FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: The Air Raid’s Consistent All Right

Graham Harrell has pretty much gotten a free pass in the media since being hired. But in USC’s first three games, the Trojans’ offense was outscored by Fresno State and BYU.

USC’s scored three touchdowns in each of those games. That’s not something to make any Air Raid offense proud. Someone will blame it on Kedon Slovis being a freshman but wasn’t Slovis a Heisman Trophy candidate a week ago?

Remember the offense is simple, Harrell said. No one will be able to cover every receiver, Helton said.

I haven’t even mentioned John “Wedge formation” Baxter. He’s a one-man wrecking crew in so many ways.

61 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: The Air Raid’s Consistent All Right”

  2. The Vegas odds are not out yet…in my Purview, I see Utah as a -4 favorite
    with Helton on the sidelines, I see Utah a -13 favorite.

    MG, what was it you were saying about my UCF-Tree game pick, something about Costello ?

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      2. gt —combine factor12’s prediction (which we have to take seriously) with the fact USC has never lost to Utah in the Coliseum before —–and it looks like Helton is in for a trip to the woodshed afterwards.
        [As much as he deserves it, Helton’s departure will leave us without an experienced person on the sidelines —-I don’t think Harrell can orchestrate the whole team and I know Clancy couldn’t]…..

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    2. factor12 (formerly known as the singer factor13)–
      I was singing your praises [to myself] throughout that game. Your Utah pick depresses me —but it has to be respected.

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  3. I’ve been out of the country for the first 2 games, so this was the first game I was able to watch. Here are some of my observations:

    1. The team is a bit more disciplined than last year’s version.
    2. Slovis is physically a better QB than Chuck and Duck. He’s bigger, faster, stronger. Yes he threw 3 picks, but who’s to say JT would not have done the same.
    3. The defense still can’t get a 3 and out
    4. Gomer is still mismanaging timeouts
    5. Streep is a monster. Why doesn’t he get the ball more? Once he had that fumble, they sat him, and with that the offense sputtered.
    6. The eyeball test tells me that USC looks more like a Mountain West team and looks a lot like last years team.

    I can’t see this team competing with Utah, ND, and UDub over the next 3 games unless they find a more physical attitude.

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    1. Good take but I’m done trying to analyze the various parts of this team. The net net is that Helton and Clancy are a disaster and have fundamentally ruined these players. I don’t see Harrell as a plus or minus as he obviously isn’t running the offense solo. He will just move on back to a Texas school next year.

      I have no plans to try and break down the team or games until Helton is gone. It’s too painful as each and every play of the game is a likely misadventure.

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    2. Calabasas nailed it – the D can’t get a 3 and out.

      Pendergast is the big problem. Fresno State and BYU both ran up 450 yards of total offense. Something is fundamentally wrong. This simply should not happen against these teams.

      Stepp is a monster. He got them the key first downs. His stats thus far this year are:

      12 carries, 86 yards. He did put the ball on the ground once, but don’t bench him.

      Utah is beatable if Stepp gets 15 carries.

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      1. The D has no play makers, the DL is nonathletic as hell, the DB’s don’t look for the ball, they can’t tackle, it’s a normal Clancy shitshow

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      2. 67 —Helton smiled and said Stepp “needs to hang on to the ball.” I REALLY need you to think about that. Toa mis-snapped the ball over and over and over. No problem. J. T. missed on easy passes over and over and over again. No problem. Jones takes the kick before it goes into the endzone and doesn’t get to the 20 yard line over and over and over again (and fumbled a return deep in our own territory). No problem. Helton is a coward. He’s actually SCARED to tell Carr that he’s lost his place to Stepp.
        Helton simply won’t do the hard things that every first rate coach has to do…….
        #He’dRatherLose……

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      4. 67 —Those are the words I hope Folt uses when she meets with Helton after the Utah game…. “No offense. You’ve done the very best you could. And I actually like you. But, as a Head Football Coach of a major university —you’re a fraud.”
        #”We’reFinishedHere.GoodDay.”

