FOOTBALL

USC-Maryland Report Card

QUARTERBACK

There are two versions of Miller Moss: The one who has time to throw and the one who is under pressure. Unfortunately for USC, successful quarterbacks can navigate in both worlds. Apparently, Lincoln Riley is going to spend the season accepting that the offense sometimes has one hand behind its back.

Grade: D+

RUNNING BACK

How do you rush for 189 yards against Penn State and 82 yards against Maryland? Because King Riley didn’t really want to run against the Terrapins for reasons that defy logic. Who in Heritage Hall would have the guts/knowledge to remind the Mad King that USC was once known as Tailback U. That doesn’t mean you become a simple offense. It means you establish a ground game and wear down an opponent when possible.

Grade: C-

WIDE RECEIVER

Can you believe some said before the season this was the nation’s premier receiving corps? Maybe it’s the QB’s fault but what is the coach doing here? None of this fully explains why Zacariah Branch is no longer the threat he was last year.

Grade: C+

OFFENSIVE LINE

Some people keep acting like they are getting better but they were playing Maryland and how often did you see them pushing the Terrapins’ defensive line down the field? It’s halfway through the season and there’s been no noticeable improvement.

Grade: C

DEFENSIVE LINE

No defensive lineman was among the top eight tacklers for USC on Saturday. That wouldn’t be so bad if they made their presence felt in the critical fourth quarter.

Grade: C-

LINEBACKER

I’m starting to feel like a lot of the times I see the linebackers, it’s the backs of their jerseys as they chase after someone going down the field.

Grade: C

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Someone named Billy Edwards Jr. completed 78 percent of his passes and threw for 378 yards. That’s almost 100 yards more than he had the previous week against Northwestern. I mistakenly thought freshman corner Marcelles Williams would be rotated in during the season but he didn’t even play vs. Maryland.

Grade: F

SPECIAL TEAMS

Punter Eddie Czaplicki has been a bright spot all season. Not even USC special teams coaching can ruin a punter, who has a pretty simple job. The way the offensive line got blown up on the field goal was embarrassing. And when will Fair Catch Branch join the game?

Grade: C-

COACHING

Isn’t one of the jobs of a coach to get his team to play four quarters? USC keeps playing one half of football and every week the response is “stay the course.” Every game is an adventure at the end when you know a bad decision will be made or the clock mismanaged. Calling a timeout at the end of the first half with 1 second left to get into the Victory Formation was another gem.

Grade: F

34 thoughts on “USC-Maryland Report Card”

  1. Something is wrong with Zacariah. As Scott, to his credit, has pointed out, he fair catches way too much. Something is in his head from the coaching staff. They gotta figure that out. Even the TV announcer (who despite making it pretty obvious he had never seen usc play before) called Branch out several times for fair catches.

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    1. The answer is simple- they don’t have a plan on Special Teams as there isn’t a position coach. So, they don’t have a game plan, they don’t know how to block for him- and I bet the Special Teams Consultant dude just tells the blockers- “don’t hold, we are just going to fair catch everything.” It’s just another glaring example of how poor LR is in terms of being a HEAD coach. Details escape him, core fundamentals are constantly overlooked by the entire team. only one LR focuses on is his QB and the play calling- and he cant even do a good job there.

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  2. As for the offensive line, Scott says “it’s halfway through the season and there’s been no noticeable improvement.” That is an accurate statement and perhaps the most distressing. You would expect dramatic improvement from the young and/or inexperienced guys like Paige, Noa and Murphy but that has not happened.

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  3.  Scott: “Unfortunately for USC, successful quarterbacks can navigate in both worlds”

    Scott: “Maybe it’s the QB’s fault”

    NAILED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Moss is not a starting QB at the Power 4 level. I have been telling you guys this since the season’s first game.

    It’s Maiava time!

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  6. xxxx delusional armchair qb guru. What do you know about the position. About as much as wolf. Did u ever play it??? Your fascination with maiva is comical. There isn’t a qb around that would be able to play at a consistent high level with the continual pounding moss takes! I hope your boy does get some time against a decent team. You will be eating crow for all to see

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    1. Another Moss apologist, PATHETIC!!!!!!

