FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: Can USC Get Off Treadmill To Oblivion?

I was already asked by a Pac-12 coach on Monday night if USC might make some staff changes after the season?

That tells you how others view the 2-0 start.

Graham Harrell just signed a three-year deal at $1.2 million. He is not getting fired. Todd Orlando is on a multi-year deal, for around $1 million. He is not getting fired. Clay Helton is pulling in around $5 million and USC does not want to pay him off.

Harrell might con someone with his Air Raid gimmicks into hiring him as a head coach. So maybe he will leave. But Orlando and Helton are not going anywhere.

Let’s remember that around 25 players could potentially leave, including many key performers.

What’s my point? If you think 2020 is rough, 2021 looks worse. The offensive line will be worse. The defensive line will be worse. The linebackers will be just as bad. The receivers could be worse. The secondary will be worse.

I wrote Monday that Helton is on “a treadmill to oblivion.” You know who else is on that treadmill? Mike Bohn.

And who else? The loyal fans watching this sorry product.

  • I would like to see more analysis of the offensive line acknowledging that USC often runs a quick-pass offense against a three-man front. That is not putting much stress on the tackles.
  • I wonder if NFL teams think the Air Raid does a poor job preparing offensive tackles for the league?

63 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: Can USC Get Off Treadmill To Oblivion?”

  1. well, the future of the whole country seems to be getting on that treadmill…and as usual , so.cal has lead the way the past few yrs in mediocre is the new standard for all peon lemmings.

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    2. All is not lost, Pudly. If Scott is right (and I think he is), USC is only going to go downhill in a few areas — defensive line, offensive line, defensive backs, linebackers and receivers.
      #CarolFolt:”We’reReadyToGoWithWhat’sLeft!”

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  3. Not speaking as a CAL guy

    But I think you pretty much toss college football down the drain this year. Guys are off their normal routine & there has been no time to practice.

    #AtLeastThatIsMyExcuseForTheFuclaGame

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    3. Cal75 –You know I love you —but — only one of the teams in the Cal/UCLA game looked as though they needed more practice…..
      #AndItWasn’tUCLA

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    4. Po’, Po’, 86. All he has are whiny excuses, excuses, excuses for a lousy FB team. Some things don’t change.

      Hey 86, pray for Kal’s intermural rugby season to start.

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      1. F’n ruins win 1 game in a row and reach .500 for the first time in YEARS (many, many months) and all of a sudden owns acts like they won the super bowl…what a clown

        Liked by 1 person

  4. I say this in jest, yet it is also how I feel in a practical sense, that next week Helton needs to go into hiding. If he is truly as lucky as he has been painted, he will escape the state of Utah without having seen the Utes. Then, however he enters a dangerous week even for the most lucky of his kind. Next week is Thanksgiving and aside from the public platitudes he must spew to keep Mike Bohn happy, he must avoid public appearances. He is, without a doubt, the biggest turkey 🦃 I have ever seen.
    He is such a turkey 🦃 that his assistants force him to wear a hat in the rain so he won’t look up and drown. He was the second string quarterback on his father’s losing team.
    It is open season on turkeys 🦃 and from my thumbs to god’s ears someone might shoot him, stuff him and serve him up, whereupon his passing to that great turkey pen in the sky would bring delight to many (as long as pumpkin pie is served)

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    2. “After redshirting his freshman year, Helton played college football at Auburn as quarterback. In 1993, Helton transferred to Houston, after his father was hired as head coach there. Helton was a backup quarterback at both Auburn and Houston and graduated from Houston in 1994 with a degree in mathematics and interdisciplinary science. At Houston, Helton completed 47 of 87 passes for 420 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions and played 16 games.” (copied directly from Wikipedia) Helton has a .54 completion record (if you don’t count the 4 he threw to other teams) and they made him a quarterback coach at USC?
      Helton has a .66 winning record at USC everywhere in the world (except Houston under Kim Helton) that number equals below average. How on earth did he wind up being retained as head coach at USC? He has one incredibly lucky win at the Rose bowl and everyone forgets how mediocre he is. He has lost two Holiday bowls and a Cotton Bowl looking like a pickup basketball game against the Lakers. He has a .50 average for bowl games with wins in Las Vegas and San Diego.
      Can anybody outside of the fan base see him as being beneath USC standards? With Helton’s degree in math I am sure even he would agree.

