’ve ever seen.

          • Curtis, my man. As a grade schooler, he would walk home dodging falling leaves, working on his game

          • I remember in the 1992 game against the ruins they kicked in out of bounds rather than give him a chance to return the kicks.

          • I love that story! Guess what? O. J. would kind of glide and weave between students blocking his way on the sidewalk to philosophy class at Mudd Hall. He’d slip through the crowd without ever touching anybody.

          • I played catch with Coach Hackett’s son before some game up at Cal and he said something like, “R. Jay would be one of the greats if he weren’t such a head case.”

          • So athletic, during his last long jump meet, all of his competitors were 6+ inch taller, longer, than him and he beat most of them. Scottie didn’t think he would go in the first round smdh

        • Adoree is a class act. Put his hand out to his opponent after every tackle. All these knuckleheads in the field over celebrating stopping a 12 yard run and there is Adoree acting with class on the field, a man amongst boys. His, in-stride hurdle of ND on his kick off return is a top two SC athletic highlight in 25 years.

      • I agree with you. Adoree is having a good NFL season, but JuJu is having a better one.

        Here is a few of JuJu’s records.

        — 1st player in NFL history to score four touchdowns before his 21st birthday

        — Youngest player in league history to record at least 150 receiving yards in a single game

        — Longest touchdown reception in franchise history

        • But Adoree was still a better college player. He came to USC a much more mature kid and was as versatile and exciting a USC player as I ever saw. Adoree, who could also play hurt like JuJu, is one of my top 5 USC players of all-time. I may have him over-ranked, but his 1000 watt smile gives him the edge.

      • ….and Sam was better last year. More instinctive, and more confident. Surprisingly, you can see him suffering through first quarter jitters this year. Maybe now that the duel with Rosen is over, he can relax and play good ball over the next two games.

    • Did you see the David Shaw quote after passing Pop W.?
      Something like he remembers every win.Every loss that all fans jumped off the band wagon.Yet through it all the team stuck together.
      Same with Helton.10-2, mostly nerve wrecking wins.Mostly just players believing in Clay. Looking at Ohio st.,Penn st.,and so forth.Really how many elite HC coaches are there?
      I believe we are advancing as a program.Just too much hype at season start,compared to where we were as a team.
      To improve,yes we need to make coaching changes.Get a brilliant OL coach.DB coach,OC ? .I think Swann knows what is needed. Clay stays for now.

      • You mentioned the coach I’d like to see come over….David Shaw! Shaw+USC Talent=POWERHOUSE!

    • wrong. the issue is clay. nice guy, not a good coach. dealing with a bunch of primadonna teenagers requires a guy who doesnt need to be a friend. or nice.

  9. Pendergast plays a defense that has the secondary up close to the LOS in order to stop the run. If you are going to do that you need some great lock down corners. SC has done a poor job recruiting these corners in recent years even though there has been a lot of them right here in socal. They have let those corners get away. I don’t know what the problem is there. Maybe that secondary coach (Ronnie Bradford) is just not a very good recruiter. But if you’re going to play that type of defense, you must bring in those lock down corners. Otherwise, you end up stopping the run and getting killed by the pass.

    • Wasn’t Biggie the #1 CB recruit two yrs ago? Same with Jack Jones before last season, like #2. This February I hope they get at least one of Surtain Jr/Taylor Stuart. Also, O Griffin has a good chance of flipping now that Mora’s gone

      • Prep rankings mean nothing much of the time. How many great QBs have signed with USC only to be beat out by lesser signees and be forced to transfer?

        Recruiting ranking are just a rough guideline. Everyone can see JJ and Grabby have a great amount of difficulty with man-on-man. That was never mentioned in their prep bios to be sure.

        • They both actually were, especially Marshall due to his size jamming the best WR prospects and running them off course . The thing is his ball and coverage skills have regressed since he was a freshman, I remember he could cover better than Adoree who was a year ahead.
          The only thing you can really do is stockpile blue chip CBs and get a good pass rush, aka Bama & OSU blueprint. SC seems to get one top flight corner every year (except this seasons class) and hope he’s their savior for 3 seasons. They need to be signing 2-3 every year like they do WRs and let the best win the job. Neither Marshall nor Jones have been pushed at all. Langley is only playing because one of em got hurt.

