FOOTBALL

My USC Analysis: Was This Really A College Football Playoff Contender?

There is so much to get stuck into with USC’s game yesterday that went against the pre-season hype.

The defensive line is supposed to be a strength. But did it dominate San Jose State? Did it stifle the running backs? Was it all over QB Luke Weaver?

Luke Wafle and Jide Abasiri had good games but the rest of the line did not match the hype. Defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren was named a team captain but did not make a tackle.

The apologists (and Lincoln Riley) said USC played fine until the fourth quarter when the third string played. But the USC defense did not have a sack and the secondary did not break up a pass in the first three quarters when the starters played.

I also didn’t like how San Jose State had some longer runs from scrimmage than USC. Gary Patterson has a lot to work on and is probably watching film as you read this.

  • I knew the secondary was a problerm area and wrote about it all offseason. Unfortunately, it did not disappoint. I can’t imagine how USC would have done if it played Notre Dame in the opener. It would have been ugly. The fourth quarter was a mess but there were issues covering receivers in the other three quarters.
  • How much has Jayden Maiava improved? His stats were good but he took a 13-yard sack plus he had an intentional grounding and his decision on the 4th down inside the 10-yard line was not impressive.
  • What happened to USCs breakaway tailbacks? All you heard this summer was how King Miller gained weight or that Waymond Jordan had huge biceps. But neither looked dangerous yesterday. Their longest run was 11 yards. Last year, they looked flashier.

Please don’t use the “San Jose State loaded the box excuse.” The defense wasn’t suffocating.

  • In summary, did USC look physical enough to be a College Football Playoff team? I couldn’t believe how bad NBC’s Big Ten insider Nicole Auerbach was when she said the fourth quarter was a good thing for the Trojans’ long-term playoff hopes. I guess she can’t criticize Big Ten teams much with the network firmly embedded with the conference.
  • Was the offensive line, which I barely touched on, dominant? No. Did the linebackers overperform? No.

The San Jose State game was supposed to be an opportunity for USC to show how much it improved from last year while showcasing all the young talent. Instead, it produced doubts about how good the Trojans really are.

79 thoughts on “My USC Analysis: Was This Really A College Football Playoff Contender?”

  1. Like I said—-7 -5 season this year, and no one believes me.

    USC is spending alot of money on football, and the size of crowd was embarrassing. To me interest in the program in fading too many disappointing seasons.

    I will say this TE Mark Bowman is going to be an All-American, and our young core of receivers are going to be unbelievable. The offensive line will be much better, but the safeties, and corners look terrible, and no defensive line pressure at all.

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  5. Regarding Scott’s concerns about the Trojans leading up to the San Jose game, to steal a line from the Monkeys: “Then I saw them play, now I’m a believer.”

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  6. KAM: Did you notice how the TV cameras were shying away from any “crowd” shots at SC-San Jose St?

    DON: I can’t recall a more sparse crowd at an SC football game. You could buy a cheap ticket and then sit on the 50 yard line

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      1. All 769 of the Trojan fans who attended the game are mounting a defamation case against you, karma……

        #Don’tWorry:You’llWin

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  8. Maiava is not a good QB, doesn’t think the game well at all, makes too many throws into traffic, guy is going to cost SC a game or two.

    RB’s are slow, maybe drop some muscle and add some speed ? Is there no one else to run the ball ?

    Defense is a mess, good luck Gary.

    At least there wasn’t an issue with the special teams yesterday, didn’t Jen make Riley hire a special teams coach ( Ekeler ) ?

    Team will have a lot of close games, exciting to watch, but if there are 4,5,6 loses, is exciting good enough ? No.

    I said yesterday that this team wasn’t a playoff caliber team, 8-4 or 7-5 is probably where they’ll end up. Will that be enough to get rid of Riley ?

    I think Fresno St is going to be a tough game, because they actually have a head coach who can coach.

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      1. Guys! Guys! Riley is right back where he’s always been: He’s gonna have to win horse races… and he may have the offense to do it….[and…..Patterson ain’t gonna be any more help than Grinch]…..

