Discuss The Debacle

Oh please.

Scott, don't you know there's no crying in college football?

I left the Coliseum at halftime. Watching the Trojans last two weeks is just painful. No emotion, no effort, dropped passes, batted balls, constant pressure, turnovers, penalties... All the talent in the world and Stanford, STANFORD, is giving SC problems. I listened to Carroll on the radio after halftime, his voice was gone. I wouldn't want to be in that locker room later, especially offensive players. Save Fred Davis (even he fumbled) they don't deserve this game.

Thank you Scott.

I just turned the game off. I am tired of seeing a mess on the field. It's not even a entertaining football game to watch.

This team is a gigantic mess. I am sorry no one on this site is going to convince me they are #1, or even a good football team.

We are talking about Stanford here, basically a I-AA team, AT HOME and we could very well lose.

One thing I always rip on ND fans for is that they are so delusional and won't face reality.

WE ARE DOING THE SAME THING HERE FOLKS

LSU is losing but we won't be #1 IF we win and they lose after this performance.

It's the same every game since Leinart/Bush left. They come out with their scripted plays in the first quarter and blow people away. After that, the entire team falls apart.

INT's

WR's who are clueless or don't run correct routes

penalties-we have had a penalty on every punt so far

no running game- The Stanford D-line is controlling this game

Stupid plays/decisions by JDB...Sanchez needs to start next week

predictable play calling

I could go on and on...I wouldn't even put this team in the top 10 or maybe even 25

They will lose to Oregon Cal UCLA and hell maybe even Notre Dame and whoever they play in the Diamond walnut bowl

have fun I am going to watch Florida-LSU

It's deflating to know that Stanford is super-crappy and we are making their defense look like a national championship team.

Toast!!
Could not happen to a more deserving team - my trojans deserved every loss of this season, starting tonight.
JDB - the worst qb in the conference.
And some fans on this board said we would reach 60pts. - sorry dudes, this is not the year - maybe next year

Play calling and offensive line...were totally miserable...

I will regurgitate my observations from earlier this week about Booty. He is so bad-d-d-d-d .....

Let's be honest: Booty is terribly inconsistent. He'll make a great throw on one play, then miss horribly on the next throw. He does not seem to have great touch on the deep ball. He isn't particularly impressive at finding secondary receivers. He has been pretty durable though, and seems to be a leader. But he can't move around in the pocket and avoid pressure very well; his footspeed is below average for a QB. And he constantly has passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, which I'm sure the NFL scouts have written in red ink in their notebooks. Has anybody forgotten the end of the UCLA game last season? He's just an above-average quarterback. Still, he's a Trojan and he's our quarterback. I'm sure he's doing the best he can, but please don't tell us it wasn't that bad last week. It was not good.

Booty was BAD against Washington State. He was outright HORRIBLE against Stanford. This was not just a quarterback having an "off" day. This was a QB who seemed lost at times and not too bright at others.

Can we now finally get somebody else in there this week? If Sanchez or somebody else (I don't care who) had gotten some playing time earlier this season, maybe they could have shifted gears this week and given Booty a couple of series off to clear his head. But since USC never got another QB prepared, this was not an option today.

The Stanford quarterback - a sophomore making his first career start - was head and shoulders better than Booty. Earlier this week I asked how long the leash was for Booty - now I hope he is in the doghouse, and another passer gets to try his hand.

Today's game was an absolute joke.

Sark, pitiful play-calling!

carol cant coach ... should have gone -4- 2 pts. booty needs the shotgun, if booty starts next game the program wont recover!

carol cant coach ... should have gone -4- 2 pts. booty needs the shotgun, if booty starts next game the program wont recover!

I guess I was a bit off on my score prediction. I suppose I overestimated our ability to:
1. call offensive plays
2. execute offensively
3. catch the football (offense and defense)
4. create turnovers
5. pressure the quarterback
6. kick extra points
7. play fast
8. play with intensity
9. control the line of scrimmage
10. win games

Look at it this way, at least we haven't lost to Cal, yet. So we still have a shot at the Rose Bowl.

I hate to jump on the bandwagon....but JDB just doesn't seem to have the "magic" touch that a #1 team needs to win. A change would be nice to shake some things up. Stanford beat us!!!
The offense just seems to be out of sync. What can they do besides changing Quarterbacks???

that's just wrong.
booty needs a week off. sanchez needs some looks with the 1st team.
our coaches got out coached.