          • The problem is technique and coach or lack there of. Clancy is not the problem, the problem lies with the corner and nickel play. Adoree was a once in a decade talent and had one of the most impressive recovery times I have ever seen. Adoree’ technique was subpair at best. Ucla’s corners had better man coverage skills. Biggie needs to be moved to safety as he doesn’t have the speed and the fluid hips to play man down after down. JJ (aka “two steps”) needs to be disciplined and be taugh press coverage correctly. His ability to squeeze and not lose inside leverage and trail when the WR running down the seam is killing him down.

          • So, are you saying that Bradford, despite playing four years at CU as a CB, 10 years in the NFL as a DB and coaching 7 years in the NFL and 4 in college before SC, doesn’t know what you are talking about.

            I don’t like Bradford, but you truly believe Bradford, with all that experience, doesn’t know how to teach press coverage, right?

          • Proof is in the pudding. The corners consistently display piss poor technique on the field. Bradfords teaching is not transferring on the field.

          • It doesn’t take a genius to figure out press coverage. Anybody can learn it. Grabby lacks the athletic talent for CB and always has, so he’s always holding. That’s obvious. He actually misses a lot of tackles as well.

            JJ needs a new head on those shoulders of his. Coaches can’t cover for him on the field and he should learn to shut up and adjust to his receivers better or he’ll have to keep hiding from the press after games like he did after ucla.

          • No, of course he knows how to play the game. And Bradford definitely knows much more than I ever will about coach and playing defense. The Proof is in the pudding when it comes to my criticism. Bradford’s teaching is not translating on the field. The corners are not getting it and their poor technique is being consistently displayed. I don’t know why and something needs to change. The coach needs to find out how to connect with the kids or find a different coach. After all the coaches are in the results business. And Bradford is currently not getting the desired results needed for the Trojans to become a national contender.

          • I’m good with Bradford getting shown the door. The buck stops there. But Grabby would flat out get beat out at many other schools based on his lack of talent and ridiculously over-inflated prep ranking. He’d be better off gaining 15-20 pounds and playing linebacker. USC should be faulted for letting him play where he insists – CB. Problem is, our backups are weak too.

            JJ’s a head case who needs to gain some humility and savvy, which shouldn’t be difficult since ucla obviously correctly targeted him as a weak cover guy from the get-go and then exploited him all game long. With more experience, he can be better than Grabby if he works harder, but he’ll never hold the jockstrap of real talents like Adoree Jackson, regardless of his coach.

            USC should be putting both in schemes where their man-to-man skills can be replaced with other combinations.

            USC really needs to better evaluate prep corners from a pure talent standpoint. USC received a lot of brownie points for both Grabby and JJ, Poly promo recruits who would both have trouble starting at ucla or some other elite programs.

      • Biggie and Jones were both 5 star recruits. But that’s only 2 players and remember, Biggie is not a corner. He’s a safety. That’s where he’ll be playing in the pros and that’s where he should be playing now. So that means that they have only really brought in one great corner in the last several years. In Pendergast’s defense, the secondary is usually up close to the LOS to help stop the run game. The corners are playing man to man on these receivers. In that situation you need some real lock down corners. They’re just not bringing these kinds to SC out of high school.

  10. Boy, really trying to split hairs here, Scottie. Make a stronger argument – I know you’ve got it in that snarky brain of yours.

    • I love that Trump wishes he had let your little gutties wallow in jail. That’s priceless.

      You little gutties really responded well to that tonight against Creighton. Time to let the Three Thieves back on the court. Maybe once Guerrero decides who the ringleader bruin criminal is, we’ll see some movement.

  12. There really isnt a trophy for winning the Pac12 south is there? Lets see. Right now lime one team other than USC has a winning record? This year isnt a progression. One of the losses last year was to Alabama

      • He’s confused, as always. A pure bred little gutty pretending to be a Trojan on a Trojan board. Creating word jumbles is the least of his problems.

