FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: USC-San Jose State Report Card

It’s time for the first report card of the season.

QUARTERBACK

Caleb Williams continues to be an eraser, who singlehandedly masks the shortcomings of the offensive line, the defense and whatever else USC lacks. The priority for the coaching staff has to be to keep him healthy.

Grade: A-

RUNNING BACKS

If I had to pick a word to describe this group, it would be “serviceable.” That’s OK against San Jose State. But not against Oregon. And some of this is on the offensive line too. Austin Jones had a 37-yard run but then 17 yards in five other carries. MarShawn Lloyd needs more chances to catch passes. He had one Saturday.

Grade: C+

WIDE RECEIVER

There are a lot of receivers who can play and different players might stand out each week. Zacariah Branch obviously flashed early in this game and Dorian Singer showed why he is a top target. But it’s going to be a challenge to keep this group happy. I wonder how Mario Williams, Brenden Rice and Raleek Brown felt after the game?

Grade: B

OFFENSIVE LINE

Talk about underwhelming. Despite all the transfers and the conventional wisdom that other players improved, Caleb Williams was running for his life on more than a few plays. The fact a true freshman started should probably have been the first red flag about the group. It’s not like they made up for it on the run blocking, either.

Grade: D-

DEFENSIVE LINE

There is definitely more athleticism this season although it seemed like the scheme sometimes limits their effectiveness. You won’t see any gaudy numbers, which is fine. Let’s see if some of those explosive runs were a first-game issue or develop into a trend. Jamil Muhammad didn’t start but forced a fumble and broke up a pass. Sam Greene, a star of the spring game, didn’t play.

Grade: B

LINEBACKERS

Mason Cobb had six tackles and looks like he will be the backbone of the defense. I know true freshman Tackett Curtis is the Boy Wonder but the defense played better Saturday when Eric Gentry was in the game. People have short memories with Gentry, who influenced a lot of games last season.

Grade: C+

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Domani Jackson got burned on the TD pass right before the half, which Lincoln Riley called inexcusable. Ceyair Wright then gave up a TD pass despite grabbing the jersey of Nick Nash. Get used to this. How bad was it that USC allowed Nash to catch three TD passes?

Grade: D+

SPECIAL TEAMS

Zacariah Branch just made the return teams a lot better. I was less enamored with the kickoff team where Eddie Czaplicki and Denis Lynch shared duties and Lynch shanked one out of bounds.

Grade: B

COACHING

Should we highlight all the quotes from spring and summer that didn’t ring true on Saturday, especially about the defense? What is Lincoln Riley thinking? Does he believe he can compete with Alabama, Georgia or Ohio State with the current setup? It’s an affront to everyone that a program can pay a head coach $10 million per year but not have a top-rate defensive coordinator. Jen Cohen, please.

Grade: D

62 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: USC-San Jose State Report Card”

      1. I told you clowns all along that USC should have hired Chris Petersen.

        Now you’re stuck with ‘Ol Mule Shoe Lincoln Riley who doesn’t give two shits about defense.

        ‘Ol Mule Shoe had to bring his boyfriend Alex Grinch with him…what a mistake!

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      1. This Charlie Brown strip should always be juxtaposed with George C. Scott’s speech at the start of “Patton”…..

        Liked by 2 people

  3. Someone at USC better put in a call to Ed Orgeron and hire him as a consultant to come in and fix the defense because those three idiots Grinch, Shaun Nua and Donte Williams don’t have a fucking clue of what they’re doing.

    ‘Ol Mule Shoe can’t very well fire his boyfriend Alex Grinch now, he’s stuck with him for the year.

    San Jose dropping 28 pts. on the Ladies of Troy, just think what Washington, Oregon, Notre Dame and Utah are going to do to this Charmin soft Grinch defense.

    8 – 4 for this Ladies of Troy team…if they’re lucky

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  4. Speaking for Ed G, when are you producing last year’s Neuter Dame
    Report Card, Wolf?

    A “D” for Coach Wiley seems a bit harsh, even for Scott, and a D-
    for the offensive line removes all Wolf credibility

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  5. Only Charlie Brown would ask, “How did the other team feel?”

