FOOTBALL

USC Winners And Losers Of The Week*

*The Losers didn’t show up in original version

WINNERS

Drake London

A national audience saw him deliver against Notre Dame. The Biletnikoff Award should be wrapped up now. How many Heisman votes will he get? And how shoddy is it that USC is blowing his stellar season?

Keaontay Ingram

The tailback got 24 carries and made an impact with 138 yards. But I still think USC lacks a “special” back that can turn a game in one play. Kenan Christon had that potential but isn’t even with the team right now.

Jaxson Dart

Another week where his stock rises by not playing.

Ishmael Sopsher

The 330-pound Alabama transfer was on the field for seven plays against Notre Dame. The fanboys will say this make a huge difference the rest of the season.

LOSERS 

Donte Williams		 

It’s obvious the shoes he is filling as head coach are a little too big. Don’t blame him. Coach Bohn chose him over the more-experienced Mike Jinks.
 
Graham Harrell
 
The clock management debacle was reason enough to fire him. 

Todd Orlando		 

Can anyone tell me how the defense is better than it was under Clancy Pendergast. He likes to blitz. So did Pendergast. The decisions USC makes for hiring coordinators . . .
 
Parker Lewis
 
Welcome to kicking in Notre Dame Stadium. It’s not Washington State or Colorado.
 
Kedon Slovis
 
He’s become the focal point of team criticism. But the criminal aspect of all this is the offensive line, which we all know USC has been negligent in building the past few seasons. 
 
 

67 thoughts on “USC Winners And Losers Of The Week*”

    1. WE’RE THE LOSERS…….and it isn’t looking hopeful for a change of status in the near future. With the incompetent team of bohn, sosna, folt and caruso there is little hope we can get a real top-notch coach. Who in that group knows enough about leadership, footbal IQ knowledge and priorities to make the decision. I think Chris Petersen is the man if Fickell stands firm and doesn’t want the headache of USC and LA. However, I don’t think Petersen wants the headache either………and working for that clown group would not entice me. We are doomed.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. I agree w/you, Carra.
        Chris Peterson nailed it when he said USC’s starters had the talent [but not the skill sets] to beat anybody. He knows what needs to be done. [But he also said he got out of Seattle for his mental health —I kinda don’t think L. A. is what he’s looking for]…

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  2. London is special. What would our record be without him? Hate too even imagine that.

    Keaontay is very good, but not at the RoJo level. He turned 3 yard losses into 5 yard gains.

    I hope the “losers” column includes USC title IX administration for dragging out Bru McCoy for months. I would vote them as the biggest losers of the year thus far. Or maybe a tie with the village idiot clay.

    Liked by 5 people

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    1. The funny thing about USC’s judicial court is they think they’re doing the Lord’s Work and they’re actually trampling all notions of procedural and substantive due process…..
      #….NotToMentionThey’reAJoke
      [P. S.
      Answer to where we’d be without Drake London —sitting pretty at 0-7]

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. P.S.S.
        Ingram is a trooper. He’s gaining yards WITHOUT blockers. No USC back in history has had to run behind such a mushy, half hearted O-Line.

        Liked by 3 people

      3. MG, Clown U is a private Methodist University, making its internal judicial court its own special court w/o reference to California or Federal due process.

        Essentially, SUCC has the right to railroad students or employees as SUCC inquisitors see fit. Sort of like a Commie or Nazis kangaroo court exhibition.

        Hey, you pays SUCC its fees and than you get hosed.

        #Cue: “Onward Christian Soldiers”

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      4. I agree with most…but not all…of your remarks regarding the Judicial Court, my friend. However, this iteration of USC is anything but “Methodist.” It’s run by a carefully selected collection of weaklings, oddballs and crybabies…who have no connection to any recognized Methodist principles.

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  4. If and it’s a big if USC reaches out to an NFL Assists – a rising star is former USC linebacker, and current GB Packer defensive coordinator Joe Berry.

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    1. Why would you leave the NFL to coach USC ? Berry might be in line for an NFL gig after this season, any NFL team is a better gig than USC.

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. Dart was suited up with his eye paint and all. The 8th grade girls think he’s cute. Loser the coaching staff wondering where they will land next season.

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      1. Pretty much this, a decoy only in DWs mind; it was going to work. Or was it Oppie boy Cunningham’s mind? Either way both have failed with this Bohn headed decision.

