FOOTBALL

USC Drops In Top 25 Polls

USC dropped to No. 21 in the coaches’ poll and No. 22 in the AP Top 25 poll.

Frankly, I’m surprised USC is still ranked in the polls, especially since everyone could watch last night’s game.

But Clay Helton has a vote in the coaches’ poll, so that helps the Trojans.

And Helton thought USC “competed like warriors” so why should they drop out?

 

53 thoughts on “USC Drops In Top 25 Polls”

  1. Unless Coach Helton starts making some of the corrections, USC football will continue to drop…I’m a believer in coach and a big defender, but not to the point of contradiction and support of falsehoods…Brett Neilon #62 needs to play over Toa….#27 Ajene Harris cannot play the run, especially at the line of scrimmage. #10 John Houston cannot play the pass…#82 fails to pass block at critical times and has the dropsies….# 7 Stephen Carr is the best running tailback and should be a receiver in the flats and screens/slants over the middle to take the pressure of our wideouts who haven’t been getting consistent separation….

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    1. I can only defend so much, Coach… I know the Creator as well you and protecting people who need correction can become a lie which is sin, doesn’t matter if you think politeness should prevail over truth….that becomes a false teaching..I saw this surface in your personality when you protracted Sarkisian because you said “you didn’t want to kick a man when he was down.”

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      2. You have a responsibility to put out the best for your employer and the alums and fans .did you do that with Sark? No…you allowed a drunk too much latitude which should never have happened. That’s not faith….that’s cover up and double standard. The wolves are out, and I can’t hold them back forever….No one should be kept if they score 3 points. Either fix it, or your days as the Trojan coach are in jeopardy….3 points is indefensible, sorry.,..

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      4. I came to USC with my left arm in a sling as a baseball player. Dr Jobe performed Tommy John surgery on me at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood CA, a few weeks before I moved into Trojan Hall. I snapped it throwing a no hitter in front of dozens of scouts and recruiters my first outing my senior year at Royal Oak High School in Covina, 6 days after losing in the CIF basketball playoffs in my last game… I scored 34 points that night in a losing effort…no 3 point line….I was MVP of the league my junior year in basketball. However, USC stuck with me and made good on my scholarship offer because I was a good student and they hoped I would recover. I didn’t …..My baseball career at USC was over before it started because of surgery that didn’t go so well for me….In fact, my only appearance on the varsity was 10 months after surgery against, of all teams, Stanford…I was called in with the bases loaded and gave up a grand slam…. lol…I never got another chance, as I also had my first left knee surgery while I was at USC ….the only thing that gave me pleasure while I was there, besides the school itself and the people, was USC football…that is why I love it so much to this day….

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    2. Have you learned nothing about Gomer ?

      He starts the vets because they have put in their time in the program, of have you forgotten that Gomer started Browne over Darnold ????

      He’ll rotate the RB’s so none of them get pissed off, never mind that not going with one guy doesn’t allow that RB to get a rhythm going.

      We have 2 highly recruited CB’s, will they play this season or is Clancy going to let them rot on the bench ? Or have they already been coached down by Bradford ?

      This is Swann’s mess to clean up, we’ll see if he’s up to the task.

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      1. “He (Coach Helton) starts the vets.” That’s what status quo managers do, Karma. And that’s all they do. And that’s what Coach Helton is, a status quo manager —- nothing more and nothing less. And it’s probably best that he sticks with that philosophy for however long he’s around. He doesn’t do “daring” well. Going for it on 4th and 2 at the end of the half was lame. The time to gamble is when you’re playing with the house’s money —-like right after UNLV turned the ball over deep in their own territory on the first play of the game. Not at midfield in the closing seconds when you’re gonna get the ball back after 15 minutes of rest and soft drinks. The sobering truth is that Helton should go on being a status quo manager (play the vets, stick with his vanilla offense, practice light, smile a lot) and see how far it takes him. It’s a depressing thought —but it’s actually better than watching him try to be something he’s not. Did you see Tom Hanks try to play the lead in Road To Perdition? Sad. That’s what ‘Helton the Innovator’ would look like —only worse.

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    3. We met completely by a miracle chance, Coach…It was that day outside Heritage Hall you offered me, a complete stranger and the least in Troyland, a ride in your personal vehicle to your first Spring scrimmage at the Coliseum….do not dismiss what I say. I fear it may already be too late. 3 points, really? Something in the asset evaluation and perception and planning and implementation is wrong….I will continue to pray, but I am so hurt….

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      1. Ha! Funny, Alv. I used to have a supervising attorney who would leave messages on my machine that would go on for the full 3 minute max of the recording (before she was cut off in mid sentence). Every time I heard her voice I fantasized about having a retroactive free association zapper button.

