FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: The Fact Twisting A.D. Strikes Again

Lynn Swann has a way of saying things that do not make sense and his appearance on the Dan Patrick show was proof of that . . . again.

When asked by Patrick why USC is not ranked in the preseason and like “the USC of old,” Swann said the following:

“It’s a process . . . If you haven’t had good recruiting years . . . you got to build it up.”

Everyone knows the 2019 class was subpar (19th by Rivals) but let’s review the two classes before that.

USC’s recruiting class was ranked No. 3 by Rivals in 2018. The Trojans’ class was ranked No. 6 by Rivals in 2017.

So what is Swann talking about?

This is the problem when Swann tries to explain Clay Helton‘s performance or defend it: He doesn’t make sense.

If Swann needs to twist the facts, what is the point of taking him seriously?

37 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: The Fact Twisting A.D. Strikes Again”

      2. Pudly —-the expired drug thing is something all my buddies on line should be on the watch for. A few years back, I was boxing with a buddy in the backyard and sustained a bad cut —he drove me to the emergency hospital where they were about to administer lidocaine (or something —I don’t really remember) as a pain killer before they sewed me up —for some reason I asked to see the bottle before they shot me up and it was expired by over a year….
        #….GettingStitchedWould’veProbablyHurtALittleBit

        Liked by 1 person

    2. A general, hypothetical question for you, Pudly (I’m not sure why this question occurred to me this morning but it is what it is)—-Do you think American universities employing faculty involved in treason should be allowed to play the great American sport of football?

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      1. Michael, I don’t answer hypothetical questions….the ruins don’t play, heck you could say haven’t played a meaningful game since they lost 50-0 and backed into the pac12 CCG…

        Liked by 3 people

      4. Ha! [67 —I’ve been thinking of sneaking into the Rose Bowl and spray painting “2020 transfer portal” over the bruin tunnel]……
        #…JustInTimeForThe2019Season….

        Liked by 4 people

      6. gt —In a way, the bruins did discontinue the football program (without going to the trouble of making an official announcement). It’s something programs are doing these days —like, for example, Swann cancelling the Fresno State game and inserting San Jose into the season opener without telling anybody (not even the respective team coaches)…….
        #…JustTheWayItIs…..

        Liked by 2 people

  2. It is worse than that.

    By claiming recruiting hasn’t been good, Swann is throwing a number of current, exceptionally talented players under the bus.

    Average ranking of the previous 4 Trojan classes is #5.

    Liked by 5 people

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    1. Lynn actually tried to make it sound as though he was proud of the years in which Helton got absolutely thrashed by Alabama, Notre Dame and Ohio State. And then, of course, he twisted 2018 into a feelgood story (the 7 losses were only of preparatory efficacy —they were really the foundation for greatness in 2019). Meyer, Saban or Carroll wouldn’t give a guy who talked like this the time of day.

      Liked by 6 people

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  3. when you have lied as many times as these guys, the next lies to coverup previous lies grow even more absurd…SC must be very embarrassed with current situation

    Liked by 5 people

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      1. Can Folt conceivably listen to a bulls**t interview like that and be impressed? I can guarantee you with 100% confidence that if somebody interviewed like that (i. e., slick inaccuracies, half truths, straddling the fence, hedging bets with shrewd sloppiness) at any law office I ever worked at, they’d be shown the door within 5 minutes. Everything that came out of Swann’s mouth sounded like the crap you hear from people applying for a job who are trying to cover up the fact they’ve been unemployed for 3 years after being fired 4 times in a row before that.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. Folt punished the whistleblower in the UNC cheating scandal in typical Deep State style. Don’t expect transparency, honesty or candor from that career educrat.