      Missing wide-open receivers over and over and over is not the fault of the O-line. Failing to pick up a single first down, the entire season, running the ball is not the Oline’s fault. Rushing for a total of MINUS 39 yards is not the O-line’s fault. Throwing 7 INTs in your last 8 games is not the fault of the O-line’s fault.

      Any half-wit, like yourself, would easily recognize that Moss is one-dimensional and lacks many of the t00ls Maiava possesses. Many of the sacks and hits he takes are because he’s slow-footed and lacks the athletic ability to escape pressure. Caleb is laughing his a s s off.

      It sounds like you’re a delusional armchair QB guru, OR just a total dumb—a s s. Get educated regarding what a competent QB at the Power 4 level should look like……Moss is a poor example, it’s my opinion and the opinion of many others

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      1. Plow Horse

        SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 AT 4:08 PM

        The Narcissist’s Airtight Victim Narrative

        From Psychology Today

        March 2023:

        KEY POINTS 1. Exaggerated victimhood is a common feature of narcissistic grandiosity.

        2. Narcissistic personalities often feel victimized because of their unrealistic expectations, hypersensitivity, and lack of empathy.

        3. Narcissists also play the victim to elicit sympathy and avoid responsibility for their abusive behavior.

        See Gabby’s claim of victimhood below.

        Lack of empathy, abusive behavior, it all fits.

        And of course she has now taken over the blog so that she is the center of attention, the most obvious narcissist personality trait.

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  8. Scooter,

    Lincoln “Deer looking into the headlights” Riley did not show up for Trojan Live last night. Jordon Moore said that he was out on the field getting ready for Rutgers. To be honest, they do tape the show at 4 PM and it comes on at 6 PM.

    But there is good news. We have 7 more years of Lincoln, “Deer Looking into the headlights” to learn how to become a head coach. Cant’ wait to see 4-8, 6-6, 7-5, 8-4, 9-3, 2-10, and 6-6 seasons in the future.

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    1. Perhaps you’re the guy USC needs to coach the team. You’ll bring back the Power “I” formation and run “student body” left and right over and over and over.

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      1. XXXXX,

        You suck. I know I can manage and call a better game. When you are running successfully, you keep with it. Moss is scared and can’t throw as well as he has for now. Take the pressure off of him and just hand off. If you are gaining 5 yards per carry, you bet I can. Now XXXXX, the West L.A. Boys are missing you as their pinata and stuff toy. Go do your job.

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      2. You just proved again why we laugh at you when it comes to post-snap football…….gives us more, it’s comical

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      3. She’s hearing the voices again, Pasadena. Must be off her meds.

        No one else is laughing at you, PT. But you already know that.

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      5. If I need any s h i t out of you I’ll squeeze your head. Quit being a pest. Go find something productive to do

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      6. Cowardly Gabby pretends to want to fight posters but she forgot she admitted she is The Coward of the County!

        Gabby (original)
        JULY 8, 2023 AT 3:06 AM
        no one is going to fight someone over comments made in a blog…..plow is an old man just popping off…and you f$#king know it…

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  9. In 1969 SC won 4 games in a row in the 4th quarter and got penned with the “Cardiac kids;” today’s team would be the ‘Heart attack kids’

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  14. USC is back in the news with some more ‘Varsity Blues’ leftovers. Every lawyer for everyone involved, including Pat Haden’s lawyer, said “My client knew nothing about this,’ which is code for Lawyer Deflection 101

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    1. So USC administrators lied under oath to the court and is using the Walk On Athlete System to get unqualified donor children admitted 4 years after Varsity Blues Scandal revealed?

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  16. The inconsistent SC offensive performance is a colloboration between Moss, the offensive line, the wideouts and coaching, all of which is average

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  17. Pingback: USC Morning Buzz: Time For Some Changes . . . Nope – InsideUSC with Scott Wolf

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