FOOTBALL

If It’s Friday, It Must Be Time For A USC Notes Column

It’s only one game but Saturday’s USC-Stanford sure feels like a critical contest for the Trojans and Clay Helton.

If you look at the first six games, it’s hard to imagine USC beating Notre Dame or Washington. If USC plays like it did last week, Utah would win when it comes to the Coliseum.

BYU was not great against Utah, but the Cougars like to pass the ball and USC’s secondary looked awful until Isaiah Pola-Moa‘s end-zone interception.

The point if USC beats Stanford, a best-case scenario might be 4-2. That makes Helton happy. But if the Cardinal win Saturday, the Trojans could easily be 2-4 after six games.

That will put a lot of pressure on Lynn Swann and it is hard to see how the players would maintain their morale for a coach they already do not believe in.

  • Did Helton ever address why he sprinted down the sideline to call a timeout, which allowed Fresno State to kick a field goal? Maybe the defense was in the wrong formation or something but the timeout sure helped Fresno State, which looked disorganized before the timeout.
  • USC officials expect a smaller crowd Saturday vs. Stanford than the previous week with Fresno State.
  • USC’s No. 3 QB is walk-on Brandon Perdue, who was playing on defense in spring practice. Perdue was a quarterback at Oaks Christian but wore No. 27 last week for USC. That will change.
  • Stanford cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly is the son of former USC cornerback Brian Kelly.
  • Has USC freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy even submitted paperwork to the NCAA to be eligible since he transferred from Texas? He has yet to practice so it might be a moot point.
  • Former USC basketball assistant/interim coach Bob Cantu is a consultant at Kansas.
  • I spoke yesterday about the L.A. Times article on USC mega-donor Wayne Hughes. Once, a close friend congratulated Hughes because a horse he owned finished third in a big race.

“Have you ever been excited about finishing third?” Hughes replied.

  • Hughes has a horse named “Willie Brown” after his close friend, the former USC tailback who passed away last year.
  • A former USC player gets it below:
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
  • And finally . . . Corona High School has renamed its football stadium “Jess Hill Stadium” after the former USC athlete, coach and athletic director. Hill played football, baseball and track at USC; was the head track coach and head football coach and then became athletic director.
Photo courtesy Corona-Norco Unified School District

52 thoughts on “If It’s Friday, It Must Be Time For A USC Notes Column”

    1. It’s all a big misunderstanding, karma. Langley and his friends were just playing a kids game called “stagecoach hold up.” They intended to give everything back later.
      #WishEveryoneWouldStopJumpingToConclusionsW/OTheFacts….

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      1. Sounds like they were a busy bunch

        ” Former USC starting cornerback Isaiah Langley was arrested in connection to a slew of robberies in Northern California, according to a report by FOX KTVU and Alameda District Attorney’s office. Langley was one of several members of a “brazen” crew in 61 robberies of UPS drivers across Northern California, which netted them $1 million in stolen electronics per a release.

        Per the DA’s statement, Langley was one of 12 individuals arrested in the operation. The arrests also yielded collection of six guns, “including an assault rifle, along with two illegal ammunition magazines, stolen property from the thefts, and other physical evidence.”

        Beginning in December of 2018, UPS and Fed-Ex delivery drivers were preyed upon as they delivered merchandise to cellular telephone stores. The suspects would rush the drivers as they approached the stores with boxes of merchandise, grab the boxes and run to vehicles that displayed paper dealer plates. In some cases, force or fear was used in the crimes.”

        Liked by 2 people

      2. karma —yes, yes, ok —-but I know these kids—they aren’t the type to take things that didn’t belong to them. The whole thing was just about testing their skills —and then returning the property WITH interest paid in the form of Candy….
        #No”IntentToPermanentlyDeprive”…
        #OnlyAn”IntentToBestow”….
        #…Therefore,NoCrime
        #[I’mSureAnyBayAreaJuryWouldSeeItMyWay]

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Flow, which “USC officials” are you talking to? Listen, after last week it seems as though yet again not much is changing. Still, this is a PAC12 team, and decent rival the past 10 years or so, coming in for a Saturday night game. And a (lowly) ranked Tree team. Your narrative won’t work on this one. There’s no way Fresno St. draws more than this Saturday’s game.

