FOOTBALL

USC Notes: Pac-12 Coaches Can’t Run Same Defenses

It will interesting to see how Pac-12 coaches adjust to defending USC and Lincoln Riley’s version of the Air Raid.

The past few seasons, defensive coordinators experienced success by dropping eight players into pass coverage. That is not going to work now, especially because Caleb Williams can run.

Also, Riley is expected to run the ball better than previous coordinator Graham Harrell and frankly his offense is more sophisticated (less disorganized) than Harrell’s offense.

Harrell actually used to order QBs not to run, which limited the offense for no reason.

  • I suppose some people will be swayed by a Kris Jenner endorsement.
  • USC women’s basketball has taken its fifth transfer — Oregon guard Taylor Bigby. So to recap, USC has taken five transfers (Bigby, Destiny Littleton, Koi Love, Kadi Sissoko and Kayla Williams) and one high school player for next season (Aaliyah Gayles).
  • Dedeaux Field is hosting two L.A. City Section semifinal baseball games today (Taft vs. Narbonne; Bell vs. Garfield) and not having any concessions. This is worse than normal because once the school year ends the on-campus stores that sell food close early or don’t even open.

61 thoughts on “USC Notes: Pac-12 Coaches Can’t Run Same Defenses”

  1. Scott quickly moving from one topic to another is like conversing with an over-talker who under-develops the conversation and moves from one subject to another with little or no transitions.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Not having concessions won’t be a problem.

    High school kids always know ways to sneak in things to drink.

    #IfYouHaven’tFiguredOutHowToSneakBoozeIntoAnEventYouShouldn’tBeAllowedToGraduateFromHighSchool

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. ugh,poeple know dowing the secks with munkeeys and gettin sic,dont now how menny timez i gotta remine poeple to leev the munkeeys alown,thay aint like ol’peenus breth muthur,u gonna git sum thing from her to but not munkeey pocks,smdh

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    2. Ed.G–proving that he is far more qualified to head the CDC than Dr. Walensky.

      People would respect and listen to Ed.G.

      Like

      Reply

  4. It’s going to be really hard to stop this SC offense no matter what you do. LR is an offensive genius. Even the Rams coach calls him up occasionally to pick his brain on offensive issues. The first time he ran an offense was back in 2010 at East Carolina. Every year since then his offenses have been explosive and among the best in the nation and he has never had the talent at the offensive skill positions that he has this coming year. The O-Line is better than a lot of people think. It will depend upon how good this O-Line coach is but he was considered to be among the best when he was at Texas AM. So we’ll see.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  5. This new improved version of SC football has Trojans acting like little kids again anxiously waiting for September and quasi-Christmas to see what is inside that big new present.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Damn right LJ. We haven’t had a September to look forward to for a decade. If we over react please have patience with us, we aren’t quite sure how to act now with having some hope for a change.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. How right you are, steve49. By the way, what does the ’49’ refer to in your moniker?– Hopefully it has nothing to do with the San Fran 49ers?

        Like

      2. Hope and change! BARF!!!!!!!

        Bad association with that. It would appear this is Hope and Change’s third term.

        Like

      1. Yes, but his hiring of MG’s girlfriend and the way he handled the Marshall School of Business made up scandal involving a dean who did nothing wrong, leaves me concerned. I will give him credit for admitting and correcting his grievous misjudgments of supporting, for a time, the infamous George Gascon and Max Nikias. Hopefully getting support from Mommy Skank was just a brain fart and that he’ll take Gas-X in the future.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. 6. MARIO WILLIAMS, USC TROJANS

      Williams provided reliability for the Oklahoma Sooners, serving in a reserve role as a true freshman, and now he will be joining Lincoln Riley at USC for 2022 and beyond. He was one of five Power Five wide receivers to see at least 40 targets and drop none of them. The 5-foot-9, 186-pounder primarily lined up on the outside and had no issue going one-on-one in single coverage. In all, he earned a 79.2 receiving grade for the 2021 season.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. I can’t wait to see what these guys do to Utah. If the refs limits the amount of interfering and holding by the Utah defenders (something they haven’t done the last 2 times USC played at Utah) we’re gonna score lots of points…
        #Let’sSeeIfUtahCanKeepUp

        Liked by 1 person

  9. It is not an air raid offense, it is a naive mistake to call it that. Riley’s teams run 50%, pass 50%. More running that ‘Bama, Clemson, Georgia.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    2. I agree 67, If LR can control the ball and clock he will. If he needs to abandon that he can score quickly. Either way it is really hard to defend with the wheels Williams has.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. Steve, I took my youngest son and one of his buddies to the spring game. What an eye opener. Williams has jets on his feet, he is super quick, he makes it look easy when leaving the pocket, he knows with his speed he can take his time and find the secondary or tertiary receiver. And he can get the ball out there about 30 years with just a wrist flick.