        Liked by 2 people

  6. I guess you’d have to include the USC Trojan football team in the Losers column. They are now ranked 65th in the country…after starting the season at #13. Let that sink in —they’ve fallen further than any USC team in history in the rankings (way further than Lane’s pre-season #1 team)…..
    #SpeakingOfLane…..?
    #[Well,He’sAsGoodOrBetterThanAnyboyBohnIsLikelyToGet]…

    Liked by 2 people

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      3. I don’t know how much I trust the FPI. It has them ranked a spot ahead of a Purdue team that Beat Iowa on the road last week, 6 spots ahead of a 5-2 Oregon state team that boat raced them in their own house, 10 spots ahead of a 6-2 BYU who has made the Pac 12 their biatch, 15 spots ahead of a 5-2 Fresno St team, 17 spots ahead of a Stanford team that got punked in Manhattan Kansas the week prior to the cardinal curb stomping the trojans in their building, and 19 spots ahead of the best playing and best coached team in California at 7-0 SDSU. Can anyone honestly say the SC would beat any of those teams if they played this weekend?

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      4. If one plays better the next week vs a stout opponent, one’s FPI will improve slightly.
        The Trojan’s FPI continues to tank week by week, indicating that the computer is learning from USC’s substandard performance.

        As an example, the FPI had USC with about a 70% chance of winning vs Utah at the Coliseum a few weeks ago. Utah’s FPI is improving, USC’s declining.

        I trust a good computer algorithm over a biased human perception–at least when it comes to sports.

        Like

      2. Ha! Perfect! [I should never questioned your marriage vows, Ed. “What God has yoked together let no man pull assunder”]….

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Mike Bohn- has to be considered biggest loser of the week.
    1) He had to escort the “old bag” Carol Folt around cold Chicago and South Bend, IND while she was wearing her usual mini-skirt.
    2) Bohn then acted as Carol’s date to what was once the greatest intersectional game in college football, and the entire show at ND Stadium was a total embarrassment to the University of Southern California.
    3) At the end of the game Carol asked Mike what happened to all the resources you added to the program this past year you surely spent alot of money? Mike stated the resources are all in place I just fired the head football coach, and with time all those resources will turn the entire program around.
    6) Carol, then stated I hope so, but after this embarrassing game tonight you and I are done for the night meaning I am going back to my bedroom all alone to think this game over, and study more Marine Biology which makes me feel so happy.

    Liked by 3 people

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  9. Does Tim Tesselone every smile. I saw alot of the post game interview outside of the locker room, and he looks like a retired cop/enforcer walking around outside the locker room which definitely DOES NOT
    help the current reputation of this university on national tv.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Tim is a good soldier, loyal to his old USC pals — he is trying his best to hide his contempt for what’s been going on during Bohn’s tenure…. but it isn’t easy….and sometimes it bubbles up and spills over…..
      #Warning:KeepAllCinemaSchoolPropRevolversUnderLock&Key…

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Doesn’t Tim Tessalone deserve part of the blame MG; for what USC has become the last 10 years? Am I missing something here? Explain. The BOTs also deserve blame for hiring Folt and Bohn as well. USC needs a full house cleaning, pronto with TT leaving don’t just stop with him. Some stability and RESPECT needs to be brought to the University of Southern Cal!

        Liked by 2 people

      2. trojanboogs,
        Tim’s JOB was to protect a bunch of guys he knows are deficient.
        He’s done that job….and, man, that couldn’t have been easy….
        #…ButHe’sFinallyHadItW/AllTheCrap…
        #..He’sSeenFolt&BohnUpClose&KnowsHowLittleTheBOTIsWorth….

        Liked by 1 person

  10. The other day the bloggers on this site were talking about the worst teams in USC history. No one seemed to mention the 91 team from 30 years ago. The Larry Smith led team that went 3-8,2-6 in the Pac-10, lost to Memphis St., 31-10 in the home opening game, and had Perry a safety starting at QB, Because none of the good QBs in So. Cal at the time wanted to come to USC. Why? cause the way That Larry Smith handled Todd Marinovich situation. That team was freaking pathetic. The Fresno st. Freedom bowl debacle in 92 would of never happen if Larry Smith had been canned after that season. He couldn’t recruit anymore nor win a natty with all that talent he had. Took another 10 years (with Jolly John and Paul Hackett, in between) for Pete Carroll to come in and save the program from further embarrassment..