SC needs to work rojo at cb and get joe mac going as wr/rb.

Well, 4 losses is doable. Cal and Oregon for sure, and UCLA and ASU represent an opportunity for an additional loss.
The party's over!!!
We need a REAL qb!!!

p.s. play calling was ok....execution just sucked.Are these guys sleepwalking or what.

Dear Coach Carroll

BOOTY IS NOT THE QUARTERBACK YOU THINK HE IS! 4 INTS against a crappy Stanford defense. PlEASE BENCH HIM AND PUT IN SANCHEZ.

P.S. Jim Harbough has been playing you like a fiddle since he was hired at Stanford.

I think I saw our first play out of the shotgun...but can someone tell me why Booty was taking snap under center from our 40 with 40 seconds left?

someone else touched upon this but booty has ZERO mobility. it's an absolute joke watching him scramble, roll out, or try to evade a pass rush.

Couple things,

This loss isnt on JDB. How many dropped passes, blown blocks, etc. QBs can only do so much when the people around them aren't doing their jobs. Even the great Sam Baker gave up a big sack (and Im not jumping on Baker, I do think he is great, but even he had some problems).

I agree, the playcalling always seems to be the wrong play at the wrong time. However, dropped passes kill drives as we saw tonight no matter how good or bad the playcalling.

We need to ride our running game. Booty and the WRs have terrible chemistry. They never seem to be on the same page (leading to turnovers). When we ran the ball, we rule as we have seen this season.

We need to recruit more effective defensive backs. We saw tonight that even against the weakest of passing games, we are bad. McCurtis (sp check) looked lost on that 4th down touchdown, swing his head around as we lost the game.

I cannot begin to discuss my disappointment in this squad. The team does not seem to play with much passion, just cheap adrenline (a la the personal fouls). The offense has seemed stagnant for the past two seasons and I can only hope this loss will shake them into realizing that they need to fight each week to win.

Couple things,

This loss isnt on JDB. How many dropped passes, blown blocks, etc. QBs can only do so much when the people around them aren't doing their jobs. Even the great Sam Baker gave up a big sack (and Im not jumping on Baker, I do think he is great, but even he had some problems).

I agree, the playcalling always seems to be the wrong play at the wrong time. However, dropped passes kill drives as we saw tonight no matter how good or bad the playcalling.

We need to ride our running game. Booty and the WRs have terrible chemistry. They never seem to be on the same page (leading to turnovers). When we ran the ball, we rule as we have seen this season.

We need to recruit more effective defensive backs. We saw tonight that even against the weakest of passing games, we are bad. McCurtis (sp check) looked lost on that 4th down touchdown, swing his head around as we lost the game.

I cannot begin to discuss my disappointment in this squad. The team does not seem to play with much passion, just cheap adrenline (a la the personal fouls). The offense has seemed stagnant for the past two seasons and I can only hope this loss will shake them into realizing that they need to fight each week to win.

I think the Booty debate is over. Bring in Sanchez, bring in MacDonald, bring in Sister Mary Ignatious, anybody has to be better than JDB.

Oh by the way Sark, what was with all the running plays off right guard after last week's injuries? Couldn't bust anything off left tackle just to keep it interesting?

Why did Matt Leinart call on his quarterback consultant his senior year? coaching
Why does Booty not improve? coaching
Why does Sanchez keep throwing picks in practice? coaching
Why doesn't the team execute? coaching
Why did a team that used to gather momentum during games now collapse in the second half the last two years? coaching
Why does overwhelmingly superior defensive talent not get sacks or turnovers? coaching
Why does superior talent consistently give up long third down conversions? coaching
Why haven't they recruited more corner backs? (top teams usually load up on them) coaching
Why are there so many personal fouls? coaching

There are a bunch of rah-rah coaches and things have not been the same since Orgeron and Chow left. Matt Leinart was a coach on the field his senior year, so the cracks were not as gaping until the following year.

Where are you Norm Chow when we need you most. Or for that matter, where are you Lane Kiffin!
Sark sucks!!!
Bring on Aaron Corp!

We're just flat out not as good as well all thought. Injuries have hurt, the play calling is pedestrian and execution is poor. People are making the wrong reads (at least two of those Booty picks were helped along by receivers). We look like an average team with a lot of untapped talent.