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    4. It is Steep you dunce. Meryl Streep has used up her eligibility.
      Stay out of this country when the Trojans were
      undefeated. Slovis would be sitting on the bench if Daniels not hurt.
      He is too slow back there and afraid to take off running , but maybe
      once a game. He should have had 4 picks easily w/ one dropped.
      Great catch by Pittman for last TD.

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    6. and where do they find It???
      try real physical practices, spring, fall and during season, something hellton rarely calls for them to do, mostly lots of shorts where tackling to the ground, blocking to the ground never occur…they were not properly prepared for physical football,and rarely are or will be under hellton.

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      1. Exactly right … at the heart of a program is the head coach’s philosophic beliefs as pertains to competitive sports … won ever hung the moniker “Hugs” on Helton couldn’t have nailed it better with a sledge hammer

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  4. I predicted 1-5 start. Didn’t know Stanford was so bad. 2-4 is coming and after that only Colorado and ucla remaining games where SC may be favored.

    So now what? If Del Rio would take the interim job, I would pull that trigger tomorrow. Problem is that he would want the permanent gig and he’s not the ideal guy.

    I can’t imagine Harrell is going to be around next year either way. Helton is bringing him down the crapper with him.

    And Clancy, what a train wreck

    Overall, a completely predictable mess. The only way to salvage recruiting is to make a move before Notre Dame. Otherwise any new coach will have to plan for a crappy first two years on the job.

    The only hope is that they are already are close to nailing down an AD who has the right coach in mind. That would be a craft move by Folt. But knowing how SC works, I fear we are headed toward a Del Rio at best type situation.

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    1. Del Rio’s win% is worse than Helton’s. TAKE NOTICE***

      If that choice is made, it shows the Administration is rudderless and portends a dismal future and continued failures, the School I’m afraid will become a toxic venue for any future attempts to hire a Quality top tier Football Coach. If anyone has paid any attention to our sports programs, they are all on a decline in the last ten years and Helton’s failures and flummoxed behavior has only amplified our condition.

      From Howard Jones to John McKay was a very long stretch, are we repeating history, due to our Administrators and Board of Trustees ignorance of sports and intransigence….or are we suffering because it’s planned ?

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      1. 1978 to now, aside from PC, is a very long stretch. Think about that, had PC not fallen into Garretts lap USC would have ZERO NC’s in football since 1978

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      2. Buddha – again exactly right … PC fell into our lap … I would take it further … if not for that incredible stroke of luck, we would be a low middle bottom feeder on par with say a Duke, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern … which appears to have been the goal of the incompetents in charge of the institution …

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      3. Khama- if there were no McKay or Robinson, no nat’ chips since Howard Jones; no Saban, no chips since 91 for Bama; no Dabo, no chips for Clemson since 83 and so on…

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      4. Arturo
        That is of course true…but the difference is Alabama went to great expense to specifically lure Saban from the NFL…whereas PC was an after thought hire when they couldn’t get anyone else to take the job … the point of course being that USC cannot simply be cheap and hope to get lucky again – it needs to make a commitment to investing whatever is necessary to be competitive with the elite programs … and it’s not just Bama … Urban, since he is in the forefront of so many people’s thinking at present, was similarly the purposeful hire of Florida and Ohio State to restore their programs … every other elite program has committed to getting great coaches when their programs were ebbing…except USC…that must now change…

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      1. Maybe. He was terrible as raider coach. Certainly didn’t provide discipline. They were mistake and penalty prone. He would be an improvement, but we need to shoot higher.

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      2. Just Like he did at Jacksonville and Oakland…right Tim. You don’t know if he would or could do as you stated, but your hope is that he would.

        Statistics and prior records are much more precise in projecting future performance than opinions and emotions…Carroll would fit in my example because of his lackluster record, though their personalities, ambition and desire of certain achievement are polar. Carroll achieved his goal at USC.
        Perhaps Del Rio achieved his at JAX and Oakland…?

