FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: Clay Helton’s Six-Game Plan

With USC now 3-3, here’s a column I wrote for the Sporting News on Clay Helton’s future.

Excerpt: USC has six regular season games left, and Helton probably needs victories in at least five of those games to save his job. That means he needs to beat Colorado, UCLA and at least three of the following teams: Arizona, Oregon, Arizona State and California.

Of course, Helton was full Helton after the Notre Dame game.
“I can’t wait to watch the next six games,” he said. “I told our team in there if they play like they did in the second half, get ready, they’re going to win a Pac-12 title. And I honestly believe that . . . We control our own destiny.”

He is such a piece of work after games.

Meanwhile, it looks like Carol Folt went viral from her sideline appearance.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

46 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Clay Helton’s Six-Game Plan”

    1. The only thing that irritates me about this, is that if Folt were a man caught ogling the asz of (for example) a hot coed passing by, he would have already been #me-too’ed out of his job. He’d be “resigning” on Monday, and he’d be fortunate to be able to find work as a taxi driver or a security guard going forward.

      Like

      Reply

  3. The BYU loss looks worse every week, the UDUB game was sooooo winnable, just like last night.

    Did Gomer take over the playcalling last night ? Slovis was back to looking at the sidelines forever again.

    Gomer will never start Stepp over the more senior players, NEVER. I’m willing to bet that if the idiot somehow makes it to next year that Daniels would start over Slovis which would be a HUGE mistake but par for the course for Gomer, you can just imagine he bullshit that would flow from his mouth about how JT is a warrior, he fought through his rehab blah blah.

    As for the next 6 games, Oregon is the only tough team on the schedule, the other’s are meh. ASU is somewhat good and the game would be in Tempe, we all know how Gomer rolls on the road. Cal has no QB so Gomer catches a break there, UA is ok but not great and Colorado and ucla are awful. Gomer could win out, that means 9-3 and a shot at the PAC 12 title, let that sink in for a minute. But we all know that Gomer will somehow F a game or 2 up

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  4. We lose the last two games and the optimism by this freak just goes higher . We have a really bad loss in BYU and a great win over Utah. The Pac 12 south is ridiculous. Arizona had 50 plus put on them by UW last night . So beat Oregon twice to get to rhe Rose Bowl to probably play Wisconsin or Ohio St . That could be bruttle!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Gomer is 10-16 on the road, which is the worst road winning percentage of any USC head coach in history.

      He is also 4-13 on the road when starting a quarterback not named Darnold.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. He is now

        *8-11 in last 19 overall

        *9-14 in last 23 not started by Darnold

        *3-8 in games of significance by the non-lowered historical USC standard (0-1 v. Alabama, 0-1 v. Ohio State, 0-1 v. Wisconsin, 1-4 v. Notre Dame, 1-1 v. Texas, 1-0 v. Penn. State)

        *Those three wins were last play of the game FG v. Penn. State, OT v. Texas, and the Adoree Jackson highlight show v. ND

        Liked by 2 people

      2. This says all you need to know about Gomer

        Asked if “USC should have won,” Helton said it should not have. “No, we didn’t do enough in the first half . . . we had an opportunity in the first half to finish drives and we didn’t do it.”

        Liked by 3 people

  6. I bet Holt was not impressed with the 99% of SC “fans” assessment that Coach Helton and his $10-million+ still-owed contract must go. She would reason that most of the “fans” are male, who are known to be less intelligent than women, and in a sports-context men are often overly shrill in their judgments. Besides, she did not witness any Helton blunders that cost Troy the game…

    The game was lost by the players in the first half when the offense could not quite finish off a couple of promising drives, and Hufanga, of all players, missed a 43-yard tackle on ND’s Jones, and Rector cold not keep up with a 4.3 speedster around his end spot. At 17-3, game over…

    Very bright, positive spots:
    I wrote that the game would be about 34-13. I thought the long lay-off and lack of playing experience would hold Slovis to 13 points or so. So I was very, very happy with his performance. This kid won’t leave early, so we have him for the next 3 1/2 years. Hip Hip Hooray for the Trojans. There is promise in this team since quarterback is by far the most important position.