Reminds me of the Paul Hackett days.

Booty's had his chances and failed, a season and a half is enough. It's time to bring in #6, Vincent Chase.

I find it interesting that a bunch of names that have never appeared in these comment sections show up to pile it on after a loss.

That being said, while I have been a Booty supporter throughout the thick and thin of the last two seasons, I lost confidence in him tonight. The loss wasn't entirely his fault, but he certainly is the most visible target for our blame and he made his share of mistakes.

I won't go so far as to say that "Carroll can't coach" but I did find that 4th down play where they ran Chauncey Washington right up the gut after doing the same on 3rd and short highly questionable. If I'm not mistaken, it even came after a time out.

Turner and Hazelton both had key drops. Fred Davis, despite his monster game, had a horrible fumble. Mozique McCurtis was a pedestrian on the field while "defending" the winning touchdown pass. There were plenty of penalties. And what happened to Joe McKnight's breakout game?

To be more concise, the Trojans laid a giant turd today. I can't imagine that there won't be a public human sacrifice this week, whether it's in the coaching staff or the starting lineup.

What'll make it even worse is if Stanford goes 0-for-the-rest-of-the-season (like Fresno did). So Cal football really took a step backwards tonight. Domers beat fucla (7 turnovers) with 140 yds total offense.

It is understood that our O-line is desimated, the receivers dropped passes, and the running game and passing game suffered as a result, but this is Stanford! I can understand the argument that Booty had no protection and his receivers let him down, but it is glaring clear that Booty is not a leader. He does not inspire the masses. He does not inspire his team. He is the leader of this team, so despite the performance of the other components - O-line, receiving corp, coaching - isn't a leader supposed possess the ability to take a team on his back and win games? If he can't do it against what was a lowly UCLA team last year, and a surely lowlier team in Stanford, how will he ever muster it against legitimate opponents? Ever heared of the "it" factor? He doesn't have it! I don't know if Sanchez can do better because I've heard his performance in practice has not been inspiring, but when I seen him come in in mop up duty against Oregan last hear, he seemed to possess that "it" factor. The willingnes to shoulder the load of the team was evident when he ran it in for a TD, pushing two defenders into the end zone for it. Also, he's definitely more mobile and can throw on the run from what I seen on highlight video of him in high school, laying in feather type passes to receivers while scrambling. He looks more prototypical. He looks like he carries himself with more confidence. It certainly could not be any worse, and if it doesn't work out, at least it will light a fire under Booty's, well, booty! Pardon the pun. Come on Caesar! Make it happen.

I think everyone else has done a very good job of describing Booty’s performance and his ability to lead this team. All I will say is that I am in complete agreement. I was one of the fans booing him tonight hoping that it would wake him up. Seems like Pete Carroll was trying to recreate the heroics of Matt Leinart against ASU, when he won the team over and really became the leader we needed. No such luck tonight.

I personally don’t think that we will ever be truly dominant again until we get a coordinator in the mold of Norm Chow. Since his departure, our offense has been on a downhill slide to say the least. If plays are like recipes, Norm Chow was a chef, Lane and Sark are short order cooks. Norm knew how to improvise, put players in favorable match-ups. Sark and Lane, for that matter, only know hoe to regurgitate what they see written in a scripted playbook. No creativity whatsoever.

With all the talk of Pete possibly leaving, the coach I would nominate for a replacement? Jim Harbaugh. He’s the type of coach kids want to play for, has NFL ties, and is offensively creative. Maybe that’s why he ran his mouth about Pete leaving? Perhaps setting the stage? Just a thought. All I know is his team played their hearts out for him tonight and our guys looked like they believed all the hype. Had the defense played offense, we may have had a better chance. From what I hear Stanford is thinking of changing its mascot to the “Fighting Harbaughs”.

At least the pressure is off. I think we should all prepare for a 4 loss season if Booty stays under center.

Many of these comments mirror what's on Chicago Bears boards. Same problems. QB, injuries, penalties, receivers with drops, defense that can't get stops when needed, and a coaching staff that seems to live in a different universe.

I miss you Dwayne Jarrett / Steve Smith!

