FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: A Wake-Up Call For Pac-12 And USC

The Pac-12 laid an egg again in a bowl game but can you imagine how USC would have fared in the Alamo Bowl?

Mike Bohn and Clay Helton must have never felt better about skipping the game than after Texas blew out Colorado, 55-23.

How would USC stop Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins or tailback Bijan Robinson? The Trojans didn’t face players like that in the Pac-12.

It’s really a sad commentary on the state of USC football that this is the case too. There’s no doubt Texas, which lost three games, would have manhandled USC — with or without Kedon Slovis.

The Trojans have become flat-track bullies under Helton, able to beat inferior teams but not respectable teams. That’s why they threw in the towel on the Alamo Bowl, especially after losing Slovis, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alijah Vera-Tucker.

When Bohn and Helton don’t have faith in the program to face the fourth-place team in the Big 12, it’s time to really ask what the end game is for this football program?

65 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: A Wake-Up Call For Pac-12 And USC”

  1. And Sam Ehlinger, one of the best QB’s in the country, didn’t play in the 2nd half. Texas put their 3rd string QB in the game with over 10 minutes left. They put their 4th string QB in the game with about 3 minutes left. SC should leave the Pac-12. It’s the competition that makes you better. As long as Larry Scott is the commissioner, that league will always be weak. When the Pac-12 teams go to a bowl, they will always get beat soundly because the other leagues have more competition. As far as making the playoffs. That will never happen under Larry Scott. The Pac-12 teams are not in the same universe with the teams that get to the playoffs.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. I’m working from the same premise you are, parcelman —(i.e., USC football is now an outgrowth of Larry Scott, Carol Folt, Mike Bohn and Clay Helton—-not McKay & Carrol).
      But that leads me to a different conclusion: USC should NEVER leave the Pac 12…..
      #…IfWeLikeWinning,It’sAllWe’veGot
      [It must be said, for perspective, that Colorado—on paper– is the weakest team in the Pac 12. USC —on paper —is the second strongest. That being said, Scott’s right: USC would have been manhandled —weak o-line play and no running game would have been fatal against Texas.
      We are SO lucky we didn’t start the year against Alabama]…..

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. Hate to disagree with you on this one. If we played Bama and ND, our luck would’ve been great as it would mean the end of this sorry excuse of a HC.
        I keep on hearing the talking heads make it look like Helton is a legit HC. The only way to stop that stupid chatter is by having him coach against top teams that will expose him for what he is – a poser, a copycat, a charlatan. Not an original idea in his head.
        It’s like the old joke, he can’t spell “cat” if you spotted him the c and the a.
        Can’t blame him for others stupidity in first hiring him but even worse, once you know of his imcompetency, then keeping him. I sincerely hope that fans continue to boycott games and Trojan gear until a first rate coach is hired.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. You set it up perfectly, DrEvil –USC fans have a choice: feel good about ourselves by barely beating the bottom tier Pac 12 South teams w/Helton …or face the music by watching Helton play Ohio State or Alabama again…..
        #IHaveAHunchFoltHasHerTinyLittleHeartSetOnPlan”A” ….
        #….”GreatComeBackWinAgainst….UCLA!”

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Michael,

        too bad SC didn’t start with bama, play nd, and end with Texas. That would have been a great schedule but more importantly it would have shown the nation how bad Helton is. He would have lost those three and Bohn would have to start looking into why the program is losing badly.

        Liked by 2 people

      5. You know, pt, I’m wondering what they’d do if Helton only lost those 3 games by 17, 14 and 10 points, respectively. For any other USC coach and any other University President it would be a disaster….. but for Folt it would mean Clay was standing at the edge of greatness …..

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I’m all for SC leaving the WAC 12 behind, but only if the University as a whole is committed to having a strong athletic program from top to bottom, otherwise you might as well stay in the WAC 12 and be average.