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  11. Slovis earns a B for the game. The INT was a tip play from extreme pressure, and the kid did run down the defender WITH GOOD ANGLE PURSUIT and MADE A SURE HANDED CLASSIC TACKLE–unlike our LB’s and DB’s. If memory serves me correctly, ND shanked the FG: no points from the turnover. One of the ND sacks was from 3 pass rushers! Three!

    Get off Slovis’ case. He has 1.5 WR he trusts to get open (London, Tahj 0.5) and the pocket is supremely messy all the time.

    I recall Carson Palmer struggling for 2 years until Pete and Chow came in and developed him. Slovis’ problem is mostly his coaching, likely some loss of arm whip after two terrible injuries, and the O-line play which has worsened over 3 years.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. You’re on solid ground defending Slovis. He throws with precision…. and he jumps up after taking a big hit and goes back to work. He’s just not the best option for THIS team with THIS line when we get close to the endzone. There is no threat of a run. The defense knows they DON’T have to worry about covering Kedon. Ever.
      As for the criticism of Larry Smith — we beat plenty of good teams under Larry. He was a good game day coach —although, admittedly he wasn’t a very good recruiter [kissing up to parents and kids wasn’t his mid- western thing]….

      Liked by 4 people

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      1. Oh, I’m on the Dart train for sure, Michael!

        I’d like to give Dart another week of recovery. Surely this team can beat Arizona without Dart????

        ASU, Cal, UCLA, BYU–use Dart if needed.

        Much like Sean Peyton used Taysom Hill and Drew Brees, I’d like to see some innovative play calling with both Slovis and Dart on the field. Run-pass options for Dart on the perimeter after a lateral from Slovis. It would open up the field for London and Tahj for some big plays.

        Wolf asked “why doesn’t USC just ‘go for it?’ ”
        Here’s my contribution, Scott.

        Liked by 2 people

  12. Pardon my wonk:

    THE LIST per FPI (football power index–a pure algorithm which looks at each and every play a team executes vs its opponent and compares how your team controls a play/game to how another team controlled a play/game.)

    1. Matt Campbell. FPI 15.5 (#8 in the country)
    2. Fickell. FPI 14.7 (#9)
    3. Aranda FPI 9.9 (#22)
    4. Franklin. FPI 12.2 (#17)
    5. Jon Smith Oregon State. FPI 4.1 (below USC’s FPI)

    The bad news:
    Sarkissian FPI 13.7 (#11)
    Kiffin FPI. 13.4 (#12)
    USC FPI 5.5

    Campbell’s FPI has improved nearly every year while at ISU. He is a true hot commodity and ISU knows he is heavily sought after. Again, I fear he has a massive buyout.

    Aranda–only a HC for two years, so can’t detect a trend. Let’s watch how he plays Texas, KSU, TCU and OU. He beat Iowa State at home by 2 and beat BYU at home.
    If Baylor plays well in October 30 & November, then maybe he’s the guy. Hoping his buyout is not severe and hoping he’s not interested in heading back to LSU.

    Fickell–not coming anyway, so I did not check his trend. He’s the next Notre Dame coach, anyway.

    Franklin–I did not check his FPI trend over the past few years, as most on this board do not favor him coming to USC. I do think he’s a tough, defensive minded coach who also develops innovative offensive personnel. He would be an improvement over the past 10 years of coaches. He must tire of playing Michigan, OSU, MSU and possibly resurgent Minnesota, always tough Iowa, etc. I think he could go 8-1 or 9-0 routinely in the Pac 12 South.

    If you go back to Pete’s Natty years, the USC FPI was a solid 30-33 or so. There was a decline in 2006/7, the 2008 team earned a 30 again, and a huge drop off in 2009 down to a pedestrian 14 (Sark, Kiffin, Helton numbers).

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Fuck-a-doodle, Bourbon,
      Way more worthwhile info than I’m used to on any sports blog
      [We’d all look pretty good with our posts today if it weren’t for you].

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    2. Bourbon – Good post and good info, I just hate putting too much stock in a a computer’s evaluation on a very human game.

      MG – Fuck a doodle doo. Can’t say I’ve come across that one. Funny.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Computer analytics are making their way into football, just like it did in baseball
        (Billy Bean, Moneyball).

        Anyway Brad, I’ll take some data along with my gut feeling.
        I like Matt Campbell, Dave Aranda, Fickell (not coming), and maybe Franklin.

