FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: USC-Cal Report Card

QUARTERBACK

Caleb Williams made a couple beautiful throws that I’m not sure too many QBs in the nation could make. But I’m starting to get tired of the sidearm throws, which rarely result in any memorable plays. He’s clearly tired of the pressure teams are putting on him too.

Grade: B-

RUNNING BACKS

Some people tried to say the running game was back because MarShawn Lloyd had 17 carries. He had a 56-yard run. But the other 16 carries, he averaged 3.75 yards. Sir Lincoln of Riley needs to do a better job getting Lloyd into space.

Grade: C+

WIDE RECEIVERS

Is anyone stepping up other Tahj Washington right now? How would they play if they just had a good QB? Remember when Mario Williams was billed as a top receiver? He didn’t catch a pass.

Grade: C-

OFFENSIVE LINE

Imagine how bad things are if you let Cal sack Caleb Williams four times? Teams are bringing pressure as part of the game plan and the line cannot handle it. It’s really been awful. Justin Dedich’s false starts are not acceptable.

Grade: D-

DEFENSIVE LINE

This might have been their worst game of the season. They couldn’t really stop the run and never sacked Fernando Mendoza. So Caleb Williams gets sacked four times and USC can’t get one? Amazing. Go back and check what the media fanboys wrote when Anthony Lucas transferred from Texas A&M? Has he delivered? Jack Sullivan, the transfer from Purdue, has one tackle in nine games.

Grade: D

LINEBACKERS

Somehow Eric Gentry convinced the coaches to finally play him and look what happened. That’s a coaching blunder. Plain and simple. Mason Cobb quietly had 15 tackles, probably because he had to keep tackling the running backs breaking past the line of scrimmage.

Grade: C+

DEFENSIVE BACKS

This was another terrible day. Four pass interference penalties and a roughing the passer. Who has gotten better? The only passable corner is Christian Roland-Wallace, which I wrote over and over and over when he came from Arizona. Does Domani Jackson look like a five-star prospect? Bryson Shaw had 10 tackles. Is that a good or bad thing?

Grade: F

SPECIAL TEAMS

Who remembers the opening kickoff? It went out of bounds. Then the missed field goal. And missed extra point. Thank God the punter was brought in from another school where he might have been coached.

Grade: D-

COACHING

Does anyone else feel like USC’s offense has become predictable? It seemed like last year the Trojans could break out plays to catch a defense off guard. That doesn’t happen much anymore. The defense has bad technique and bad schemes. It’s so baked in now I don’t really think it can be fixed this season. Blame Lincoln Riley for his stubborn refusal to make necessary staff changes.

Grade: F

65 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: USC-Cal Report Card”

      4. You are too chicken to meet up with Plow Horse after you opened your big mouth and challenged him to a fight,

        When will you box Plow Horse, Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama?

        Plow Horse
        JUNE 23, 2023 AT 3:24 AM
        Chickensh*t Gabby: When you insult my wife and mother you challenge me. Say to my face the garbage you say on this board Mr. keyboard tough guy. If you think I am an old man who you can beat up, let’s set a date at the Pasadena boxing gym. C’mon be a man.

        Liked by 1 person

      6. That sack of crap, road apple was talking shit…..if he really wanted to rumble with Gabby then he would have negotiated a neutral site…..Like halfway in Barstow…but the chickenshit went crickets and little pussy boy gotroll looks like a fucking idiot every time he talks about plow not showing up in Barstow

        Now you have limp-dick slo pa-troll talking shit when the dude is afraid of his own shadow ……This fucking website is full of a bunch of old men who can barely wipe their ass

        Like

      7. Look it’s Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama’s favorite sock puppet who doesn’t ven try to hide that it’s Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama. You’ve gotten lazy, Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama.

        Liked by 1 person

      8. Try to stay in a character, Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama sock puppet. You are still in full Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama persona.

        Liked by 1 person

      9. Why should he drive to Barstow, when you’re the one he said wouldn’t have the balls to say all the shit you talk on here to his face? If you want to prove him wrong, you’re the one who should show up where he had the balls to tell you he’d be.

        I’d never drive to Barstow and trust you to show up, especially alone. Don’t blame him one bit.

        Liked by 2 people

      10. you fucking senile sack of shit….it works both ways you fucking mental midget…..you want Gabby to drive from LV to Pasadena so some 80-year-old hunchback not show up….dude, you are one fucking stupid troll. I am serious 90% of the shit you say makes zero sense.

