Discuss The Game

Surprised at the not just missed tackles but misreads. Not a lot of pressure on the QB which was also interesting. Haven't seen that in the last three games.

The secondary was most certainly exposed tonight. This was the first time this season they were tested. As a result, the rest of the defense also had a sub-par performance. The report card for the defense is at best a C-...probably more like a D.

Even though the offense was sluggish, Booty played a pretty good game despite the piss-poor play calling by the coaching staff. Why did it take so long for the coaches to finally figure out that Steve Smith is by far the Trojans' best alternative to Jarrett? Smith has always ran the best routes and has always been reliable. Smith was rediscovered tonight! Perhaps Jarrett's injury was timely afterall. When Jarrett returns, the offense should be more potent than ever if Smith is included more in the game plan.

Bravo Steve Smith!

Everybody is going to rag on this win as us escaping or that it's a win that we "didn't deserve," but this is all that matters:

We got the W.

And also remember this:

Booty is 4-0 in career starts, which is something that neither Palmer or Leinart ever were.

worse win ever

this team will lose 3 games this year

CAL OREGON AND NORTE DAME

this is not a championship calibur team

I have a few points:

* Steve Smith was great and we put him in positions from the slot where Doba and his defensive coordinator just looked like they didn't know how to cover him. He really stepped up and is an amazing player.
* JDB looked comfortable with Steve
* For the fourth game we see that Kiffin does not trust Booty to throw the deep ball. Did that look anything like USC under Carroll when the ball was handed off to Chauncey on a 3rd and long where a first down ends the game? How little faith do you have to have in Booty not to throw it there?
* Our secondary got shown up
* Our d-line got shown up against a "patchwork" offensive line
* This is the same Washington St. team (nay, a worse Washington St. team if you look at the injuries) than the one that averaged less than 2 yards per carry against Baylor! Keep that in mind and tell me this wasn't a terrible defensive performance.
* This offensive line was supposed to suck, how the hell did Brink have all the time in the world?
* Don't judge a team based on one game. But the great defenses, the defenses which can singlehandedly carry teams to championships do not have games like this against BAD opponents.

Take the reins off Booty! He looked great.

Right side of O line is subpar

No pass rush which made the secondary have to cover longer than they should.

Turner made a good recovery with his catch later in the game to redeem himself for the fumble.

Chauncey runs hard

Gable is the answer at kick return. (What was Bradford thinking>)

First off I need to apologize because I was backing up Kiffin after last weeks game about how he will eventually open up the play book and get some confidence in Booty. I was wrong. Kiffin's play calling almost cost us the game. He could have easily put up 40 tonight, but was to conservative. And the three straight run plays to give Washington State a chance were lovely! And does anyone else feel love toward our punter Greg Woidneck for being able to handle that high snap and get the punt away with just over one minute left? That one snap could have derailed our whole season. But hey a win is a win and we are 4-0 no matter how you look at it. 8 more to go Trojans. FIGHT ON!

both offense and defense were subpart.
wsu totally exposed sc's secondary.
a bit disapointed.
thank you steve smith.
sc has me on pins and needles during the game.
they will probabaly loose to cal, notre dame, and maybe oregon.

wazzu's oline was supposed to suck with only one regular starter. everybody was saying that the sc d-line was going to have a field day.
on the contrary. our o-line sucked, there d-line looked great. our d-line gave no pressure, their o-line looked solid.

I don't blame the secondary. The D-line should have pressured the QB into mistakes. The only mistake now looks like the AP picking Lo-Jack as a pre season All-American. Can't wait for Sed to be back.

I wouldn't trust Kiffin to call for pizza, much less to finish off a game -- Norm Chow

Give WSU credit. They played the perfect game! First team to play SC with no turnovers (Hail Mary excluded.) Mixed run and pass well. Protected the QB well. AND THEY STILL LOST!

