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USC Morning Buzz: Poor Planning In Portal Suddenly Becomes A Problem

One thing that is funny when USC loses is the way some people suddenly change their opinion on the team.

For example, one post-Illinois reaction is “Well, what can we do with a young secondary? It is what it is.”

These people conveniently forget that Lincoln Riley and Chad Bowden spent the offseason bragging about the new philosophy of focusing on high school talent over transfers. And the media beat the drum how the team had much more togetherness without the transfers.

This ignored the fact that USC’s starting safeties (Kamari Ramsey, Bishop Fitzgerald) are transfers and the coaching staff expected at least one starting cornerback (DJ Harvey) would be a transfer. Not to mention safety Kennedy Urlacher, a transfer from Notre Dame.

What is hurting USC right now is poor planning in the secondary. Harvey wasn’t recruited by some other schools from San Jose State and has struggled so far. He gave up a deep TD pass against Michigan State and had a key pass interference against Illinois.

USC should have gone hard after at least two more corners in the transfer portal but never did. That’s why it has a problem today. It didn’t mind being aggressive at tailback in the portal but cornerback was just as important. I constantly mentioned the cornerback position in the offseason.

And here’s another thing: How has secondary coach Doug Belk escaped scrutiny? Has he developed anyone the past two seasons?

27 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Poor Planning In Portal Suddenly Becomes A Problem”

  1. All of –literally ALL of — Riley’s defenses are sub-sub par…..

    #But…

    #….HarveyDidn’tInterfereOnThatPassPlayAtTheEndOfTheGame…

    #..ThatWasJustAnotherBigTenGiftToTheTeamCalled….

    #..”WhoeverIsPlayingAgainstUSC”

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    1. The ” ref’s are against us ” excuse is just that, an excuse. The DB’s do not know how to cover, period. They haven’t been taught properly, they grab and hold, screw up coverages, the list is endless.

      This is ALL on Riley, he’s the head coach, these are his coaches and players, lets give the ” refs screw us ” excuse a rest.

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      1. Yes…and …no. Big Ten officiating is a joke that everyone recognizes. You’re right, though — we have to find a way to win anyway.

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      2. The PAC 12 refs were worse.

        Play better, teach the players how to play correctly and it won’t matter.

        And when your head coach blows off his teams numerous penalties with a flip remark that ” only ****ty teams have no penalties “, what does that say to the players, keep doing it ?

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      3. Actually the Big Ten officials are worse.

        Specifically, neither the running into the kicker call a game or so ago or that last pass interference call were legit.

        I agree Lincoln is less than average as a head coach [he’s a great QB coach —and that’s it]. But we don’t want to get into defending Big Ten officiating.

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      4. KAM: Just watched the Harvey interfence again, he was grabbing the whole pattern with his right hand and didn’t turn his head to play the ball- easy interference call .

        DON: Plus it was on a first down play, our defense was gassed and Altmyer ran for 15 years the next play on a QB draw. We couldn’t stop that big RB Feagin either. We didn’t lose on that penalty.

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    2. Has there ever been a head coach so mono focused on the offense that he ignores the defense. You can tell by LR’s actions that he doesn’t want to be bothered or concerned with defense. Not sure if this culture shift will ever happen with him as a HC. You look at Dan Lanning at Oregon- he exudes what a head coach looks like. We have a guy who looks like a can play Woody from Toy Story in a Broadway play…..

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      1. Typical LR issues. Has there ever been a HC who looks like he cares less about defense than LR? Dan Lanning from Oregon/ acts looks like a HC, Day at Ohio State looks like a HC- LR looks like Woody from Toy Story in a Broadway play…

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      2. Far be it from me to take cheap shots at anyone….but…. the truth is: when Lincoln gets into his tight black t-shirt and ski pants he looks more like Corky Saint Clair [played by Christopher Guest in Waiting for Guffman] than Woody in Toy Story…

        #EitherWayHe’sNotAnInspiringPresenceOnTheSidelines

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  2. Here’s a fact for you

    Rileys road record against Big 10 teams

    Lost 27-24 @ Michigan

    Lost 24-17 @ Minnesota

    Lost 29-28 @ Maryland

    Lost 26-21 @ Washington

    Won 19-13 @ ucla ( USC scored 10 unanswered points in the 4th quarter )

    Won 33-17 @ Purdue

    Lost 34-32 @ Illinois

    5 loses by a total of 18 points, that says Riley chokes when it’s crunch time.

    2-5 on the road is pathetic, especially when you look at who the loses came against, not exactly top teams aside from Michigan.