        Why do you keep running from Gabby, he’s asked you 1000x to meet up and you have pathetic excuses.

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      11. Speaking of Cowardly, when will you be fighting Plow Horse, Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama ?

        I just got’s to know!

        BWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
        Plow Horse
        JUNE 22, 2023 AT 9:57 PM
        Gabby:

        You have offended my wife, my mother and my father. All sexual inferences. I let the first two go because they are both deceased but not my wife. You are the one who offended my family, not visa versa. I have never brought your wife or parents into anything. It is therefore my call – boxing gym in Pasadena CA, Mr. tough guy. Give me a date and I will make the arrangements. Stop being a chickensh*t.

        And nobody believes you are friends with Dana White. If you ever read the news, he is a staunch conservative who left the country during Covid so that the Dems. couldn’t shut down UFC. He wouldn’t allow a pussy leftist like yourself anywhere near his octagon. Rummaging the dumpster outside of the premises for plastic bottles redeemable for 20 cents doesn’t mean you know Dana White you leftist, racist, pussy.

        Give me available dates.

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      12. Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama made up Barstow after he no showed for his fights in Pasadena AND Miami! Remember how disappointed George Tirebiter was when he realized Board Coward, Zero Football IQ Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka Cowardly Gabby/TebowObama is a complete fraud and disgrace to humanity ?

        Like

  3. Good one, Scott, you changed Washington to Cal, but if those same grades come up for SC against Wash then the Trojans are washed up

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  6. He is correct about one thing, the offense looks like a 7 on 7 practice, working on long routes. I’ve watched LR at OK and last year, and he had a much more diverse offense, with dinks, lots of misdirection and a pretty good running game. Even a middle screen to slow the rush. This year it’s boiled down to CW dropping back, running around looking for the long pass with the opponent sitting in a dime package, along with a spy on CW. You know when there will be a running play. It’s when there’s been a pass completion. How can LR disconnect anymore in one season?

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    1. When the color announcer, Klatt, is telling you when SC will run, you can be sure that the opposing DC can tell as well.

      Most OC’s ( Little Lincoln ) use screens and draws against pressure, is he calling that and CW is audibling out of it ?

      USC can beat UDUB, but as we’ve seen since the ASU game, this team just can’t play defense worth a shit, thankfully Arizona and Cal shot themselves in the foot or it would be 4 losses in a row.

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    2. I am starting to wonder if Kliff Kingsbury is part of the problem. When Riley was going to be out they were trying to get Kliff to come in and run the offense. Really? Not Josh Henson, who has the title of OC as well as o-line coach. Not Dennis Simmons, who is the assistant head coach.

      Is Kliff the new curse on USC football? Is he whispering in Riley’s ear and in Caleb’s ear and telling them everything he did to lose games in the past?

      …Caleb, you dont need to check down, just run around and then throw a bomb downfield….it works everytime.

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      1. Caleb hangs onto the ball too long. The opposing teams see that so they play deep on defense giving up the short stuff knowing that Caleb won’t take it even if it’s open. He wants throw 40 yard bombs on every play. Run the ball, hit those short slants and curls. Dink and dunk them to death. Then when the DB’s start moving up to stop all the short stuff, the you use those great receivers to take the top off of the defense.

        Liked by 2 people

  8. How soon they forget–
    the misery of the ‘Ton-o-Hel’ years:
    5-7 in 2018
    8-5 in 2019
    4-8 in 2021 (Helton fired)

    11-3 in 2022 (Wiley brings SC back)

    I hope the Trojan players are having fun with their difficult wins because unfortunately most SC fans aren’t

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    1. Team is regressing,
      recruiting sucks especially the DL ( they just offered a DL JC kid that is a major head case, reeks of total desperation ),
      SC was winning games earlier in the year and dropping in the rankings, team could easily have 2 more losses.

      As for Little Lincoln bringing SC ” back ” last year. He lost to Utah TWICE and then mighty Tulane, struggled against inferior teams most of the season but had CW to bail his ass out.

      Next season s going to be a long one with as many losses as wins, and if many changes aren’t made, the future looks bleak.