No other team will be able to do this! Fight On!

why all "the sky is falling comments", does everyone just want to be like scott? What about 49 out of 51 wins? We were behind plenty last year, and worse than tonight.Does everyone just expect us to pick up from last year without skipping a beat? Give these guys some time, they keep winning and they will keep winning, and it will look better as it goes along. The injuries? bad luck, you need good luck to go undefeated, lets see what happens when we catch a break on a bad call for a change, or when some of the injured return. All you whiners forget about hackett and smith? you will all be back on the bandwagon when we are beating ucla to a pulp to go 12-0, and we wont be playing ohio state either, first michigan will lose one and then they'll beat ohio state!

"First off I need to apologize because I was backing up Kiffin after last weeks game about how he will eventually open up the play book and get some confidence in Booty. I was wrong. Kiffin's play calling almost cost us the game. He could have easily put up 40 tonight, but was to conservative. And the three straight run plays to give Washington State a chance were lovely!"-Clint

Consider your apology accepted, Clint! I am glad you realize what my friend and I realized last week, and even probably two weeks ago against the Nebraska Huskers'. But definitely last week against UA, where my friend lost 5 bills. My boy noticed that the play-calling is too conservative and weak! Very unimaginative, predictable, repetitive, as well so uncharacteristic of teams under PC!

NEVER PUT MONEY ON A TEAM COACHED BY KIFFIN!!! (Lame Kiffin, that is!)

I forgot to state in my previous post that I am willing to accept an apology from Shine. That dude was harping on me and others for lambasting Lame Kiffin, that I hope he realizes that it is Kiffin, not the players, who are most at fault for poor offensive production!

I hated the conservative play calling, especially at the end when we couldn't get the game clinching first down by abandoning the pass prior to giving WSU thier last gasp chance.

I hated the total lack of defensive pressure as we gave Brink all day to operate back there. No sacks, no hurries, no pressure.

Watching USC football games used to be fun!! I felt like I was sitting there all grumpy and nervous...as though I was watching this game with a damn corn cob up my @$$. I'm certainly anxious for some major improvement both in opening up the offense and designing more pressure from the defense

Gillyking@yahoo.com

Most of the comments are right on:
1)Kiffin's play calling is deplorable, we are too predictable and if we don't open up the playbook soon, somebody will beat us.
2)JD played well, but he can play much better - he missed wide open receivers 3 times. I still think it was easer to catch Leinart's throws.
3)We need to be patient and hope we come out through these soft transitional periods with wins. I didn't enjoy the game, I worried about when we would show up. It never happened considering the talent we have.
4) I'm afraid it will take a loss for Carroll to realize that Kiffin is nowehere near the master mind that Chow is. Chow, even if available, wouldn't come back to SC because he was almost as big as PC and I don't think PC liked it...
5) Fight on, let's hope for the best.

USC looked like a 15th or 16th ranked team. And by the end of the season they just might be.

Lets see, my takes are:

1. 1st and foremost, (overall grade C-) I didn't like either side of the ball although I think that SC got a W and just take that and run, a lot of the top teams (except Ohio State) played miserable this week including AU who got dominated and hung on barely for the W, Florida looked bad for a long time, UGA by five against Ole Miss.. get the picture

2. Offense (grade C+) - not exactly impressive (we ran 23 stinking plays in the 1st half) but JDB is on the mark for any toss of 12 yards or less, Turner I just am not impressed, McFoy his injury was a loss in the 2nd 1/2, OL not bad but they didn't open any holes for the RB (Moodys run was what made the stats look good) and JDB was sacked a few times and had lots of pressure (why didnt we use roll outs even more?), RB's unimpressive in my opinion again save for Moody's run.

3. Defense (D+) - Flashback to 2005 giving up consistantly in the 20's, DB's getting used (thank goodness that PI's are only 15 yards), Front 7 seldom got close enough to Brink to even say hi, great goal line defense though (save for Thomas getting used on the corner pass), thought that Bumpus ate us alive when he had too, Hill beat Cary Harris easily but it was off hills finger tips basically we were lucky on that one, Boyd over the middle in the prevent for 26 was the problem at the end (last series) not us trying to run out the clock.