        The kid at Oregon State is a gamble, but my gut tells me he could be a good hire.
        Does he have the experience to recruit a good DC/OC/RB coach/DB coach/LB coach/Oline coach/Dline coach? Let us see how Oregon State finishes out their year.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Bourbon, we are in agreement that there is value in the FPI. You gave a gut feeling, same idea as an eye test or opinion when it gets down to it.

        Personally, mine is:

        1) Aranda or Fickell would get us to at least at or above Oregon’s current status and thus, make us nationally relevant. USC football should be better than that but right now it is not even close. Both have time in the game ahead of them and as long as they are willing to recruit and coach the required 24/7, 365 commitment that is now required for success in CFB, they will do well. From the little I know about Fickell off the field, other marquee CFB jobs suit him better. If Aranda is interested, get him.

        2) Campbell. Not thrilled. He would be an improvement for sure, but what is that really? Winners of a very weak sub-division? A Pac12 Championship here and there. Maybe I’m underestimating him but I’ve seen underwhelming performances from his team along with the good ones.

        3) Franklin would be a grand hire with pedestrian results. My guess is a roller coaster with occasional big wins with equally disappointing results. Look at Penn State right now. What you see is what you’ll get.

        My take on the likely targets. Other candidates are out there, some good and some not but they are to me, long shots for many reasons.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Slovis is the perfect guy for the Summer No Contact Passing League, and for moving the ball downfield until everything stops inside the 20’s. He also would do better with an experienced offensive line, but Michael is right he is not the right guy now, and with the new coach probably throwing out the air raid we need to recruit more dual threat QB’s.

    Is Slovis ready for the NFL the answer is no. My guess with the new coach coming in next year he is better off transferring to a school with good offensive line play. I see Slovis playing in the NFL for a few years as a backup like Cody Kessler did, and then he will be out of the league very quickly. Good college QB, played well on Saturday when he wasn’t sacked, but moving into the future we need to move away from mechanical robot type QB’s who are no threat to run if the heavy heat is coming play after play. Former USC QB Steve Sogge, was slower than slow, but he had a running back named Simpson, and an offensive line of Syd Smith, Fred Khasigian, Bob Klein, and many others so he had plenty of time to handoff to the great one, or pass the ball as a surprise. Sogge, was a great leader with average ability but he made the most of what he had. Today, you need a dual threat qb to keep the defenses off balance.

    If Graham Harrell his buddy gets canned at the end of the season which is highly probable look for Slovis to enter the transfer portal. I have a feeling Uncle Fester will get an interview for the Texas Tech job which opened up today, but I doubt anyone with any brains hires him even if he accepts a huge paycut.

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    1. The Village Idiot is NOT getting the Texas Tech job!! He may apply for it, but he’s not getting an interview. He doesn’t need to work again thanks to Lynn Swann’s buyout package. My friend saw him at a downtown steakhouse again last week (this time wit Miss Angela) stuffing his fat face. And my friend swears he’s gotten fatter since the beginning of the season. If he makes a comeback next season it will be on his brother’s Western Kentucky team as OC or QB Coach.

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    2. Do you think Helton would be insulted if Texas Tech offered him the job …but asked him to pay himself outta the interest he’s making from the funds he stole from USC?
      #It’sWorthATry

      Liked by 1 person

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  14. I bet the SUCC FB team loves the fact “The Drake’s” personal CFB award focus now dominates bozo game plans – i.e. the Slovis/Drake pitch and catch offense.

    #Cue: XTC’s “Waiting for Nigel”

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    2. Message from Carol Folt for Owns:
      “Please don’t call them ‘chicks’ —they are fully functioning human beings ….with souls…. just like men …only so much better….”

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  15. I agree about Slovis. He’s actually had a lot of zip on his ball this season. He’s throwing well. Either he is hanging onto the ball too long or the O-Line is not giving him enough time.

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  16. Just sayin all our coaches are a perfect fit for the culture at Texas Tech with the exception of Donte. Graham Harrell is a legend in Lubbock Uncle Clay could be his offensive coordinator or his Director of Player Personnel.

    Remember – Harrell, and a good majority of our coaches either came from Texas Tech, played there, or have connection through Mike Leach.
    The air raid is the greatest thing to ever happen to the city o Lubbock. Street racing, the Friday night Drive Thru at the local A & W are all still in style. The air raid offense made Texas Tech football the only ticket in town for quite awhile.

