FOOTBALL

Time For A USC-Oregon Hot Take

You want a hot take? I think Oregon was a more dangerous team against USC with Dylan Raiola at QB. Last year, I think Nebraska beats USC if Raiola doesn’t break his leg and I think his ability to pass downfield exploited USC’s biggest weakness on defense last weekend.

The Trojans simply cannot defend over the middle or downfield and I think that is Raiola’s strength while Dante Moore tends to throw more side-to-side or short passes.

  • Who at USC can sit Lincoln Riley down and talk to him about how his players should act? Who can sit with the radio broadcaster and straighten him out? Who is the adult in the room in Heritage Hall?

The leadership void is killing the athletic dept. It allowed the Notre Dame series to be suspended. It’s created this crisis with the football program. And it feels like we always talk about it because USC cannot hire a strong/smart A.D.

59 thoughts on “Time For A USC-Oregon Hot Take”

      2. That’s why Wile E. is actually Mile E. (Miley) Coyote “Wrecking Ball” …

        As I mentioned on a different post here, the bottom line to all of this is: Mile E. didn’t hire himself, and he’s not the one using buyout as an excuse. USC’s head shed is comically buffoonish. So similar to what gripped the U. during the Donna Shalala (LA-LA in that name … hmm) era. No other top programs have been so awful (relative to their full potential) for so long. They all eventually within reasonable time address the root cause and get going again (exception: Nebraska, the outlier true national power program that changing times left behind a la what happened to Army after the WW II era).

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  2. Raiola faced little pash rush (thanks Patterson) and he has much better receivers at Oregon. He always struck me as a middle of the road QB at Nebraska. That said, Dante looked much better last year than this year.

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  3. As we all know, perception is everything in today’s world. How is a guy who has no desire to interact with students & fans going to lecture anyone about how players should act?

    Head coaches of (historically) powerhouse football programs need to wear many hats in their roles. With his actions, Lincoln has narrowly defined those with which he is comfortable. I’m sure he didn’t express that during his interviews.

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      1. KAM: Amazing how things change in one week.

        Last week the OJ Juice Boxes represented zany fun by the players

        DON: Now they symbolize a program that can’t control it’s players.

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  4. Scooter,

    It is almost Wednesday. I need my fix, the report card for Oregon.

    QB: H went back to being flustered and threw over the middle late in the game. That is his safety net: F

    DL: F, did not get a sack, one or two tackles for losses,

    OL: F: they should have taken over the game and controlled the game.

    Dbs: Non existent, cant cover the te or the 10 yard pass: F

    lbers: F, cant coverand stop the pass. I don’t blame the lber for hitting Moore into the next world. He hit him with his shoulder. But he gets an F for his reaction afterwards

    Coaching: Nonexistent, F. Down by a td, and you have the ball on your own 38 with a 4th and seven, you punt. Plenty of time. Instead, Pencil Neck Geek goes for it. Defense: fire the coaches ass.

    Bring in the coach from Fresno St that was at North Dakota St and then SC and make him the head coach at SC. He is much better than the Pencil Neck Geek.

    Athletic Director aka Jen Taco Lita Cohen, she is no where to been seen and you have not seen her in a tough situation which it has been since she has been here. She is an absolute joke. Fire her ass. Direction comes from the AD. She is nowhere to be found. When she does show up she pussifies herself by not forcing the Pencil Neck Geek to sign the nd contract nor did she sign the contract. She has been on a party binge ever since she has been at SC. Fire her.

    Put budda in as AD and Micheal has a head for reasoning. I won’t be around for another 30 years if I keep seeing this crap.

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  6. Just the leadership in the athletic dept? The has been a mess from poor leadership since Nikias took over. So many scandals. Maybe the new guy will do better. Don’t yet.

    The entire school has been a mess for 10+ years, why would the athletic dept be any different.

    Would be nice if we had a gangster for AD that could get Riley drugged and have wake up next to a hooker so we can get out of the buyout.

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      2. ABSOLUTELY!!!!!! (and so dead on right beyond being hilarious)

        Put me in charge, and that is the way (if we could get him on the show tonight, I’m sure Nick Sagan … or the Ghost of John McKay … would nod approvingly) …

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    3. This is by far he absolute best recommendation I have heard yet on the Riley fiasco. We have to zen fire his a$$. Pushing him into a corner where he fires himself and walks away- brilliant! I’d just make it a guy hooker that he wakes up next to tho!

