FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: Does It Matter If USC Can’t Run The Ball?

A couple thoughts this morning:

Why does it matter if USC gained only five yards rushing if it carved up Washington State’s defense at will through the air?

Because there are times in football games when it is really important to get four yards. Or three yards. Or two yards. Or one yard.

This USC team has not demonstrated it can do that, which could cost it a game. Just not in 2020.

USC plays such an awful schedule, it probably can trick its way through the season and will never play a good team that will require it to gain a yard-or-two in crunch time.

Most famously, that inability to gain a yard cost USC a national title vs. Texas.

But in this cushy Pac-12 world, you can probably get away with it. No Alabama. No Notre Dame. No problem.

  • Drake Jackson had only one tackle against Washington State. To be fair, he didn’t play nearly as much as he would in a close game. And he probably couldn’t make as many plays against a run-and-shoot offense.

But I think it’s fair to note he is making less plays this season (11 tackles in four games). And maybe that move to “linebacker” is not putting him in position to make as many plays.

Someone is going to mention his interception against Utah. But is 3 tackles a game really getting the most out of your supposed best pro prospect? I just think he looked more dominating last season.

43 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: Does It Matter If USC Can’t Run The Ball?”

  1. The inability to gain a yard cost Pete Carroll a super bowl championship
    against the Patriots. But they didn’t carve up the WSU defense through the air. They only gained 287 yards. If the WSU defense was putting 5-7 players near the LOS and playing man, you would think that a passing offense like SC’s would have gained 487 or 550 yards not 287. This is not the Chicago Bears Buddy Ryan defense of 1985. This is WSU! They didn’t even gain 300 yards total offense.

    Liked by 3 people

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  2. The inability to run doesn’t mean much to the people in Heritage Hall who prefer to promote USC as “WR U.”

    Inform the administrators – Bohn/Sosna – about USC once being a strong, dominant running school and then maybe USC will once again become “Tailback U.”

    #Wide ReceiverUv.TailbackU

    #USCOnceHadALegacyOfStrongRunningTeams;NowTheyGetACommitFromAWREveryOtherDay

    Liked by 2 people

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  3. Yeah, well there’s an analogy to that Texas game: an airplane crash. Planes almost never crash because one thing goes wrong, they crash because multiple things go wrong at the same time.

    Lane Kiffin was the play caller on that 4th down. Reggie Bush was not on the field. The old man certainly had the opportunity to overrule his coordinator’s play call, and he should have, but didn’t.

    Betcha if Pete hadn’t gotten rid of Norm Chow the game would’ve turned out differently.

    Liked by 3 people

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  5. Running the ball takes aggression, pass protection isn’t aggressive, anyone here think Gomer and Opie are aggressive ? Both are ex QB’s, not exactly a recipe for running he ball.

    Liked by 3 people

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  6. It does matter that the offense cannot block to save themselves. The line looks like a sandlot group with two good players.
    Stevie you go out and cut left, the rest of you block. Who should I block? The fat guy now hike the ball.
    Even Disney’s “How to Play Football,” cartoon shows the importance of blocking. Knute Rockne didn’t spend much of the time teaching how to run with the ball and he hated the pass. What he taught was blocking schemes and how to cheat and get away with it. (Notre Dame you know)
    But these high caliber wide receivers should be put to good use in a running game. The shovel pass to ARSB would have been considered a handoff fifty years ago, it was a running play with a cute handoff. The only reason it worked is because WSU was expecting a corner pass.
    Until the line improves the passing game is our only option. Three and a half yards per running play is all that’s needed, but with Harrell it’s a literal toss up.

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. I liked the way that Disney’s “How To Play Football” starred a bunch of identical players who looked like Clay Helton….
      [Sorry. Just Googled it. That was Goofy]…..

      Liked by 3 people

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  7. We can’t sustain an offensive powerhouse for 60 minutes, whether throwing, and certainly they forgot to teach Harrell football 101, and Clay Helton ditched all his classes so he flunked football coaching altogether This is still not even good football in a terrible conference. And don’t count UCLA out. They can run the ball, and run it well, and they are playing maybe some good football. The point spread is 2. So Vegas is almost a pick ’em. IF we don’t play for 60 minutes, we will lose.

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      1. Leave facts out of this. Plus starting 2 freshman due to covid had nothing to do with anything. This team has problems with the run but not as bad as Scott hopes for. Also opening with QB going 17-17 does speak to not running to much.