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  5. Harrell’s a pup. Anybody that expected a Kingsbury-Leach type offense from a kid outta N Texas St was having a wet dream. BTW, the best Air Raid QB on the field yesterday was Zach Wilson (see extending plays with your feet). He conjured memories of Jack Sears—great mobility, strong arm, accurate passer, and a freakish will to win. Nobody gave San Clemente a chance to win CIF. They were the 6th seed. Guess what? Graham Harrell needs to work on his game, the part where he makes adjustments in the fog of war (see Norm Chow). Helton just a jackass, and because Slovis is our QB, GH appears to be his bitch.

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  6. Washington has figured out the Air Raid . Most good defensive coordinators know how to adjust . Pendergast i am not sure? The Stanford win is pretty tarnished after the UCF meltdown even with Costello

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    1. Make no mistake PAC,
      The PAC12 intimidates NO ONE any longer.
      UCF has been for real the last four years under a Frost and now Huepel.

      UCF would have rolled over us with the same aplomb.

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    2. Fresno ST lost at home to Minnesota, who BARELY got by Georgia Southern yesterday, a FCS school, at home, how does that win look ?

      Gomer’s a fraud, always has been, if not for Darnold and an idiot named Swann he’d be getting coffee and doughnuts for Kiffin in Florida now.

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  7. According to nfl scouts , and coaches, the air raid offense doesn’t produce physical teams. Which is probably why we’ll never see that type of offense in a national championship game. So If you’re going to copy cat a coaches philosophy, then go with a Nick Saban, or a Dabo Sweeney, instead of Mike Leach, or Dana Hologorsen . Because the last I checked, neither one of them have even sniffed a playoff run

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    1. Gomer has no idea what he’s doing, he has no offensive philosophy, he doesn’t know what defense does and he’s totally clueless about special teams, add his lack of game management “skills” and you get a 5 year extension !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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      1. Exactly.

        At this point, there isn’t a sane person alive who believes Helton is a good coach. He’s dead man walking.

        The problem is SC as a school and AD is a mess. A strong, hard ass AD is needed to clean house and put in an established coach that just wants to recruit well, get the most out of his players and win. How fast can this happen? I want to believe Folt already has an AD in mind and that negotiations have begun. If not, recruiting is toast for this year and any new coach hired in January won’t be able to bounce back next year.

        To be clear, I don’t want Del Rio. But I would take him as interim coach. Dump Clancy and let Harrell run the offense. Maybe finish 7-5 and secure a decent recruiting class.

        Who knows if Urban would take the job but he isn’t coming mid season. I believe Folt will find the right coach but likely too late to impact next year. That Alabama game is going to be a real beat down. Hopefully they go easy on us like Okie did yesterday on ucla.

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  8. This week’s grades (brought to you by Call It Like I See It)
    QB – Slovis’ stats broken down:
    23 of 30 for 221 yards (RB & WR)
    1 of 1 for 60 yards (Tight End)
    3 of 3 Interceptions
    Our freshman phenom fell back down to earth starting in his first career away game (high school & football). Very difficult environment and he looked awesome in first drive. I wish he would roll out and look to run a bit more for easy yardage and stop forcing passes in the middle. Ugh, no in game adjustments again!!
    Grade: B
    RB –
    So excited that Steep saw action. This is a solid core group. Putting #30 on short yardage was great and he did well as expected. Come on – you have to love a guy who flipped last minute on the Domers!! Malepeai is a good RB as well and will break a long one soon for a TD.
    Grade: B+
    WR –
    Pittman and Vaughns had solid games. What happened to St Brown? Pass interference call on Pittman may be one of the worst PIs against USC in decades. As Jim Healy said, “I’ve seen more pushing in the men’s room.”
    Grade: B
    Defense –
    Where do we start? Allowing 430 yards in offense to this team is sad. The QB run for a TD is unforgiveable. The poor tackling is a serious deficiency that must be corrected soon. Is it the result of non-contact practices in fall camp and game week? What happened to the sacks? No turnovers really cost the defense in this one!! To say I am disappointed is an understatement. However, I do not publicly bad mouth unlike many in social media today. The coaching on defense scares me at this point in the season. Upcoming games against Utah, Washington and Notre Dame could be ugly if defense does not improve.
    Grade: D
    Special Teams –
    FG / Kickoffs – Excellent!! – A+
    Punter – Nice hang time – But 38.5 yards, really? B
    Coaches –
    Not much to say about defense (see above).
    I like offense but now we give up pass to run 3 or 4 straight times. I understand you do what opposing teams defense gives you, but I am confused. I love the sideline passes but why over the middle? Did not see many adjustments in game again.
    Grade: C- (Would’ve have been D but 52-yard field goal was awesome and giving Coach Baxter props!!
    This is a young team with a lot of potential. I just hope they can rise above all the negative chatter etc. Life is about proving all your detractors wrong. Remember, how everyone thought the PC hire was bad. We only had two games in revamped offense and I think we can score against anyone provided we mix up the play calling, make in game adjustments etc. The defense scheme may not be right for this group of players but they need to huddle up and go out and get one 3 and out and that may do wonders for them.
    Until next time – Scott Wolf, I mean Jim Healy you’ve got a weak show!!

