Clay Helton used profanity during a post-practice speech Monday apparently because of the loss to Texas and maybe because tailback Aca’Cedric Ware said practices were “slow” and “lazy” the previous two weeks. “The one thing that I’ve learned in 24 years of coaching is your kids are going to react how you react,” Helton said. But during his radio show Tuesday, Petros Papadakis said it … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Should Clay Helton Change His Demeanor?

Why has USC been unable to intercept a pass in three games? Here is a big reason: Clancy Pendergast only plays man-to-man coverage in the secondary. It’s pretty hard to get interceptions when you never play zone. The corners and safeties are running around chasing receivers the whole game and there are never adjustments, which makes it easier for the offenses to find weak spots. Continue reading Why USC Has No Interceptions?

QUARTERBACK It’s not fair to JT Daniels that the coaches had him throw so much. He made some nice passes but . . . he throws too much off his back foot. He could easily have had 2-3 more interceptions. And here’s another thing: It’s starting to look like part of the problem with getting passes to Michael Pittman and Tyler Vaughns might be from … Continue reading USC-Texas Report Card

I was curious why JT Daniels, who had more hype than any prep quarterback to come to USC, throws so much off his back foot? Was this missed in high school? Or is this a recent development? So I asked a former USC offensive coach about it: “He is throwing off his back foot because he is looking at the pass rush. He is not … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Why Does JT Daniels Throw Off Back Foot?

Some rankings for USC football: Scoring offense No. 113 Rushing offense No. 117 Total offense No. 93 Net punting No. 121 Rushing defense No. 110 Forced turnovers No. 109 Continue reading USC Tale Of The Tape

In the offseason, there was a lot of chatter about how USC was stronger and working harder in the weight room than in the past. But as I watched the Stanford and Texas games, I never got the impression USC was especially imposing physically. I see a lot of big guys on the defensive line but not a whole lot of production. Porter Gustin always … Continue reading How Strong Is USC?