    No turnovers and 2 penalties for 20 yards. Why is no one mentioning this? Once upon a time, some newspaper entrepreneurs put together a paper that had nothing but good news. No bad news allowed. You know, ‘grandmother has another baby’—that kind of stuff. Well, they folded and went bankrupt inside 6-months. Why doesn’t good news sell?!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Say-Hey, BK: If you’re going to use quotes around one’s words, you should not paraphrase it. People have been sued for less. But no sweat; with only about 6 people who ever write anything on this blog, I won’t give it a second thought.

        But for the record, I will own “Enjoy the wins as they come,” but I would never say SC’s best days are behind them and they will never be dominate again. As a writer and a lawyer, I am aware your words can follow you all the rest of your days, so I am careful what I put down for posterity.

        Like

      3. Here you go Johnny, YOUR quote and the link to go with it

        Tell ’em, Yogi. I have been preaching this all year and I get nothing but bitter anti-Helton responses from posters and the blogger.

        The John McKay and Pete Carroll eras were mind-blowing and I lived it up because I knew they would not last. SC will never see that kind of domination again, times have changed, and good footballers are going to schools all over the country, which means many schools are loaded with talent.

        So I take the wins when they come, and take the losses not so terribly hard. There is always a game next week that I look forward to.

        https://insideusc.blog/2019/10/04/a-passionate-defense-of-clay-helton/

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Everyone just about knows that Helton is on the hot seat and that the USC fanbase want him gone.

      The President’s Office and Heritage Hall is fully aware of that from the fans and alums. However, word is they are dismissive of e-mails and messages that come in asking for Helton to be gone because of recruiting.

      Talking about CFB recruiting with administrators and higher ups is the stupidest thing a fan can do in an e-mail or message to Bovard or Heritage Hall. If you do that, you just identify yourself to those administrators as, for lack of a better word, a “basement dwelling hopeless loser.”

      If you really want to send a message to administrators about why a HC should be gone, then your message needs to address something those admins care about – losing money (ticket sales, merchandise, tv contracts, etc.), fan safety or convenience (family friendly atmosphere, game times, etc.) or something USC community related.

      But messaging President Folt or a senior associate athletic director about some high school LB’er or why some out of state kid doesn’t have USC in their top 5 makes no difference to them when it comes to the HC’s job status. Anyone who does that is just a rube in their eyes.

      #HeltonWillBeFiredForWinsAndLossesNotSimplyBecauseofCrappyRecruiting

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    4. John, totally agree that there is a ton of talent on this team and some are playing their hearts out. With better coaching, this team would be 6-0 right now.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    5. “The game was lost by the players in the first half when the offense could not quite finish off a couple of promising drives, and Hufanga, of all players, missed a 43-yard tackle on ND’s Jones, and Rector cold not keep up with a 4.3 speedster around his end spot. At 17-3, game over…”. Their offense was supposed to be uptempo, according to Harrell during spring. They adjusted to uptempo in the second half and had success. What happened to the tempo in the first half? They don’t practice live tackling during the week. The practice tackling drills that can’t replace true tackling. They don’t practice full speed in full pads. That means they can’t simulate true game speed and conditioning to play 60 minutes. Those are all “coaching” problems. The players can only perform to their abilities and are hindered by not being taught the fundamentals of football.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. That’s exactly what Coach Hyde said as his weekly 1-hour broadcast concluded today just before 11 am – the lack of hard practices the two weeks prior to game and esp. unaware of the size they were facing i.e. unable to see the offensive running back because the offensive line is so big.