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    1. Stanford fans won’t show up ( did you see their home opener ? ), Fresno State fans did show up, so if the USC side remains the same, the attendance will go down

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      2. Yes I did. Classes haven’t even started for Stanford yet. So yes, Stanford’s home game attendance last week was down.

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      2. You remember how a few years there Stanford just ran the ball down our throat and we couldn’t stop it? They were doing to us, what USC once perfected……what will this generation do?

        Liked by 1 person

      3. We’d like to know, because the rest of us have to put up with it….will you stand and fight, or will you bow to the Stanford’s of the world?

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  4. If Gomer is 4-2 after 6 weeks with a true freshman QB, a schoolyard offense, porous pass defense and the same morons coaching the team, it will be a miracle

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      2. karma —I guess that’s another way of looking at it…
        (But miracles, by definition, are events that can’t be explained by known laws of the universe —-so it seems the Helton appointment qualifies)….

        Liked by 4 people

    3. A schoolyard offense? That’s exactly what people were asking for in demanding that Jack Sears start. They apparently like to see plays breakdown and have the QB wing it. IMO It’s a good offense (Not perfect, you give some stuff up, but it’s good theory) and we just need to execute it.

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      1. Check the first half stats of the clemson vs bama game…2x the passes as runs. Just a different version of spread than we run. Not hard to see for those who actually watch games. When the games are in question they do the same thing as Harrell. Take what they give and force nothing (run vs pass).

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Wrong again Clay Dough, Sears is the better QB, he can move, no need for the Air Raid with him, the only reason that was implemented was because our OL can’t hold a block for more than a nano second

        Liked by 1 person

      3. @Pudly76 What game were you watching? I didn’t see an Air Raid offense. (4 Wr’s caught passes?) What I did see was some Horse Sh#t !! that almost got them beat and yet another pick by (Mr. 1 pick for every TD) J.T. Daniels

        Then when Slovis got in the game and chucked a poorly thrown deep ball that missed the Wr by 15 ft. They reeled him in so he didn’t hurt the team. I guess after he chucked up that first 50/50 he though he was Tom Brady. His next pass let the wind out of his sail.

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  5. Know the odds. The 3 games with Stanford, BYU and Utah are all pretty much toss-up games according to the gamblers. So SC has a 1 in 8 chance of being 4-0 when traveling to Washington.

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      2. Dear Pisley, 1 – 3 works for me. BTW Pisley, I’m down hard on the over 5.5.

        #IsaiahLangleyanothersuccessfulclownugrad.

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      3. So anybody start bringing the “We Want mora” banners to the games yet??

        Hahahahaha

        I didn’t think this (Kelly) would work, but I don’t think anyone ever thought it would go this way.

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    2. I don’t see 4-0. Although going up to Washington 4-0 would be great. The wins have to be respectable though. Last weekend’s wasn’t. But here’s to me hoping and being a fool, again…

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  6. Funny watching the trolls change their predictions week after week as the Trojans roll….not long ago krappa and his little buddies were opining that fresno would band Helton his lunch and stanfurd would be next to destroy them.

    Hahahahaha, keep it up trolls, it’s like watching cnn after the election or the Russiagate hearings!!! Your mommas ever tell you that life is like a box of chocolates?? I bet they did!!