  13. USC needs to fire Ronnie Bradford. USC has talent at the CB position. Marshall and Jones were both 5-star recruits. Tell, Ross and Hawkins were each highly recruited 4-stars. The problem remains the same -USC coaches aren’t very demanding of the players. There hasn’t been a single praise about the way USC practices in almost a decade by anyone. You know does? Alabama. They get praised all the time for the way they prepare.

    If a Freshman player threw a hissy fit on the sideline after being called for a Personal Foul, how do you think Saban would of responded?? Of course, that’s a trick question because that would never happen on Saban’s sideline to begin with.

    • JJ and Grabby never deserved the 5-stars in the first place. Not even close. The real question was did they even deserve 4-stars?

      Neither are that physically gifted. Fast but just average CFB athletes. Adoree Jackson seemed to take to the USC coaching just fine. It also helps that he had much better hips, quickness and instincts than JJ and Grabby who just can’t play the CB position like the false 5-stars would lead you to believe.

      • Just as a cover corner Adoree despite All World talent was just average. He really lacked basic coaching. But if there was a ball up for grabs, or returns, or WR or anything that had to do with his talent he was amazing. SC has serious coaching issues with it’s secondary and maybe its LB despite talent. But I like Clancy’s overall schemes.

        • I don’t like Bradford, but nobody would be able to coach either JJ or Grabby up to Adoree’s stature. He was far better in coverage than those two and I saw it dozens of times.

        • Lol I in no way desire to be a hc. I enjoy my roll in life at this point in time it could change next year

        • I’m getting mine ready. I coached the 88 dodgers, the 96 bulls, and the 1980 us hockey team. I also sprinkled in a cup of coffee as the QB coach for the 99-2001 rams. Last but not least, a brief stint coaching the chicos bail bonds bears. We took 2nd but it was a gritty performance.

  14. The power of SC. I mean if SC had just blown out a team or two along the way, they’d be trying to put us in the playoffs. We play in the PAC 12 which is less competitive than the MAC, but everyone, including TV loves SC because we’re a name. Gomer is wasting what should have been an era of playoff contention. If the PAC 12 ever gets its act together just a tiny bit and Gomer is still around Lord help us.

  15. I am a sucker, I admit. I read all the comments except Cortez The Loser and a few other SUCLA and negative idiots on this blog that fortunately I cannot recall their “names.”

    But this is my assessment of the SC football regular season:
    Bravo, brave boys. You did “good.’
    Yes, you were predicted to be “Final-4” caliber but you did the best you could with the “cards that you were dealt.”
    You had a lot of injuries that held you back, but still you managed to win the games you were favored, 10, and only lost the games that you were an underdog i.e. Washington St and ND.
    What a dramatic year– probably the best “entertainment value” year of all time– I mean, Western Michigan, Texas, Utah, SUCLA etc etc. Every game a nailbiter, and yet SC came on top 10 out of 12 times.
    Improvement– The defense did bend but did not break. The SUCLA game is a case in point. Yes, they got about 500 yards, but over 400 of that was through the air. So SUCLA’s run game was not too successful, but on occasion caused some problems. But SUCLA got stuffed in the red zone. As our boy Cameron Smith said, “We really stepped up in the red zone.” And did they ever, only giving up 23 points, and 6 of those points were a last minute heave with the SC victory securely in hand at 28-17. SUCLA’s last minute prayer only made the score more respectful, but SC won the game convincingly on the scoreboard.
    Gaad– do I despite most SC “fans?” No, I am sure their families love them, but I will say this, their exaggerated expectancy of the team’s success, and their full-blown criticism of the team’s results on the field, only fuel the idea that they are the product of an overly negative, overly cynical, overly non-spiritual society.

    That said, here is a prayer that you will change, for your own good, and that you will give a couple of prayers for your loved ones, lost and still living, and that you will remember on this Thanksgiving that God, however you interpret this great Spirit, is the source of all of our miracles, wonderment, and great expectations in this life on earth, and hopefully beyond.

