FOOTBALL

USC Sunday Buzz: A Four-Point Plan That Must Be Implemented

If Lincoln Riley cared about the defense as much as his parking spot, USC would be in the College Football Playoff.

Here is what needs to be rebuilt:

  1. New defensive staff
  2. New offensive line coach
  3. New strength coaches
  4. New recruiting philosophy. Be more aggressive, especially with local recruits.

At a minimum, USC needs to address these four areas. Even if they do, Riley needs to undergo a personality transformation or he can still hamstring the program with his stubborness.

63 thoughts on “USC Sunday Buzz: A Four-Point Plan That Must Be Implemented”

  1. Riley is who he is, an Air Raid, non physical, aloof football coach, he’s not going to change.

    He’s also not going to overhaul his entire defensive staff unless Cohen makes him do it.

    Aloof people don’t suddenly overnight become extroverts, Riley just isn’t a people person and that’s not what a top recruiter is.

    Wolf also left out a special teams coach

    For all of this to happen Riley will have to do a 180, anyone see that happening ?

    Welcome to Hackett or Tollner or Helton 2.0, it’s not going to be pretty going forward unless Riley is bought out, takes a job somewhere else or quits citing burn out.

    USC football id DEAD for the foreseeable future, D E A D !

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      5. You’re quotting Paul Finebaum. He’s a tennessee born and raised southern boy who graduated from the U of Tenn. His main goal in his writing career is to make sure the SEC wins the NC every year whatever it takes. He’s corrupt. He hates SC because he knows if you get the right guy in at SC, they could have a dynasty with the advantages that they have. It nearly happened back in the PC days but luckily another corrupt organization(the NCAA) came to their rescue. Show me one article about SC football in the past that has been positive that was written by Finebaum.
        OK….he hates SC….I get it. But he is now using his power as a football writer to destroy LR’s career.

        Like

  2. It took Helton about 2 years after the Rose Bowl season to lose the team and make it obvious to everyone that the whole enterprise was a charade.

    Riley did all this in about 6 weeks. WTF happened?

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    1. Last season he had an easier schedule, a wider turnover margin but the signs were there, coming down the stretch there were many close games against shitty teams plus the beating by Utah in the CCG and total shit show against Tulane.

      Riley inherited a shit team but aren’t guys paid 10 million a year supposed to be able to recruit locally and coach players up ?

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply

      1. It wasn’t a shit team Riley inherited, they just weren’t properly coached up.

        Caleb Williams improvising had a lot to do with the success of last years team, he was able to overcome bad coaching and play calling, making plays on his own, much like Sam Darnold with Clay Helton.

        The players were there, they won on talent alone

        Liked by 1 person

  3. “Personality transformation,” huh, we all could probably stand a little ‘fine tuning,’ but what about 2024, Coach, or as Wrigley said when asked with all his millions why he was still so aggressive in business and social matters, he said, “It’s the future”-

    In 2024 with a ‘green’ quarterback there’s talk of turning
    ‘Number-0’ into a Heisman candidate which means SC becomes more of a running attack.

    The overall quality of Trojan footballers is not Top-10 maybe not
    Top-25. The first thing 4 and 5-star high schoolers ask of a prospective college (employer) is “How much you pay here!?”
    So apparently SC doesn’t pay Top-10 type of money

    Listen to this talk regarding “amateurs,” instead it is NFL-lite

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. And when they do it is an afterthought or using some clever gimmickry. No belief in or commitment to physical play (ie PT Barnum star approach which in football is entrust your fortunes to a single athletic playmaker versus fielding a capable coaching staff that develops individuals and units, to include an offensive line that is physical).

        Nothing changes until a legitimate coach is finally brought in – they had the best chance they will ever get prior to hiring Charles Nelson Riley …

        So OU-SC it is, and that means USC is now, as long-predicted, on the road to college football perdition with Miami (private schools that were powerhouses and still have all of the inherent advantages that made them such, but who are run by people who either don’t care or are too stupid to get out of their own way and turn the decision-making and management over to someone capable).

