Life Of Riley
Tonight was a good example of Mike Riley's value as a coach. He tried the inside running game that worked so well last season and when it didn't, he adjusted and went to a spread passing attack that worked extremely well.
Tight end Joe Halahuni caught nine passes for 127 yards.
``I'm so disappointed about that,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said.
It also showed that he is willing to trade field goals for touchdowns, had a team that gave up too many costly penalties and had huge lapses in special teams (missed chip shot FG & backbreaking TD on a punt) in a game where they trailed for the final 55 minutes.
If the shoe were really on the other foot, would you really call that a good coaching job? Is it any smarter than seeing that Barkley was looking shaky and letting and deciding to ride a 3rd string TB in the 2nd half?
Was Riley "so disappointed" that Bradford had just shy of 150 on 15 carries?
SC is now on a 2 game "moral Losing streak" which is completely unacceptable for a team with this kind of talent.
Evil Robot,
I don't think any true Trojan fan would argue that Mike Riley didn't outcoach Pete Carroll when OSU's O had the ball. If pressed, even Carroll wouldn't agrue it. But that's only part of the game. USC did some really nice things on offense and special teams...enough to win the game. USC's players and coaches deserve credit for that.
For me, a "2 game moral losing streak" is just fine. Watch what is going on accross the country. Teams like OSU challenge elite teams every weekend. USC has a young team that is learning how to win football games. There is a lot of improvement still to be had. If you didn't enjoy watching USC's last two games, then maybe you should follow a different sport. CFB is much more than tool to be used by people like you to get their weekly affirmation that everything they believe to be true about the world is just so.
Fight On!
Jag: I agree.
Oh, I was kidding with the "moral losses" comment. However, if you listen to Scott Wolf, you would think that SC lost the past two games. I find it funny that a failed comeback against SC is all but a loss. Now if this was in the SEC, it would just show how competitive the league was.
Mike Riley, best coach in the country?
Evil Robot, I'm sorry. Scott has a way of bringing out the sarcasm in people.
But I do appreciate the coaching ability of Mike Riley against USC. Against other teams, Riley's Beavers can look just as underachieving as anyone else. All 12 of USC's opponents will say they are playing one of their two most important games of the season against USC, but USC can only say that about two of them. I think many people (especially Scott) underestimate what a challenge that is.