USC Report Card

Methinks you grade on a different curve than the ucla blog where Gold gave the bruins all A's in thier monstrous victory over the mighty buff's.

I am glad Wolfie was not grading my papers while I was at SC, or otherwise I'd still be trying to graduate.

Can you imagine if SC brought their A game? Wolfie...really, only one A and 3 C's???

B- and C's for our defense? The mayor is right - that's as big a joke as ucla's "statement" vs. Colorado!

Too bad having the physique of a football doesn't translate into football knowledge Wolf..

If you add up all the unit grades this equates to a 2.88 GPA. So old Gargamel can only muster giving them a B- overall grade for beating the #4 team in the nation ON THE ROAD? So petty.

Also worth mentioning that the "single sack" the OL allowed was attributed to the Oregon D on that bogus intentional grounding call. They deserve an A, no doubt.

Listening to Coach Baxter on Trojan Brunch Sunday morning gave me a new appreciation for the field goal. His contention is that the Oregon kicker didn't just shank the kick and "miss". He kicked it into the only available kicking lane and that trajectory didn't work. If he'd have kicked it to make it, he'd have had it blocked.

OK, I'd like to jump in here and pile on ... but I can't.
If that was a "B" victory IN EUGENE, then how does one ever earn an "A" ??? Hell, it ended a 5-game losing steak in the state of Oregon.

You guys got a whack teacher here. You'd all love Jon Gold, where a dude can actually get A's with an effort like yours over Oregon.

Now, back to it again ...
UCLA 27, U$C 20
Why? (reason No. 1) Because that "A" effort took everything you all had. And though I hate the pistol for the grind of a season-long base offense, it is perfect for this type of game. Because CRN can turn Kevin Prince loose w/o fear of injury, and that's how the QB has to play for it to be successful.

congrats to my trogan friends. I must admit that your team is entertaining indeed. Until we meet on Saturday!

Wolf's lucky his teachers didn't grade so tough... he'd never would have made it out of kindergarten.

Great effort by the guys. We just have to hope there is no letdown, because as bad as ucla is capable of playing, there is always the possibility of 13-9 lurking around the corner. Hopefully, the team will realize that with no bowl this year, there is nothing else to look forward to except for the annual baby bear hunting jamboree.

FIGHT ON!

Finally, someone (ucla rockies) explains WHY they think UCLA will win. I'm actually interested in hearing these opinions, as I think that if the Bruins play to their potential they could actually make this competitive. Just saying SC's gonna get stomped, embarrassed, etc. means nothing.

I would agree with you, rockies, that the Oregon game took everything we had. I think, however, that we'll still have a lot in the tank. Your point about Prince playing without fear of injury is also valid.

Wolf -

The defensive line won that game!!! Watch the game again, and you'll see that Uko, Tupou, Harris dominated the LOS and were pushing Oregon's guards back on almost every play. There were a few plays that the push was so great that they actually ran by Darron Thomas, James and Barner. On top of that, Nick Perry and Devon Kennard probably had their best games of the season.

Ed Orgeron/Monte Kiffin had a brilliant but simple game plan, which was a duplicate of what tOSU, Auburn and LSU did the past 3 years. Win the LOS by pushing Oregon's guards into the backfield, and disrupt the Oregon offense. James, Barner, etc. could not get any momentum, and the OLine rarely engaged the LBs. The tOSU, Auburn, LSU and now the USC win is the template for every other team to beat Oregon. The D-Line deserved an A+.

And how does coaching not get an A+ grade? That was one of the greatest coaching performances - defensive and offensive - at USC in many many years. The fact that Chip Kelly went to the USC locker room to congratulate Monte Kiffin is a tacit admission that he was outcoached by Monte Kiffin. And Nick Aliotti's defense had no answers for Lane Kiffin's offense.

@rockies: Turn Kevin Prince loose? That's a good one. Time for you to lay off those rocky mountain oysters.

BoscoH: Thanks for that info.

IParty: Actually, you gotta get into to some of those. And eat them with real oysters. Did that at a BBQ last Friday and I swear that for an hour you can screw anything.

OK wait, back to Kevin Prince. This kid has a set of oysters that won't quit. And he's not all juke-and-jive like Thomas up at Oregon. Prince runs hard, and he's got decent speed. His decision making is getting better. And he's throwing a good ball right now. I don't see snow in the forecast (he was NEVER in the game at Utah ... nor were many of his teammates).