        Liked by 3 people

      3. My nextdoor neighbor says that USC was “just playing possum on their run game” to trick UCLA…..
        #ATrickThatStartedLastYear?

        Liked by 3 people

      4. Yeah that whole covid thing was a hoax to put the ruins into a state of overconfidence. Trouble is that whether we run the ball well or not against the ruins, they still have to do it vs our defense which has done pretty well the last 2.5 games. I’m pretty much thinking they’ll TRY and force the ruins to beat them throwing.
        We shall see. F’ucla

        Liked by 3 people

      6. Every year there’s a fucking excuse as to why USC can’t run the ball and this clown pudly76 buys into it.

        Like

      7. Temper temper Charlie Bucket the corrupt Board Moderator.

        I love that Charlie Bucket was outed!

        BWWWWWWWWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        Trojandude207
        1d ago
        Well this IS interesting. I am not sure if this site is for me anymore. Each email address used generates a unique symbol that represents the email address. One person on this page has 10 such symbols generated for his username. That is some next level trolling. And none of messages upon this thread has anything to do with the the purpose of the thread. It has developed into a prepubescent name calling.

        Liked by 3 people

      10. Look at Charlie Bucket the Corrupt Board Moderator who can access all our accounts impersonate me to defend himself. You really are a pathetic loser.

        I love that Charlie Bucket was outed!

        BWWWWWWWWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        Trojandude207
        1d ago
        Well this IS interesting. I am not sure if this site is for me anymore. Each email address used generates a unique symbol that represents the email address. One person on this page has 10 such symbols generated for his username. That is some next level trolling. And none of messages upon this thread has anything to do with the the purpose of the thread. It has developed into a prepubescent name calling.

        Like

    1. Bad news regarding the injuries, hoping those guys heal completely. Thankfully the covid cases are resolved.

      The ruins are still the ruins. Trojans hung nearly 700 yards of offense on them last year, including nearly 200 on the ground.

      Their d is better this year, but so is ours. We shouldn’t have given up 35 points last year. I hope that Clay watches the 2011 game, 50-0. That is what the Trojans should be aiming for. Push the little gutties backwards, every down.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. Liked by 2 people

      2. Offensively, USC should be even better than last year (assuming AVT and rest of O-line starters back). No reason why Trojans shouldn’t hang 50 again on the gutties. One question – is Stepp healthy? He presents a whole different weapon that a defense has to deal with.

        Liked by 3 people

      3. Remember how the 2011 game began, with the gutties driving down the field and then on 4th and one at the one yard line, instead of being smart abd taking the easy 3, they went for it and were stuffed at the line of scrimmage and then QB Matt Barkley led SC on a 99 yard drive and the ruins quit!

        Liked by 2 people

      5. Think of Spock in the alternative universe episode of Classic Star Trek and it will all make sense to you, Charlie Bucket sock puppet.

        I love that Charlie Bucket was outed!

        BWWWWWWWWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        Trojandude207
        1d ago
        Well this IS interesting. I am not sure if this site is for me anymore. Each email address used generates a unique symbol that represents the email address. One person on this page has 10 such symbols generated for his username. That is some next level trolling. And none of messages upon this thread has anything to do with the the purpose of the thread. It has developed into a prepubescent name calling.

        Like

    2. What is sad about Wo Ma is that this is one of his more articulate sentences. Do you have quota for each sentence?

      Like

      Reply

    3. As I remember it, Greg came out for a series after getting banged up…. and was sent back in. And got reinjured.
      Who replaced him? Whoever it was made plays. [Maybe there won’t be that much of a drop off]…..

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. Max Williams replaced him. Actually was two different injuries. Nonetheless both Williams played well last game Max at nickel and Chase at safety.

        Liked by 3 people

      7. Thanks again, Pudly.
        Small —but always in position. I think we’re okay there.
        #BeatUCLA
        #[OrNeverForgiveFolt,Bohn&Clay]

        Liked by 3 people

      8. I still can’t forget the game balls for “Coach Folt” and “Coach Bohn” last year. Has there ever been a more obvious suck-up in the annals of coaching?

        Liked by 3 people

      10. Agreed, 22.
        #WhoWouldHaveThoughtAPoster…
        #…WhoHasAdoptedAFormOfTheWord”Pudendum”…
        #…AsHisName….
        #CouldEndUpBecomingOurMostHonored”Member”?

        Liked by 1 person

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