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  10. Take-Aways from the game, or on the Lighter-Side—

    Hope Slovis got the girls he wanted last week working off his ‘one-week of fame’ debut…
    I questioned whether Slovis was a one-game wonder; but despite his errors he’ll do well..
    SC-BYU were evenly matched, both fought hard, and the game could have easily gone either way…
    And let us not harp on referee errors; they happen; and in this game they evened out…
    Besides, it was a very entertaining and well played football game with no lost fumbles…
    And as an SC fan weren’t you a bit nervous and felt really alive throughout that dramatic contest?…
    Lest us not forget it was also a peaceful religious gathering of Mormons, Jews, Muslims and others…
    Not spiritual? Explain that to the rampaging stampede of BYU students swarming over their heroes.

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  11. I guess I was wrong when I thought Slovis was more like Jack or Matt and would run more often to help get 1st downs while rolling out…he had room several times.
    I see now why Drevno ‘O’ line looked good vs Stanford, the trees are really dandelions at this time. AND obviously SC are still practicing in shorts…no push vs a 3 man ‘D’ line? no protection vs a 3man ‘D’ line? WHEN WILL THIS NIGHTMARE END?

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  12. Board of Trustees members on the return Delta flight back to L.A. have all said Helton is toast. Matter of time before they find the replacement. Word is slowly getting out that Leinart, Reggie Bush and Urban Meyers are clandestinely meeting at Terranea in Rancho Palos Verdes discussing how to raise the $18 million needed to toss Helton. Previously reported here that Meyer was overheard at dinner at Terranea Resort with his buds this summer talking about the job himself.

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  13. I’m sorry, but I can’t sign on to the “Coach Helton’s mouth was open and that’s why we lost” theory. I stated before the game that if USC lost this year, it would be because it lost the turnover battle by a substantial margin. They did lose the turnover battle by a substantial margin and correspondingly lost the game, so I don’t have to go looking under rocks for a reason for the loss. How many teams have you seen go on the road, throw 3 unanswered interceptions and win? It really doesn’t happen and you have to feel kind of lucky to even get to overtime. There were 2 instances I remember when USC had a chance to get a turnover (Pollard on the blooper and Tremblay on a fumble recovery he had the best chance at, but couldn’t fall on) and neither player could make the play. BYU’s defenders made the plays when they were in a position to do so and ours didn’t. The turnovers for us were there too, but we didn’t go get the ball like they did. Why not?

    BYU got much more effective QB play and I guess that is to be expected when you have a freshman QB making his first start on the road. I mean, I guess it’s to be expected, but I sure as hell wasn’t expecting it. Slovis did some backsliding this week and it looked like someone choking under pressure to me. What happened to the little scramble for 2 to 5 yards when there wasn’t an open receiver? Why are we all of a sudden forcing balls into double coverage this week? Why were we locking on and not checking down like we did last week? Kedon, that 2-man game with the RB in the flat is always available and we’re always better off letting our RBs go 1 on 1, or 1 on 2 in the open field rather than forcing balls downfield. You knew all this last week, what happened? On EVERY interception there was a better option available and you didn’t take it. What happened to the poise I raved about last week? Your teammates, your coaches, your family and friends won’t say it, but I will: you let the team down with your play. That happens sometimes and I’ve been there myself, it’s part of being human while playing football and it happens to the best of ’em. However, the best of ’em bounce back strong because they have unshakable confidence in their abilities. I can’t imagine a better opportunity for you to bounce back than to lead your squad to victory over a conference and division rival next week. Use what you’re feeling inside right now and resolve yourself to never feeling that way again. You have the game, but you can’t be getting in your own way. Keep your head up, listen to what your coaches are telling you, shake it off and come back strong next week. I’m upset like you are, but I’m still a believer and I expect better next week.