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      1. the B10 is all physical all the time…finesse is only possible in a total hurry up game plan. Big linemen on both offense and defense and at linebacker too…smash mouth city 24×7 while playing 1/2 the games in brutal cold compare to So.Calif. It won’t be pretty in my opinion.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Why SC didn’t simply take over the Pac 12 back in the days of Pete Carroll and dictate terms and make us the boss is something historians will ponder decades from now. Instead we blew up the Conference of Champions . Stupid!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. We’ll all see how goddamn fun it is next year when USC enters the B1G conference with Lincoln Riley and no Caleb Williams.

      USC will have an untested QB with an undersized offensive line in front of him that can’t block for shit, a group of WR’s that are small and can’t get open, a stable of RB’s that will be an afterthought in Riley’s pass happy offense, who will get tired of being hit in the backfield and dropped for losses and a 5 star TE that wasted two years of eligibility on a clown of a head coach that will really be exposed as being in way over his head.

      The really fun part to watch will be the USC defense.

      270 lbs. USC defensive linemen going up against 320-330 lbs. B1G offensive linemen will be one of the funniest things you will ever see. You’ll see holes open up for the opposing teams big enough to drive a truck through.

      But don’t worry, Alex Grinch’s defense is built for speed, maybe the Trojan linebackers and secondary will be able to run down opposing RB’s after about 30 yards or so.

      Yeah it’s going to be fun watching Riley and Grinch figuring out how to get their “Speed Defense” off the field so that Riley’s untested QB can get back on it to take even more of a beating.

      It’s not going to be fun watching USC next year, it’s going to be hilarious!

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      2. I see it similar to your eval except not hilarious to watch. Why SC decided to do this, is as illogical as it gets. Getting paid a lot of money to just lose big time was as short sighted as letting the Pac12 run roughshod over SC all those years.They never flex their muscles ,even let ncaa trample them 15 yrs ago…the gutless admin is way too politically correct. Now they are dead meat.

        Liked by 2 people

      1. It depends on how you marshal or array your facts. History books are replete with biased commentary passed off as ‘facts”

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  10. QB, RB, WR grades should be better, but the O-line gets an F, and the entire defense should get an F. Maybe LBs get a D, given Gentry’s play, but he also had a stupid penalty.

    Cobb is out of position or over-pursues far too often.

    With Cal’s 3rd string QB, Cal should have had well under 350 yards of offense. They had nearly 200 more than that.

    Oregon might get 700 yards against this unit.

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      1. Oregon might get 700 against SC’s weak defense but SC’s offense will not come close to 700. They got 500 against Cal. Oregons defense is in the top 5 in the nation or somewhere around that

        Liked by 3 people

    3. SC’s offense is still potentially explosive. The problem is the O-Line. Fix that and you have a powerful offense. Even with a mistake filled O-Line they are still rated #2 in the nation in points scored.

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      1. Although that #2 rating is a bit suspect with SC having pounded some poor teams to start the Season

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      2. Just fix the OL and everything is OK huh ? What about the WR’s that can’t get open ? How do fix this OL NOW ?

        IT’S THE DEFENSE, THE DC AND HIS ASININE SCHEME, HIS FRAUD OF A DB COACH AND A HEAD COACH THAT HAS NO CLUE ABOUT DEFENSE AND SEES NOTHING WRONG WITH HIS CURRENT DEFENSE.

        JUST OUTSCORE THEM SIR LINCOLN OF RILEY !!!!!

        Liked by 3 people

  11. Scooter,

    Sir Lincoln of Riley has this two point conversion so far up his keester. Three times he has tried and failed and it cost the Utah game. Special teams are an F. Four pass interference penalites are on the coach. Heads need to roll and get coaches that are cut throat and buisness like. riley should talk to the oregon dcordinator and see if he would come down. He seems to know how to stop the rpo

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  12. Wiley is getting peppered constantly with questions about Grinch and his defense
    to which he deflects and instead discusses other matters which are not related.
    In other words, he is doing what any rational coach would do, wait until the Season is over in 2 1/2 weeks before declaring what to do with Grinch

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  13. Of course Wiles, much as Dr. Frankenstein, created this ‘SC expectations monster’
    by delivering such an unexpected’ stellar first year

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  15. As was said above, USC is way too predictable on their offensive plays (Shades of Clay Helton) now. What happened to all of the misdirection that was so prevalent last year? Caleb doesn’t like to run any more (afraid that he’ll get hurt and ruin his NFL career?). Offensive line sucks. Defense is laughable. This is NOT USC football! USC paid top dollar ($10M) to bring ‘SC back to prominence-and USC is laughed at every week…

    I remember as a kid watching Chris Limahelu (RIP) kick the winning field goal against Stanford in 1973. That memory is amazing. I was lucky enough on my birthday to talk to John Robinson even after USC (South Carolina) beat USC at the coliseum 38-14 at the Cardinal and Gold club meet up at the Hyatt in 1983-then came the crappy years until Pete Carroll came aboard (oh the crap USC was given when he first started-who the hell was Pete Carroll?)! Given a few years, things changed.