        Liked by 3 people

      1. The last 3 years of back to back university fiascoes suggest you might be right, 22. If Folt can sit down with Swann and think, “he has all the answers!” instead of “what a huckster!” —-we’re in for a few more bad years before there is out and out revolt by donors and fans.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. SC is not the educrats…SC goes back 130 yrs and now to current fans,students and alumni…the majority of which despise the current situation…they can’t be bought , their trojan tradition is what will bring SC back…sooner than later.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. I’ve mentioned this before here – there is no maybe a few more bad years – USC went through this before and it wasn’t the inevitable, triumphant return of USC…it was the sheer dumb luck of getting Pete Carroll (as USC had enjoyed with John McKay to a certain extent … you have to go back to what Howard Jones? to find an affirmative good hire of a football coach) … there is not guaranteed return (and for those who want to use the “recruiting hotbed” argument – better study what has happened at Miami, and is now happening at Florida State…and it happened at Alabama, Texas, and other top shelf programs…they all pulled themselves out, those that did, by hiring great coaches…Miami, and now Florida State, have not…and with Miami, which is the best comparison – private school, recruiting hotbed, tradition, NFL pipeline…yeah, has been a disaster since the hiring of a really bad but all-powerful administrator – Donna Shilala…you Clinton fans should recognize the name)…there is no guarantee that this will improve…one strongly suspects that had Garrett not lucked into Carroll (and what was that? like his fifth choice?), we wouldn’t even be on this board or discussing USC football…it would have disintegrated into perpetual mediocrity (from 1983 onward)…all that said, if there is to be a climb back, it starts with getting rid of this head coach and if (almost certainly) necessary the AD who extended him for whatever reason…as far as I’m concerned, Folt has an easy, slam dunk decision to make…the hard part will be convincing those above her to authorize dipping sufficiently into the war chest to do, as stated above, what was once our peer group has done when confronted with the same or similar circumstances…every day longer that the current clown show continues, even if it involves a 9-3 lose in the conference championship game and get crushed in a middling bowl season, is contrary to the objective of the program being restored to its proper place.

        Liked by 2 people

  4. Liked by 3 people

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    1. Wow! What luck THIS happens to be the year that Oregon State and Washington State get replaced on our schedule by Oregon and Washington……
      #ThrowInUtah&WeReallyHaveOurPac12WorkCutOutForUsIn2019…..

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    2. In terms of probability of winning, Oregon and UDub are about 27 percent, Trojans are about 11 percent.

      And the Pac 12 team now known as “Military-Chips-R-Us” comes in at around 3 percent chance of winning Pac 12.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. I read somewhere that USC’s chances of winning the Pac 12 South are either 47% or 49% (I can’t remember which).
        #….&UCLA’sChancesOfWinningAnythingAreMinute….

        Liked by 2 people

  5. Lynn Swann is not defending Clay Helton, he’s defending himself, for extending the contract of his IDIOT coach before he proved himself without Sam Darnold. And we all know how that turned out, because everyone who’s followed Lane Kiffin , and Steve Sarkisian’s Flunky , already knew he was a Dumb Ass , except for Swann.

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. If I wanna defend Swann you might point out that his reference to recruiting was aimed at the overrated linemen we have been getting perhaps saying the star system is over done.
    The problem with this theory is that the vetting process during recruiting should be more than looking on line for players with five stars.
    Clearly the past few years we have not gotten 5 star production out of 5 star players.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Good point —it’s getting pretty obvious that Helton thinks anyone who can run real fast or throw real far or is real tall or real heavy is gonna make a great player —he totally doesn’t get the “character thing” that Pete used to say was all-important. Successful coaches recruit ‘character.’

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. They look for it in recruiting and demand it always be present in everything that everyone associated with their program does…Pete did it in the best way (that almost all successful coaches/leaders do) – creating an atmosphere of competition, and demanding performance…

        Liked by 1 person

    2. It sounded an awful lot like Billy Beane’s comments a while back per the Oakland A’s constant post-season collapse “….if I had the money the other teams have I could get the players…” That doesn’t explain continuous contrast btwn. regular season and post-season. It’s on the GM to make the trades for 1st Sept. roster expansions and ‘add ins’

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    3. WELL when you practice in shorts all the time and brag about no pads, fresh legs, and we can skip practices … 5 stars, whatever stars are not going to develop and beat real football coached teams

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. Tim — What Helton is up to this season is obvious —-he’s completely given up on the run game. No pads, no physicality [& no run blocking—as seen at scrimmage]. We’re all gonna see how far a team can get on a one note offense….
        #…WithNoPassDefense

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      2. MG
        We already know the answer – it has been demonstrated repeatedly…it will go nowhere (good)…why the whole Kingsbury/Harrell/Air Raid pivot has antagonized many of us…ceiling on this approach, without tremendous…perhaps evolutionary…modifications is no better than 10-2 regular season, no meaningful victories, occasional luck of the draw in a conference championship game (bonus if it stays in Vegas), no playoff berth, get thrashed by another Power 5 also-rans or Boise-like squad…in other words, equalling what Helton accomplished with Sam Darnold, Ronald Jones, et al…
        JM

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