    • You think they did the best they could?

      You must think they’re all 2-stars and our opponents were packed with 5-stars coached by HOFers.

      Did you even see a single play by Jack Jones? If this was their best, then we need 60 new players for next season.

    • I feel sorry for the athletes that believed the promise of great coaching and development…it isn’t there…as long as they are happy with the education it was worth it…getting stomped by ND but beating nobody Pac12 is not what they bought into…they turned down great coaching at other schools in top 10…SC isn’t .

    • John-in this far too negative existence we are currently dwelling in, I appreciate your positivity and good spirit! I think there are different types of Trojan fans, some who just want to see the team win….period. Then there are those, like myself, who are looking at the total performance, looking at each and every play call, seeing how and why we are committing penalties, judging special teams, O-line holding their blocks, secondary and blown coverages, are players in positions that best utilize their talents, does team have an identity, etc. etc. I want so badly for our players to achieve maximum success, to play with great spirit and discipline! When any kid comes to USC to play football-he becomes a big part of my world. I probably go too far with my passion for Trojan football, but I just feel damn proud to be a tiny part of a tremendous tradition of outstanding football! Pete C. is partly to blame with that amazing run, my house is FILLED Trojan material, taking up so much space, I have to sleep in the garage! Ha! Now, 10-2 is a real nice record and I feel pretty good about it. That said, the games have been filled with erratic play and uninspiring play calling( ran it right up the gut….AGAIN!) and the team has not gotten better through the year! I don’t see strong halftime adjustments as well. These are ALL related to coaching and in no way am I criticizing the players, I know what a well coached team looks like, and this just ain’t it! I am looking to the future of this program and I am more than a little concerned that we will UNDERACHIEVE with Clay and our current assistant coaches going forward! Trojan football is worthy of top-shelf coaches, nothing less! Fight On!

  16. When lendale calls usc player out by saying he not impressed it will have weight. He also not the only one doing it either. I believe swann has tried to help Helton but Helton had no business being a head coach at usc he is unproven. Look when an AD takes over a program they bring in there own coaches unless the guys there are doing great. Usc is 10-2 because of the talent not coaching and everybody sees it. The only way Helton wins a national title is getting a job at alabama it won’t happen at usc. Let me ask you guys this. Tell me the reason adoree and juju left for the NFL? Cause I know why and swann now knows

  17. Anybody answer this how many guys has Helton coach as a position coach that has gone on to the nfl and been good maybe great. Name them by name? During his whole career

    • When you’re green as a HC, and the training wheels are still on, I would expect zero….I’m I right?

      • It’s as a position coach which he was for over 10 years. Your answer is correct it’s zero. As a hc you really cab take credit because your limited to one on one coaching with players

    • You can’t name a single position coach that does this. Nobody produces good maybe great players consistently in the NFL. Not one. It’s a dumb question.

  19. MEASURES OF PROGRESS?
    In 2016, UCLA had 211 yards passing
    In 2017, UCLA had 421 yards passing

    In 2016, USC had 260 yards rushing
    In 2017, USC had 153 yards rushing (against a much worse defense)

    In 2016, USC was 12-21 on 3rd down conversions
    In 2017, USC was 2-10 on 3rd down conversions

    In 2016, USC HAD 43:47 in time of possession
    In 2017, USC had 29:42 in time of possession

    In 2016, UCLA had 266 total yards
    In 2017, UCLA had 501 total yards

    In 2016, UCLA had 6.1 yards per pass
    In 2017, UCLA had 9.4 yards per pass

    In 2016, UCLA had 10 first downs
    In 2017, UCLA had 28 first downs

    • In 2016, USC earned 0 frequent flyer miles playing UGLY
      In 2017, USC earned 0 frequent flyer miles playing UGLY

      So there is one category where we didn’t regress…

    • 2016 no rosen
      2017 rosen
      Maybe that has something to do with some of those numbers?

      Think harder.

