FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: USC-Notre Dame Report Card

QUARTERBACK

Jayden Maiava built up some gaudy stats this season but Lincoln Riley didn’t trust him in the biggest game, a popular theme with Riley.

Grade: C+

RUNNING BACKS

It’s not ideal to get your first career start at Notre Dame so King Miller deserves some grace for that. More importantly, there was plenty of plays with lousy run blocking that allowed him to get hit right near the line of scrimmage.

Grade: C-

WIDE RECEIVERS

It’s not a good night for the wide receivers when the biggest play is an attempted pass play that went awry. And where were the coaching answers when Notre Dame made a priority of taking star player Makai Lemon out of the game? None. Once again, Lincoln Riley doesn’t get his playmaker enough touches (4).

Grade: D+

OFFENSIVE LINE

Here is my issue with the line: When I watch the replays of plays, I see guys getting beat and then the pundits/media talk afterward about how great the line played. They might not have been as bad as they were against Illinois but they still couldn’t generate a running game against Notre Dame’s defense.

Grade: D

DEFENSIVE LINE

The defensive line is way better. The depth is way better. Blah, blah, blah. It’s true against the lightweights on the schedule but looked what happened vs. Illinois and Notre Dame. Devastation.

Grade: F

LINEBACKERS

Is the honeymoon over for Rob Ryan? He’s a colorful character but did his players rise to the occasion in the cauldron of Notre Dame Stadium? No, instead the Irish simply rammed the ball down USC’s throat.

Grade: F

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Hey, they had one of their best performances of the season, namely because Notre Dame refused to let struggling C.J. Carr throw downfield. But then again, did you see the Irish wide receivers blocking the corners and safeties off the field. Pathetic.

Grade: D

SPECIAL TEAMS

USC has a terrific kicker so all it needs to do is not screw up the other areas to have good special teams. So what happens? A 100-yard kick return right when the Trojans had seized some momentum. For years, I have complained about Lincoln Riley’s initial refusal to have a dedicated special teams coach and now the refusal to hire a veteran special teams.

Grade: D+

COACHING

This was a defining moment for Lincoln Riley on a magnificent national stage. So what happens? He wilts under the pressure. He got cute on two fourth-down plays and then unleashed a howler of a trick play that may go down as the worst one in USC history.

Grade: F

COACHING II

We need an extra coaching category to give just due to that other fraud, defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. This guy has surrendered 944 yards of offense in USC’s two losses. That’s simply shocking. Why was Lynn playing deep when C.J. Carr couldn’t throw a pass downfield? Is he still a candidate for the UCLA job?

Grade: F

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Need a pick-me-up? How about a look at Los Angeles in 1953. At the 9:36 mark you will see some beautiful shots of USC and the Crosstown Rivalry.

61 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: USC-Notre Dame Report Card”

      1. Maiva is injured and can’t do RPO. Defense only works under coach Lyn’s scheme if there are no weak links. But the secondary is a weak link. Coaches are not in the right roles. Offensive coordinator calling plays is trying to coach the fight on the field – can’t work. This is why coach Pete Carroll had Norm Chow, Sarkesian, Orgeron, and Kiffin. Most of the coaches are technicians and stoic – not the right fit for field general.

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    2. KAM: Definitely a F on Special Teams for that pathetic arm tackling.

      DON: It reminder me of tackling at the Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl- “oops you got past me!”.

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    3. Maiava was plenty good until SC had no option but to pass and ND’s DL teed off on him.

      Leonard Moore is a legit All-American who pretty much handled Lemon.

      ND stopped the run and mostly took away Lemon by whipping SC up front.

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  2. Scott is spot on with D’Anton Lynn. ND was gashing us with the run from the very first play but their quarterback couldn’t throw the ball down the field. Why not make an adjustment and bring one of the two deep safeties closer to the line of scrimmage? Why not play the cornerbacks tighter?

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    1. Lynn —-and all of his assistants put together — aren’t worth spit. They couldn’t see what us dumb fans could see: Notre Dame had NO long game.

      #LynnLazilySticksToTheSameDefenseThatWorkedTheWeekBefore

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      1. KAM: I knew the rah rahs were drinking the koolaid when they raved about stealing Lynn and ignored his gaudy stats accrued against Coastal Carolina and other stiffs.

        DON: Please UCLA, steal him back!