Unlike a 1st rounder like Barkley, there is no chance in hell that Prince plays beyond his last snap at UCLA. A new coach and more Pro-Set scheme and Prince may not even start next year in favor of Brehaut. Pistol again? It might be the redshirt freshman's job next year in Brett Hundley. That's why I think he becomes more and more of a weapon as this thing drags on. He's playing for his football life right now.

I think Scott Wolf believes football is an organized version of the schoolyard game, "kill the carrier." He is routinely critical of a DLine for not making tackles, which is not necessarily its intent. On running plays, a good D-Line will occupy the O-Line and not let them engage/block the LBs. Untouched LBs can better tackle a RB at or near the LOS. Its not about 11 guys just running around the field trying to jump on the guy with the ball. Each player/position has a role, and if he performs it succesfully, it creates match-up advantages for the remaining players.

@Rockies- you mean CRN can turn Prince loose with ugh risk of injury? What was he doing the other 5 times he went down with his injuries? Prince sucks as does CRN. I hope he turns him loose.

BoscoH -

That is really cool. Thank you. It never occurred to me that he lined them up to give the kicker a bad angle. Seven blocked kicks this season does play into every kicker's head on FGs and XPs now. I'll have to go rewatch that play.

I sort of agree with uotr that Prince and ucla's offense could be problematic. Not for his explanation that Prince can be turned loose or playing for his football life. I don't worry that Prince will beat us with his arm or feet, but that ucla's O-Line will be able to grind out yards and tire our defense. Although Prince is a very tough kid, he's proven fragile. Leaving Prince exposed will risk injury, and then its either Hundley or possibly Brehaut (if available). Neither have taken snaps to be effective.

USC's defenese was built to beat Oregon. The LBs are much faster, but smaller. If ucla can control the LOS then there is risk that our LBs will be too undersized. As in the ASU game, ucla will likely attempt to neutralize USC's defensive speed by running at USC. If SC's D-Line wins the LOS, it will be a long day for ucla. If ucla wins the LOS and Prince can keep the defense honest with a few passes, ucla could give us fits.

And right on cue, the usual blog trolls come out to slobber all over themselves about Scott's grades that amount to nothing, hahahaha

UCLA of the Rockies? You've got to be kidding me right?

Ryan Leaf in 2011 > Kevin Prince

These grades btw are redic.... Wolf only gives A's to Caesar....

The defensive line played a fantastic game. In interview before game Nick Aliotti stated that the reason Oregon lost to LSU and SEC teams was they dominated LOS with a strong defensive line not found in PAC 12. Oregeron has been a great coach and recruiter for USC. He deserves a lot more credit, not just on this intentionally stupid Wolf rating, but with press who continue to pay homage to Monte while esentially ignoring his contribution.

That said, why does USC defense fold in forth quarter against good teams?

Booty11: Hard to say. Sometimes when you play to NOT get hurt, you know what happens ... he was unleashed in this offense in a new measure and it showed against Cal & ASU. We are a completely different team when he plays like a kamikazee pilot.

Agreed that his career has largely sucked.
And CRN's.

Monopoly: We could only wish Prince had half of Leaf's skills at Wazzu. But know this: his heart has never been in question.

But that doesn't mean he can't slay the giant.
UCLA 27, USC 20

Let me get this straight the three best passing teams UCLA has played scored 38, 45, & 48 points against them and you think UCLA has a chance at holding USC to 20 pts. You are kidding yourself. USC will drop over 35 points on UCLA. As for USC's defense think Utah game not Colorado. That CU defense was one of the worst Pac-12 defenses I've seen in a long time.

Harvey has his facts straight. My prediction is similar, BUT, I've seen a lot of UCLA this year. Prince usually sucks, but he has moments. And as ucla rockies said, he always has his heart. He came back strong after being insulted by even his own fans. I can't see him getting it done, but I respect what he's done after a HORRIBLE start.

There was no sack unless you counted the intentional grounding a sack which was a joke penalty. Offensive line desrves an A. How about grading the refs on each game. Every time Kelly would bark in the refs ear they would call a penalty on the Trojans. The refs get an F.

For some reason your grading of the USC football team parallels your voting in the AP poll...Totally screwed up, not making sense in the least.

My theory: Since Mr. Wolf likely never saw an A in his time at USC, he presumes it is a grade that simply is unattainable.

I get the feeling if USC played the Green Bay Packers and beat them in Lambeau, Wolf would give the team a B because they allowed a sack and gave up a touchdown.

play calling: A+++++++++++++++++++++++

what ever the play, they had an open receiver,
except once in the 4th qtr when Barkley threw his pick

------

here is how oregon messed up:

since they could not get pressure on the QB, they should have called some plays to flood the short passing zones

Scott is doing much better grade wise, I give him a D-