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      1. Sandlot Football. How embarrassing is that statistical analysis? Especially his .66 record, his losses in two Holiday Bowls, and a Cotton Bowl, and blowouts at Notre Dame, Alabama, and at home against Oregon just last year. Used to be we were toe to toe with Notre Dame and Alabama and Oregon wasn’t even in the conversation. No amount of hype videos, no new hires – with this record all the recruits will flip – and the USC we know and love is gone. If I were going back to school again, and the reason I chose USC was a great football team, great academics, and location, I wouldn’t choose USC. I might possibly chose Notre Dame. My next step is to stop watching and disengage because it is too disheartening.

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      2. When hardcore fans are seriously considering “disengaging” it’s time for Folt & Bohn to do some soul searching…..they both need to recognize it’s not just about finessing their way through 2020….people are gonna remember the damage they’ve done to our university for a long time….
        #…AreTheyReallyPreparedToDealWithTheFallout?

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  5. Mr. Wolf:
    When I look at the talent on offense returning in 2021, I see plenty of reason for optimism. With a commitment to developing a big, strong O-line, the offense would improve. Based on the FPI METRIC in 2019, the Trojan offense was vastly improved and in the top 10 in 2019. How “we” get to a big, strong, mobile O-line in 2021 is quite simple. Stepps and Christon will be so fun to watch in 2021. The WR corps in 2021 will be depleted but talented. They need to avoid the “injury bug.” Given how FB is practiced and played at the HS level, a Frosh WR at USC should be able to step right in and contribute. Bru is really a Freshman–given his reps–and is contributing VERY NICELY. When I would watch Wazzu play under the Pirate, I was impressed how so many moderately talented WR would amass so many receptions and easy yards.

    Gotta give Donte and Orlando and So’oto a few years to recruit and teach before you throw ’em under the bus. It’s been a weird year, and NO ONE in America is playing defense. Improvement over the remaining month would be indicative of a bright future.

    Strength and conditioning and optimal nutrition/supplementation? This is the easiest part of CFB, having spent a lot of time in the gym myself in those younger days. This is about commitment/discipline and genetics. USC seems to be getting at least one of those factors wrong.

    2021 Head coach? AD?
    That’s above my pay grade.

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      1. I only ask Duck fans whom makes the best rain coat/galoshes or the best hoppy IPA.* (Or how to invite in thuggery to destroy my beautiful civic center).
        Otherwise, they are fuckin’ clueless.

        I haven’t seen a decent pass game defense anywhere in amateur Football for a decade. Even Nick Saban can’t produce it. Keeping a team under 30 points is now the goal in CFB.

        *and that would be Deschutes Brewery’s fresh-squeezed IPA. Mighty refreshing by the pool on a warm Colorado Summer day.

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      2. Yeah, din’t think I needed to mention that. Hopefully he’ll be up to 220 lbs by then and tossing missiles at Bru and Drake.

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  6. Speaking of injury, heard that IE may miss a game or more with a leg issue that’s been affecting him for a couple weeks.
    And as far as all the rest, I just feel lucky we have an opportunity to watch the Trojans at all this year. Hoping that newsome let’s them continue playing.

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  7. SC has recruted for the Air Raid offense. It shows in its physicality on the oline, there is none. The oline is built for quick passes. This offense is designed for inferior teams. I was watching the 1980 Rose Bowl game and SC was physical. Charles White ran for 240 yards against Ohio St. Sc won’t get 240 yards in three games. This is a horrible nightmare

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    1. Well, we could actually do it in TWO games with this schedule, pt —but I get your point.
      #[OfCourse,IfWe’rePlayingOhioState,You’re100%Correct]

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    2. It was a great year (for me) to be a Frosh at USC.
      Folks forget that Charles was benched in the third quarter for many games that year…as the outcome was never in doubt. Mighta’ had 2500 yards otherwise.

