Open Forum

Without Havilli in, we have no rushing or passing plays to the fullback. This is a serious limitation to our playbook. Does this reflect lack of confindence in Shoemate/other backups? Or one of those "we took what they gave us" things?
If Havilli is out for a while, will this change/improve? Sorry, two questions there.

what is your take on malcolm smith's performance so far this year, particularly in relation to the level he played at in spring/camp?

Will CJ Gable transfer, and should he?

Taylor seems a step slow this year, is his knee bothering him more than he is letting on?
Pinckard and Harris struggled a bit Saturday night, while T.J. Bryant continues play awesome in man to man, any word on a shakeup?
Chris Kennedy

Scott,
It seems to me that many of MB7's passes lack velocity ie. the 2 ints he had on saturday were both woefully under thrown. Do you know or think that his shoulder is still a problem for him or does he not have the strong arm that has been advertised? Thanks.

Had Manti Te'o followed through with his silent commitment and enrolled at SC, do you think he would have started and who could he have beaten out?

Why doesn't SC seem to be making useful halftime adjustmnets? SC used to be unbeatable in the third quarter.

Was any explanation given for handing the ball to McKnight on the final drive? He had an injured hand, hadn't touched the ball in hours, and is obviously prone to fumbling.

You have been so critical of Lane Kiffin while he was here and predicted he will only last 3 to 4 years at Tennessee Has he done anything to cause you to ease up on him?

On your weekly report card, the coaching grade is usually somewhere between C+ and F. Do you think USC's current coaching staff is merely average, or simply performing below their potential? Which Pac-10 coaching staffs (besides OSU's) are better? I'm mostly asking about game preparation and management, not recruiting.

What is going on with the secondary?

Scott, could you mention the names of the corners and safeties that you thought played well [if anyone], and hopefully related enough, do you think Josh is playing as well as he did before he got hurt? Thank you.

Mr. Wolf, I've read your post about the lack of interest in UCLA (can't blame anyone) and out of curiousity, do you think that UCLA is regretting Neuheisel's hiring considering that he has one of the best offensive minds and yet they seem to be stuck on neutral or worse going backwards? With the exception of his UW Rose Bowl team, Neuheisel's teams either played average or a little bit above average but for the most part his teams never beat the top teams in the Big 8/Big 12 or this conference. Thanks.

Should have, could have so what? It doesn't change the results. Very close to that is what Marco Andretti said after losing the 2006 Indy 500 to Sam Hornish,Jr. by a few hundredths of a second.

It doesn't take a Vince Lombardi to address the defense that collapsed for the second game in a row nearly blowing a 20 points lead. Think of a baseball pitcher blowing a save. IS that clear enough? It's time to move-on...

Aaron Corp's knee injury in fall camp has always been blamed on "a lineman" falling on him but the media, to the best of my knowledge, has never mentioned who the lineman was. Do you know the name of the player who forever changed Corp's life?

HI WOLFIE
Assuming that you were the defensive co-ordinator for the Trojans---and that PC gave you full power---what changes would you make besides changing that stupid soft pass coverage that PC likes?
Thanx in advance as always, and thanx for the forums too.

In respect to the four INT's for Barkley (only charged with 2) against the Beavers and HUGE INT's thrown late in games that lead to TD's against both ND and OSU: Does Barkley know what color jerseys USC is wearing in any given game? Do coaches review this in the 4th quarter or do they think he has that down by then?

I think that the PAC 10 officials had another lousy performance during Saturdays game. Any explanation for this especially on James Rodgers touchdown where Taylor Mays rips off his helmet in the end zone with the ref right there?

USC has been outscored 26-14 in the last two 4th quarters against ND and Oregon St. What do you think has been the cause of this disturbing pattern: Lack of killer instinct? Letting up after getting a big lead? Failure to make adjustments? Poor pass defense (or playing a prevent defense)? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. As always, thanks for the forum Scott?

HI SCOTT:
Not to think negatively, but if we lose to the Ducks and then win out, would you say it's almost certain we would get an invite to the Fiesta Bowl to keep our BCS bowl streak alive anyway? Thank you, Scott, for your opinion.

What happpened to USC's reserve corp of linebackers? Our starters could use a break here and there. Earlier in the season PC said that Gallipo's back wouldn't be put to the ultimate test.

I haven't heard much from Christian Tupou this season outside of his injury. Come to think of it, I didn't hear his name called much last year either. How has his play been at USC so far during his career? He was named the starter pretty quickly but it seems like he isn't much of a playmaker.

Why does anyone here seem to think you are capable of thoughtfully answering any of these questions with insight or intelligence?

uscmike:
Sir, with ALL due respect please read Harry Bawles question. The answer to your question is soft pass coverage just like he said. The SF 49ers lost to MN Vikings because of the same soft pass coverage and Favre made them pay.

Whats your take on Mark Sanchez eating a hot dog on the sidelines of a game and then apologizing (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/26/mark-sanchez-hot-dog-vide_n_334262.html)? Do players often eat on the sidelines of games at USC?