    San Jose St footballers– They were not walked over as many suspected,
    they played hard, scored 28, so they are not too down

    Utah 1 and 2, Tulane fans– Out of this world celebrations, beating down big bad USC; take that Trojan punks!

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    1. SJSU is picked to finish anywhere from 5th to 7th in the mighty MWC.

      ND did what good teams do to inferior opponents, you beat them down. SJSU is better than Navy but come on, SC looked like shit at times against an inferior opponent

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    2. John –After the Cotton Bowl collapse every coach is telling his team “stay in the game & keep fighting —anything can happen as long as half USC’s team is coached by Alex Grinch.”
      #NobodyIsGonnaQuitAgainstUs….
      #Tulane’sVictoryGivesHopeToEverybodyOnOurSchedule….
      #[…AndSoDoesPac12Officiating]

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  6. SJSU lost both of their best DE’s, yet put a ton of pressure on Williams, that’s a fail for the OL

    SC gives up 3 TD’s via the pass to a team that many said had average WR’s coming back, that’s a fail to the DB’s and that idiot Donte Williams who can’t coach for shit, just ask any Oregon fan.

    SC gives up almost 200 yards rushing to a team that didn’t run the ball well last year, but did have the whole OL coming back

    How can your SPY be slower than the QB he’s supposed to chase ?

    Is it a good thing that your nickle back is your leading tackler with 7 ?

    Is it a good thing when 3 of your 4 top tacklers are DB’s ?

    The OL is going to be a clusterfuck until they get some games under them, when they come from other schools playing in different schemes for coaches with different coaching methods and haven’t worked as a unit except for Spring and summer practice they aren’t going to gel for a few games, put on your track shoes Caleb.

    Memo to coach Riley, call Jim Leonhard today, tomorrow and every fucking day letting him know he’ll have a job as the DC next year making a very nice salary and living in Marina Del Rey.

    While the DC at Wisconsin, in 2017 the defense gave up 13.9 points a game ( 3rd in the country ) 2018 22 PPG ( 34th ) 2019 16.9 ( 10th ) 2020 17.4 ( 9th ) 2021 16.2 ( 4th ).

    He could have been hired this year but Riley kept Grinch for some unknown reason.

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      1. Anytime you win it’s a good thing and it was just the first game but lots of things need to be fixed and the defense sure did look the same as last years mess

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  7. Before I give a report. Remember this is the first game report card. I would like to give an incomplete because the constant mix of rotating players in and out of the game. QB: B- Caleb made a couple of WOW throws and a mixture of bad reads .
    Would help if QB coach can help him speed up his progressions faster like 123 ball is thrown too much running backward took a bad sack cost us 7 points end of 2nd half.
    OL: C- Too many missed blocks, maybe because they haven’t played together or transfers need more time in system. Noa is a mauler, Paige is a quiet future LT stud great footwork and great use of hands. Dedtrich needs more reps watched game got beat 10 times not acceptable. Everyone else was average including Jonas must play with physicality. RB: C- Austin Jones was great with the limited touches 54 yards 2 Tds, Lloyd was disappointed in his play because he didn’t have the impact we was looking for. Joyner looks like he will be what Releek was supposed to do last year. WR: A- Branch straight out best player on the field Saturday. Robinson will make SC’s red zone unstoppable. Williams keeps dropping passes along with Hudson, must do better if your starters. Rice Singer must make an impact like Taj did with his 2 opportunities. 2 catches 1 td 86 yards. DL: C+ Lucas Muhammad n Alexander played well in portions especially in the
    3rd qtr. shut down SJST offense looks promising going forward . LB: C- Curtis played like a Fr. Cobb is not as fast as of the TSP hype, Gentry came in and made plays on a limited bases. Everyone else average but they need to fill gaps better and contain QB better and be, better in zone coverage 50/50 between coaches/players lot of Omaha late movement making them be out of position. Secondary: D- Worst position group too many holding n PI penalties no one played well no more comments just ATROCIOUS!!!! Tackling is an art just like knowing formations n cues from pre snap formations. Special Teams: A+ Branch Branch Branch no one will be able to catch him Bush/Hill impact. Coaching by position group: Henson D,. Kingsbury B+ all Qb’s performed well. Simmons B-, other than a few drops this group performed most of the time. Defense Grinchy F+ same ole s**t Manning C- put pressure but couldn’t quite corral QB but looks promising. Nua C- DL didn’t stay stout enough and collapse pocket enough. Odom C- too many missed tackles and zone fuck ups. Donte F + ditto Grinchy. LR D+:Too many players not deserving to play responsibility issues on whole coaching staff