    Riley needs to do what’s right for the team as a whole. It’s not fair to the players on the team-nor the Alumni or the fan base. Rarely if ever have I turned off any USC game-as I am an optimist. BUT, I turned off the last game out of frustration. If the issues aren’t fixed by end of year-I am done watching USC football. That also goes for my oldest sister and brother-also both graduates of USC.

    We’re all tired of the doublespeak.

    Simple-Get it done right or leave….and don’t let the door hit you in the A$$

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    1. Riley definitely wants out, it’s that guaranteed $110,000,000 contract that’s hard to walk away from.

      Especially now that he’s been exposed as being too one dimensional, won’t admit his faults, can’t handle criticism or the media and most of all too stupid to realize that his defensive coordinator is a fraud.

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  16. So USC’s offense scored 50 points, amassed 543 total yards, and won the game. Must have earned some impressive grades with that performance right? Nope. Not a single A. Highest grade was a B- and the offensive line received a D-. And the coach/play caller got an F. Can you image what grade the team would have received if they were shut out!

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  17. ” I was lucky enough on my birthday to talk to John Robinson even after USC (South Carolina) beat USC at the coliseum 38-14 ”

    Huh ??

    SC beat the Gamecocks 23-13 at the Coli in 1980 at night, Van Halen was playing at the Sports Arena at the same time, beautiful planning there !

    South Carolina did beat USC 38-14 AT South Carolina in 1983. It was the first year of Ted Tollner, that clown created more than a few alcoholics during his stint at SC.

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  18. I imagine Wiley is in shock over the aggressive negativity the SC fan base has brought and it even made him seriously ill, so undoubtedly he is fed up with Trojans and would love to get out from under Los Angeles if there are any $80-million suitors out there

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    2. LOL!

      Lincoln Riley can forget about any team, college or pro, offering him a ridiculous amount of money to coach.

      The guy can’t tell that his defensive coordinator is an idiot and worst of all, for him being an offense guru he sure as hell doesn’t understand the importance of the offensive line.

      Riley is just like Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and Clay Helton, just because they draw up a play they think it’s good as gold and it’s going to work, it doesn’t work that way against quality teams. And they all resort back to the bubble screen when they get in trouble…LOL!

      But yeah, Riley isn’t getting anymore huge contract offers, I wish he would so that he could take his dumbass up out of L.A.

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  19. My problem with USC is not that they are having close games but that the team is so undisciplined and dysfunctional in operation. The whole team regresses the more time they spend with the coaches and at practice.

    I am pretty sure that people inside HH have some ideas about the problems, but noone has the guts to say it out loud.

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    1. The only people whose input matters are Ol’ Jen, Without-a-Folt and Wiley,
      Wiley because he might want out of Los Angeles and might try to work out a buy-out
      and the 2 ladies because they are Wil.es’ bosses

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  20. Another element is how is SC’s offense taking the inadequacies of the defense?
    In 1998 all sucla had to do to get to the championship game was beat Miami but its defense let them down and the offensive players got in the faces of the defense

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  21. Mario Williams caught two passes, one at the end of the first half with time to get them down field but ran up field instead of out of bounds wasting time.

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  22. THOSE GRADES are some what accurate. A little more negative than the way I saw it.especially the q/b & r/b grades and comments. also ‘the bear was allowed to play only in the second half,which I believe made a big difference.

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  23. Hey BUDDHAKARMA ,my bad…the other date makes more sense-as it was right around my birthday. My oldest brother took me to the game for my 21st birthday present-and he proceeded to get drunk. (That’s what I get for trying to look up the date quickly on the internet). I had to deal with a brother who is 5ft 4 inches tall…with a Napoleonic complex…who was talking smack to the South Carolina fans who were sitting directly in front of us…until the guy stood up and told my brother to shut up (Turns out his son was a defensive lineman for South Carolina). Not to mention my brother later on in the rose garden area almost getting us into another fight.

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