FOOTBALL

USC-Penn State Report Card

QUARTERBACK

Jayden Maiava has played so many games that the template is clear. If you give him to pass, he can hurt you. D’Anton Lynn watched Lynn for two years at USC and decided the best tact was to rush three men. Seriously. The other factor was the return of Trent Mosley.

Grade: C+

RUNNING BACKS

USC grinded out a 4.3-yard per carry average against a defense that struggles against the run. “The world hasn’t seen nothing yet from this room,” King Miller said Tuesday. I agree with Miller. But probably not in the way he was referring.

Grade: C-

WIDE RECEIVER

It was nice to see a game where USC actually throws to its two best receivers. Trent Mosley and Tanook Hines were the two top receivers, which is how it should be.

Grade: A-

OFFENSIVE LINE

They weren’t opening huge holes against a porous defense. What excuses can we use? Oh, yes, a true freshmen started at tackle. At least he recovered a fumble. Another non-descript performance from this unit.

Grade: C

DEFENSIVE LINE

Penn State’s running backs were even worse than the receivers. But the defensive line can only deal with what’s in front of it. Stiffer challenges are ahead.

Grade: B

LINEBACKER

Desman Stephens returned from his one-game suspension and had a team-high nine tackles. Deven Bryant was also solid. But like elsewhere, some of it was due to an inept opponent. Does anyone remember the play where the running back was completely uncovered but the QB made a poor decision and threw a poor pass receiver in the end zone?

Grade: C+

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Does Penn State have the worst collection of receivers in the Big Ten? Some of it is because of injuries. Nevertheless, plenty of people were open and the Nittany Lions passed for 289 yards. Can anyone cover on a consistent basis?

Grade: D

SPECIAL TEAMS

It’s not really fair to judge Ryon Sayeri on the 56-yard field goal when it was his first kick of the season. That’s because Riley refuses to kick field goals most of the time from 50 yards, where Sayeri would probably make it.

Worse, why did Riley think an on-side kick was a good idea to start the second half? Can you imagine doing that against Indiana or Ohio State? That would have been a real momentum changer against a real team.

Grade: D+

COACHING

The Lincoln Riley bootlickers think this was some sort of coaching masterclass. What was the better decision? The on-side kick to start the second half that backfired? Or the decision to wait until the third quarter to run the ball against a defense that can’t stop the run? USC was losing at the time, by the way.

But Scott, did you see the defense? Compare what the Washington Huskies’ offense did the week before they faced USC? What did Penn State’s offense do against Northwestern compared to USC?

Has the defense turned a corner or just played terrible offenses?

But, wait, didn’t you see Charles Nelson Riley force Matt Campbell to burn his final timeout? Penn State ran one play the rest of the game after that. Did it really impact the game?

Bob Chesney just beat Dan Lanning at Autzen Stadium in Year 1. But Joel Klatt says USC is for real because Riley beat Matt Campbell at Beaver Stadium. Wow!

Grade: D

12 thoughts on “USC-Penn State Report Card”

  4. Scotty:

    Your report card grade is right on except for QB. Maiava played his best game. How can you issue an A- grade to the Wide Receivers, and yet only a C+ to the QB who was spot on throwing them the ball. A good teacher grades objectively as does a newspaper reporter Maiava should also receive at least a B+ grade from last week. I do agree your grades on the offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, and special teams so good job there.

    All Trojans should keep their eye on the UCLA vs. Wisconsin game coming up this weekend at the Rose Bowl Both teams are the surprise of the Big 10, and the Trojans plays Wisconsin in Madison the following week. Wisconsin will give SC trouble nothing fancy on offense, but they are very physical up front, and can control the time of possession. I think this game in Madison will nowbe a toss up a loss will be devastating to USC’s season.

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  5. Excuse me, but who was Wolf pushing as the savior of the USC football program for the last couple of years? Oh yeah, Matt Campbell! Great choice.

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    1. As if a first season tells all.

      So many people have short memories. Pete didn’t exactly shine in his first year at USC. Only time will tell, as far as Campbell is concerned.

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      2. Have had the same discussion here. Pete was 9-8 after 17 games. Saban did not win a national championship at Bama (or LSU or Michigan State) in year one. Agreed on the coaches listed in the counter above (particularly Cignetti – his success at Indiana is on par with Urban Meyer at Ohio State and Florida), and totally agree on the point that someone like Wiley should not be allowed to get away with excuses past a second year. I am probably the biggest critic of Wiley and before that Helton (and Sark for that matter during his brief tenure) on this site. And Campbell’s first year has been disappointing to say the least. But he had a lot of success at a lesser program. He knows how to coach. What he probably needs is to figure out how to use the advantages of a national power (if that term even matters anymore, which increasingly appears to be not the case) to build a staff and roster. Would have probably done the same thing had USC hired him and we would be having that discussion instead. But still believe he will achieve success in the valley. If he doesn’t, I will be here to take the what would be a deserved “told you so idiot” barrage. But confident that the shoe will be on the other foot. Wiley on the other hand … as my primary instructor at Fort Benning was want to say: Terminate him “immediately if not sooner.”

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      4. Also, it’s hilarious to see Chesney’s name on that list. I’m not going to argue that UCLA has every reason to be optimistic about the future. But who have they beaten this year? A clearly overrated Oregon, (playing with a backup QB), by only 2 points!

        They have no remaining teams on their schedule that are ranked, other than USC. By the time that game comes, there’s a good chance we won’t be.

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  6. Maiava: 21/33, 301 yards, no picks, 3 TD.

    2 drops, maybe 2 throw aways due to pressure, no more than 4 clear misses.

    His QB rating is 97.4/100, a rating of 50 is average

    C+?!?

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  7. The grades were pretty fair, but the comments do not always relate to the plays on the field, more of Scott’s subjective feelings about LR. By the way I would give Scott the following grades for his journalism: B for the grades; C- for the comments, D+ for the spelling and grammar; and D- for the name calling. Would anyone else like to grade Scott? Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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