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      1. he was a kindly mentor to underprivileged students and apparently gave a few some burger money which i’m many of us have done, you never slipped your nephew or niece a fifty at a family gathering and said “go have a burger”?? same thing.

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      2. No –I have never slipped my nephew $50 for a burger! …or for a half gram of cocaine!…. or a fifth of vodka!… or a half hour with a street walking prostitute!…or a third of a tab of MDMA!….[sorry this sentence kinda got away from me, Charlie]…

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  8. Lincoln Riley has the traits of someone with high functioning Autism. He can’t read social cues, doesn’t like socializing and offers clueless responses (Desman Stephen’s Sideline Antics).

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      1. KAM: Riley Coyote is a Under-represented Autistic Person (UAP).

        DON: Workforce Diversity: USC strives for a workforce that reflects the demographics of the community they serve.

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      2. …that was Sark’s actual legal argument when they found him slumped over his chair at the office singing “I love a parade..”

        #”YouCannotFireAPersonWithADisability!”

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  10. Trix are for kids – and so are juice boxes.Helton called his players “kids” and that’s how they played.These guys are young men and they need a coach that can help them mature. Otherwise – well, you’ve seen that.There’s a reason why Nick Saban was so good.

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  12. Starting today. You will not be allowed within 100 feet from Campus or any sports venue that has a USC team participating.

    Campus Security and LAPD are aware and will enforce.

    Thank you for your interest in USC.

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  13. KAM: It looks like Wiley’s legacy at SC won’t be in football

    DON: No, his legacy is in the ‘Football Building’ which would not have been built but for his insistence-and-persistence

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  14. DON: The SC fans are depressed and angry after Oregon. The game showed that SC is not yet ready for the bigtime

    KAM: It looks like the Trojans should get used to 8-4 type seasons

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  15. KAM: John F. Kennedy’s Kennedy Center is a name that will live forever in America, so I understand why you want your name up there with his

    DON: If I am going to fund its restoration I deserve some credit

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  16. DON: Washington still has that Williams kid at quarterback, and he runs-and-guns with the best of them

    KAM: –And you wonder about Trojan fans’ negativism rubbing off on the SC players except for the fact that this could still be a season to remember

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    1. KAM: This is a season to remember.

      DON: SC is dominating the internet after that disgraceful performance Saturday. We will never forget it.

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  17. KAM: And along with that positive thought I say I am not going to concede any game left on the schedule. The State schools of Penn and Ohio can be had, that’s been proven. And even Indiana lost its Heisman quarterback

    DON: Fine and dandy, but let’s start with the Washington game

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      1. I’m generally of one mind with you, bro [and I mean it]…. but the criticism of Lincoln over this specific incident has finally topped out with me. Desmon didn’t get how bad he looked on the sidelines. Now he does…guaranteed. We need to move on.

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      3. He is not what most people would consider your go- to Public Relations guy.

        For myself, I’ll be in a forgiving mood if he beats Washington and Penn State.

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  18. I realize that Fresno State and its inexperienced QB is not the same as Oregon with Raiola, but in the shut out win against FSU, Patterson had a defense that pressured the QB got sacks and mixed up coverages. What has happened to that defense in the last three games? Pressuring the QB is the only way to stop a good passing attack along with varying the blitzes and coverages. Patterson looks clueless on the sidelines and of course LR is concentrating on his play card even when the Trojans are on defense. We had some hope after the FSU game, now we have none. The Oregon game was the tell all game of the season, and it told us that this staff is incapable of coaching at the level needed for championships. Where is Coach O when we need him. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    1. I think I might be able to answer your question, Ambitious. Coach Patterson is in a no-win situation. He realizes his D-line isn’t as good as he thought [check their sack stats]. But he also understands that any safety help he gives them is gonna bite us in the butt. We need bodies back there …to run down enemy receivers at the 4 or 5 yard line…just before they score….so we can go into another unsuccessful goal line stand.

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  20. Thanks MG. You, 1967, Pasadena and others help to walk me back from the edge. I need hope now. A ten win season would be fantastic, but I am hoping for the best but expecting the worst. I still have the hope of a NC with Women’s Basket. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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