        Liked by 3 people

  12. Counting the tight ends SC probably has about 10 receivers that can play and that doesn’t include the RB’s. I think to be successful he (Riley) should really spread the ball around and my prediction would be if no receiver has over 50 catches they can win 10 games. Also Addison has nothing to prove this year to the scouts, they really should limit his playing time to avoid injury, of course unless the game dictates differently. Case in point would be the 1999 St. Louis Rams. Go look at some tape of their games and you will see that Kurt Warner through to at least 10 different players

    Like

    Reply

    1. Addison will become as great of a decoy as he will a receiver. Look for double coverage on him early in the season, but watch it disappear as the season progresses. Except for ucla, they will play him 1 on 1 and Addison will have the game of the year.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

  13. The problem of no concessions at the Cif playoffs is the CIF’s fault, not USC. Perhaps the boosters will set up hot dog stands with Tequila shots going out the back door.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. For those that want to see an explosive/unstoppable offense please watch the USC-Oklahoma 2005 Orange Bowl game on Yu Tube for the national championship. It is my hope that this year’s offense will be just as explosive. I was at this game what a great memory, and one of the best USC bowl performances of alltime.

    What a performance by Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith, and Dominique Byrd in this game. Sad Dom Byrd, and Dwayne Jarrett did not have great pro careers they both certainly had the talent. Three of the most underrated receivers in USC history. Great shout out also to Norm Chow once of the best play callers of all time.

    On defense Matt Grottegood, Lofa Tatupu, Sean Cody, and Frostee Rucker. were also outstanding in this game. Tatupu, was a great football player like his father, but also had a so..so career in the NFL as a starter for the Seattle Seawhawks.

    To win a national championship USC just needs to recruit players that can compete with Alabama, Clemson etc, , and go right at teams like the 2005 Trojan team did in this Orange Bowl game. Oklahoma was shocked how physical and fast the Trojans were in this game. In my opnion they will dominate the Pac 12 this season on offense, the worry is if they can compete on the same level with the big boys yet.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    2. SCdefinitely is in a great position to compete for Pac 12 championship…plus beat ND and a bowl game…doubt they are a top 4 team …that’s Bama, Georgia,Clemson, and 4th? maybe Ohio St or other Big10 team…I think a team from Texas will be in the hunt.

      Like

      Reply

      2. 24/7 sports says yes and I bet SC coaches looked into it as reported on their site…

        Like

  16. Karen Bass is a bad choice, she lacks familiarity with being an executive. . . but Rick Caruso is a DEFCON 6 tragedy waiting to happen. Caruso has been involved in so many crises that his lack of leadership is beyond glaring. His solution to any problem? Throw ungodly amounts of money to fix it. When he’s mayor-and most of you whack jobs don’t live in L. A. anyways-this moron gonna try to run for governor. By the way, the City Section runs the L. A. City baseball playoffs, not the C.I.F.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  18. Anyone stupid enough to have voted for Dementia Joe has zero business giving ANY voting advice, even for LA Mayor. Period.

    Hundreds of thousands have died on Joe’s watch (not even counting Afghanistan & Ukraine). He should have stepped down long ago by the standard he set!!!!!

    Biden voters have a lot of blood on their hands, whether they can admit it or not.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I see problems ahead. This week Scott put off Winners & Losers till Tuesday. Maybe next week it comes out on Thursday. The next thing you know Winners & Losers is coming out the same day as If It’s Friday…
      #I’mScaredGuys

      Like

      Reply

      1. You talk like Biden completely ignoring the will of the people and sending tens of billions of dollars to the most corrupt country on earth instead of the good working people of our own country is a bad thing..
        #ILikeTheWayBidenSaidHeWon’tSpecifyWhatThe$$AreSpentOn…
        #AndHeWon’tMonitorWhetherWeaponsFallIntoHandsOfTerrorists
        #ToQuoteGeneWilder,”ThisIsAGoodBoy,ThisIsAMother’sSon”

        Like

    2. You’re being too tough on the Biden voters, So Cal. How were they to know anything was wrong with Joe? Just cuz he walked into car doors and slurred his speech? Or talked with little girls about smoothing down his leg hair? Or referred to BOTH Senator Booker and Senator Harris as “the President” during the debates? Aren’t you being a little picky?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. No, they really are a sick bunch.

        All the death & suffering this administration is CAUSING and many of them claiming, “It’s better than the alternative.”

        Yes, to them having a guy they don’t like out of office is more important than human suffering. A dementia ridden old man ruining the country and some parts of the world is a small price to pay to not get their feelings hurt. That is sick & twisted.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. See above, So Cal…. [the Reply Placement Department is fucking with me today]…

        Like

      4. I agree. I still don’t like him.

        But was the country better off? Was the entire world a safer place?! You’d have to be a fool to claim we weren’t all better off.

        There are some real jerks out there, (Putin, Xi, Rocket Man). You don’t put a cowardly, corrupt, frail old man with dementia out there to deal with them. Not to mention all his bluster about dealing with a pandemic, when those of us with a memory know how horribly he did with H1N1. What happened to that great plan he claimed to have?

        81M idiots.

        Like

      1. That’s exactly what Graham Harrell said —– only this time it’s really gonna happen [an extra 10 points a game combined with reducing opponents’ scores by 5 would make for an unbeaten season —till the playoffs]…..

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m going to guess he thinks he’s a going to be a Sports Center highlight every Saturday. Nice to know LR is keeping them grounded. (smh)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    2. What does it mean that he’s got a transfer portal next to an electric socket?
      #TopReceiverIsAlsoTopTheoreticalPhysicist?

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.