FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: The Lack Of Discipline Continues

Remember all the offseason propaganda duly lapped up by the sycophants about the culture change and newfound discipline at USC?

Let me just give two examples from the BYU game that show things are similar to 2018.

I hear a USC player committed a team rules violation before the game . . . and still started.

Remember when Clay Helton bragged that USC had only one penalty in 200 plays during a week of spring practices?

With USC leading BYU, 24-20, and 8:06 left in th game, linebacker Juliano Falaniko committed a personal foul on the kickoff that pinned the Trojans back to their own 13-yard line. On the second play of the drive, USC had a holding penalty that put the ball at the 7-yard line.

This effectively killed the drive and Ben Griffiths delivered his standard 37-yard punt. Three plays later, BYU scored a TD to take a 27-24 lead.

Discipline? Where? What program?

  • You have probably seen some cheering that USC’s interim athletic director is Dave Roberts, the former head of compliance. Well, let me remind you how he got hired at USC.
  • The Pac-12 said there was an officiating error at the end of the Arizona State-Michigan State game that prevented the Spartans a chance to win-or-tie the game.

“Michigan State again attempted a field goal with 0:06 remaining that was no good as time expired. However, there should have been a foul called for leaping. An Arizona State defensive player took a running start and leapt over the kicking team’s line in an attempt to block the kick. In the process, he leapt into the frame of the body of an opponent. The penalty would have been 15 yards from the previous spot and an automatic first down.

“In this case, it would have been administered as half the distance to the goal and Michigan State would have been provided one untimed down.”

You can watch the play and explanation here.

68 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: The Lack Of Discipline Continues”

  3. I’m still not buying into Gomer not meddling in the play calling. You see the start of the BYU game and Slovis isn’t standing there looking for hours at the sideline and then in the second half he is. So, is Gomer making the play call go through him ? Is he actually overruling plays ? Gomer could be telling the truth that Opie is calling the plays, but Gomer could be overruling them which is why it was taking so long for SC to get the plays in in the second half.

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    1. Exactly. Helton said Harrell “ultimately” calls the plays, or something like that. But who knows what that exactly means.

      Maybe it means Helton saying “Graham, I want to run XYZ. Ok?” And then Harrell calls XYZ, even if he really didn’t want to. Arguing about a play call in the middle of a game would be nuts, so perhaps Harrell just did what Helton wanted.

      It also looks like Slovis was told not to run unless absolutely necessary. There were at least 3 plays where he had space but he froze just in front of the line of scrimmage, searching for a receiver even after the play seemed to have broken down.

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      1. Or maybe Opie calls for a pass and Gomer wants a run, then Opie has to call a run or Gomer calls the run play which leads to Slovis standing there looking at the sideline forever.

        Opie blowing off the post game presser says he was either pissed over play calling, he can’t take the heat for his play calling or he didn’t want to lie about the play calling, which of those is anyone’s guess.

        I can see where Gomer & Opie would tell Slovis not to run because if he gets hurt it’s the Finkster show and no one else behind him. Wasn’t Opie’s complaint about Sears was that he took off and ran instead of throwing ?

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      2. Exactly, they thought Sears was doing too much free-lancing. Ironically, having Slovis freeze just in front of the LOS puts him in a real position of getting hurt, rather than running for a few and sliding when the opening is there.

        Hoping that Stepp gets at least 15 carries this week. He is averaging about 7.3 per carry, many of those on short yardage situations.