        Liked by 1 person

      2. you dipshit…you have no fucking idea what “air-raid” looks like….USC ran the ball 328 times, passed 384, and scored 32 TDs on the ground and 30 through the air.
        That averages out to 4.5 more passes per game than runs. Looks fucking balanced to me when you ran an average of 60 offensive plays a game!!!!!!!!!!

        You sound clueless 90% of the time regarding football.

        Like

      3. When he was at Oklahoma, he used to run the ball. I think that the figures will show that he ran the ball 55% of the time. I’m saying that on a personal study I once did on that topic. I’m almost sure he ran the ball 55% of the time and threw the ball 45%.

        Like

      4. When he was at Oklahoma, he used to run the ball. I think that the figures will show that he ran the ball 55% of the time. I’m saying that on a personal study I once did on that topic. I’m almost sure he ran the ball 55% of the time and threw the ball 45%.

        Like

    2. Are we going to ignore Wolf writing a list of four things then saying three things because it’s what Wolf does? Ok.

      Those 4 things are good. But there’s a lot more, which points out how futile it is to hope for change under Stinkin.

      The biggest thing is that Stinkin Riley is not a CEO. At best he’s an empty suit, at worst he’s a grifter. And he’s not passionate about the organization he leads, nor its culture, strengths, context and traditions. Because of that he can never be a good coach at ‘SC. But back to football.

      This is a man that believes that he doesn’t need a Special Teams coach. (Stinkin isn’t worried about what poor Special Teams does to winning over all, but especially to Defenses.)

      But it is his offense would have to be heavily rejiggered. You can’t win playing 7 on 7 passing league football. You can’t just have Counter Trey as your run play.

      You must be able to run the ball up the middle and at the edges, and have designed QB runs. Stinkin is supposed to be a Leach disciple but he doesn’t run two back sets and doesn’t emphasize backs blocking.

      We have to get backs and TEs that block, and teach WRs to block for that matter. Stinkin uses the scramble drill but doesn’t bother to use planned roll outs and screens to take pressure off the OL. You have to be able to put a QB under center sometime and have to be able to teach the footwork and play action that comes with it. You have to have some packages, jumbo, where you line up and are just bigger and stronger, with a Fullback/TE, and get short yardage on the run or a play action.

      It’s really on that side of the ball things need to change because it you can cut down on offensive turnovers, sustain long drives, get the short yardage for 3rd and 4th downs whenever you need it, and keep your Defense fresh and off the field, it improves drastically.

      And if you practice against a physical offense as a defense, the defense becomes physical and has to play with good technique and fundamentals and discipline and energy,- or gets exposed in practice, where theoretically you can fix these things.

      The key to defense is to avoid breaking down: getting wore down, missing coverages and assignments, making mistakes in technique, being in a bad spot on the field (fined position), and getting beat.

      Playing Defense is like a casino, the more you play, the more you lose,- and the bigger the bet you make at risky games the more you lose.

      Stinkin likes gambling Defenses but USC needs a disciplined defense. Sure “stand up and strip” tackling in situations, and tape watching where you see how to jump routes opportunistically are great! But the main thing is great fundamentals/technique with great athletes and complete discipline– and someone who can design and teach a simple enough scheme and see where they need to make in game and week by week adjustments.

      These are things everyone sees as an observer, but Piley is too close, too connected to his hustling ways. And there are a lot of enablers among USC administration that actually want USC football and its culture and influence to wane.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

  5. The L.A. Times writer and bloggers really went after Wiley especially after the sucla final humiliation, yelling and effectively cursing the poor guy much as a jilted wife screaming at her departing husband,
    “And you’re lousy in bed too!”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Says the misogynist, racist sack of shit….you’re a fucking hypocrite old man… Just look at yourself, drool running off the chin, a soiled diaper, and no football IQ. I wish your local priest knew the real “YOU”

        Like

  6. USC finally has a REAL athletic director in place, so let’s see if it makes a difference moving forward. Anything less then an overhaul with football philosophy, and assist coaching staff, probably means a flat out head coach firing, after one year in the physical, competitive Big Ten.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. After sleeping on it I’m just going to take a “wait and see approach.” I like that Riley took responsibility in the presser and will have to hope & trust he will fix this. Who else are we gonna get? All the coaches SC was going after prior to hiring Riley have been pretty underwhelming: Luke Fickell, Dave Aranda, Matt Campbell. James Franklin is good but still hasn’t won anything. Kyle Whittingham is good but always loses games he should be winning. None of the those coaches are coaching teams that others are gunning for…it’s easier to be the team that surprises people with no major expectations.
    WTBS, Riley & AD better make some pretty dramatic hires and not just DC.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hoping someone will suddenly change their philosophy is a fools game, Riley isn’t changing anything unless he’s forced to and he’s still not going to run the ball.