      And is Gomer the equivalent to Obama ? Neither had/has done anything to warrant what they have, amazing isn’t it.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

      1. You are a dumb jerk. Obama saved the country by getting
        the economy straightened out in 2008 – 09. Stick to football
        which you are also ignorant. Present your credential?

        Like

      2. Charlie Bucket sock puppet #7 has the afternoon gig.

        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

      3. I agree with you, karma….. but, wow, I have to agree with “S” too: it’s so obvious Obama “saved the country”…..
        #WithoutObamaNoLibya Invasion,NoHillary….Yes,ASavior!
        [Historical Note: When Obama told the big banks that their trillion dollar bailout came with strings attached —- mortgage forgiveness for ordinary Americans and the end of multi million bonuses for their crooked officers — the banks told Obama to go fuck himself up the ass — so he gave them the bailout without the strings….]
        #WhatAHero

        Liked by 3 people

      4. I love that gotroy22 was outed!

        Colenel Sanders is the corrupt board moderator

        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. You know I respect your intelligence, Owns — so a word of friendly advice: as a bruin, please steer clear of calling other programs “cheesy” ….
      #TheEntirePac12IsInThisTogether

      Liked by 5 people

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      1. UCLA didn’t deserve a Bowl Game bid, hence their decision not to participate prior to the Stanford game.

        On the the hand, Clown U a 5 – 1 team also opted out of the Bowl Game bid process because they choka, choka, choka, choka choked away the Pac – 12 Championship game to 3-2 Oregon. The bozo 5-1 record would certainly deserve lots of Bowl Game consideration.

        After the Oregon game , SUCC pulled their cheesy, but typical bozo lousy loser BS and and refused to man up to their arrogant “any team, anywhere, anytime” braggadocio.

        #ClownU:”I’mtakingmyballandgoinghome’causeOregoncheated.”
        #MGgetagrip.
        #SUCC:HollywoodPussies

        Like

      2. My dear friend Owns —you keep referring to Oregon as a mediocre 3-2 team. On the contrary, Oregon is a spectacular 4-2 top 20 team, having beaten the #13 team in the country……
        #…Us

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Maybe Smoky, but Clown U paid UC Davis at least $100k to scratch UC Davis from the mighty bozo FB schedule.

        That implies Clown U FB willing buys off sure losses before they happen.

        How much did Clown U pay Alabama to avoid the Alabama slaughter?

        #UCDavis:Don’tcallus,we’llcallyou
        #OldSmoky:Born2009

        Liked by 1 person

      2. owns, glad to see you agree UC Davis is step up from UCLA. You lose again. You just keep on giving…a regular Santa Claus you are.

        Liked by 2 people

  3. San Diego State would not agree with the premise that Colorado was an inferior team. If we would have played the score would have been closer. Probably 55 -24, but look at the health rules in the PAC 12 vs. the rest of the country. I myself don’t know but I suspect that the county health nerds in Texas didn’t limit the number of players who could practice together at any given time.
    Putting a defense together on Zoom like a Brady Bunch group doesn’t work. USC should have left Southern California the minute the government nerd squad stuck their noses into playing. Somewhere Creative should have been the SC in USC. The notion that every game was a gift is a glib way of saying “ Your benevolent and loving government will allow you to see what football will look like in our totalitarian state.”
    Putting team meetings on a computer is like trying to teach kids music without being able to see or hear them. Kids including college kids are too easily distracted to learn in remote situations.
    I don’t see an end to this lock down. The would be kings like us in this position. Biden has already said it will take years not months to end this. So the nerds have won in the ultimate game.
    Or maybe I’m overthinking it.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. Yes I think you are overthinking everything thing except the gift premise 207. I believe 500 healthy people in one place that holds 86,000 is a poor turnout. And limited numbers in practice would be a burden for anyone. But Helton had his platitudes as a backup. I surprised you didn’t suggest they put Helton behind his offensive line and let him demonstrate his prowess as a quarterback. I doubt he’s used up his eligibility.
      Ruminate on that idea for a while.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  4. It’s been my narrative for awhile, and I’m sorry that I’ll take the opportunity to share it with y’all again. Mr Wolf tee’d me up….