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      3. Meanwhile cross town Hurts showing just how bad the decision to go with JT in this style of offense was…

        I mentioned in a comment yesterday that as much as people may find him difficult to listen to at times, Harvey Hyde has been nailing this issue for over two years (listen to the most recent episode – it has the added bonus of how his criticisms – which are correct and across the board and have been for a long time – make the host seem so much more of a program stooge)…

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      5. Utah is better on the D line than BYU which means it’s a LOT better than USC, the running game will be non existent even if it’s Stepp and Slovis might get hurt Friday night if he stands there at the LOS

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      6. Yes, but not just the physical blocking tackling practicing…he’s been nailing the futility of running anything that involves RPOs or one backs without running the counter/jet sweeps and more importantly not having a mobile QB who adds that other dimension the defense must account for…not having sequences (he uses the old term series and it is correct) where plays run early set up plays later (showing formations and motion, running certain plays, then coming back to them and running variations)…and on and on…the old coach may not have been the most accomplished, but he understands fundamental football, and it’s on those fundamentals that Kiffin/Sark/Helton have failed miserably…

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      7. James — I’m not saying you’re wrong (mainly because you’re right) — The only reasons I was a J. T. supporter were (1) he’s smart and I like smart QB’s AND (2) I thought he worked best in what would still be —in spite of the presence of Harrell — a Helton offense. Helton is NEVER going to feel comfortable with a running QB —- he even restricted SAM DARNOLD from taking off in his second year at the helm. Helton is scared of improvisation —and that’s what a running quarterback brings. Poor Sears, right? He kept showing Helton exactly what Helton did NOT want to see in practice. Helton doesn’t know what to do with a running QB —that’s why I thought J. T. represented a good fit.
        Side Note: Helton’s reaction to the second Slovis interception? “That’s it! From here on we’re playing scared! And I’m just the man to run the show!”

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      8. MG
        I think you’re spot on…all the way to the detail of how that’s what explains the resurgence of the old Cody Kessler hold the team at the line while I look to the sideline until the play clock has almost run out (not Cody’s fault as everyone should now plainly see – it’s what comes of bad coaching holding a player back)…

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      10. Yes…the next year was such a miserable grind with that awful Cotton Bowl at the end…between himself and the people who advised him or that he listened to (maybe people like JuJu or Adoree one would suspect) it was no surprise that he got himself out of there at the first opportunity…

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      11. James –It’s what any smart player would do: leave early. What are they going to learn from Helton and crew? Remember, too, that Sam would be coming back to another Callaway coached 0-line. Asking an NFL bound player to risk life and limb like that isn’t fair……
        #I’mSurprisedPittmanDidn’tTakeOff[HeltonLuckedOutBigTime]….

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      12. Agreed – and seeing how much harder it was without JuJu, the thinking that then he would be doing it without RoJo…and new linemen coached by said Calloway…all in exchange for, as you point out, the opportunity to receive no meaningful coaching…

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      13. James — Not to belabor this thing too much more —But — there is a reason why talented juniors came back to play for Saban or Meyer or Carroll ….
        #ThatReasonPlainlyDoesn’tExistWithHelton…..

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    2. karma — Great fricking call. Slovis would be looking to the sidelines until the clock was down to 2 or 3. Who was he looking at? Is Harrell on the sidelines? No, Clay has him hidden a thousand feet away. Poor Slovis was so intent on watching Helton give signals from the sidelines that I was worried he was going to miss the snap (the way Barkley would miss snaps when Kiffin kept changing the call from the sidelines). The whole mess was getting Carr more confused than Slovis and Slovis had to keep PUSHING Carr into position. The net result of all of Helton’s brilliance on the sidelines? Exactly none of these long developing plays gained any yardage.
      Allow me to second what 67 and a host of other commentators have already said: Stepp needs to play a way larger role. He’s so much more effective than Carr its ridiculous. I know Helton is a coward (as well as a liar) but he needs to tell Carr that Stepp has replaced him in the lineup against Utah. It’s USC’s one BIG chance to score the upset…..
      #ButIDon’tExpectMrGod&FamilyToDoThat….