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    1. What’d you do, watch the game tape over and over, Eric?
      Quite a composite you laid out there, to which I can only comment on ‘Celeb’ because he seemed not himself, pedestrian even.

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      2. Yes I did LJ, I coached 4 sports so I dissect every detailed aspect if you follow my post, I back every thing with facts of evidence. I’m a civil prosecutor n project manager by trade AA, BA in both fields. I argue for a buck. Smackyd how are buddy I hope you don’t hold grudges. I don’t take what you say personal all fun n games of making your opinion.

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    2. I agree with many of your grades here erict. But I think the grade on Riley is way too harsh and the grade on Kingsbury is too generous. Kingsbury needed to help Caleb get those fast reads and he hasnt done that. I am starting to come around to the thought that Donte is a really poor position coach.

      But the one thing everyone is not factoring into the assessment is that Riley is using these early games as an advanced scrimmage to get tape on players. There is no way CRW is not on the field all the time when we play top teams. I also think that Covington needs to be on the field instead of Wright. And the faster they bring along Zion or Christian Pierce at safety the better.

      On defense, I think we all agree that Grinch’s schemes and the players ability to fill their assignments is a core problem. And some of the biggest busts are just horrible play calls.

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    3. Great analysis, 7112. Thanks for seeing the light when it comes to Donte —the corner play never seems to get better.
      How will Caleb adjust to Branch being the Superstar this season?

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      1. Thx MG, your respect for everyone opinions are very genuine and candid waiting for your analysis CR can you paste 24/7 article inside USC defense into USC SJST game it’s mind boggling

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Special teams a “B”?

    USC, 2 punts, 41.5 average, no returns.

    SJSU averaged only 18 yards on 3 kickoff returns, the rest were touchbacks.

    There there is Zach, with 166 yards of return yardage, including one of the best KO returns in the last 50 years.

    Should be an “A”.

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  9. Why such a high grade for defense?

    I do not think the normal viewer understands the poor defensive play calling during the game. The miss tackles seem to also still be an issue as players are not in position to make a play. That all on the defensive coaches.

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  11. Agree with most of your report Eric.

    I was a bit disappointed with the offensive play calling. What’s up with all the run pass options with Caleb. It wasn’t effective and your risk getting him hurt. Do more play action and bootleg plays. And why not spread out the receivers with an empty backfield and do some quick slants to Branch or Washington. How is anyone going to cover our receivers in a spread but I don’t recall us doing that. I think the O line problems will be fixed in a few weeks.

    I am more optimistic on the defense. I thought Lucas, Byrd, and Muhammad looked good and the interior guys were getting a push. We screwed up on gap integrity which should be relatively easy to fix. Our guys are bigger and faster than last year with more depth. We are better at linebacker with Cobb and a healthy Gentry who made some good plays. Agree that our spy messed up but that again should be an easy fix. The play at the end of the half was pathetic and I am not sure if it was a bad defensive call or Domani just got beat. Domani doesn’t have a lot of game experience and hopefully he improves over the next 3 to 4 weeks. We need him. Wright got beat but that was just a perfect pass and catch and I don’t really criticize him on that one. Bottom line – I can see improvement. SJSU was better than expected. I think they can win the Mountain West.

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    1. I think that we are thinking of this “game” in terms of the Helton era, when Helton could barely even beat the easy teams. Riley is using this as an advanced scrimmage to work out issues and get tape on players. There is so much more depth here and they are playing alot of inexperienced players that have immense potential, but need to develop.

