Team Effort
It is easy to blame the defense for last night's debacle with Oregon gaining more than 600 yards in offense. But let's not forget the offense scored three points in the second half and really did nothing dynamic to help change the course of the game. They were also 4 for 14 on third-down conversions without any help from the defense.
Need a shake up on the coaching staff. New OC and DC needed pronto.
True that. 6 punts in 11 possessions against a defense full of Frosh and Sophs in the secondary. Neither unit played well enough to win. However, I know the defense is fixable with health and experience. The offense has rarely scored over 30 points since 2005. This side of the ball requires an extensive schematic overhaul. Bring back Norm Chow!
OFFENSE: LED BY FRESHMAN QB
DEFENSE: Taylor Mays (Senior), Kevin Thomas (Senior), Josh Pinkard (6th-Yr Senior), etc.
I think USC would rather rely on a veteran defense than a veteran offense LED BY a freshman QB. He did what he had to do in the 1st half, but the defense didn't do anything to help in the 2nd half.
The defense got embarrassed plain and simple, and not having a chance in this game was their fault.
i was at the game last night and here are some comments
1) auszten was more racous, but less loud than the shoe
2) the fans were pleasant...i was in amongst thousans of them by mysoelf with no other sc fans around
3)those quackers drive you nuts
4) barkley and the o were strong the first half, but i think being down havili, mccoy, ausberry and having damian at half speed was too much to overcome
do we have more injuires than other teams?
Yes, USC got beaten on both sides of the ball, but the defensive performance defined the defeat. It's time for the Trojans to fight on. The offense will continue to grow, and the defense needs to flat out toughen. Pete Carroll teams are not built to win shootouts. The rest of the season will be determined by how the defense does (or doesn't) improve. This team could end up 11-2 Fiesta champs, or a 9-4 disappointment to everyone on the team. Carroll has always had a command of the locker room, but this is more adversity than the team has had to face in since 2001.
Pete is the DC!! Rocky is eye in the sky. Offense needs new Philosophy pro style works in NFL but college rewards innovation! SC has gone conservative ie. predictable. They need a true OC not some WR coach/QB coach sharing the job! Someone who oversees the entire offense!
Really what was wrong with the defense? I'd say everything.
- The d-line never got away from their blockers. I kept rewinding it to see if they were being held but they weren't.
- The corners continue to give way too much space.
- Taylor Mays is either injured, overrated, or afraid of hitting people because of the new rule this year.
- The linebackers were terrible. I kept thinking the d-line was the problem, but I really think it was the linebackers not getting to the holes fast enough and when they did they couldn't make a tackle. This is a major problem area that wasn't helped by not recruiting Burfict and Te'o.
did Scott disable comments on his AP poll this week? I guess we were too mean and hurt his feelings.
and this is the week that his ranking of USC(#13) is as close as it has ever been to the actual AP average(#12)!
Scott you are way too much in love with this team!
The offense was very quickly in an obvious pass mode in the second half, though they should have converted and got a few points.
Don't try to spread the hate around, just because you have a point about young/inexperienced OC's. The offense was doing quite ok, it was the defense which was clueless, did not adjust, kept making the same mistakes, kept allowing huge run plays and just not the same as the "Trojan Defenses" of the recent past.
Also, let's not forget - this is a damn good Oregon offense and defense we faced. It was not like we were getting whooped by a no-name. It was a whooping alright, but it was to #10 team in the country, which I think should have been at least #8. But that is a different matter completely.
Also, why are you not following @PeteCarroll on twitter, being a USC reporter????
The Trojan effort on defense against the Ducks should not have been a surprise to anyone who watched a mediocre Oregon State offense run up 32 points in the Coliseum on the Trojan D. That would be the same Oregon State offense that UNLV held to 23 points. I also watched this Oregon offense shred Cal. The Oregon O was gonna score on USC.
The USC OFFENSE had to step up and get some points. 3 points in the 2nd half and everyone freaks out over the defense??? That should have been an exiting high scoring PAC10 game. Whoever thought the USC defense would have to win it without help? The Trojans were down 7 at the half - 3 points was never gonna get it even in a 2nd half shutout. The D was on the field the whole 2nd half.
What seems to go unnoticed is the most overrated aspect of this team - the freshman QB. Does anyone think that if you swapped QB's, you would have had the same result? The strong arm seems to blind everyone to the rest of the package. Didn't this same QB help get ND back in the game with an overthrown 2nd half pick? Keep Oregon State hanging around with a "mediocre" (2INT,0TD) second half?
Three weeks in a row of pretty unexceptional 2nd half performances. Can anyone see a pattern? Yeah he is all world on those 3 yard roll out passes. Hits those wide open wide outs when he has plenty of time. How did he do last night when he was rushed hard - like the nice toss on that late screen.
Most college QB's never get the Trojan luxury of quarterbacking teams so dominant in their own conference that they are rarely challenged. Throw to wide open receivers with plenty of time. Hides things like S L O W N E S S. Like the 1 in a million chance that he might pull the ball down and run for a big play. Besides a sneak. We are half way thru the season - has anyone noticed that this QB cannot run?
Oh well, maybe some of you think an OC can teach this very slow QB how to run, evade pressure, take a couple of quick steps out of harm's way. Last night the real difference in those 2 teams was the QB. Does anyone really think that there were more than 2 or 3 Ducks who would have started for the Trojans at the other 21 positions. My guess is that there are maybe at most 5-6 Ducks who could crack the Trojan 2 deep.
The Duck edge was at QB and it was a BIG edge. For my money, the offensive performance of USC in the 2nd half was what doomed them. It is the QB play in both losses which prevents this team from being big time. Like last night. We all might have to wait a while before this QB is "the best player in the game". Or in any game. My guess is that he will never be even close to being the best player on the Trojan offense.
Stackfire has interesting comments.
Do you think if the DUCK QB was on the Trojan roster, he would be our starter over MB7?
The question does not use the word "should" but the word "would."
And if he wouldn't be the starter, why not?
DWF- Chow is as finished as Robo was when he came back in the 90's. The game changes, and coaches who aren't flexible to keep up with the times will fall.
It's happening to Pete and Norm- their era is over.