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    1. You’re on safer ground with this one. Riley doesn’t know how to handle the pressure that comes with close 4th quarter games. He proves it over and over again. It demoralizes our team and encourages everybody we play.

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    2. Sorry, but I’m on ” safer ground ” with the penalty argument as well.

      If you coach the players properly, they don’t commit the penalties.

      If you sit the player for repeatedly making the same mistake, the player might get the hint.

      When you do neither, you have what you see every week, an undisciplined team that is poorly coached.

      Riley is just a thinner version of Helton. Both have no clue about clock management, disregard OL & DL recruiting, have no clue about defense, have undisciplined teams, poor special teams, etc, etc, etc.

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    3. Exactly, and also why his teams are always among the worst penalized teams – he doesn’t focus on anything but the offense! As someone else mentioned in another article here- we need an HC – NOT, just an offensive coordinator….

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  3. Wolf wants Riley to get DB’s through the portal.

    Well, his OL portal recruiting has been a disaster.

    His DL portal recruiting has been a disaster.

    The portal DB’s he got this year have been a disaster.

    He does really good with portal RB’s.

    Hire Jason Eck and watch USC become a tough, hard nosed team once again.

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      2. KAM: STUDY SHOWS GAVIN NEWSOM’S IDIOTIC FORESTRY PROGRAMS ARE KILLING THE PLANET!

        DON: Remember when Cowardly Gabby denied that forest management was important? “Most fire professionals believe rakes are a necessary part of saving California’s forests.”https://x.com/frank144/status/1877023860643508481She is such a moron!

        Gabby

        JANUARY 8, 2025 AT 3:50 PM

        you don’t rake the forest floors…..you’re an insecure d u m p—–a s s ……I see why everyone deserted this lame blog

        wait for it 3..2..1..more insecurity

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Depth is another huge issue for this team, as Illinois just exposed.

    I don’t know what to make of Lynn. Maybe he is a decent DC, and he is making the best of what he has, maybe he is totally overrated coming out of a ucla program in which their D looked good on paper but over half of their games were against JC-level competition, so ucla’s “amazing defensive turnaround” in 2023 was nothing more than on average they played a bunch of crappy teams.

    I was surprised that they didn’t pick Entz as DC last year, instead of Lynn. Entz has a great track record. Maybe you would ultimately lose him, as he is now at Fresno as HC, but he perhaps could have turned the defense around if he was DC last year.

    Did anybody see the reactions from alums? Leinart, Su’a Cravens, LenDale White, all went off on LR after the game.

    There is only so much of the Helton mentality and outcomes that one can take. Already 10 years of it, and counting.

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    1. Everything you said is 100% correct….. but….I’m afraid the reactions from alums might start infecting the team at a time when they need to believe in the program. Michigan is coming up. I think we can win that game and get back on a good track. In truth, that game is Lincoln’s Last Chance. If he loses it in the 4th quarter [or, worse yet, gets blown out], he’s toast.

      Personally, I expect a real great game and a win on October 11th.

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      2. I am hopeful, though does anyone know Kilian O’Connor’s status? As a walk-on starting center, he is much better than the person who replaced him.

        Leinart called last week’s game “undisciplined”. LenDale and Su’a were more “How can USC get pushed around like this?”

        The game plan would see simple enough versus michigan – ball control offense, take advantage of deeper routes once run is well-established, pressure the frosh michigan QB in front of a big crowd, force a couple of bad throws, don’t make stupid mistakes.

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      3. Like General Patton said to General Bradley, “The message got garbled in transmission —what I heard was abandon ball control offense after first fumble, abandon the long ball and never rush more than 4 to give Illinois QB lots of time.”

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  5. KAM: I wonder if it wouldn’t have been better if Illinois didn’t have those 2 lost touchdowns due to fumbles, and thus beat SC by 2 or more touchdowns?

    DON: It would have eliminated the complaints of Wiley blowing it again in the 4th quarter, and instead changed the narrative to ‘How can SC get blown out by Illinois?’

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  6. The Michigan game on October 11th will be the fulcrum on which the entire season turns for USC. On 2 weeks rest, with plenty of game film to watch and prepare for, in a bounce-back game at the Coliseum, there will be no excuses. Win and USC could finish 9-3. Lose, and it will be a 6-6 season again this year…

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      1. …and if Riley doesn’t get that October 11th is his Last Chance [and have the team as jacked up as they were for LSU] he’s delusional…

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  7. If I were king of USC, or USC’s new president, I would consider sending a letter to the Big 10 that the refereeing is unacceptable, that food poisoning event is suspicious, and playing time meant to throw visiting team off sleep rhythm. I would mention Netflix deal

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