      Domani could get to be incredible and Covington should be playing that other corner position. I dont think either Jaylin or Max is really going to play at an elite level. Once again, it feels to me like the core defensive problem might be with the linebackers. I’m not sure if Curtis can get up to speed enough to live up to his promise this year. Gentry is pretty good and Cobb is just a little too slow – good but not great.

      The d-line is the biggest opportunity to make this defense much better quickly.

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    2. Road Apple: We are better at linebacker with Cobb and a healthy Gentry who made some good plays.

      Not sure what game you were watching. We will arguably have the slowest sideline-to-sideline LB core in the league AGAIN! With more running QBs due to RPOs there’s a reason why the average weight of an NFL LB is down 25 pounds and why Gary Patterson converted RBs into LBs. Gentry has problems shedding blocks big-time.

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  12. Z Branch’s performance gets Special teams A but poor kickoffs (ie not in end zone) makes composite grade A-.

    RBs B+ and WRs B.

    No other comments other than it must be tough for Wolf living in glass half empty world.

    It was week zero!!

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      1. A silly saying. Any glass is always full. Half full of liquid and half full of air, or some combination thereof.

        Unless, as you state, it’s broken. 😉

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      2. That explains why Scott is so negative
        His glass was never half-full to begin with

        And I am sure Wolf is happy with his particular life
        as we all should be with our own

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  13. Your grades mean absolutely nothing and are the expression of your twisted negativity. Every time I read your stuff, which I do for a laugh, I think, “This guy has insecurity issues.”

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  14. I wanted to clear up some misconceptions by Scott and some others regarding the 0-line play. Riley was asked, “What does Caleb need to improve on”, Riley replied, “on his situational football”, more pointed, his decision-making ability.

    Since Caleb has aspirations to play in the NFL, I’ll use the NFL as my example. The majority of pass plays from the time the center snaps the ball to the release of the QB take 2.5 seconds. Like Eric said, 123 the ball needs to be out. What I see from Caleb is not taking what the defense is giving him, good example of situational football. If the receivers are covered, throw the ball away(seems like that is never an option for him) and move on to the next down, voiding a potential negative play.

    When Caleb decides to hold onto the ball for four seconds every play and tries to turn the play into a home run by improvising, then even the best offensive linemen would allow pressure on a somewhat consistent basis.

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      1. Most definitely said MG, it will help the OL play efficient if he goes through his reads faster. If we see what you need to improve on, then the NFL scouts are saying.

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    2. Some of the perceived shortcomings of the O-line are actually a byproduct of Caleb’s tendencies. Caleb is a generational talent with tremendous athletic ability and arm strength. The mental aspect of his game will improve with more game experience and tutoring from Riley and Kingsbury.

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      2. I am beginning to wonder if he is getting over coached. He didn’t seem to be his free wheeling self. Somewhat constrained especially to stay in the pocket. If he can make reads faster he doesn’t need to stay in the pocket longer, the ball will be gone.

        Liked by 1 person

  15. Why Wolfe? Y is my comment awaiting moderation when you let Gabby n all his friends keep posting back to back. WOW JESSIE!!!!! You need to make real inside USC football information.

    Liked by 1 person

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    2. I posted here this morning and was up for a while but has disappeared. Nobody knows what goes on here. And a “moderator” never contacted me.

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  16. Paul Finebaum predicted that USC won’t make the playoffs and it’s because of the defense. I don’t know whether he is right or not but I still think LR made a big mistake not getting rid of Grinch.

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  17. Grinch is probably a good DC, he is just trying to be way smarter than everyone else, and it doesn’t appear he is. He simply needs to throttle back on the schemes and let the guys play to their ability and not get caught being in the wrong spot play after play. There was no reason for all the schemes he ran during the 1st game of the season. Ever notice how teams seem to be able to see where the blitz is coming from and run right through where that blitzer would normally be? Big gains!

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    2. True. Players play faster when the schemes are not too complex. You want them to re-act, not to think. You have to simplify things.

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