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  5. What, no credit for effort? Or that the team had never practiced in such rain and on a muddy field. The traction is different

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  6. How about giving Jen Cohen and the rest of the USC “braintrust” an F for allowing this Notre Dame situation fester for as long as it has? You want to lose the USC alumni for good? Cancel the Notre Dame series.

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    1. Agree. That will put the nail in the coffin. No more 200 million donations for a football facility. No more NIL packages to attract the best players. No more 10 million a year coaching contracts. It’s gone. Listening Jen Cohen?

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  7. KAM: Lets play ‘What if.’ What if on the trick play where Lemon fumbled the game away, what if instead it fooled ND and Lemon passed for the go-ahead touchdown

    DON: Then they would be saying Wiley is a genius instead of a dumbhead

    KAM: After the game is played all the Monday Morning Quarterbacks have 20/20 vision

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    1. You’re forgetting one small thing: Notre Dame was READY for BOTH dumb calls —they came after Lemon on that dumb trick play …and they came after Jayden on the ROLL OUT PASS on 4th and inches…..

      #NotreDameIsn’tMichiganState…

      #NeitherPlayHadAnyChanceOfSucceeding…That’sThePoint

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  8. We’re still tied for second in the Pac-12!

    Oregon 6-1
    USC 5-2
    Arizona St 5-2
    Cal 5-2
    Utah 5-2
    Washington 5-2
    Arizona 4-3
    Colorado 3-4
    Stanford 3-4
    UCLA 3-4
    Washington St 3-4
    Oregon St 1-7

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    1. Thank you, So Cal! This indeed is very good news. There’s only ONE problem: We haven’t won the coveted California Championship yet. Cal needs to lose again.

      [It would be nice if Washington, Arizona State and Utah lost another one too —that would put us in the Pac 12 Championship game]!!

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  9. KAM: So what happens if the SC-ND series is really over?

    DO: Like all things, it will eventually fade from memory. Besides, SC has an emerging rivalry with Ohio St coming up next year

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    1. Notre Dame has more fans spread all over the country than any other team. To those Irish fans who looked forward to visiting LA to either attend the game or maybe just the USC campus before the game, primarily those who may never have the opportunity to attend a game in South Bend…we are sorry our coach is such a wuss and appears to have succeeded in killing the greatest intersectional rivalry in the country.

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      1. But according to Fake Gabby aka Yoda aka the fake lawyer aka the pseudo intellectual, the ND v USC series will just fade from memory

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      2. It will in 40 or 50 years.

        Just look at who is at Dodgers games! Primarily Latinos.

        They have completely forgotten the way Walter O’Malley forced Mexican immigrant families out of their homes. Even if they are aware of it, they don’t care. La Raza LOVES Los Doyers!

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      3. Hell, there may have actually been some alive who weren’t immigrants, at all, but had the border moved on THEM!

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      4. So where should they have built the stadium So Cal. I like that it is near Downtown LA. It has great freeway access. Nice views and seems to fit into the hillside. A great location. Somebody is going to be displaced whenever you have a large project. Thousands of families in the SGV and other locations were displaced by the 10 freeway, mostly white families. Was this racism or did they need a freeway that moved traffic from east to west.

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      5. Time to check on the $$ amounts Los Angeles Department Of Urban Renewal paid out to the displaced families — these amounts were quite substantial…

        #DevelopersCan’tIgnoreTheLawOfEminentDomain…

        #FairMarketValuePrevails

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      6. Well, my comment was not so much about right or wrong, as it was about the passage of time and its effect on memories. Some day, even THIS will be forgotten…

        ‘The Governor and I and we were all doing a tour of the library here and talking about the significance of the passage of time. Right? The significance of the passage of time. So, when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time in terms of what we need to do to lay these wires, what we need to do to create these jobs. And there is such great significance to the passage of time when we think about a day in the life of our children and what that means to the future of our nation, depending on whether or not they have the resources they need to achieve their God-given talent.’

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  10. Yeah, USC is underwater against ND but that is no reason to axe the series. When Pete Carroll was beating ND consistently you never, ever heard the Domers talk about how to get out of the rivalry.

    I think if Riley convinces Jen Cohen to wriggle out of the ND series the alumni will demand that both of them lose their jobs.

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    1. If the alums [and the Board] didn’t complain about Carol Folt pis*ing away the construction, hospitality, salary and litigation budgets I’m not real sure they’ll demand Jen or Lincoln’s jobs.