        Noting changes until Helton is gone absolutely nothing

        Liked by 3 people

      2. Coach Hyde and Dan Weber have highlighted that for years, going all the way back to Kiffin (but noting that Helton has not operated under the sanctions constraints that Kiffin did)…

        This is entirely due to poor coaching…blaming players (with the “execution” code language), as Helton has done throughout his tenure, is gutless…

        Liked by 2 people

  7. Somewhere in rural Arkansas or Iowa or Nebraska, there is a small high school that needs a motivational coach who can blather a never ending string of bromides like “we control our destiny”, “play that way again and we will win”, “so proud of our boys”, blah, blah, blah, after yet another loss.

    Send Helton to that school.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  8. Somewhere in rural Arkansas or Iowa or Nebraska, there is a small high school that needs a motivational coach who can blather a never ending string of bromides like “we control our destiny”, “play that way again and we will win”, “so proud of our boys”, blah, blah, blah, after yet another loss.

    Send Helton to that school.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. Not ‘Holt,’ of course, but President Folt. And, by the way, what did she do that raised the ire of some people. If it’s simply in that video, it appears she is checking out the guy’s bizarre clothes. Since when is that a crime?

    Like

    Reply

  10. Helton’s typically asinine post game comments are signature of his delusional thinking. Having just watched LSU Coach “O” post game presser, it becomes patently obvious Clay Helton hasn’t a clue about how to win championships.

    Ogeron explained their game, it’s short comings in the first half, half time adjustment by both the offense and defense, how they worked and WHY they worked to win the game.

    Nowhere in his interview did he mention winning the division or conference, just that they had hard work to do in order to get better, he mentioned “Tell the Truth” Monday and mentioned there would be things on film he wouldn’t like and needed to be addressed with coaches and players.

    His weekly in season routine, Tell Truth Monday’s, Take Away Tuesday’s, Execution Wednesdays, Competition Thursday’s.

    He complimented Florida but not in the same sickening ebullient manner of praise so frequently mouthed by “Practice Squad Clay”
    Only when Helton is gone will this program begin its ascension to national prominence once again.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. Yeah, he’s the same guy that just didn’t cut it for that drunk Haden, just not refined enough for USC, a little rough around the edges, had a past, just wasn’t the guy to be the face of USC football.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  12. Women cut men absolutely no slack in this world concerning looking at others…..but……she was probably just looking at his dress. So….lets move on.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  13. Folt really has no idea about athletics. Her focus has been academics in her past. Fortunately, she had a very capable and experienced AD at Carolina during the NCAA mess. I dont see her doing anything about this. Shecwill leave it to a new AD. Other than that she is always a loyal rah rah supporter to school she is at

    Like

    Reply

    1. Merely a politician in a vestured Robe, all Academics are of that stripe. Her Curriculum Vitae is neither earth shattering or inspiring. She simply left UNC before the Board of Chancellors castigated her for the Monument fiasco.

      Her leaving was more likened to Sarkisian leaving UW…before the inevitable. I wouldn’t associate competence in Athletic Administration or render her credit to even comprehend the nuances of such.
      Another Puppet of the rancid BOT.

      Helton is but a symptom of University mismanagement.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Alv –I wouldn’t want a president who cared only about football (well, actually that would be pretty cool —but I’ve reconciled myself to the dynamics of the 21st century) but I would like a president who understood that the USC Corporation, like the Ohio State corporation and the Alabama Corporation, is associated with a particular product called football. When the USC corporation puts an inferior product on the field year after year and allows it’s athletic department to get played the fool by Hollywood morons —it makes the president, the board and the university look dim. People wonder about us when they see Helton on the sidelines……
        #AndTheyWonderAboutFoltToo….