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  10. Interesting analysis from Aaron Taylor (Notre Dame and Packers OL) (the moderator wouldn’t let me post the link, but it is on X)

    Maiava: good, not great, Riley called an extremely conservative game. He had a lot of time for the most part but held the ball too long on occasion.

    RBs: they will have very good seasons, they were constrained by the play calling that had them running inside most of the game.

    WRs: Excellent.

    TE: Bowman is a very good blocker, he has the potential to become an outstanding TE. He is like having an extra OL on the field.

    OL: Page and Raymond were good.

    DL: Abisiri is a “freak”. Wafle is very good, he has excellent hands, will get even better.

    LBs: Potential, but they are not there yet

    DBs: Problematic.

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    1. So,

      The QB is average and basically not football smart, the RB’s will have ” good seasons” ( they ran inside maybe because they lack the speed to run outside ???? ) 2 of the 5 OL were ” good “, the TE ( who Riley hates to use ) is a player

      2 of the 4 DL are good, the LB’s are a work in progress and the DB’s are mess.

      Not exactly a ringing endorsement and they played a bad team.

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    2. I don’t expect anything more than uneven defense the rest of the way. But that’s not the end of the world. The offense is elite. If we stay healthy we can beat a lot of teams…. we just probably won’t beat enough of them to get to the playoffs.

      #Riley’sStarIsStillHitchedToSeptember26th

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      1. If we can get the holding calls you say are constantly missed, perhaps it makes the difference in close games.

        we need you to keep an Eagle-eye on the missed justice

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      2. After Abisiri broke through the double team and tackled the RB for the loss on 4th down, he was held like nobody’s business.

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  11. KAM: SC has another advantage over Fresno St in that the Trojans will have already played a game

    DON: Wiley said some Trojans did not play up to expectations. At least now SC has some evidence on film to study in order to get better

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    1. Week 1 provides coaches with their first actual tape of their own players executing schemes against an unfamiliar defense or offense. This allows staff to quickly identify and fix repeated mistakes, missed assignments, or communication breakdowns.

      My stalker will have something to say. It’s called being obsessed

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  12. This is going to be a long season. The USC offense and defense was as conservative as possible. No attempt to stretch the defense, ran the same running plays which were good for six. to eight yards and rarely got to the corner with end runs. Except for a couple of good plays by Wafle, who can be an All American, and Abisiri, the D line was average at best. Linebacking play is really average and you can’t play a soft zone for four quarters especially if your middle linebacker can’t drop into the short zone. This is a good scenario where a win feels like a loss. I was most disappointed in the bend but don’t break defense. It never works. And the DBs and Safeties always seemed to be out of position or in the case of the safeties out run on deep balls. All in all it was a very disappointing game against a supposedly inferior opponent. What happened to the depth? If we don’t see a more aggressive defense that can switch up and play man to man with a D line that rushes with containment, this is going to be a six six season at best. USC has a short week to get ready for a Fresno State team that now knows what it is facing with a coach who knows the USC players and coaches. So, four days to turn around a season is a big ask, but our only hope is that we improve. Scott, please don’t gloat, it isn’t becoming. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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  13. A silver lining!

    Pro Football Focus (consultants to the NFL) liked what they saw in the DL. They grade every player on every play. They gave the DL starters grades from 80 to 90. Ninety and above is “elite”. Eighty and above is “high quality”.

    Kam Crawford 90

    Jide Abisiri (the guy who destroyed the double team and tackled the RB for a loss on 4th down in the red zone) 89

    Floyd Boucard 85

    Zuriah Fisher 84

    Surprising to me is that Luke Wafle was the lowest graded at 80.

    All of this without starters Jahkeem Stewart and Braylan Shelby.

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      2. when you have a deep rooted bias for USC it’s hard for certain people to be objective. Plus the limited football IQ

        Carson Palmer said Mosley was the best HS football player in the nation last season

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    1. Ha! [Our newest InsideUSC problem: It’s getting harder to figure out which Gabby to penalize …cuz…. the bad one is EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME]….

      #GoodGabbyNeedsToComeHereAs”GabbyOfHolyGabbyville”….