      I’d hire Jim Leonhard and take my chances, don’t need a ” star ” to create a winning program, McKay & PC weren’t exactly at the top of anyone’s list at the time, what does SC have to lose at this point ?

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. I’m not worried about who they will get as the DC. They’re going to get a good one. As I’ve said before, LR has changed his thinking. This guy wears his emotions on his sleeve. He’s just come through the worst year of his life. He doesn’t want to go through that again. This is a guy who is sensitive about his reputation. He closes all his practices so the football writers can’t criticize his practices. He once said that the first game he lost as a head coach was like the end of the world. They’ll get a good DC. My question is when are you going to fire your O-Line coach.

        Like

      2. Riley hasn’t changed his thinking, he’s not going to play physical football, he’s not going to run it, he’s who he is, a pass happy introvert, good luck with that in the Big 10.

        Liked by 2 people

      4. Unfortunately (eve though I would love to have Leonard) Riley would never hire him for two reasons. 1 Riley doesn’t have the respect of the rest of the football world to work with him. 2 Riley’s insecure ego sees Leonard as a threat as a head coach since he’s a strong personality and a hard nose yet players coach. Already having been an head interim coach he will be seen as a threat. It is the reason Riley doesn’t go outside his small tech/Oklahoma/ecu sphere. The only one hired outside that sphere was Williams and it was cause he was forced to by upper admin as a favor

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I knew it was a dicey hire from the beginning since he had never built a program ever. And the program he took over was in decline in the years after

        Liked by 1 person

  8. I have been watching USC football since OJ and I have never seen an offensive line that bad. How did it get so bad. The players are experienced and have had some success in the past. If you can’t even slow down the defensive front, it limits your play calling. I think Reilly abandoned the run game because he concluded that his o line could not run block. And Caleb rarely had time to throw it down field to one of his 5 star receivers. What I don’t understand is why Reilly can’t get it to Zachariah Branch on short isolation plays or find Duce Robinson on mid to short range passes. Those guys should be tough to defend and you can deliver the ball to them in less than 2.5 seconds.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. He does hang on to it too long. He won’t play that cat and mouse game as well in the NFL. He’s going to get sacked a lot. Many times when a QB gets sacked too many times he gets happy feet like J.T. Daniels and Kedon Slovis.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. OJ played at USC from 1967-1968. You claim to only be a couple years older than Gabby, so you were 2 years old watching OJ play?

      You’re either lying about your age or lying about OJ? Truth is, you’re an 80-year-old hunchback who needs a good ass whipping but makes up lame-ass excuses to avoid Gabby…..pathetic!

      Like

      Reply

  9. Don’t disagree with Scott Wolf’s four points, but Riley’s not any more stubborn than any other coach. He’s not going to necessarily do what sportswriters and fans think he should. Riley shoots straight and maybe some don’t like that.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. I am starting to wonder if part of the problem this year is Kliff Kingsbury. Here is an example of a Riley “buddy” who has a horrible track record of losing everywhere and who is a big air raid practitioner.

    The fact that Riley wanted KK to take over offensive coaching while he was gone tells me KK is more than an offensive analyst. Why wasnt Henson taking over those duties, he is the offensive coordinator in title, after all?

    This might be the biggest issue that is unknown outside of the program.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I think that if KK stays on staff, this offense is in for trouble. Both Henson and KK need to be replaced, fast.

      One reason to get rid of Henson is that he is missing on top recruits.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. The main reason SC is missing on recruits is that they don’t pay the big bucks. Kids are going to go where the money is. I’m not even sure I want them to pay big money to these unproven kids(like Korey Foreman). Some schools are sending cash every month to kids even though they have made no commitment. Other players are demanding $5,000 just to take an unofficial visit to the school. But if you don’t pay the money, you won’t get the 5 stars.