        Like

    2. Of course they do…Elitist never admit to mistakes.
      Yet, they bring in another Florida/Texas transplanted hick, with a bit more polish, primarily to man the “Sunshine Pump” to keep the faithful under the ether…and promise conference championships.
      You have to give them credit, so far it has worked for them, we keep hoping, but we keep losing that we should have won.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  15. Helton and his coaches need to be replaced, regardless of the final wins and losses. The team is in a tail spin. The best that can be hoped for is mediocrity. He never should have been hired. His performance has been shoddy throughout his tenure…. and yes, it is affecting both ticket sales and recruiting…. 5-7 should never happen… 3-3 is ridiculous…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. I found out the hard way that although you can cuss and cuss people out on Wolf’s blog to your heart’s desire with no repercussions, you can actually have your account suspended for violating the unwritten anti-optimism rule. I think this might help explain the periodic disappearances of certain contributors and some commonalities amongst them. Now that I have served my own suspension, I will be as unrepentant as Antonio Brown when I say that I completely agree with what Coach Helton said. Further, I too look forward to seeing the next 6 games, and I’m still expecting the Pac 12 title that I was expecting before the season started. I would add that if the team had been playing the way they did in the 2nd half last night, they would be undefeated this year.

    As far as Notre Dame goes, they aren’t quick and athletic enough to be a playoff contender. They have some nice things about them and they may be a Top 10 team, but they aren’t one of the 4 best teams in the country. However, their running game has some principles that I think we should consider with regard to our running game. It’s obvious that this offense shows deference to the passing game and I know more thought has gone into that side of the offense than the run side. I think it’s worth taking another look at the offense on paper and further determining how the run game principles can be further developed and enhanced. I’m sure the offense was written on paper and not in stone, so there must’ve been an allowance made in our minds for evolution. The running game needs to evolve and I would look at some of what ND was doing and add some wrinkles to this offense. Of course, they had some very large midwest corn-feds up front, but some of the blocking schemes were literally aesthetically beautiful–the same way a pretty pass play is. Not to mention the fact that they were very effective when mixed with the hammer that was Jones last night. I haven’t seen our DTs handled like that this year and I’m wondering why we can’t do that to other teams when they only have 3 D-linemen on the field, and so few people in the box.

    Beyond that, does someone have to lose an eye before something is done about Pac 12 officiating? Seriously, WTF is wrong with these people?? I’m not blaming any losses on them, but they are like having to overcome a poorly performing position group or bad special teams or something. They have been an added adverse variable for USC like playing on the road or having a star player go down. When do those guys ever approach calling a clean game and where are their own report cards for themselves? They could’ve called ND for holding on damn near every play and only called them when they absolutely HAD to. Meanwhile, in back to back games they are calling our linebackers for phantom roughing penalties and having a material effect on the outcome of the game. I’d love for you to get out of the way and just call a clean game but if you’re going to put your thumb on the scale, don’t forget that we eat from the same trough here. Is this still America or what? The Pac 12’s poor reputation for refereeing and poor football play are rightfully earned and painfully obvious. However, while I can come up with reasons/excuses for the substandard football play, I can’t begin to tell you why the officiating should be so consistently bad..

    Like

    Reply

    1. My only question regarding the officiating of last nights game…why were PAC12 officials there?
      Is there some agreement between schools?
      Notre Dame belongs to no conference, so are PAC12 officials used for all of our games?
      If there is an agreement, then bedlam will persist.

      As far as Helton’s singular focus on last evenings second half…it sounds nice doesn’t it…however this chameleon of a team could just as well play like they did in the second half of the BYU or Washington game.

      Your vision of a PAC12 championship is a bit of a reach, but you hang in there, if the stars align and the football Gods grace the Not So Mighty Trojans with more victories it could happen, life is filled with surprises.

      Like

      Reply

      1. I’m not sure what the arrangement is, but I would’ve preferred to have the ACC officials on the field and the Pac 12 officials in the booth. Nothing explains why these guys are so bad and it’s yet another disadvantage to being affiliated with the Pac 12.

        Like

      2. I predicted a Pac 12 championship at the start of the season and it’s still in play until it isn’t. It’s cold comfort for fans, but it’s true that the team controls its own destiny in the conference and I’m not upset about that.

        Like

Leave a reply to Jim sexton Cancel reply