Discuss The Game

oh Mercy Nurse! it's so great to be back!!

and to witness such a crashing choke job!! all that Karma i have built up is paying off big time!!

the Sun Devils were like Clubber Lang tonight!!

it was like Clubber vs Urkel!!! with his glasses on!!

aaaaall of ChuckerBucker's predictions coming true!!!

oh you troxans know C-Buck is never wrong!!!!

Im in a loss of words, and all i can say is i'm very displeased with Kiffin. theirs no reason for USC not to look like a Pete Carroll team with all that talent. the culture Carroll adopted last decade was put to a stop and changed by Kiffin who has been unsuccessful and inconsistent.

what do the troxans expect?? they only got 2 good players on offense!!

first game on the road against a real team and they fall apart in sections like a tangerine!!

This is the same mighty ASU overpowered by streaking Illinois who edged mighty Western Michigan today.

Is there any question in anyone's mind that USC is more effective running the ball.

Lack of good football fundamentals in so many areas. Coaches, stand up and take the blames, please!

wolfman, i know you are super busy, but you forgot to post the final score!!!

don't sweat it, i got your back, wolfman!!

final score:

ASU 43
southern cal 22 (failed 2pt conversion attempt)

USC will never be a true power under Kiffen. The man is at best a mediocre offensive coordinator and it is doubtful he will ever coach a championship team in division 1 football.

Two points:
1. Any USC fans blaming Kiffin for this loss are idiots that know zero about football. Only bad decision he made was the 2pt formation for FG unit that we burned a timeout on. But FUMBLES and INTERCEPTIONS are not his fault. Barkley & Tyler cannot turn the ball over. 4 turnovers is unacceptable.
2. This team is going to be very good. Either as the season goes on or heading into next season. So many good plays that would've led to an SC blowout only to be killed by (again) turnovers. How are those bad decisions Kiffin's fault?
we live to Fight On another day (at least we're not UCLA)

LBC makes good points -- even as there are some things that will be a field day for Wolf.

I'm interested in learning what Kiffin may be doing wrong -- I'm sure there are some aspects of his coaching decisions or style that deserve real scrutiny. But we're not getting it from Wolf or, quite frankly, a lot of posters here. Every time something goes wrong, Wolf screams that it's Kiffin's fault. That simply can't be right.

As for tonight, I saw some good things: We moved the ball well for much of the game (especially on the ground) and showed resiliency and heart that could serve us very well later on.

On the downside, the team seemed awfully anxious and edgy in the 1st half -- perhaps that is likely (or a lot) related to coaching. Barkley again underperformed on a big stage. Of course, he made some very good plays, but tonight we didn't have much margin. And the big mistakes were deadly. I'm sure it's 100 percent Kiffin's fault and the players have zero responsibility, right?

Last add: Osweiler is a solid QB, but tonight, he was simply brilliant. Time and again, he made slant throws in stride and dead on the numbers. I saw his performance against Illinois, and he wasn't nearly as good. What are you gonna do sometimes?

lbc trojan

I suppose I know "zero" about football but i do know it didn't take Saban long to turn Alabama into a perennial power and I believe that SC has the right to expect greatness out of their coach. You seem to think Kiffen will be a great coach someday soon. I don't and the record at the end of the season will be a clear indicator of who is correct. Perhaps then I will be seen to be very wrong and the team will be a cohesive, well-greased powerhouse that wins tough games. Or perhaps you will look into a mirror and see, "zero".

El Besea..Right on Dude! You're not UCLA...they won today!
Fite on!

I'm not shocked by this at all. As I said BEFORE the season started, we are not that good and we will lose games. And we will lose MORE games. Again, like I've said all along, Barkley is NOT that good. And Fumble Tyler is just like his ol' man. And I will now agree that Kiff is a horrible play caller. Of course, Showboat and JK are happy as 2 pigs in $h!t because the athletes are attending musicals and both those dopes are getting huge paychecks. Good news? Sure, we ARE NOT Fucla. Bad news? Yep, it's going to get WORSE.

DT-89: you really think we showed resiliency? We bumbled away in the Red Zone in the first half and completely lost our poise in the 4th quarter.

NOBS,

How could I think that I could remain silent to your shitolah. I guess was a matter of time before either I or El Capitan got back in the game.

RE: Showboat and JK are happy as 2 pigs in $h!t because the athletes are attending musicals and both those dopes are getting huge paychecks.

Spot ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Practices are closed, there are no celebs on side lines. There is no glide in the stride of the band, and those seats they stole from the BAND or EFFIN empty.

Now every time you turn around that Showboat is givin and promoting those perennial audience grabbing, money making, student athletes i.e THE FENCING TEAM. This is a waste of my time (eff the money) and an insult to my intelligence. It is getting close for me to get off this run away train because these dopes are selling tickets to cross a burnt out bridge.

And the REAL DUMB thing is...they did it too themselves and no one asked them too. WTF!...When I get those letters for my annual contribution...I shove those SOB pizza shi_eets in my shredder so hard and fast, I have to beg the shredder to give me my arm back.

The above does not even conclude oppening statements on the subject. However, this question bugs me. And time has probably complete passed me by but, I can't see running a Cover Who defense in the Red Zone. LB's and Safeties in the back of the End Zone.

Lbc, and NOBS are going to feel like dumbasses when they find out UCLA is 1-0 in the Pac-12 And a 1/2 game up overUSC in the conference standings ...dumbasses! Lmao

Obviously turnovers and the first half red-zone inability were huge factors.