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      3. You said: “Wrong again Clay Dough, Sears is the better QB, he can move, no need for the Air Raid with him, the only reason that was implemented was because our OL can’t hold a block for more than a nano second”

        To which I would reply that Sears is the better runner, not the better QB. He’s better at improv, but he doesn’t have a better arm. How much can Tom Brady move? How about Peyton Manning? Dan Marino? Dan Fouts? etc etc… Are you looking for a quarterback or a running back? The OL may have been a factor, but the real reason is that we were running a grab bag offense last year that was weak on theory, was not purposeful or well directed. The offense needed a new direction and it’s ALREADY better than last year. After the first game…

        Look, I don’t want to down Sears. He seems like a really good kid, but I don’t think he’ll play pro ball. If you insist on raving about his mobility, then I have to compare him to other mobile QBs across the country. He’s not even in the top 10… What are you pining for?

        BTW, “Clay Dough” is actually pretty good.

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    3. Hey P, I don’t really keep up with the soap opera stuff in here, but I think you’re a good poster. You’re also polite and respectful unless pushed and I’m not sure why these guys want to push you. Keep up the good work.

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      2. I agree Clay, Pudley has probably forgotten more about college football than some of these idiots will ever know. The trolls and haters on here have driven many people away from here, that and the endless schtick of Wolf being negative. Pudley, Clay, and MG are some of the old hands around here. The owns, budda, act like little kids. Which one is really Wolf.

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  7. Is anyone old enough to remember when Stanford was homecoming patsy U?
    USC used to play them like a banjo and never look back. I still remember seeing cheerleaders crying the year we lost by one point.
    There was a time when getting into high standard Stanford was harder, and football players couldn’t cut the grades. The signal caller would say: “Everyone go on PI,” then start the play yelling, “3.1415….hike”
    Those days are gone.
    Stanford the patsy turned into Stanford the beast when Harbaugh came along and made them drop the standard a bit. Still in years past we relished the new challenge. The only challenge our current coaching staff relishes is Challenge Creamery Butter.
    The day we stop quivering in our cleats over Stanford is the day we are on our way back. Stanford is just another team…well coached and football smart, but just another team.

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    1. One of their football slogans is “Intellectual Brutality” which is a good one if you are aiming for tough hard – nosed football.

      USC under Helton instead prefers a soft football style. Which is why he is never going to make it at USC.

      #HeltonRunsASoftFootballProgramAndItIsEmbarrassing

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  8. Even if BYU does find some success throwing, they can’t keep up with USC in a track meet. Kyle Wittingham has really put his signature on that Utah program and that game is going to be a big one.

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    1. No it’s not, they cannot recruit top players to that school, he never has a top QB, he’s gone through 5+ OC’s, plus they lose games that they shouldn’t lose, they are on top now because of Haden, Swann and Gomer, period.

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      1. Nobody is going to recruit top players to Utah. The guy knows what he wants to do with his teams, he coaches them to do it and his kids play hard for him. They have lost some games they should’ve won, but they ARE our competition in the south.

        Liked by 2 people

  9. As for the timeout, sometimes coaches play little mind games with the other coach.

    A coach (in this case, Tedford) who already knows he is going to kick a FG sends the regular O out to the field on 4th down. The opposing coach (in this case, Helton) who thought the other team was going to kick the FG, gets caught off guard a little and now wants to have the right D for the 4th down play and calls a TO. When play resumes, Tedford instead sends out the FG team and gets three points.

    What Tedford did there was force Helton to use, or waste, a TO. Why kick the FG for the easy three right off when you can screw with the other guy and deprive him of a TO for use later in the game?

    #HeltonIsARube

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  10. I think a column dedicated to Jess Hill would be appropriate. He was a 3 sport star in addition to head football coach and filled in other sports also, before becoming the AD .
    I do not recall any criticisms of his performance as coach and AD. He also seemed to lead a life without any negativities. That is a fine tribute to the man he was.

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. True freshman QB is built in excuse to fail and not get fired. Helton and Swann won’t care that the freshman was chosen over experienced QB’s. They will act like how dare anyone expect them to win with a true freshman that wasn’t supposed to start. Just watch it will happen.

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