I have never missed these guys more. They could catch balls that sustain drives, resulting in scores. Patrick Turner, where are those hands!?!? Instead of catching a ball and launching you body sideways, pretend like you have coordination to evade a hit once. How many times do we see him make a catch, then he jumps awkwardly at the DB?

JDB...lacks emotion, fire and mobility that seems drilling us on so many drives.

Btw, the soft coverage to keep allowing Stanford's 3rd down conversions were ridiculous, reminded me of so many of those 90s teams that got smoked. Where is our defensive blitz packages that would throw so many teams outta synch...ala 2004 Rose Bowl etc. Bumbed out fan....pains me to see them lose with so many glaring mistakes! One consolation, UCLA losing to Clausen...who, btw, fires up his team on the sidline when facing adversity.

I was thinking people were being too hard on JDB, but I just watched the clip of his lockerroom interview on ESPN. He was smiling as he talked about 'putting it behind us'. I almost threw something at my tv.

#@#$*&! That tells me all I need to know about him vs. Leinart, Palmer, etc...

Caesar may be the root of the problem! He wants to run the show-accept the glory AND the defeat

Isn't it time to start picketing Howard Jones field for Booty's head? The guy is clueless as a leader. At times he reminds me of Eli Manning. Some lead by example, that's fine, but for goodness sake, at some point you have to demand performance from your teammates. Is this what we've come to. I though UCLA was an abberation, but it's becoming commonplace and we were to lose to Arizona next week, we could be looking at a 5-5 season. Geesh!

13-9, biatches! (see, I did not use profanity just now!)

Oh wait, should it be 24-23? LMAO! Worst loss EVER in college football history-based on the point spread prior to the game (40.5) Previous was Syracuse and Louisville at 37.5 pts.

Good news though, ladies.

JDB broke his finger...BUT he probably broke his finger after the game to use it as an excuse for his crappy play. LOL!

Anyways, my friend was at the Mission Viejo game and saw Mark Sanchez there. He talked to Sanchez who said "Yea, I'm probably starting this weekend."

So if this means the Sanchez era is beginning because Booty sucks, or because Booty broke his finger (undoubtedly AFTER the game) to use as an excuse, well, get ready to see Sanchez.

As a So Cal. native, I am more scared to face Sanchez than Booty. You all better hope that Booty stays injured or Carroll gets his head out of his ass and sticks with Sanchez over Booty.

If not....well....you know the story and outcome. A result like 13-9!

13-9 LADIES! HAHAHAHA!!

Scott,

it is about time that the truth about SC come out. Pete carrol is a good maybe very good coach but he is overhyped. Since CHow left with the exception of Leinhart last year (Chow taught) SCs offense has been poor. last year they couldnt run the ball, this year they cant throw it. SUre Carrol will say "new receivers." let me remind all that chow developed freshman Williams, Jarrett, Smith. How much has Turner developed? what about Hazelton? the only guy who is productive consistently is Davis (Chow instructed). I have said it many times. Pete Carrol will rue the day he ran Chow out of town. I see this program being a good program, but they will not win another national championship. THe CHOW OFFENSE (i know that statement drove Carrol nuts) was surgical. what happend today would never have happend under DR. NORM!

I am a strong believer that if there is a better player for a position, you should play him. But there is no better QB on the USC team this year than Booty. This is not open for debate. Sanchez cannot even come close to Booty.

What's the point of starting Sanchez over Booty if it's not an improvement? What does it tell you about how awful Sanchez is when Booty breaks his finger during a game, the coaches know he's broken his finger, yet they still will not bring Sanchez in?

With Booty at QB, USC lost 24-23. With Sanchez, Stanford would have won in a blowout.

Sanchez cannot read defenses, throws one interception after another during practices, often to walk ons, fumbles all the time, and has no accuracy in his throws. Each time he throws a ball, it is either overthrown or very underthrown.

So what's the point of making a change if the other player is not as good? None.

There is a better QB at USC than Booty, but he is not even eligible to play this year. Mustain will be one of the great USC QBs, but for this year, Booty is all we've got. All the crying and screaming in the world will not change that.

Fight on!