Also, the D-Line stopped the run pretty well but were non-existent in getting to Osweilier. But credit has to go to ASU coaching for that one, I didn't see too many 5 and 7 step drops. After Illinois, they didn't want him thinking too much. A lot of quick check-downs.
HOWEVER, they must have seen a weakness in SC's defense to call SO MANY halfback swing passes. They drove the field for at least 2 TDs where that play was called 70% of the time, and always to the Osweiler's left. Took Monte a long time to adjust.

I thought all 3 penalties on TJ were total BS. Refs had something to prove. All 3 were on TD drives for ASU, and I don't think that's a coincidence.

And Burfict helping Barkley up was a total mock gesture, for anybody who's ever played a quarter of football.

In the first quarter Kiff called a running play on 3rd and long twice. This from a guy who threatens 2pt conversions after every play. Fake bravado.

Happy there are some reasonable fans around - thanks lbcTrojan and DT-89. You just can't win a game when you give up 4 turnovers to 0. Barkley is a nice QB, but the AZ QB was firing that ball out on the numbers. If Barkley hits wide open receivers (I can remember 4 big misses) in the first half this is a different game. He came out great in the second but really, look at how that AZ QB was pin pointing his passes, and all quick drops. That's not the D lines fault and he was nailing receivers that were covered, thats just great QB play - give the guy credit. My only concern with Kiffen is his demeanor, I worry that his personalty doesn't create the environment for his players to play loose - they seemed stiff early. But I thought player effort and desire was there the whole game until Barks threw the late pic6, we were done after that.

And to Gargamel - stop pinning for Carrol, you did nothing but criticize him when he was here, you don't get it both ways.

Happy there are some reasonable fans around - thanks lbcTrojan and DT-89. You just can't win a game when you give up 4 turnovers to 0. Barkley is a nice QB, but the AZ QB was firing that ball out on the numbers. If Barkley hits wide open receivers (I can remember 4 big misses) in the first half this is a different game. He came out great in the second but really, look at how that AZ QB was pin pointing his passes, and all quick drops. That's not the D lines fault and he was nailing receivers that were covered, thats just great QB play - give the guy credit. My only concern with Kiffen is his demeanor, I worry that his personalty doesn't create the environment for his players to play loose - they seemed stiff early. But I thought player effort and desire was there the whole game until Barks threw the late pic6, we were done after that.

And to Gargamel - stop pinning for Carrol, you did nothing but criticize him when he was here, you don't get it both ways.

lbc is right.

1- Not Kiffin's fault we turned it over so many times. He preaches ball security all the time, and our oldest and most experienced guys turn it over. Can't win against anyone with such careless play.

2- Lots of phantom calls (and non calls) last night. Refs should evaluate their definition of a personal foul. In addition, anyone else notice a bunch of holding penalties not called? Although we didn't lose cuz of the refs, hard to play when you don't get consistency.

With that said, my biggest problem is having our head coach be our offensive coordinator. While I don't love Kiffin's play calling, it's having his head buried in the playbook and not being able to do the little things other head coaches do that bugs me more. (I.e. Pointing out holding penalties to refs when they are not called).

Prof Slob, I thought Sunday was your day to go to the cemetery to polish the urn.

marvgoux --

Love the name! What I intended to impart is I thought the team played very hard, if not very precise ... that they were fairly stout on a night when they didn't get (or earn) much luck or many calls. I was proud of the way they fired out of the 2nd half and, at risk of getting hollered at by others, I definitely think 'SC could have won this game even when we trailed 29-22.

I agree at the end the team was desperate and downcast, but I think that happens to numerous losing teams every week. I do not believe the last 6 minutes should characterize the previous, say, 35.

Two to three of those turnovers came because Barkley was encouraged to play the "two good players" game. Burfict jumped what everyone knew would be a pass to Woods. Then Barkley fumbled while triple clutching and lustfully staring down a double covered Woods like he those were the only two on the field. The same thing happened when it looked like Barkely was actually trying to flip the ball before going down after again, staring down Woods waiting for him to get open after he was still being double teamed. Kiffin is on record as encouraging that, with his promoting record breaking and the idea that there is only one offensive option.

In the redzone one would have thought the run game which was successful, or play action and our huge mismatches with Brown or Prater would have been used, or actually having Baxter in where at least the possibility of the mismatch of him coming out of the backfield to be a mismatch on the linebackers could hav happened. Nope. It was still Bark to a well covered Woods for a drive killing incompletion on a forced pass. Really Kiff? Is that the only thing on your chart?

If we stuck with the run game it would have been a wrap. The chunks Tyler was getting on a mediocre and injury decimated team made it obvious, especially since Monte Gums Kiffin couldn't figure out how to defend against the same play being ran over again by ASU who obviously saw what so many have seen in his defense, i.e. holes a plenty.

timmay: you are right on!! i can't belive a trOXan making so much horse sense!! and i LOVE the Monty "Gums" Kiffen line!!

i am sending you two free passes to the next Preffered Plus Night at Cadre HQ!! that's a ten dollar value.

Vontaize and Brock-O will be there!

DT-89: I agree with you that we came out fired up and owned the third quarter. We were rolling for the go ahead score when Tyler fumbled at the end of that 15 yard run on the ASU 30 with 3 minutes left in the third. Up until that moment we looked like the better team and ASU's defense looked gassed. And the many missed opportunities in the first half are just maddening!