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      2. MG – above comment from me about Hurts as relates to USC … realize you and a lot of others support(ed) JT being the starter…and I am not going after that or him…but this relates to a big part of why I’m bringing up Coach Hyde’s incredibly insightful analysis…the offense works infinitely better when a QB is mobile and threatens the defense in that way…we were force fed a vision of the future when we couldn’t stop Vince Young in the 4th quarter…and he was, while an athletic phenomena, an unpolished passer compared to what these kids are coached to do now…I always hated the idea of USC having a “running quarterback”…but that’s looking at it in a largely false light…Mahomes is the ideal (and others like Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, even Drew Brees…now perhaps this kid Jackson with the Ravens)…they are old school single wing tailbacks who can pass like Payton Manning…and the defenses are so athletic that you simply cannot not have that facet in your offense…

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    3. The young man was , Freefalling! Uh, get Graham on the phone! Uh, Graham? I screwed this up! Stop pumpimg Ethel, instead pump the brakes!

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      2. No smarm from ranked team fans! But, how about those Big Bad Bears and Sunny Side Up Devils?! Was at least glad to see you had moved on from the subversive “Keep Clay” sarcasm…

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      3. When you can walk 5 feet without petting your guns, those prayers you speak of will be helpful, I hope….nevertheless, makes little to no difference to me….

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      4. Ah James,

        I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

        #MeSarcastic?ComeOnMan.
        #Thoughtfulness.That’sWhatIsWas-Right?
        #StoopsIsOnTheWayBePatient

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    4. Remember the old, “we’re not gonna have to change the game plan for Slovis” bit…….? Well, that was just a lie! It played out on National TV!

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    5. Don’t think I’ve ever seen such a pack of lies by a Trojan coach, honestly.,..astonishing, tiger! Buried a good kid, now look….you got issues with a good ready to go team on your hands…win Friday, please? You’re not permitted,hereby, to waste another season!

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    6. These kids have futures! Get a hold of yourself, and act like you know something! 10 years here! You’ve had plenty of time and opportunity and financings to plan….coach better…swallow pride, bring us fans some good cheer! Omg

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      1. karma — You’re being facetious —but the truth is nothing would surprise me at this point —-not even a protracted search for a new Athletic Director that ended in……Swann returning.
        #Folt:”IGuessWeDidn’tAppreciateWhatWeHad…
        #”…UntilEveryOneElseContactedSaidNo….”

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    2. He lasts the season only if the team can overcome him, as is ’16.

      It is a mixed bag. If they play well the rest of the season, maybe Helton stays. If they don’t play well, that sucks, but Helton is gone.

      #PickYourPoison

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      2. 67 — I hold out hope that the team wins a few big ones this season (including Utah)…… but as to our hopes of being relevant in the national picture again …not to mention being able to lure a better than 60th rated 2020 class of recruits …..we must bid Helton a fond adieu ……

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      5. 67 —It COULD work that way (well, maybe not the run the table part —but we could win some big games and STILL thank Helton at the end of the season with a big going away party —-inviting all the players who’ve left the program via the transfer portal or failed to honor their letters on intent after watching Helton in action)…..

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  6. Like it or not, USC has always been a heavily penalized team. Back in the Carroll days there were lots of penalties. Some can be forgiven if it is extra effort and physical mistake. Mental mistakes are another thing entirely. With Clay as the mental guru of this team, how in the world can they succeed? The man is not equipped to lead, it is that simple. No matter how hard he tries he is doomed to mediocrity at the very best. Rest easy Trojan fans, three weeks from today, USC will be 2-4 and Clay will be gone. Take it from me.

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  7. Utah scored 2 TD’s off of 2 interceptions. Its a 16-12 game without the interceptions. Z Moss had 187 yds of rushing. For 3 quarters it was a close game. BYU is a decent team. USC is a decent team. If the Trojans bear down they can play Utah hard and compete for a win.

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    1. Las Vegas sees it the same way. This is not an unwinnable game. If Helton can manage to piss this team off with all the crap Whittingham and Moss have said about them over the last 2 years (“not physical”, “crybabies”, “athletic but not tough in a street fight”) the Trojans can come out on top. But if Helton has them playing scared again, if they get away from the gameplan because Helton is jerking off on the sidelines changing plays again, if he calls timeouts which accomplish one thing only (allowing the team to see him sweat under pressure) —we lose big.
      Harrell said all summer that the offense was going to play balls out, take risks and have fun doing it. Not dumb risks like throwing into triple coverage but smart risks –like letting the young Stepp take over the run game, getting the young receivers into the game so Utah has to deal with some people they haven’t seen on tape and, most of all, going deep more often and letting our guys win their matchups (and if Helton weren’t such a fuck up, one of those guys would be NFL bound Devon Williams).