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  8. Here’s what I’ll say about Bohn

    If he was PROMISED that he could hire any coach before he took the USC job, and then Folktard nixed a Meyer hire, then he was lied to by her. Remember, she stated PUBLICALLY that she would not limit who he could hire.

    If that is the case, he should man up and resign because right now he looks like a puppet.

    And I’ll also say this about Bohn

    Why would you give Opie a 1.2 million dollar deal ? Why would you give Orlando, who has a poor track record after a year at any school he’s coached at, a million a year deal ? I know a million in California doesn’t go very far these days, and if the Legislature gets their way, it will be worth even less, and I know you have to overpay to get anyone to work with Gomer, but these contracts reek of desperation.

    Urban Meyer would make USC a power the minute he was hired, but that will never happen under Her Wokeness.

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    1. Perfect analysis, karma. A long time ago I was told by a very smart politician that —whatever you’re promised in life —you must always reserve a 25% chance for the double cross —and when that happens you have to call things for what they are and demand what you were promised —and if that meeting goes on for more than 5 minutes, you’ve lost….and it’s time to walk.

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      1. I’m going to remember that MG. I wished I would have known that formula at 18.

        #ButIt’sSoHardToGetACommitmentTheseDays.
        #Mrs&MrsOwns/BuddhaDidMakeTheCommitment

        Liked by 3 people

      4. Many people rely on CAL wisdom.

        #Lol

        Did you know that at one time ex Cal either coaches or FB alums comprised 6 out of the 32 head NFL coaches.

        #CAL-AGoodPlaceToBeFrom
        #JustLikeDiegoGarcia

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    2. Hey Buddha, the day the troll/gnome announced that publicly, when Bohn was hired, was the day Helton should of been fired and given his walking papers. In a straight up power move by Bohn. He would of had total control as AD from that point on and could worry about the buy out later, from the school, Alumni, and donors. He waited and Folt changed her mind and told him no. So Bohn was obviously lied to and Helton was held on to as head coach, (with Bohn firing and hiring new assistant coaches). Pulling a con job on Folt and Bohn with his game ball theatrics!

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      1. I wouldn’t mind trading coaches with Oregon.
        #ButI’veGotAFeelingFoltWouldBeScaredOf CristobalToo
        #[AndWhyWouldOregonWantHelton,Right]?

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      1. Liked by 1 person

      3. Good news, MG! OWNS was just hired as annnouncer for the Sacramento Kings!

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Thank you, Pudly. I have confidence in your ability to win it back….sometime today probably….
        #MyRightsOnlyCameUnderTheLabelOf “InstantaneousPrivity”

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Sorry owns, my little goof ball, playin in the rose bowl is not the same as wining the rose bowl. Should be a great show in eugene this weekend.
    How do you spell boatraced?? 1 in a row listen to the little cock crow‼️

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    1. I would advise my friend Owns (who does crack me up from time to time) that it would be wise to display a bit of humility this week. There is no way on earth both L. A. teams win this weekend (although one team has a chance — and it’s not UCLA).

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      2. Ha! [This would be a mighty good week for both Trojans and bruins to lay low]…..
        #ItAin’tGonnaBeEasyForEitherOfUs
        #[ButI’dRatherBeUsThanThem]…

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    2. I feel sorry for Owns. He sinks all his sentiment into UCLA, a school he couldn’t get into and does two years at Cerritos. I mean how stupid is that? He is probably on a used car lot on Cerritos Auto Square selling used Renault’s. Didn’t want to get too far from home. That’s ok Owns, we are not laughing with you but directly at you. What a schmuck…

      Liked by 3 people

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