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  2. Let’s try to keep our heads until we see what happens with Texas. The half of the team not orchestrated by Tee Martin looks good. They gave up fewer yards to Stanford than they did to UNLV. But the offense is another story. Losing a great running backs coach hurts [Drevno probably won’t be able to take up the slack either] . And Callaway proves every year that he’s 100 miles from being the right man for the job. Still, if J. T. and his receivers can get their timing down [and his receivers can hold on to the ball after taking a hit], we might be able to turn things around. Having said all that, though, we might have to face the possibility that Karma has been right all along. We’ll know by this time next week.
    P.S.
    If J. T. had gotten twice as many snaps in the fall, we’d be seeing much better numbers in the passing game. On the job learning [at Palo Alto] isn’t an optimal situation.

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    1. Mike this is USC football and shall be USC football until Helton is sacked. People don’t change that much – Helton will never prepare any USC team for a top tier foe – ever. His skill set is better for a Conference USA or Sunbelt team. These are his: assistants, players he recruited, routines he believes in and practices he conducts – this is year 3+ and nothing has changed except Sam Darnold is no longer here. Helton’s lack of skill made Sam understand his NFL stock was only going to wither staying at USC for another year.

      Sooner Helton and his staff are gone the better

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      1. If we look the same way on offense —lethargic—- against Texas, I’ll agree with you, Alv. I’ve seen Helton teams bounce back before —so I’m hoping he can get them up one more time. My fear is that he may have dug himself a little bit too deep a hole to climb out of this time. He’s loyally kept Bradford and Callaway as position coaches —and their units are performing at their usual levels (meaning, unevenly). I think it was Clay Russell who said that Saban wins because he’s got the best players in the country. Well, USC is to the Pac 12 what Alabama is to the nation —we’ve got the best players. To see them get pushed around for 60 minutes (and smile or look lost as they headed to the sidelines) is hard to take. I’m hoping against hope that Helton can overcome all the challenges he’s created for himself with his loyal but just above average offensive coaches & no pads practices and beat Texas. If not, watch out —cuz everybody except UCLA looks like they can take us out on the right night. And, once you start losing, any night can be the right night.

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      2. Right Commie Succ, it was Helton that threw 13 Int’s to lead the Pac – 12 in 2017. I guess the Piglet was just practicing for his Pro regular-season opener vs Detroit.

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      2. Says the guy who lives in Maui and tried to sell me Matt Fink, when, all the while, I grew up and was a great athlete, until I got hurt,
        right down the street from Glendora High where Fink played….lol….you just don’t, and never will, understand the gravity of your errors…….Charlie Bucket you say? Ed you say? McGiggles you say? Mcgay you say?Chuck you say? I’m Steve McGhghy….I’m real as it gets. Loss and injury and strife and adversity and scorn and slander and shame make me understand….I’ve faced gangs and shooters and beaters and thieves and pit bulls and po po and pastors and boards and churches and lawyers and doctors and insurers and still my faith is in tact….when I say something, E F Hutton should prevail…..

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      3. You said right here last week, that USC should consider “ forfeiting the Texas game” LOL….now you’re hoping for a win…dude…lol…you’re soft…

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    3. As long as Gomer is the coach, SC will suck. He isn’t going to change, he has no game sense ( the end of the half proved that ), he is too loyal to his daddy’s buddies, he isn’t head coaching material at any level.

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    1. Tim Stanley, my running mate on the Royal Oak basketball team…was funeraled there….my best friend’s wife is still on staff at Glendora High…

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      3. The only quarterback I’ve ever known to have any success out of Glendora High is Jonathan Smith…he’s an exception to the rule….he’s now the head coach at Oregon State….he played successfully for the Beavers under Mike Riley, but Smith could pass!!!!

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      4. Like I said, Glendora High football can’t usually even beat Charter Oak down the street…no dis on CO….they do great with what they have…

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  4. To survive Helton will have to find Tee Martin and Callaway another job next year and spend the money and bring in a reputable offensive coordinator. If Clancy solves the rush defense he can stay if not its time for him to go back to the NFL. Maybe Talanoa Hufanga can split time with Ajene Harris. Ajene cant stop the run. We should choose one running back and let JT develop his quick and short game until the offense can build its identity.

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    1. You’d better hope there is no ‘next year’ for this Andrea Doria of a program under ‘Skipper Clay’ and ‘First Mate Tee Martin… Needs to be sacked as soon as the Irish finish us off.

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  5. Hey Michael, you referenced me in one of your posts and I can’t reply to it. Saban does have the best players in the country and he has people who can block for them. Bama’s edge in the trenches allows them to exploit their talent elsewhere. We don’t have that. We can’t impose our will on teams and that’s something that happens up front.

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    1. I respect you, Clay —-& I have a question for you —-if you were coaching a game and it became obvious the refs were “just letting the boys play” —-allowing defenders to jump receivers 5 yards before the ball arrived —-would you tell your defenders, “hey —have fun —anything goes today!”
      #ISureWould

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      1. I know what you’re talking about and I saw the refs calling it the same both ways. Pittman created space when he caught his long pass. The Stanford receiver pushed off on Greg Johnson for their 2nd touchdown and on it goes. I saw one of their lineman move just before the snap and I saw one of ours do it too, neither was ever called.