Hi, my name is John David Booty... I'm from the South... are you from the South too...? That's great because down south we don't teach the fundamentals like good throwing mechanics or proper footwork and apparently, they don't teach those things at USC either. That's why I like overthrowing my receivers or placing the ball so high that they can't catch it... I have happy feet... I can't quite seem to get them settled when I'm thinking of all those lovely SC cheerleaders I'm gonna see after the game or the my steady diet of alligator guts... Yep... Love those... But, anyway, I'm sure you've seen my favorite receiver, Patrick Turner... Isn't he great...? Even when I put the ball right in his hands, he can't quite seem to catch it... Remember that play in the first quarter where he was wide open...? Then when he does catch it, he usually fumbles it a bit later... Yep... I'll tell ya, we might have problems, but we're going to be great once I get my happy happy happy feet calmed down... Anyway... Have to go have my daily diet of baby alligator legs... I'm from the South... Are you from the South too?

mttel21

ABSOLUTELY LUCID!!!!!

We have to look on the bright side of all this turmoil. The fact is we play better in practice then we do in the games. In practice no one is assured of a playing position so the object is to hit hard, put the other guy out for the weekend game, and a secure a spot for yourself on the starting eleven. And to prove we practice hard our injured list is three times the norm in college football. So competition is the word on our practice field. The games are a time to relax. See. you worked hard now it's time to play and relax till Mondays practice and we start the week all over again. I'm going to walk on this week. With practice injuries down to fourth string I'm sure to get a starting position in the next game and get some real R & R.

Hard to overcome 5 turnovers in a game. Missed xtra point. Missed 1yd TD run at the half. Execution is everything. And they're not executing on offense. Funny how Carroll preaches competition, except at QB. Not sure the hesitancy to go w/ Sanchez. I couldn't imagine he'd do any worse than JDB right now. He's been given every opportunity to be the guy, but can't quite seem to keep mistakes down on a consistent basis. I say give Sanchez the opportunity vs AZ this week to see what he can do. And JMarnier, can't believe you wouldn't want to see anyone over JDB at this point. Everyone that's seen Sanchez says he has better physical tools than any QB at SC the past few years except C Palmer. Booty can't deliver on his supposed strength, executing the offense. With his finger broken its the perfect excuse to see what Sanchez has.........

Most of us can see the real problem (and its not really JDB)--->Sark is a decent coach, but lets be honest-Since Chow has left I can draw on a sheet of paper about every offensive set we will run on almost every possession. We are so predictable, it seems we have no other options to go to, its FD or PT on a bootleg or hit the fullback in the flat-Since our O-line is banged up we cant seem to open a hole for a 2nd grader to squeeze through. It must be nice being an opposing Def coordinator knowing that you only need to prepare your team for about 6/7 different looks on offense since thats all Sark seems to call. Is Garrett sending gift baskets (a la The Office last week) to Norm Chows office on a weekly basis to convince him to come back to LA>?!
Putting Sanchez in might not improve much from JDB. (2 INTs in 10 attempts!***) The main problem isnt just JDB, its the timing and route running between the QB and the WR's. They never seem to be in sync except for fred davis. For my 2.5 cents, its time we prepare and play maybe a bit more CREATIVELY--use the talent we have better, maximize those 1 on 1 situations we get and stop running the quick swing pass that Turner drops half the time anyway.
Last night was so upsetting to see such a talent-laden team look so terrible against what has been a horrible stanford team so far. Maybe now the team wont believe that no matter what, the ghosts of Lofa, Troy, Shaun/Mike, Matt/Reggie arent coming out of the tunnel to save them.

TheVoice

is loud and clear

^
Yeah that.

This team has been unwatchable all year. It's like that ad on TV, "Now what?"

1. We want more passion !
2. The offense needs more rhythm !!!
3. Booty needs to get taller so the trajectory on his passes improve and improve his on-field leadership
4. Run the bad down the throats of these weaker teams !!!
5. Lets use this anger to fuel greatest run in USC History !!!

I'm tired of all this Geux Tigers crap - SC had the French thing first...GOUX TROJANS !!!

Fight on Trojans !

Boy I wish this team had your fighting spirit.

The season's gone. It's frustrating. They should divide playing time between Booty and Mustain. The problem is, the coaching staff has so much ego, they won't accept the fact that Booty will never be the QB everyone thinks he will be. It's time for change.

100 NCAA Titles has forgotten rather quickly that his team in one season has lost to 2 winless teams. Utah and ND.

Thats what happens when you BRUIN YOUR LIFE!