FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: USC-Oregon Report Card

It’s Crosstown Rivalry week, so a recent tradition was upheld Monday night: Lincoln Riley skipped the big rally on campus just like he always has since becoming head coach.

Coaches like John McKay, John Robinson and Pete Carroll attended the rally but not the legend from Muleshoe, Texas. He doesn’t want to deal with the public, including students.

Now the report card:

QUARTERBACK

Jayden Maiava has not cost USC any games but he has had some untimely interceptions in the key games. I’m surprised he doesn’t have more than 21 touchdown passes this season.

Grade: C+

RUNNING BACK

I don’t really blame the backs that USC averaged only 1.9 yards per carry. There wasn’t any space to run.

Grade: Incomplete

WIDE RECEIVERS

Tanook Hines had 141 yards receiving, which was good because Biletnikoff candidate Makai Lemon had only 34 yards. Points deducte for Ja’Kobe Lane’s unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.

Grade: B-

OFFENSIVE LINE

USC was down some starters because of injuries. Is that why Bear Alexander looked like a player? Either way, Oregon dominated the line of scrimmage.

Grade: F

DEFENSIVE LINE

Dawg Work didn’t show up in Eugene but at least the esteemed J.D. Pickell said the game proved USC is not soft.

Grade: D-

LINEBACKER

Has Rob Ryan enhanced his reputation at all this season? Eric Gentry, the star linebacker, got roasted on social media for his performance.

Grade: F

DEFENSIVE BACKS

When Oregon needed a completion, it got one. USC was missing its starting safeties, so that can be the excuse, I guess.

Grade: D+

SPECIAL TEAMS

Has there been a worse USC special teams effort in recent memory? Shouldn’t people be asking if Ryan Dougherty should be fired after the season? The penalties and bad kicks were a disaster.

Grade: F

COACHING

Lincoln Riley did not have the Trojans ready to play in the biggest game of his USC tenure. But he did lose his cool in the post-game press conference. Too bad he didn’t have that energy when it came to bonehead penalties and shoddy special teams. At least his lackeys in the media will still defend him. He gets a small f because he acts like such a small person at times.

Grade: f


34 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: USC-Oregon Report Card”

      1. I will add “Officiating – f”

        The jump on the field goal was permissible – that flag led to a quack TD

        Obvious PI on Ja’Kobi in the end zone, the defender hit him with a shoulder well before the ball arrived – the back judge was out of position to make the call.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. KAM: No defensive player, in an attempt to gain an advantage, may step, jump or stand on an opponent.

        It is a foul if a defensive player moves forward and tries to block a field goal or try by leaving his feet and leaping into the plane directly above the frame of the body of an opponent.

        It is not a foul if the player was aligned in a stationary position within one yard of the line of scrimmage when the ball was snapped.

        It is a foul if a defensive player who is inside the tackle box tries to block a punt by leaving his feet and leaping into the plane directly above the frame of the body of an opponent.

        It is not a foul if the player tries to block the punt by jumping straight up without attempting to leap over the opponent.

        It is not a foul if a player leaps through or over the gap between players.

        No defensive player, in an attempt to block, bat or catch a kick, may: 1. Step, jump or stand on a teammate. 2. Place a hand(s) on a teammate to get leverage for additional height. 3. Be picked up by a teammate, or be elevated, propelled or pushed.

        PENALTY [a-d]—15 yards, previous spot and automatic first down. [S38]

        DON: It ’s a penalty. You can see he started 4yds away from the line & takes 4 full strides before jumping. He was 12 ft further away from the line that’s allowed by the rules. And Lincoln Riley even said that’s not anything they taught him to do, because it was a clear penalty.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That was so cold…Scottie was waiting for the right time to pull the “f” card…I would have thought that Helton would have earned it, but no. It is reserved for the absolute bottom of the pot.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Riley’s retort [borrowed from Neil Callaway’s last interview before getting his butt fired]: “Most of the kicks were inbounds, we only allowed one 100 yard return for a TD, only one player walked off the field to start a fight with the opposing bench, Gentry only stood still on one Oregon TD run, we only ran into the kick returner one time, only once did we jump over center….and….I only screamed at one reporter”

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  4. Scooter,

    the team takes to Riley’s personality, soft and pussified. Flunk the entire team. That was an embarrassing and humiliating game. The wide reciever who got the unsportslike penality showed Riley how to be a jerk on the field and in the press room. SC might get rolled by ugly this weekend and SC could go 8-4

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  5. Suggestion to the virtuous Big Ten: Why not subpoena UCLA medical records showing that Nico NEVER had a concussion, doesn’t belong in concussion protocol and is simply being held out for the USC game? You guys are big on “Fair Play”, right]?

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      4. I got pulled over by the police around 2 am. The cop asked, “Where are you headed at this hour?”

        I said, “I’m on my way to a lecture about the effects of alcohol abuse, smoking and staying out late.”

        He looked surprised and asked, “Oh really?! Who’s giving a lecture at this time of night?”

        “The wife!”

        Liked by 3 people

      5. “What makes you think I’ve been drinking, Officer?”

        “The fact you were swerving within your lane, your bloodshot eyes, the odor of alcohol inside the car…..and your bumper sticker…which I’m going to remove as People’s Exhibit #1.

        Liked by 3 people

    2. Lanning shows in the pre-game talk that he has no fear or respect for the USC football program. “Matt Leinert/Reggie Bush ain’t showing up.” In other words, USC is now an inferior program. Lost its glory. And the sad part is he is right. Should have added “I don’t see Pete Carrol on the sideline.”

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  9. KAM: According to ESPN’s latest projections, the Trojans are expected to face the No. 11 BYU Cougars in San Antonio, a matchup that would pit USC’s high-powered passing attack against one of the nation’s most balanced and disciplined teams.

    DON: Great our defense tries to stop running back LJ Martin, who has already rushed for 1,134 yards and eight touchdowns. The Cougars average 201.5 yards per game on the ground, ranking top-26 nationally. And defensively, BYU hasn’t allowed more than 29 points in any game.

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    1. I saw that as one of the projections. That would not end well for us.

      A couple of other people projected Houston or Iowa State. We’d have a chance against both teams.

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  10. Oregon’s coach Lemming after he said that “Matt Leinart ain’t here, Reggie Bush isn’t showing up,” might have added ‘Because if they were you guys wouldn’t stand a chance’

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  11. this will be forever remembered as the “small f blog”. A legendary moment , on par with Kiffin’s Wolfman termination.

    Injuries caught up. This team actually can beat anyone when healthy. I am encouraged by Maiava’s C+ ; Scott sees the promise I do. Maybe this loss was a good thing, adding fuel to the fire burning inside this team.

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  12. this will be forever remembered as the “small f blog”. A legendary moment , on par with Kiffin’s Wolfman termination.

    Injuries caught up. This team actually can beat anyone when healthy. I am encouraged by Maiava’s C+ ; Scott sees the promise I do. Maybe this loss was a good thing, adding fuel to the fire burning inside this team.

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  13. It could have been worse too… Oregon WRs dropped a lot of balls. If I remember right, that contributed to their early punts.

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