        You don’t turn good defense on and off. There’s a right way to play, that’s what you teach and that’s what you consistently reinforce. Our problems had nothing to do with the refs. We’ve been playing really clean relative to past years.

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      2. I liked your ‘hit’ on Tom Hanks – lousiest actor around – think he’s 21st Century version of Jimmy Stewart have to say I thought his role in Road To Perdition was the sole memorable attempt he ever made but being surrounded by an incredible: cast (Newman, Law, Tucci and Craig) a solid director (Mendes) and script even prevented ‘Lovable Tommie’ from depth charging a film. Now his voice in Toy Story is where his skill set belongs.

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      3. Alv — I hear Tom is a nice guy in person —sweet to his manager, costars, fans, etc. But —as an actor —-WTF?! He doesn’t even have the “so bad he’s fun to watch” thing going for him…..
        #….ExceptWhenHe’sDoingACryingScene

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  6. So, I said JT’s arm talent didn’t jump out at me, but he did have some nice throws. I think the best throw he made was the one to the back of the end zone to St. Brown that we just missed. The post to TV late in the 4th was nice and he threw several nice outs. He improvised well and kept plays alive, but he easily could’ve thrown more picks too. He can play, but it seems he won’t get the help he needs from his line, his TE or his playcaller. His RBs aren’t doing enough in pass protection either.

    I was upset to see Stanford receivers be able to find so many soft spots in the defense when they needed them. As we struggled to complete meaningful passes downfield, Stanford was always able to get a man open. Could you see us converting a 3rd and 23? Still, defense put forth the type of performance I expected and they played well enough to win. I think Biggie was great in run support, and I think we played the run well in general. Although Greg Johnson got beat for a TD, he looks like one to watch to me. He always seemed to be in a position to make a play and he tackled well. I love to see those long arms in my defensive backfield too. I admit to a small measure of satisfaction when Stanford was trying to pad Love’s stats at the end of the game and M. Tell rung his bell for him. He kept his head up and delivered a nice shot that had Love a little woozy. Such petty things were all that I was left with at the end. Anyway, I thought kick and punt coverage were good, but I wish we had a punter like they have.

    Somebody needed to make a big play yesterday and nobody did. It could’ve come from any unit including defense and/or special teams. This is supposed to be a team full of playmakers and nobody made a play. You can’t just be where you think you’re supposed to be, you gotta make a play.

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    1. Nice points —but I would really like to know how you’d coach in an environment like we saw yesterday (i. e., where anything goes). The play where Iman ran Arcega-Whiteside out of bounds and to the ground —-that woulda been nice to see every down cuz that’s the way Stanford was playing Pittman.

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      1. All Biggie did was bump that receiver, knock him off his route and out of bounds. Every bit of contact beyond that was the receiver grabbing Biggie and trying to pull him down to the ground. The play looked weird, but it was a good no-call and the receiver was wrong before Biggie was.

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      2. What I can say about the refs is that some of the Stanford defenders were arriving before the ball. There was definitely room for at least on PI call in that game.

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      3. Also, we weren’t “pushed all over the field” last night. That was true against Ohio State and has been true against Stanford before, but that’s not what happened last night. We were in that game the whole time but there was no spark.

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      4. Actually, I agree with you, Clay. I don’t think our defense was pushed around at all. We can be very proud of the way they played. And there were at least a dozen plays where I really liked what I saw from the o-line (too bad we can’t get the tight end to help out). I should have specified that I was talking about our receivers. They looked rattled by the holding and interference that wasn’t being called (which they should’ve expected—no different than last year) and they dropped a bunch of stuff after the hit. If they can hang on to everything they catch next Saturday we’ll have no problem with Texas.

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  7. My thought with Stanford was that the game is mostly played between the 30 yd lines until one of your playmakers gets loose and/or you cause the big turnover. I don’t understand why you give the field position away on the 4th and 2 and the 53 yd field goal. We couldn’t drive it 80 yards but we could’ve driven it 40 or 50. We gained almost as many yards as they did, but we gained them on our side of the field. If you have faith in your defense, have faith that they’ll pin them back on their side of the field and we can win a field position game. We should’ve stayed patient.

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    1. Clay —Before the game started I thought this would be a great game for a ‘new’ Helton to emerge —Helton the Risk Taker. Well, that’s what we got…. but I was 100% wrong in wanting to see it. Nothing about Coach Helton’s resume suggests he’s a guy who understands risk assessment. He’s better —and I don’t mean this as a knock —-thinking inside the box. Some guys know how to gamble smart and some guys don’t. There were way more possible negatives than possible positives on that 4th and 2. The “old” Clay would’ve seen that….. and I woulda been just fine going into halftime down 7-0…..and receiving the ball to start the second half knowing it just takes ONE play to even things up.

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  9. If you don’t practice full pads and full contact teams like N/D, Stanford will dominate you. If the offense practices against 3rd string scout team then play Stanford/ notre dame they will lose. 1’s vs 1’s makes players tougher and better.,whether linemen receivers or backs…to play tough you practice tough,and in the red zone it really shows up. SC will not get better until changes are made.

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