      #GetOnThePathOfRighteousness,Sgt.Friday…It’sAllGood

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      1. Was that Red Chinese unvetted, repeat rapist who was admitted to the graduate program over a local American kid on the path of righteousness. Unfortunately, nobody on the Board of Trustees seems to know or care as long as we maintain the moniker of “global university.” Ms. Folt was so proud of that moniker. “They recognize the name USC all over China.”

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Let’s augment that boast: “USC proudly joins ABC, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, NBA, NFL & the Academy of Arts & Sciences —as being renowned all over Communist China.”

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  11. DON: I have been thoughtfully reminded that ND now has astroturf to avoid mud, but the surface was still slippery and would have affected the players’ traction

    KAM: The rain wouldn’t have negatively affected the “home run” Irish running attack. ND then anchored their quarterback but SC’s was left out to dry

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    1. KAM You seem to have forgotten the team could have practiced on wet grass after the big rain storm 2 weeks ago on Tuesday October 14th soaked the practice field and the Coliseum grass.

      DON: Rah Rahs have more lame excuses for USC losing to ND than Carter had liver pills.

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  12. A bit harsh on the grading.

    As a realistic non fan-boy, maybe we are just an 8 and 4 team.

    Suggestion to all, stop reading those July and August reports on how this year’s team will be different and much improved. Then you won’t be disappointed when team loses 3 or 4 games a year.

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    1. PT: Who would win in an oil wrestling match between Lincoln Riley and Adam Schiff. I am sure that Pete Buttplug or Cowardly Gabby would volunteer to judge.

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      1. Judge?! They would never sit idly by and be satisfied with watching!

        They would demand that it became a tag team match and borrow a case of baby oil from P Diddy.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. I don’t know who would win —-but Hillary and Billy Jean King would want in…

        #”It’sNotAboutWinning,It’sAboutPlayingTheGame”

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      3. Plow,

        I would hope that Lincoln, “Deer in the Headlights”, Riley would beat Adam,”Rat Fink” Schiff. Schiff looks like Rat Fink, the old cartoon about a car racing rat.

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  14. DON: If you are a sports fan you will have to endure some inevitable losses by your favorite team

    KAM: How did Coach Wooden describe it?– ‘Don’t get too high with the wins or too low with the losses

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    1. Suffering loses was not Wooden’s issue. He won 88 straight games, 36 straight tournament games, and the national championship 10 times over 12 years.

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      2. KAM: Think of all the suffering and wearing of sack cloth and heaping ashes on their heads in 1966 and 1974!

        DON: Those poor UCLA basketball fans really suffered.

        Liked by 1 person

  15. DON: If SC wants to qualify for the Playoffs, playng ND every year is not the way to go. Troy loses 2 out of 3 at ND, and only wins about half the games in L.A.

    KAM: But traditions die hard. People rebel at change

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    1. KAM: If USC wants to produce NC caliber teams they must play a John McKay caliber schedule. Then players who want to improve their game and rise to the challenge will flock to play for USC.

      DON: Brainless rah rahs who only care about the tailgating and the 9 layer dip think we should duck the competition and play Georgia States instead of NDs.

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  16. DON: That’s the 3rd straight time Wiley has lost to ND and Coach Freeman.

    KAM: Coaches hate to lose 3 in a row to the same school. When Coach McKay finally beat ucla in 1967 after 2 straight losses, he said ‘Now maybe they will stop calling me an idiot

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    1. KAM: The difference is Coach McKay beat UCLA 4 out of 5 times before losing to UCLA in 1965 and 1966. Wiley Coyote is 1-3 against Notre Dame.

      DON: Riley Coyote can’t hold John McKay’s jock strap.

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  17. Can’t disagree too much,but, I really blame the coaches more than the athletes.#1l would be stop the run, try to beat us passing.Coaches did a lousy job adjusting. Lincoln is really an edsel as a head coach.

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  18. KAM:: With ND holding somethng like a 52-37 winning edge on SC, you got to wonder why the Trojans want to continue with the pain

    KAM: Well, when you finally do beat the Irish you feel as if you could walk on air

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  19. KAM: That is an over-saturation of SC-ND news. What is going on with your Israel Peace Plan?

    DON: It figured to be shaky

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  20. KAM: And on the Russia front, I understand you will be meeting with Putin-

    DON: Yeah, so far the only thing I can get the guy to agree to is that we both have great families

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