    Football is not liberal.
    I believe that this is why football is rapidly dying on the West Coast and has been dead on the East Coast since the 1960’s. Syracuse is no longer relevant.
    Boston College is no longer relevant. They became irrelevant in the 1960’s. The Ivy’s were irrelevant after WWII.

    I hate to admit it, but BuddhaKarma is correct. Football in the LSFSD* is dead. Hoops is following–no one in the Pac12/WAC12 would want to play ‘Zaga. All the other sports will soon succumb, as you need the illiberal cash which a nasty, violent College Football brings. Stanford will soon see its “dominance” in women’s sports decline.

    A few years ago, after the USC victory in the Rose Bowl, I wanted to float the idea of a power 4: the Pac 16, Big 16 (big 10), ACC and SEC each with 16 teams and a conference championship game which was the top 8, which whittled down to the top 4 for the playoffs. I still like my idea, though I think it would have to be the Big 12 taking up a few PAC schools and the Big10/ACC and SEC going up to 16 schools. Irrespective of COVID, this is where Larry Scott, the left coast, and the PAC 12 presidents have taken West Coast collegiate sports.

    No amount of pay to play legislation as Gavin has proposed will change this trend. It’s about the State governing “environment.” West Coast ought to stick to soccer and tennis. Shit, if I wanna watch volleyball, I’ll watch Nebraska or Penn State, etc.

    *Larry Scott Football subdivision–not D1 but not quite D2

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    1. You’re 100% right, Bourbon —which is why you can expect a nasty —and I mean nasty—attack soon.
      #”WhoeverTellsTheTruthIsSureToBeHanged”….
      [Attribution available upon request]….

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      2. Heaven forbid, Bourbon. [I was referring to something more along the lines of a nasty post —filled with ineffectual nasty words — of the kind we’ve all become numb to]….

        Liked by 4 people

    2. Look at the Presidents of the WOKE12 schools and look at the SEC Presidents, I’d bet they aren’t cut from the same cloth.

      Also, only one school in the WOKE12 is in a red state, Utah, and trust me, the school is far from conservative.

      How many SEC schools are in blue states ? Georgia went blue but we all know why, so I’d say zero.

      Bourbon is right, libtards hate males, football is an aggressive sport ( aside from the WOKE12 ), played by males, it must be eliminated, they’re doing a good job of it.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

    3. College FB was doing fine until the advent of ESPN/Cable TV cash. The scramble for mo’ money killed the game. College FB should go the way of College BB.

      Impose a regular eight game in conf. schedule and then a 32 team (one and done) tournament. The NC & runner up would play 12 or 13 games as they do now.

      But back to Bourbon’s point, I keep waiting for the bozo’s to stop whining and pull the trigger: Either go independent or join the SEC conf.

      SUCC is a Red University. Go where you’re comfortable. Should SUCC join the SEC, their recruiting power would explode due to the So. CA location and SEC FB culture/schedule.

      Please stop the whining about Pac-12 FB. Face it Bourbon, SUCC loves being a big fish and talking loud trash, in a small pond.

      #thepac-12doesn’tneedSUCCtosurvive

      Like

      Reply

      1. Just Rent,

        The first three paragraphs you must have been sober because you made pretty good advice. Then I guess you hit the Night Train and continued your wriiting that turned into drivel. Too bad.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. You got some points correct, JO.
        The ESPN/TV FOOTBALL money is a huge part of the rubric.
        Having played an 11 game season in 1982 and 1983, I can attest that 11 games is quite long enough. I don’t like that the NCAA (really ESPN) has added a 12th regular season game, then a conference champ game, then a bowl game, etc. This extended season is taxing on the young men’s bodies and the added hits to the helmet likely add to some degree of lifetime CTE. The TV money forced the schools to extend the season to a 12th game and to add the silly Conf Champ game, and to take the 10 team conferences and extend them to 12 or 14 schools.

