FOOTBALL

USC-UNLV Report Card

Here are the grades from the season opener:

QUARTERBACK

JT Daniels is not Sam Darnold and can’t match the hype from the past nine months. But he can help USC win games especially when he throws to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

B

TAILBACKS

USC rotated three backs and looks like it wants to feature Aca’Cedric Ware. Is he a game-changer? No. If USC wants to beat the good teams, it better get Stephen Carr playing the way he did early last season.

C+

WIDE RECEIVERS

Since some people want to give Tee Martin credit for the talented receivers, does he get criticized for the dropped passes by Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman? St. Brown is obviously going to be the go-to receiver for Daniels. Is Daniel Imatorbhebhe still on the team?

C

OFFENSIVE LINE

I kept stressing this as a weakness and it lived up to my prediction. Do you think Chuma Edoga and Chris Brown will play better as seniors? They are inconsistent. So is Andrew Voorhes. And who thinks Neil Callaway, the offensive line coach, will make anyone better?

D+

DEFENSIVE LINE

I was told all August by some media how dominating USC’s defensive line was in practices. Then the Trojans let UNLV rush for 308 yards. And this is with Porter Gustin, who was tagged a possible All-American and high-draft pick, playing despite knee surgery. Oh boy . . .

D

LINEBACKERS

USC announcer Pete Arbogast said linebacker Cameron Smith is a first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft. That is not going to happen if anyone remembers the 308 yards rushing. And the linebackers were also burned on that trick play for a TD.

C

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Tough to tell what is going here with UNLV offering such an anemic passing game. I didn’t really see anything, however, that made think USC should not be concerned when it faces a two-dimensional offense.

C+

SPECIAL TEAMS

The punting was awful at times and everyone fell asleep on UNLV’s fake punt. USC does better when individual talent is only required, like on kick and punt returns. Kicker Chase McGrath’s perfect start kept things from being really bad.

C-

COACHING

Was USC ready to play at a high level? Did the Trojans lose their sloppy look from last season? Does the playcalling look any different? Did Clay Helton demonstrate anything changed from last season and he learned from last year’s problems?

D-

53 thoughts on “USC-UNLV Report Card”

    2. I watched about as much as I could fathom before getting a stifling sense of deja-vu all over again. If this is “SC Football”…if this is the new norm, why do we even bother? Braindead play calling from a coaching staff that doesn’t know anything else, and a group of young 4-5 star recruits who have no chemistry and no apparent FIRE to win. Fasten your seatbelts. This looks like a 5-loss season.

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  2. SCooter,

    You are being too gracious on the soft serve ice cream oline. they desvered a F-. No physicality. When they meet the big boys from ND, Stanford, and Texas, Daniels will be looking up after being sacked for the 12th time in the first quarter of each game. No holes. If they had a fullback, then it would help the oline. Coaching needs a F- – (Is that possible?, I guess so). Same plays as last year. Helton talked about getting physical. Yes, they got as physical as Oliva Newton John singing that song. This team will lose to ND and Texas due to the oline wanting to hold hands and sing Kumbia.

    Where have you gone Hudson Houck, we needs to know

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      2. I’m happy…..looking forward to this team’s road to glory….they just need to guard their spirits….

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      3. You’re enjoying your new role a little too much, Charlie. I hope Callaway doesn’t provide you with much more material…..
        #StillFunnyAfterAllTheseYears….
        #…But,ThenAgain,YouIntendOnBeingFunny…..
        #CallawayDoesn’t

        Liked by 1 person

  3. I have never seen anyone more full of crap than you Wolf. Seriously. Get over your bitterness with USC or is it just your sour disposition?

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      1. Homophobe with pedophile tendencies. SMDH.
        Homophobic, racist, and uncouth troll. Never been a Trojan. Just a wannabe. Haha!

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      1. I’m enjoying every word this morning, Stephen. Thank you.
        #ButWhyNotGoAllTheWay?: A+….
        #…..It’sFunnier

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      3. Pudly —did you realize that Acura is actually using the lyrics of “Sympathy for the Devil” to sell their cars? What is wrong with them?

        Liked by 2 people

  5. LOL, dick brain Arbogast said linebacker Cameron Smith is a first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft ? That’s as funny as old Pete’s ad for ED or Pete The Windbag himself

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  6. The 3 RB’s had 7.4 yards per carry and 201 yards, but they got a C+?