        Liked by 3 people

  11. All of you have posted some very valid points about the Trojans. But the fact of the matter is that if you think CLR is going to go through a complete metamorphisis, so are mistaken. In his three CFP appearances, his OU teams got absolutely obliterates twice. Now if that doesn’t tell you that you need to make some changes in your philosophy then nothing will for one reason, and one reason only, his arrogance. When you think that you’re the smartest man in the room, there is no room in your psyche that will allow you to admit the fact that you need to make changes.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. Paul Finebaum pointed out that Reilly was 11 – 1 last year to start his SC tenure, with a Heisman winner returning at quarterback and several big transfer pick-ups. He was projected to have an 11 win season again with a solid chance to make the CFP. But he lost 5 of the last 6 games and only beat Cal by one. According to Finebaum, this is the worst coaching collapse that he can recall in his years as a college football commentator. He called Reilly a fraud and questioned whether he had the ability to coach a team at this level.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Finebaum is a BIG SEC honk, so take whatever he says with a grain of salt.

      Had a bunch of luck with turnovers last year that partially inflated last years win production. No doubt Riley made a huge mistake not firing Grinch last offseason but I can understand his reasoning giving him this year to turn it around. Was it a disaster…YES! But if you get a rep for not giving coaches a chance to turn it around, coaches are going to be reluctant to come here knowing they might only have one year to work miracles. LR made a hasty move to USC and grabbed coaches he was comfortable with, on his way out the door. In hindsight wish Grinch wasn’t ever offered (rumor was he offered Venables the job before Venables went to OU).

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. I’m not sure I can understand his reasoning. I don’t know why he ever brought him here in the first place. He’s had one good season at WSU. That’s it. That first year at SC should have been enough to convince everyone that his defenses would be a major clog in the success plans for USC football. It was the biggest mistake he ever made in his coaching career and I’m sure he knows it. But I wouldn’t rule him out as a HC. It’s way too early.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Statements like that(by Finebaum) are crazy. LR is a fraud? I would say that it is a little early to come to that conclusion….wouldn’t you? Nick Saban was 25-22-1 after 4 years at MSU. Jimmy Johnson was 21-21-3 in his first 4 years at Oklahoma State. Tom Landry was 18-46-4 in his first 5 years as a HC. Finebaum may prove to be right but I think that it is way too early to say that.

      Like

      Reply

  13. Gabby idolizes me. Remember this gem from the blog pussy.

    Gabby (original)
    JULY 6, 2023 AT 10:54 PM

    “Plow, I know you and I have had our differences and I wish no ill will between us. You are definitely in your wheelhouse when it comes to USC Athletics, especially football.

    With that said, you are fair, balanced, and objective, everything Scott is not. Please, relieve Scott of his duties and start writing the leading topics.”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. you got caught in another lie regarding OJ…..you fucking hunchback….It’s hilarious the excuses you made to avoid meeting Gabby in Barstow.

      I have no problem with your football comments, it’s the fucking lies you told related to politics that was the issue. I was trying to be civil with you but you kept making lame-ass comments directed at me over your debunked rants

      So I went back to treating you like my little bitch and calling out your repeated lies. It’s fucking weird how you like to lie to feel relevant.

      Like

      Reply

      3. Gabby says that he is “treating me like his little bitch.” Well, someone is a little bitch but it is not me. Here is our blog tough guy attempting to weasel out of a boxing match:

        Gabby (original)
        JULY 6, 2023 AT 10:54 PM

        “Plow, I know you and I have had our differences and I wish no ill will between us. You are definitely in your wheelhouse when it comes to USC Athletics, especially football.

        With that said, you are fair, balanced, and objective, everything Scott is not. Please, relieve Scott of his duties and start writing the leading topics.”

        Absolute humiliation. Hey Gabby, do you have any masculine pride? It is amazing that you returned to the blog after being exposed as a total pussy but I suppose that is part of your mental illness.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. road apple….you have been called out many many times to meet up with Gabby and have failed to take the offer, absolute humiliation. The blog knows why you refuse to meet in Barstow……It’s called a good old fashion street fight, but you’re too much of a chickenshit to accept the offer…. Do you have any masculine pride? It is amazing that you returned to the blog after being exposed as a total pussy but I suppose that is part of your mental illness.