    To me I could care less what happens to Uncle Fester or Harrell but maybe Tech likes hiring good ol boys, and might be stupid enough to hire all our assistant coaches. Remember, it was Mike Bohn who approved of bringing all these Assistant Coaches from the State of Texas who were not really qualified to coach at USC, and with that brought an entirely different culture that is obviously not USC football.

    Sadly, if Bohn made the final decisions on the assistants it kind of makes me wonder if he is even qualified to bring in the right head coach for USC. Warning Flags are flying——–Let’s hope he makes the right choice this time because it appears he made some major mistakes with the assistants or as I refer to it as “The Texas Connection”

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    2. Most of the high schools in the state of Hawaii would LOVE to have Harrell running their offense. Most of the star QB’s would LOVE to be told all they have to do is “throw to the green grass.” [Most of the defenses would love to see it too]…..
      #Win/Win

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  17. Mel Tucker is rising I see… I give him a pass for his one crap year at Colorado. I also give him a pass for the stink year during Covid season. This year he beats Northwestern, Youngstown State, an absolute crap Miami Hurricanes, a horrible Nebraska team in overtime, Western Kentucky, Rutgers, Indiana. Now it’s supposed to be a fight for his services? I’m not saying he’s a bad coach– he inherited a strong team and did what he’s supposed to do, and he may or may not be a good fit. That’s never really discussed. Then I see people try to puff up other crap coaches while tearing down coaches that actually accomplished something or be a good fit. But mostly people ignore good fits because they’re not even looking, whether the media or prob because of the media, on sites and message boards. I don’t think it’s much better at HH with Bohn and the crew but he might surprise us. Good to see that there’s still some activity, I salute you. It’s sociological for me now, don’t particularly care anymore– I’ll save that possibility for January when the chips fall.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. I’m with you, he’s got a good place where he’s got a lot of money and long leash. But Mark Dantonio didn’t leave him with a busted program as far as MSU can really expect. Dantonio in his last season lost to Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona St when each team was ranked, they beat a very good Wake Forest in a bowl… Michigan State was just two seasons after a 10-3 season, a string of wins over Michigan and a January bowl win, think it was over the Cougs. Mel Tucker hasn’t rebuilt anything yet has he (?) until he wins over Mich and Ohio State. His work is in front of him. He stunk up his year at Colorado, stunk up last year, but he could redeem himself.

        It’s odd, you have a guy like Johnson doing great work in Oregon State with the worst program with the least advantages, but he gets shot down in media and boards. It’s all image it seems to me. Tucker looks like he’s just a few years back from strapping it up, and he’s got the hoodie and shaved head and gruffness (lots of good that did as a player or in his Colorado stint but he’s got a good resume prior), while Johnson, one of the best QBs the PAC 12 has seen in recent history and has been a terrific coach at Boise and UW is pretty nondescript image wise. I don’t blame the people anymore, coaches have to understand marketing, image and self promo is part of getting the best jobs. We’d never hire McKay as he was coming over from Oregon St today. Meh… I’m starting to say bring on JDR and find a good OC and lets move forward.

        Like

    3. I don’t like how Tucker left Colorado. I understand he was offered more money at MSU, but I heard from Buffs he didn’t negotiate. I am concerned about his loyalty to a team if he could NOW walk away from MSU so quickly. SC rebuild is going to be a tough job and will need someone who makes a serious commitment.

      Liked by 1 person

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  18. Mr. Global Consultant
    Who is Johnson? If you are talking about Jonathan Smith from Oregon State, I agree wholeheartedly. The fans would be irate if they hired him. They think that he is another mediocre coach like Clay Helton. That’s probably why Bohn won’t hire him. But I think that the guy is a real sleeper and possibly one of the best coaches out there. He’s really an upcoming great coach(if I’m right). I would still take Fickell over him but if we can’t get Fickell, I’d love to have him.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. I was going to correct that as soon as I hit send– I ran the name together and got auto spell correct– technology is a give and take, but yes, 100% agree.

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  20. Wouldn’t it be a kick if choc chip hired Helton as a ‘consultant’?

    I’m guessing Mr BOHN has the FB coach chosen? Otherwise why would Helton get the ax early in the season? Just assembling a staff of currently employed coaches.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. P. S.
        NOW he’s thinking about what comes next….and he keeps running into dead ends.
        The pressure of needing to do something right for the first time in his life must be enormous. He should be placed on suicide watch.
        #USCDoesn’tNeedAnotherScandal

        Like

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