    The Oline opened the holes for that 7.4 yard average and they get a D+. What exactly did the Oline do that didnt satisfy you?

    Apparently there was an expectation of 500 yards rushing, 500 yards passing, while giving up 50 yards of Total Offense to UNLV. At least we have the expertise of good old Wolfie to tell us all the nuance of a run blocking scheme and how Oline and RB’s should be performing.

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  7. Scott is getting soft. I remember WAY more “F” minuses in his heyday.
    Seriously, as long as Coach Helton keeps Callaway on staff for primarily sentimental reasons this O-Line is going to look exactly the way other Callaway led O-Lines looked (i.e., not terrible, but uneven). That’s not surprising, right? That said, I believe we’ll see a much more focused group show up in Palo Alto this Saturday. Ellis will be stressing Daniels, at least, get as far as his second read —and we’ll use some of those passes to to the tight end we’ve been saving up. Maybe Toa will help out by practicing at center (actually, I just really hope we’re not going to hear that he’s announcing his ‘retirement’ this week —the precedent that Kenny Bigelow set last year before the Notre Dame game still scares the crap outta me)…..

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    1. Michael, I thought the same thing, while a bit harsh, it was nothing like last year’s critiques. He even recognized JT’s talent is higher than Sam’s in only his first game…how many times did Sam fumble that game?
      All in all, Scott actually recognized the improvement the team made..

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      1. Pudly –Agreed. And I’ll expect Scott to show some respect if USC wins at Stanford Stadium —–(but I’m almost afraid to read him next week if things go….otherwise)…..

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Pudly —Ha! [I could write Scott’s Sunday piece for him in the unlikely event we lose: “Run for your lives, Trojans! Your world is over! Your property forfeit!”]…….

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Looks like this loser Hucklebuck is really Helton’s younger brother masquerading as a commenter. I see you Tyson! How did that game against WVU go? Was Biggelow a problem?

    This SC team will gets its doors blown off by those 6’8″ TE/WR’s that are slow but can push down our soft 6’1″ DBs. And you think Cam Smith and soft Jon Houston can make the same mistakes it did against UNLV this time against Bryce Love?

    Buckle up boys, it’s about to get real for Helton in the post Darnold world…

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      3. I think Monopoly occupies a closer relationship to Karma than mere sibling status (if you know what I mean)…
        #….OneAndTheSame

        Liked by 1 person

      5. There’s nothing wrong with the guys getting together for a game of tummy sticks. As Seinfeld so eloquently said “ not that there’s anything wrong with it “!

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      6. Pudly, your avatar is amazing, but it should be replaced by a ray of sunshine pumping up your a## because you are a complete sunshine pumper.

        You think this Stanford team’s offense is ass complete sh** as last year’s squad? Oh yeah, and do we have Sam Darnold behind center? Guess I’m just a silly goose who doesn’t rely on past year data to predict year after year results

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      7. Monopoly, your blowing smoke out your ass again. Unfortunately it’sthe same smoke karma blew out his. How’s it taste? The second hand smoke that is. Yeah, your stat sheet is good for wiping the smoke smudge off you face.
        2-0 last year, including Santa Clara. Sam is gone, but this qb throws less int’s and doesn’t fumble either, and if I remember right the trees lost their defensive front from last year. But who cares.

        Scoreboard peckerwood.

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    2. Nope, just questioning how RB’s who average 7.4 yards per carry as a unit would get a C+, and why exactly the Oline is getting bashed for opening up the holes to get those 7.4 yards per carry.

      Just looking for some clear justification for these grades, other than, “well, I dont think they looked good”. If you have the stones to post grades for each unit, I would expect some kind of basis for those grades that sound somewhat coherent.

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  10. He calls out the WRs for dropped passes (rightfully) ,but would never call out Darnold for fumbles… classic scottie! We love him despite the double-standards….

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  11. SC needs to use their TE’s just like Stanford. Get about 4 to 5 yards a play. Dink and dunk them and control the ball. That is one way to beat the Indians.

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  13. Wow children exchange emails and insult each other in seclusion. I have seen grades post elsewhere which were not as sour. I guess if you hate Helton you throw enough mud hoping something sticks. Since the coaching grade includes all of the coaches I assume it’s graded on a curve. The special teams guy failed. The offensive line guy failed. The knee pads checker failed. So I guess the grade works .

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