      • rosen play defense too? think harder…SC is not better ,south division is worse,and ucla was worse , not rosen ,but they are worse

        • Did I say they were better?
          Yale, I’d like to thank you for your military service and being a first responder as you had mentioned to me before.
          He had a number of stats directly related to the ruin offensive performance. Perhaps you deny that a first round qb makes a difference over who we played against last year. But most reasonable people I think see it.
          There are many ways to go through life, denying others a voice is usually reserved for the most liberals among us.
          So yea, think harder.

          • SC offense was not up to par ,against a poor run defense, so my comment about rosen since your comment the difference was rosen was did he play defense too…get that??? yes he made a difference on offense obviously….maybe we should ignore each other in the future

          • Again Yale I get many things, especially the obvious. Most of the post I replied to was based on our defensive results not offensive. You get that???

          • no…your post says rosen and no rosen but the post you are commenting on has all stats…so what you really meant , was ‘concerning the offense by ucla only… and rosen the difference…but you didn’t…which is why I stated, I didn’t know he played defense too…if you had preceeded your rosen remark with offense only I would have no comment…everybody knew he was going to rip the SC 2ndary, but most thought SC running game would dominate in 1st downs, time of possession…and SC would score 42 points or more…sorry I did not understand your remark was ucla offense only for 2016 and 2017

          • Seriously Yale, we’re talking about a person who some describe as the first pick in the nfl draft this spring, the no.1 qb in college football.
            Did I really need to clarify that he doesn’t play on defense! I know the Iowa St. qb who beat Oklahoma played middle linebacker that game, but rosen? Really?

      • ….that is completely untrue and shows absolutely no foresight moving forward, Pete! A team must show continual progress or sooner or later, a few of those “too close for comfort” games we barely squeaked victories out of will end up being losses in the future! The WAY you win games has a helluva lot to do with team’s confidence level! 10-2 is a fine record, but I’ve gotta believe that except for the Stanford game(where is THAT Trojan team?) there are WAY more questions than answers concerning this puzzling season?!? That said, let’s win the Pac12 and play in a top 6 bowl game! Fight On!

          • Yes, to win! But, don’t you have an entirely different feeling after winning decisively against inferior opponents as compared to barely surviving against teams with FAR less talent( just about everyone we played!) and causing cardiac arrest to Trojan nation? Read all the comments on here-the vast majority see the same sloppy, poorly schemed, predictable play calling, lack of progress for most players….The UCLA game encapsulates everything about the season…..yes, we won, but did it really satisfy you? WE AVERAGED LESS THAN 4 FREAKIN’ YARDS A CARRY AGAINST ONE OF THE WORST RUN DEFENSES IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY! WE COMPLETELY BLEW MANY COVERAGES ALLOWING ROSEN TO PASS TOM BRADY AS THE GREATEST QB OF ALL TIME! MIND-NUMBING PENALTIES, AGAIN AND AGAIN! 3RD DOWN CONVERSIONS?-I’M ALL FOR IT! We are USC and that means a certain level of excellence, Pete, and unless we make changes with this current coaching staff, you can forget about going 10-2 next year, or EVER playing in a National Championship Game-guaranteed!

          • First of all theirs nothing guaranteed in life. There might be some staff changes but not the HC. Last year SC was 9-3. We had 85 players on scholarships. First time since the sanctions were imposed on the program. SC won the Rose Bowl game. This season, 10-2 record. The Trojans have a chance to win the PAC. And we continue to recruit well. We won’t make any changes to the HC because no one that’s good that will come. Why would they. This is the 4th HC SC has had since PC left. We are going to have Helton for awhile. He’s stabilized the program. He hasn’t lost the locker room because the players respect him. As long as he keeps Winning the South and the PAC more times than not he’s not going anywhere. Unless he chooses to. Now is there going to be some changes to the staff? Possibly. I dont know. The biggest thing for me has been the the way the lack development of the 2nd and 3rd units. Also, I think the play calling has been suspect as to recognizing what the other teams defense is doing. Texas and UCLA was going to stop the run no matter what. So you start throwing ball. Sounds easy right. Only thing in the Texas game Sam only felt comfortable throwing to Burnett. He didn’t developed a trust with they other receivers yet. There wasn’t too much Tee Martin could have done. The other things like lettting Arizona and Colorado back in the game tells me a lack of concintration and or lack of discipline. There seems to be a certain amount of stubbornness on the staff to go away from their being a run first team. But I think CH is learning. I would think in their Monday meetings Swann tells him how he thinks the teams is progressing . I’m sure CH is taking heed. I wanted a coaching change. But it was pointed out to me, for obvious reasons this would not be good at this time. They were right. Time will only tell.
            To quote a famous coach: Winning Isn’t Everything. It’s The Only Thing.