Special Teams (B+) - Punt team was pretty good, no complaints, Punt return ditto, Kickoff's were decent as well, Kickoff returns adequate well except for that one return on the second series in the 3rd quarter and CJ's run was great.

Turnovers (F) we lost the battle 2-1 and the one was on the hail mary. Turner WTF? JDB picked on a bad toss but it didn't matter with 15 ticks left in the half. How about that pathetic kick off return where we were lucky to get it back. However the SC D wasn't really close to one at any time.

Steve Smith (A+) - STUD

Officiating (F) - P10 officials blow - This is embarrassing for the P10. Where to start - a couple of those defensive PI's were horrendous calls, the holding call that was in SC's benefit that was overturned, the offensive PI on Johnson was horrendous..

Coaching (B-) - I might be the only one who thinks Kiffin called a decent game, not great but I'm not ripping him either, I don't disagree with the play calling at the end either running out the clock considering they had one timeout. The Boyd play on 3rd and a mile that netted them a 1st down to allow the hail mary was the defenses fault and if thats either incomplete or not a first down its game over. I thought we mixed it up well. I was disappointed in not going over the top more but I honestly don't think our line was letting JDB have the time, there were too many ugly shirts in the back field much too often. I was disappointed that we couldn't adjust at the half to slow down the WSU offense. I thought for sure that PC and the boys would shut them down in the 2nd half with adjustments and just by wearing them out.

Now SC needs to do a # on teams like UDub and ASU at home and at pathetic Oregon State. These guys really need to start clicking against the lower end P10 teams.

fight on!!!

Thank You John Redcorn for telling it like it is. I too can accept Clint's apology for now! A friend of mine lost a couple of bills on the UA game last week. The play calling is just killing us. Lame Kiffin could have easily hung 40 points on this shoddy pac ten team. Its was hard to enjoy this game because it easily should have been a rout. Its hard to fathom that Auburn could rout WSU a few weeks ago (and I think Auburn is overrated) and all we could do is keep the friggin game interesting.
Booty is doing OK despite the horrendous play calling. Poor guy could be awesome if Lame Kiffin would open things up a bit.
The only player I will harp on is Patrick Turner. This was his coming out party and he didn't show up!
My other concern is CAL and Oregon were watching and its a good thing we play them at home this year.
EARN YOUR PAYCHECK LAME KIFFIN!
Fight On Trojans!
Felipe

You nay sayers need to relax. "Oregon, Cal, and Notre Dame are going to win"......with that attitude why play the games? Oregon and Cal are great teams, and look at this, they are in the Pac 10, well I'll be ......the Pac 10 appears to be a little more balanced and stronger than the rest of the country wants to believe, and for the Irish, well their defense is questionable and that says enough. The Trojans will be well prepared for each game and I believe in this team, the Trojans will continue to win one week at a time. I am just glad the players don't have the same vision as the USC nay sayers have.

Did anyone else notice during the last minute of the game, the game clock did not start when the ball was set for play? This happend on three different plays. These mistakes gave WSU at least seven extra seconds at the end of the game. Why did this happen? WSU should never have had the chance for the hail mary pass. Come on Pac 10! Get your refs into the game.

1. As much as I dislike the predictability of Kiffin's game plan, I think that last series of plays were ok. They ran out the clock and timeouts from WSU. Of course, it took a fantastic catch and kick by the punter to make kiffin's conservative tactics work...

2. Usually, SC gets better in the 2nd half...not last night...

3. It didn't appear that JDB made the BEST choices in the game. I would have liked to see more endzone camera angles...

4. Ooops, it appears that Smith was found after a long absence (since the orange bowl). Could it be because Smith wasn't a Kiffin protege?

5. There was a time last night that I thought the defense went to sleep. It could be that I was reliving the Rosebowl...

Kudos to Steve Smith & JD for coming through. Hopefully, this game is our wakeup call. Every team needs close games like this to prepare them for the end of season. I did not get to watch the game on TV. However, I don't recall seeing a defensive sack on our statistics. What has happened to our pass rush? What's the old adage: "the best pass defense is a good pass rush"? Is it fair to blame it all on our DBs? The best way to throw off QB/WR timing is to hurry or whack the QB a few times. Did we do that? If we did, then shame on our DBs. If we didn't, shame on our front 7.