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      1. But MG, he can’t have him in the game putting the ball on the ground…?! rrrrr
        Reading your description of him on the sideline, wasting timeouts, probably interfering with playcalls, paralyzing the offensive rhythm…

        My frame of reference, fair or not, is re-reading the SIs from the 1978 USC-Alabama and 1981 USC-OU games (each against #1 or #2 ranked elite foes)…and how they describe John (call me Tiger John) Robinson interacting with his quarterbacks who were each starting for the just 3rd time in their careers…a calm, steady figure, who got them to look at the crowd around them and to enjoy the moment and the opportunity at hand…

        For those not familiar – USC won each game…

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      2. James — So fricking nicely put. So on the money. Let me add a recollection from a very hard fought Notre Dame game Pete Carroll coached. During a second half time out he said something to Justin Fargas. They smiled at each other. When asked what he said, Carroll told the reporter “I told Justin to keep running hard —that we were gonna keep running straight at ’em til they DIDN’T WANT IT ANYMORE.” When the time out broke, Vargas ran 40 yards for a TD that broke Notre Dame’s will….
        #…ItAllStartedW/RealBeliefInHeadCoach

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      3. MG
        I remember that game as well (watched it at a bar in College Park, MD after the Army had moved me from Arizona to the east coast…started going there because of the “bad luck furnished apartment” I had watched Mike Williams drop the ball against Wazzou and K-State from…so went back to the bar to watch the Rose Bowl trampling of a very good Iowa team)…Huggy Bear’s kid and Sultan McCullough…backing up Carson Palmer and that howitzer…great memories…and yeah, what I described above…I believe I’ve read that Pete did the same thing with Williams after those games…and he was the best receiver in the country for the balance of the next two seasons…

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      4. James, those were both great games and great memories.

        And ironically, J-Rob is now at LSU, apparently after being given the bum’s rush out of LA.

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      5. We have to come hard at Utah’s supposed strength in the trenches. Our guys can do it at sea level and at home. Carr went down so easy. Let Vavae and Markese run hard. Don’t try to finesse Utah. Shadow Moss and Huntley and force them to pass.

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      6. Long Beach — If our corners can play to their abilities, that’ll work.
        [And the way Helton sticks with Carr is just one more stunning example of his inability to maximize what he’s getting from his first Eleven. Only a complete idiot would play Carr against Utah—which is why we can expect Helton to do just that]…
        #Helton:VeryStrongDeathWish

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    2. It was the first game, a rivalry game, the biggest game BYU will play all year and it was at Provo with their fans who are anything but nice. Utah stumbled around in the first half, made halftime adjustments ( you can do that ? ) and won going away. Yes, the Utah game is winnable, but Utah sees blood in the water, their QB is mobile, they have a very good RB, both of their lines are stout, their DB’s can run with our WR’s, their coach is defensive coach, this could also be a very ugly Friday night for USC in that dump called Los Angeles.

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  8. Link,
    After the Haden, Kiffin debacle followed bu the Haden, Sarkissian debacle, both gained national press and negative responses.
    Optics are different now, for all the varied reasons you have to be aware of.
    We simply cannot add to this string of missteps, it will effect future hiring of a qualified coach, none want to work for an unstable, unpredictable Administration, and that’s who they are now.

    Let Helton coach the complete season, it may only get worse, the better the position for the Administration and the chosen Executioner, “bearer of sad tidings and termination” ! They have to pay him anyway and I don’t feel an interim coach can alter the direction of the $hit $andwich we call a team anyway.

    James,
    I have to acknowledge your acute awareness of the true nature of Abraham. A subsidized Protagonist.