      #…SoWe’llKnowTheOtherOneIs…..Sybil

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  15. Su’a Cravens grades for the game:

    QBs: B+ Like Aaron Taylor, Su’a also emphasized the very conservative play calling by Riley. Su’a also noted that Maiava is a legitimate Heisman contender.

    RBs C+ “Loaded box all damn day” But “nothing to complain about”

    WRS B He has been excited about Mosley since training camp (maybe Su’a can get Scottie an invite to practice? )

    TE and OL: B+ “I want to see Bowman get some one on one opportunities to the boundary”

    DL B “RBs getting hit before the reach the second level”

    LBs C- “Oregon will turn 3 yard runs into 20 yard runs if clean up”

    DBs C- “Undisciplined coverage. I am being nice to give them a C-“

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  16. Projected Wolf grades:

    Quarterback B

    Offensive Line C

    Running Backs C

    Special Teams B

    Defensive Line C

    Linebackers D

    Secondary D

    Coaching: Wiley F

    Coaching: Patterson D

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    1. John, I think your assessment is close.

      This was a very different game for the first three quarters versus the last quarter (35-3, versus 7-23).

      SJSU had less than 100 yards of total offense in the first half, maybe one first down, probably 245 in the second half.

      A fair assessment seems to be that the third team guys who played in the 4th quarter were just not ready/competent, and that falls on both the coaches and players.

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      1. Not for the first three quarters…. but for not knowing the second team he put on the field in the last quarter sucked…..

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  17. On top of all of this, you’ve got some dude (Riley’s spirit animal?) right behind the coach during the entire game patting patting Ol’ Riles on the back. What in the world is that?? So feminine. Then – there’s “The Juice Box”. Does anyone think that Marcus Allen would approve of that? EMBARRASSING. USC already had an identity and these items are not the answer.

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      1. Sad to say, I think the process of impressing recruits today is to have a ton of over-hyped social media, lots of noise and music at the game, and many, many towel wavers. But what is up with Riley having a valet on the sideline…?

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      4. It would be better if it were a blond co-ed?

        [But I see your point….. keep watching to see if the quick love taps turn into long caresses during the Oregon game]…

        #Then,HoustonWeHaveAProblem….

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      5. …I shouldn’t be cheapshotting Chip…… he woulda beat San Jose by 40 points and I’d have my Blu Ray “Toy Story 5” arriving…

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      6. Speaking of Chip, FWIW, yesterday’s game was a little like the Riley-coached Sooners versus the Chipper-led gutties at the Rose Bowl a few years ago.

        Sooners led 34-0 in the second quarter, then Riley pulled Jalen Hurts early, and the final score was 48-14.

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  19. Man listen to all the ‘Cassandras’….1 game….well over 90 F+….brand new receiving corp…..untested defensive secondary blah blah….we won…we had no major injuries….a poor squad from Nor CA got paid a nice check for coming south but they lost….USC won…

    NOTE: last year 2nd game GA- beat Austin-Peay 28-6 @ GA
    ….IN held off Old Dominion 27 – 14 @ IN….
    ….MI beat NM 34 – 17 @ MI.

    I know I am always a > half full but I fail to understand all the ‘we’re doomed…doomed…’ angst.

    Better to have a low ranked opponent expose what needs fixin’ in August than having not a clue come November when it matters.

    Gentlemen – again – no injuries and that’s because coaching staff, start of 4th qtr, prudently removed key members to ensure, a 5 game or worst, a season ending, injury wasn’t absorbed on the 29th of August.

    All champion teams minimize injuries because all of them get them – but not yesterday….that’s what matters that and knowing who to focus on for next Saturday against Fresno St..

    Stay the course and ignore the naysayers….true leadership is always always subject to the naysayers

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      2. …and defensive ends who sack the quarterback….

        #….TheQuarterbackHasToBeUnderExtremeDuress

        #[ANecessityGivenOurLackLusterD-Backs]

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    3. And who can forget last year with Northern Illinois 16, domers 14 at South Bend. Northern Illinois gained nearly 400 yards, domers less than 300, and other than one long run, Jeremiyah Love was totally mediocre.

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