        Let’s talk about this recent OJ lie, you 80-year-old hunchback? This blog is full of nothing but a bunch of limp-dick old men that hide behind there keyboards taking

        Like

      5. “The blog knows…”

        Just because you believe it, doesn’t mean everyone else does. NO ONE else has ever thought that about Plow Horse. You live in an alternate reality.

        Liked by 1 person

      6. ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! If I need any shit out of you I’ll squeeze your head. In the meantime, go fuck yourself with tiny…you limp-dick troll.

        Like

  14. I just saw someone say the most preposterous thing, i.e. that USC doesn’t pay big bucks. USC was, by the current admission of countless players, paying the biggest bucks even by today’s standards for recruits. Runners were delivering money and goodies at USC when I was a student and that has only grown. Whole families moved and housed, prep school tuition, etc. have been paid regularly, (this isn’t a secret, Josh Luchs, that snitch talked about doing this regularly for USC even in hoops).

    So stop the bs, the excuses for sht coaching, it’s tiresome and stupid.

    Half the coaches in the PAC 12 would have multiple championships with USC’s talent and resources in the past decade or so.

    And things like the debacle at Florida State with boosters promising that Jaden Rashada kid 13 million dollars and they didn’t even have 50K collectively and were bullshitting; that doesn’t happen at USC. It’s true that the newbie FSU boosters were unusually fcked in trying in making promises and booster and marketing money and NIL never drop like that,- but SC would never let some bs like that occur with a big recruit, and it never would come up short like that. SC pays top dollar and is serious. If anything we’ve had trouble with the infighting of USC trying to squash independent moneyed up boosters, all of which has been reported on.

    By the way, most of the money comes in not just because there are the billionaire boosters that that throw money at the program, which USC is second to none with… It’s marketing and sports business which SC also is second to none with.

    One only has to look at the NIL consortiums and the advertising money to see that on a purely $$$ USC is putting out more money and offers more opportunity and will continue to do so unless NYC gets a college football program,- because LA and Southern Cal are by far the biggest and most cash rich market of college football. And it’s the most chock full of sports agents and managers and lawyers.

    On the East Coast one can’t turn on their TV without seeing USC former and current players pitching something, and USC is a machine at turning out media friendly and hyped athletes. USC has polished that image for decades. For a century, stars line up to be seen with and the women stars want to boink our athletes even as students to increase THEIR notoriety. Stars can’t wait to stand on the sidelines more than at the Lakers.

    And it’s not just about the money and fame. It’s not an open market, it’s promises of career, support and relationships built over a period of time with a lot of coaches and other players and family in the ears of student athletes, and the track record and environment that kids can see. I remember my tour, it was like college athlete Valhalla and now even more. (By the way, what’s up with those comically bad new sculptures in HH???)

    That’s why big time programs need and try to find big recruit rich areas and establish deep relationships with families, coaches, high schools, leagues, alum, street agents, etc. The huge amount of talent in the West and the relatively small number of colleges with big time sports programs, and SC being premier among them is key to the historical dominance of USC.

    USC has really been a amateurish, badly run program for most of its history, but it can’t help but be dominant if it just gets out of its own way or doesn’t have folks with agendas trying to sink the ship. But that’s exactly what we have now. Let’s not accept it. Fight on!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. Similar to the dynamic billboards that show the National Debt growing every second, should put one on Figueroa that shows a decreasing amount of Riley’s buyout.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. Everyone piling on LR and USC. I am still AN IDIOT in the camp that he is the right guy. Get the DC hire right. Push Jen to let us approach NIL the right way. We haven’t sniffed elite in a long time, it will take him some time to get us there. Florida St is reaping the reward of their patience with a good coach, we will too. BUT IGNORE ME BECAUSE I’M STUPID, LIKE SCOTT WOLF, GABBY AND ALL HER ALIASES LIKE GOTROY22, PLOWHORSE AND TEBOWOBUMMER.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to fired Cancel reply