          • I certainly feel funny about continually harping on a 10-2 team, pretty damn successful and if we win the Pac12 (Tough to beat a good team twice in a year, although that Stanford victory was a thing of beauty as we physically dominated like Trojan teams of old!) I will celebrate with gusto! Yeah, Pete, I really do like Clay as a person of high morals and integrity…..just a rock-solid dude, no doubt! I was singing his praises after the awesome consecutive victories we put together last year, after that “shit the bed” start! Definitely takes character to keep team together after that disastrous beginning to last year! I feel going forward that in order for Clay to have any chance of bringing us to the promised land, he will absolutely need to surround himself with experienced, top-flight asst. coaches that will do most of the heavy lifting. Don’t think Clay is an “x’s and o’s” type of coach. Yes, with regards to going away from ground game….completely mind boggling why that’s occurred! Especially when that was the identity we were supposedly looking for!?!? RoJo in space is a first down waiting to happen-powerful and still lightning fast! He’ll play on Sunday’s! I want to see us hire an O-line coach that won’t settle for anything less than utter domination for the vast majority of snaps, and I know we can recruit better in this area. Totally agree that the depth of this team is suffering due to players not being coached up and prepared as well as possible-it’s all too clear that practices aren’t producing results that will show up in game. Finally, would make the entire season for me to beat Stanford and to do so in a way that leaves ALL of us Trojan fans feeling damn skippy about the future! Good points, Pete!

          • Thxs for your comments. I know how you feel. I felt the same way, especially after the WMU. Three defense game plans left me befuddled. Anyway, I felt it was time I get behind the team again. Thxs for your again.

  20. I don’t know Clay Helton, I’ve never met him but what I see is a mentor type coach. Much of the Saturday Helton looks like the poster child for the new positive behavior intervention strategy. PBIS is all the rage in education, but too much positive can be negative. The kids in school know the only punishment is reflection aka FreeTime.
    Positive behavior management might work on the surface for USC, but below the surface it might be harmful. Kiffin wasn’t passionate enough, Orgeron was too passionate. Sark was too lost in his own world to be effective. Helton is trying be the middle ground coach. He needs to turn up the discipline and be a coach not just a mentor. If he doesn’t know how to do that, he needs to do the positive thing and move into motivational speaking. I am happy we won 10 games but we did so in spite of father knows best.
    Again I know and haven’t met him, but perception is control of this team is not in the hands of the coaches.

  21. It would be true if south division was also much stronger, and had better records vs opponents, but it is the weaker division still.Pac 12 over all is weaker also.Maybe get a boost if Stanford beats ND. Also I think a coach should do most of his teaching, disciplining during the week and preparing for game time, not during the game, it is mostly too late by theN, they either cqan out block and tackle or not. The game plan ,should already have adjustments planned,and have been practiced. At this point of the season ,these athletes are not really unlearned freshmen and neither are the other side of the line.

  22. Clay Helton thinks USC made progress, because his standards for success is having a record above .500

  23. Ed Orgeron was smart enough to know, he had to surround himself with top coordinators in order for him to keep his job in a tough SEC conference, and he’s enjoying a little success. Clay Helton choose to hire friends, and family, and the results are glaring . The talent on the Trojans roster, is being wasted, because Helton has no direction, and two coordinators, who probably couldn’t get jobs as coordinators for another division I team .

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