Scott,
I have been reading your blog for several years and have noticed a continuing trend in your AP poll voting- you have consistently voted USC lower than your peers.
Are you aware of this? Is it possible that you grade them tougher because you are following the team on a regular basis? Is it possible that you grade them tougher to avoid being considered a homer?
To be fair- I appreciate that you are willing to post your poll and face the criticism.
Any insights to your voting procedure would be appreciated.

Do you consider O'Dowd a major disappointment this year?

Scott Even pollspeak called you out. you got what you wanted -attention:

Scott Wolf gets his second consecutive Bad Voter of the Week which is no surprise since he is once again the most extreme voter, which gives him the biggest opportunity to upset a lot of fan bases. His ballot most likely upsets the old Rose Bowl crowd, ranking Oregon lowest while leaving Ohio State and Penn State off of his ballot completely (Houston is also missing).

UCLA wide receiver Randall Carroll, a former USC commit criticized UCLA offense coordinator Norm Chow, UC former offense coordinator on twitter to recruit Dietrich Riley, who is being recruited bu UCLA and USC. http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/4491/ucla-all-a-twitter-but-not-in-a-good-way

What is your take on this twitter message by Randall Carroll and what do you think Pete Carroll is thinking about it especially about Randall Carroll and Norm Chow? Is USC glad do not have Randall Carroll to criticize Bates, and Morton?

Scott,

Even with the conservative play calling at the beginning of the year, and the disaster at Wash, the USC offense is 3rd in the nation averaging 6.96 yards per play--a higher average than in any of the Chow years. Barkley is currently 3rd in the nation in yards per pass attempt at 9.57 per attempt, which is by far the highest among Pete Carroll QBs (even better than Leinart's 05 season). In other words, the offense looks explosive, though inconsistent at times with a Frosh QB and new play caller.

We all know the defense Carroll likes to run, but are we finally getting to see the offense Carroll has been searching for since 05? Carroll seems enamored with both Barkley and Bates.

Scott, Do you think that Rick Neuheisel could win a national championship without Norm Chow? LOL, BTW..How are those two offensive genius' doing with that offense across town, I don't follow those guys very often.

Would it not have made more sense for the Pac-10 to suspend Taylor Mays for the facemask incident during the Oregon State game rather than suspending the referee who did not call the penalty?

Scott, do you think the Trojans have shown the usual improvement that they show as the season goes along, and, if not, what do you think is wrong? Thank you very much.

Of the 2 silent commits that you said we have, are they of the type that any team in the country would be very eager to sign them? If not, is one? Thanx, Scott, and sorry for messing up the wording of my question so it came out, uh, sorta two,[but not really, I hope]. Thank you extremely much for the informative forums, and for your time and patience.

I have several questions -

Why does USC continue to field a football team?
Why does Pete Carroll recruit players? Doesn't he realize that some of them may not live up to their hype? Wouldn't it be better to lower expectations, and therefore never disappoint? Or, is this more indications of Pete Carroll's stubborness by trying to field competitive/winning teams?
Have you ever answered questions from a bigger crybaby than me?

You have constantly questioned Pete Carroll's decision to burn De'von Flournoy's redshirt year. I may be mistaken, but I vaguely recall you saying the same thing about Stafon Johnson his freshman year. Now that there is a decent chance that Stafon will petition for a redshirt this year, do you still think that it was a bad idea to not redshirt Stafon in 2006? Would you still think it was a bad idea to burn Flournoy's redshirt this year if he end's up injured like Stafon in the next 3 years?

You have constantly questioned Pete Carroll's decision to burn De'von Flournoy's redshirt year. I may be mistaken, but I vaguely recall you saying the same thing about Stafon Johnson his freshman year. Now that there is a decent chance that Stafon will petition for a redshirt this year, do you still think that it was a bad idea to not redshirt Stafon in 2006? Would you still think it was a bad idea to burn Flournoy's redshirt this year if he ends up injured like Stafon in the next 3 years?

Do you think USC will try to bring Jeff Fisher or Jack Del Rio, and will Pete Carroll welcome one of them?

Do you think USC will try to bring Jeff Fisher or Jack Del Rio, and will Pete Carroll welcome one of them?

Was putting Ryan Powdrell in a game for one play against Virina Tech in 2005 the biggest waste of a redshirt ever? What is your take on wasting Powdrell redshirt on a play? The sad thing is against Nebraska secong game in 2006 Ryan Powdrell got injured and I think could not get another year.

Percent chance that Damian Williams goes pro after this year?

The Oregon game is this Saturday. Are you gonna get a picture with the beautiful Amanda Pflugrad? You should also interview her about what her favorite activities are and if she considered transferring.

Big fan of your work. With all the recent penalties on USC and penalties and hits by Taylor Mays do you consider Taylor Mays to be a dirty player and does this reflect on the team too? Also, pleae comment on this Thank you
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/10/taylor-mays-takes-hit-from-congressman-dan-lungren.html

What does Aaron Corp actually do now during practices? Is he the scout team quarterback?