        ESPN and all their talking heads are the problem. They don’t care one whit about student-athletes, their education, their bodies, nor their brains, Owns.

        Well, I do. Saw a lot of brain dead young patients in my younger surgical years. Ain’t pretty, Owns.

        I didn’t know USC was a conservative school (at least no longer).
        When I was there we had non-USA students from over 160 different nations on campus. We put their flag up over VK Center.
        It is a private school, tho. Intensely proud of my school no matter what the SoCal dullards try to

        I’ve never whined on this site or anywhere else, so don’t go dropping that complaint on me. I’ve never proposed having USC leave the hapless Pac 12, though I am opening my mind to the idea. The conference would die a speedy death, however.

        Like

      1. Michael,

        I wrote that as well. It is true. We are worse than Ugly. When you don’t win a league game you pack up and call it quits. The ruins led in quitting, SC just followed.

        Liked by 2 people

  6. What I find to be the most offensive aspect of the USC program is the lying that now commonplace. Before the Oregon game, Helton says “To be honest, I have the feeling that Markese is going to explode!” At the end of every season, Helton says “This young team is on the verge of something special!” After a pathetic loss, we get the usual “Despite all the injuries, I am so proud of how well these warriors played.”

    And this one from Bohn is a jaw-dropper: “I think it’s important to recognize there was not unanimous support to make a coaching change (fire Helton) from our base and supporters. I think we have a lot of support (for keeping Helton).”

    What Bohn didn’t say is that after he tweeted that Helton was retained, Bohn’s twitter feed received over 1,000 responses within 15 minutes, 90% were negative. His twitter feed was then closed to stop any more comments.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Bohn’s got it covered, 67: He won’t fire Helton unless there’s “unanimous support for it.”
      #Now,That’sWhatICall”Leadership!”
      [btw, As long as Folt’s locked up in her Santa Monica mansion there will never be “unanimous” consent. Problem solved]…..

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      3. Michael, all of us keep waiting for USC to return to national relevance. But it won’t as long as Folt is acting as AD on behalf of Caruso and his buddies.

        The university is bleeding money, and hiring Meyer, while paying off Helton would create much more revenue over time than keeping the village idiot as HC.

        Liked by 2 people

      4. I don’t think USC —the corporation — is at all interested in the business of fielding a top tier football team. It would require hiring a ballsy coach, allowing him to hire ballsy assistants… and letting all of them run a ballsy program. Does this sound like something Caruso or little caruso (Folt) want?
        #They’reTooBusy…”WalkingThePathOfJustice”

        Liked by 2 people

    2. I’m old enough to remember McKay’s Sunday TV show. If they lost, he owned it, said they would try and fix what went wrong and moved on. No bullshit, no lies, nothing.

      Wolf posted what McKay said about the Wild Bunch, he didn’t blow smoke, he simply said, go show me what all the hype is about, and they did. Now, I’m sure McKay knew what he had in those players, but he didn’t spew the crap that Gomer does.

      And Gomer lies all the time, you would think that such a religious man wouldn’t do that, Bible Thumping Bullshitter indeed.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Helton’s biggest “tell”?: Whenever he says “to be honest with you”….
        #AndHeSaysItEveryOtherParagraph…
        [If Bohn can’t fire him until he gets “unanimous” support —maybe he can at least tell Helton he needs to drop the “to be honest with you” bit — it’s bad poker and too easy to decode]….

        Liked by 3 people

      2. Budda,

        the Mckay shows are classic. Stu Nahan did the show. I was a kid but each and every Sunday at 4 pm Stu and the coach would get together. I remember Stu asking what though of the next weeks games and he would give his honest answer. Stu asked him about playing Oregon St and th coach said, we will beat them. It was just a matter of fact statement, no brag. Great show.

        Liked by 2 people

      4. I recall the McKay show also. Must see TV back in the late 60/early 70’s.

        Heck, I even watched the Dick Vermeil and Terry Donohue show over the years.