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      1. And I don’t dislike him necessarily – he’s doing a job … he’s doing something I haven’t went to the difficulty of doing … he’s successful … and frequently contributes a great deal …

        But over the years, yeah, the trend line has went in the wrong direction…

        He is all but unlistenable…
        And Michael and Alicia are now in the same boat…tried after several months to listen to the after game podcast…couldn’t believe he was trying to compare this offense to the offense run by Kyler Murray at OU…or putting up OU as a symbol for what a program should strive for…

        But again, they’re doing what they do, and I’m doing something else…and this!

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      2. James,
        You are quite correct, he’s doing what he is doing, knowing what his drivers are, simply causes the astute to put in place the filter of Discernment, that eases the absorption of Rah-Rah indoctrination from the SID. Leaving a Crystal Clear View of Reality.

        Alicia is another story, sometime she makes coherent sense, other times it’s like an hysterical rant without direct purpose. To enjoy her dialogue you would need to be using the same what ever it is during her ‘In Car Podcasts’

        Be nice Michael.😎

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      3. Factor:

        Very astute analysis on your part and you’ve largely read my mind…

        I have enjoyed ROT more because they are fans and letting us in to their fandom…but as they (I’ve assumed this, without proof, to be true) have drifted towards the RA approach (and one suspects this has something to do not only with the industry/cross-pollination, but just simply maintenance of access)…

        AD is definitely all over the map, and as you point out, sometimes she’s on the money, and sometimes somewhere far away…MC does a fine job hosting and facilitating…I think he’s usually off on his analysis, but that’s fine…hard to let comparisons of this USC offense to Kyler Murray’s OU offense from last year pass without comment, but so be it…

        As to the other…yeah, that’s more of a business approach and an exercise in button-pushing of the base…but the useful byproduct is that DW and HH have frequently provided superb insight…

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      4. James —I’m still waiting for Dan Weber to ask a meaningful follow up question after Helton blows him off…..
        #Dan:”IWouldJustDieIfCoachGaveMeAWitheringLook….”

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      6. James — Follow up observation: What will Saban do when, one half instant after he leaves Alabama, reporters don’t fawn all over his every half witted insult?

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      7. Because he spent that one year in Miami learning that no one at the highest level was impressed by him, guessing he’ll recede into legend status in the Alabama orbit with not too much difficulty…won’t be like some who have to learn it the hard way (or worse yet, pass away shortly thereafter)…in fact, would you be shocked to see him follow a path similar to Tom Osborne at/in Nebraska? Nothing suggests any ambitions in that direction, but the same was seemingly true of Dr. Tom…I don’t see him going into broadcasting or the like, and it’s hard to imagine him becoming one of Barry Switzer’s pejorative porch-sitting guitar pickers…

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  9. This isnot complicated. Helton will and should be fired

    Road record

    8-10

    Record without Darnold

    5-9

    No player development, same mistakes becuase he does not know how to fix them. Clancy’s defense is soft. Oline habits can’t be fixed in one year. Helton lost his job after the Cotton Bowl when de didn’t make changes to the program. He is dead man walking.

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    1. Old School,
      “Helton lost his job after Cotton Bowl….”
      #…IfOnly….
      “He is a dead man walking.”
      #AmITheOnlyOneWho’sNoticedThatHeltonDoesn’tCastAShadow?

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  11. From my limited, gun petting, outside looking in perspective…
    SC needs an alpha dog coach & the current guy ain’t it.

    The current guy has run a program that has kept the NCAA’s nose looking elsewhere & that is good. That’s why he’s where he is. However, he’s not capable of utilizing SC’s talent because he’s never been around this much. You can also look at the position coaches & coordinator coaches…which ones want to rotate into the program & where they head when the leave. Where’s Callaway now?
    Look at Bill Walsh for example. Half the known universe wanted to study under him.

    #DidYouNoticeIDidn’tMention4FormerCALCoachesBecameNFLHC?
    #MyGuessIsTheDecisionHasBeenMade2SendHeltonPacking

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