Three things seem clear to me:

1. this is a very talented, but immature team. why is everyone expecting a well-oiled machine out of this group 4 games into the season? why are people complaining about hard fought, albeit imperfect, WINS?

2. never underestimate the impact of a jacked-up opponent playing in their own packed house. combine over-the-top effort by the players with a motivated crowd and you often get a 2 TD swing.
SC wears a HUGE target on its backs...why does the team not get credit for winning 2 tough road games in a row?

3. i won't be surprised if this game is remembered as a turning point in the development of this young, patchwork team. my hunch is that we see much better performances going forward. however, i will be very surprised if this team wins out. Oregon looks especially tough...

A win is a win ... unless the pollsters say otherwise. Regardless, we should remember that we have a very young team here. And while a lot of "experts," including Pete Carroll, like to compare this team to 2003, let's not forget that team was 3-1 after four games, and looked nothing close to the team that beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl. We will improve and get better, and that includes the play calling.

I'm glad we came out of this thing on the winning side. When can I expect my kickback for my role in this victory? Fight On!

Steve Smith, thanks for this win!

JDB, that last 99 yrd drive proves it to me that you can do what ever the coaches call.

Yes, USC does need new O coaches. Holt is doing just fine with the D. Wish he had been there during the Rose Bowl. Might have stopped VY under his watch.

Oregon, Cal, and ND are all winable. Oregon beat a very lousy ASU D. Against a stronger USC D, I think USC will win the game.

Cal doesn't do well on the road against tight D's (remember Tenn). So I expect that USC will also win that one.

ND's D is so weak, that I expect JDB to have a Hesiman day.

Just in passing, I'd suggest that you never bet money on any NCAA team. For gambling, stick to the NFL. But that is why I like NCAA so much. You never know how a game is going to turn out.

FIGHT ON!

Gee whiz, I finish my morning coffee and read all of these gloomy comments about SC losing, I mean winning, yesterday. What would they be saying if our punter had not made the saving catch, and we probably would have lost?
I thought the game was by far the most entertaining of the year. I was at the Nebraska game and I was bored. Am I in a minority who loves close, exciting games, as long as SC wins?

This USC team simply sucks.

PH55 you finally saw a game with your eyes open. Right on with your assessment. LUCID. Changed my handle to Jay#42. Someone else named Jay responded..not I.
Fight ON!

Gillyking.....was that Redcorn you felt where the "sun don't shine"?

Drnoe "When Jarrett returns, the offense should be more potent than ever if Smith is included more in the game plan." and all the others giving #2 Steve Smith some love. This stud is my favorite player. Do we remember how he broke his leg catching a pass that saved us from sure defeat by Cal 2004. Of course(ph55) I know the goal line stand? Drnoe, thanks...Fight ON!

Can I join the "Fire Lane Kiffin" bandwagon? 3rd and 12 and you call a run up the middle, something that hasn't worked for 3+ quarters already? At one point in the broadcast, the announcer said something like "SC is mixing it up with runs on pass plays and passes on run plays". That's only useful if you don't do it on EVERY down!! My 80 year old grandmother could call a better game than Kiffin! I'd say Pete should be calling the WSU OC about next year. He seemed to have no trouble calling plays to move the ball downfield!

The D didn't do much to help the offense this week, which is what we still need to happen.

Let's hope that we've reached our turnover quota for the year already! I hope Pete has a clinic on protecting the ball scheduled for this week.

People come on. Are you faithfull Trojan fans are not? The team won. Get off their backs. They are not ever going to be the team that was last year. They are about winning and nothing else. They will be 12&0 when it comes time to pick the teams for the BCS. Show some love. They deserve it. It is not easy to play in a hostile environment where everyone hates you. Fight on Trojans. MIZIKEUSC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!