        Pete Carroll was impossible to listen to, as he jumped from idea to idea without finishing a sentence and it never came to a cohesive analysis. I stopped listening to USC FB coaching analysis during Pete’s days.

        Like

  7. Dang it, lay off Coach Helton. He’s a nice guy. And to prove it, he doesn’t complain about getting $164,000 deposited into his checking account every two weeks.

    #WhatDoYouExpect4AQuarterMillionAMonth?
    #NeitherDoesMisterLarryScott
    #DamnWorthlessDollarsDon’tBuyMuchTheseDays

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. 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

  10. Yes, it’s obvious C&H saw a bowl with Fink starting, and a lousy O-line that he personally “recruited” – USC’s vaunted 1-D offense would go nowhere against Texas. Where is Sears when you need him? Oh, yes… not at USC. Thanks Helton.

    The USC football program is a travesty of mockery of a sham of a mockery of two mockeries of a sham. I’m astounded every day that C&H isn’t fired for incompetence. This is not the USC I grew up with in the 70’s, and likely will never be again, especially as long as Bohn and Folt remain in their respective woke roles.

    So there it is. The $80M+/year machinery of USC college athletics and the previously shiny marquee football brand is being left to rust in the field after being drained of gas and stripped for parts. Donors are closing their checkbooks and when the Coliseum reopens for games in the fall, the quiet will resemble a tomb. No one will go, even if they give tickets away for free and inflate the attendance figures. The product fielded will be so bad, the market will simply evaporate.

    It’s likely all part of the master plan at USC, it seems, sliding forever into the athletics black hole from which nothing ever re-emerges, and at long last embracing its “wokeness” calling while abandoning its so-called “tradition,” all architected from a modest remote little $8.6M hovel in Santa Monica…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. rick caruso is the guy in charge, not folt, she does what she is told by caruso on a major decision like this one.

      bohn isnt the problem, he would dump helton in a second. i still think there is a very good chance (50%) that helton is fired after the new year. bohn was not going to fire helton without first signing a firm deal with a coach that he thinks is a long-term solution. and he needs to get funding from a donor to do this. it takes a little time.

      bohn is a smart long-term strategic thinker. he is not going to fire helton and find that he can only hire a mediocre HC. if helton survives this year, he is stuck with harrell and the air raid, so things will get bad next year, unless they let Jaxson Dart win out the job of starting QB, but i doubt Harrell would allow that.

      so half a year more of pain…or they fire helton early next year.

      just deal with it until then.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Memo to: MG

    Just a reminder that on Jan. 20, 2021 Sleepy Joe will be inaugurated the 46th US POTUS.

    Donald J. Dump, the loser/succer 45th POTUS will be kicking a can down the road, dodging process servers until he can escape to Moscow.

    Like

    Reply

  12. Folks let’s take a look at Carol Folt who is now a key decision maker at USC. She is a graduate of the University of California Santa Barbara in the early 70’s.
    UCSB dropped football- but she attended a university which did not put emphysis on athletics, and in fact dropped football after losing to Washington 66-7 who had a QB named Sonny Sixkiller.
    The UCSB football program was broke when it dropped football.

    “At the end of the 1971 season, citing financial problems the school decided to drop football as an intercollegiate sport.[1] UCSB would not field another football team until 1983, when a student-run team was formed. “Official” NCAA games did not restart until the 1986 season, and then dropped permanently dropped football again.”

    The question is USC headed in the same direction under the leadership of Carol Folt with huge turmoil within the program, and past donors to the program now turning their back as are the fans.

    Like

    Reply

  13. Insane Old Shiite. .. UNTIL Gomer He’ll Ton is FIRED or is thrown out.. USC will always Have Coaching Problems …USC football players do NOT Deserve this Shiite. .. Plus A lot of the Play calling is the Same Old Shiite. ..Making USC make Stupid mistakes on the Football field. .. USC Can Play better than they are …Gomer HE’LL Ton needs to Be Fired…..USC needs URBAN MEYER Badly. Or Nick s aban Coaching Staff…

    Like

    Reply

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