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    1. Very sensible post. BYU was only a 4 point dog and gifting them 10 points while not capitalizing on their potential miscues, spelled doom for the team. Slovis will learn to look off defenders and not throw late over the middle. I still think Helton loses games with his game mismanagement and that he should’ve been fired last year.

      #beattheUtes

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      1. I know coach leaves some things to be desired, but his performance wasn’t the difference yesterday. Neither was the ref’s performance or anything else people are talking about. You gave the ball away and thereby gave the game away. But for the turnovers, USC wins that game and there are no other “but fors” that were crucial.

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    2. Clay — sober and sage advice (that I REALLY hope is read by the right people).
      Side notes:
      – Pollard’s inability to catch a batted ball was unforgivable. He doesn’t have the hands to intercept —but a fluttering ball batted right to him?
      -The “mouth open” thing has become emblematic of Helton’s reaction to what we Trojans used to call “wartime.” When it gets fast and furious on the field, Helton gets a look on his face that can’t be comforting to see during time outs. I saw a YouTube clip of Carroll during a tough stretch of one of the Notre Dame contests….and he was smiling and smoothly giving the troops inspiration. Maybe not a difference maker —but a Big Difference.
      -No matter what is said by the parties involved, Harrell is NOT in charge of this offense. He is working with Clay on the playcalling. As Dan Weber said yesterday, “The offense looked exactly like Helton’s gumbo offense of 2018 —and got the same results.”

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      1. Hey, MG. I can’t speak about the way plays are being called because I’m not privy to that process. I can’t get upset about something I don’t even know to be happening. I can say that I was not comfortable putting the game in the QB’s hands because he was making really bad decisions with the ball. The offense went extremely conservative in the 2nd half, but how can you blame them? The kid was clearly melting down under the pressure and it was a fairly disconcerting thing for me to see. I don’t blame the coaches for taking it away from him because and as soon as they gave it back to him, he made another poor decision and coughed it up to end the game. Nobody (Wolf especially) really wants to acknowledge this because they were very invested in the “Slovis won despite Helton” and “Slovis should’ve started instead of JT” narratives last week. Well, the truth is that the team almost won despite Slovis this week, but you won’t hear anything about that now. You also had a lot of people giving the O-line credit last week, but I didn’t see anything last week that had me giving a bunch of credit to the O-line. Now that those things were exposed, people still need to pin the loss on Helton’s…open mouth and timeout management??

        What needed to happen yesterday (Beyond the QB taking care of the ball) was USC needed to be able get first downs running the ball against a 3-man front. If you could’ve made them consistently pay for sitting back in coverage, they would’ve come out of that and given your QB some room to throw. Instead, we could only rush for less than 4 yds a carry against a defense designed to stop the pass. I just know that if we were ever in that kind of defensive alignment, teams would be running the ball all over us. How do you keep so few people in the box and still contain what is supposed to be a talented O-line and a gifted RB group? You’re able to do that because the little sprint option we run takes too long to get to the hole and it gives the defense too much time to react up when they know you’re running. In a traditional attack, everyone knows what hole the RB is coming through, they block accordingly and the RB hits the hole fast. The RB is 3 yards past the line of scrimmage by the time one of the eight defenders can react to it. In this offense, the running back kind of scrapes along the line and finds a hole to run through. Now, I would’ve loved that as a RB, but our backs don’t seem to have great vision nor are they terribly elusive. Teams have an easier time tackling our backs than we have tackling theirs and I don’t understand that. Not only did BYU have the best QB on the field yesterday, they had the best RB too.

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