USC regroups as Arizona State game approaches
Redshirt quarterback Sam Darnold scrambles to turn the corner to avoid a tackle against Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Photo by Katie Chin | Daily Trojan
On Tuesday, No. 21 USC returned to the practice field after falling to 6-2 on the season. The Trojans looked to clean up offensive issues after a 49-14 blowout loss to Notre Dame.
USC seeks to limit offensive mistakes
On Saturday, USC’s offense mustered just 76 rushing yards, while giving up two turnovers and five sacks. Redshirt junior left tackle Toa Lobendahn chalked the issues up to the offensive line losing individual battles at the line of scrimmage.
“It’d be like four guys doing one thing right and one guy messes up,” Lobendahn said. “I don’t think we had missed assignments, [we were] just being beat physically, whether it was someone’s head placement not being right or the d-line just getting off the block.”
After a tough outing for the offense on both the line and at the skill positions, redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold saw improvement in the unit’s flow on Tuesday.
“We’re not where we need to be, but we’re making strides,” Darnold said. “Some young guys are continuing to play well and it’s good to see that. But at the same time, we need to fix some things and we did that today in practice.”
Pittman Sr.’s Tweets
On Monday, sophomore wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.’s father, a former Super Bowl champion running back, put out a series of tweets lamenting USC’s use of his son and questioning the coaching staff. At one point, Pittman Sr. tweeted that he was “beyond disappointed,” saying, “I trusted them with my kid and they have let me down.”
After receiving limited action his freshman year, Pittman Jr. entered this season with a lingering ankle injury that prevented him from seeing action until Week 5 against Washington State. He has three catches for 41 yards so far.
“He’s been playing,” said offensive coordinator Tee Martin in response to the Twitter rant. “Sometimes at wideout the ball doesn’t find you all the time but it’s not by design or we’re sitting here wanting to take one of our best players out of the game.”
Martin added that he, Pittman Jr. and head coach Clay Helton sat down and had a “very positive meeting” where they assessed his progress. When asked about his father’s comments, the receiver said that he had not seen his dad’s tweets but planned on speaking to him about them soon.
Injury Report
Helton said that junior cornerback Iman Marshall will remain day-to-day with an MCL sprain. He also noted that both junior outside linebacker Porter Gustin and freshman running back Stephen Carr returned to practice in some capacity, each participating in light, non-contact drills.
Part of the problem from the ND game is the ND defense knew our offensive playbook, jumped the snap and played with more heart. Why? Here’s my conspiracy theory…..
Some facts:
1. Wazzu beat USC after 2 weeks of prep
2. ND beat USC after 2 weeks of prep
3. If ND doesn’t win this game they are out of the 4-team 2017 CFB playoff games. This game and all that follow, but this one especially would’ve taken them out of contention.
4. ND doesn’t play in a conference, thus they do not have an opportunity to play in a conference championship game, hence item #3.
5. USC does play in a conference and has a chance to win the South Division and play in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday, December 31, 2017.
6. Many of USC’s starters are hurt and Coach Helton and even Pete Carroll have made it very clear that the goal is to win the South Division and even the Pac-12 Conference game.
What is the biggest factor that USC must consider in order to achieve item #5?
It is the ability to manage the health of the starters and the ability for as many of the starters to contribute and play the last 4 games of the Pac-12 South and the Pac-12 Championship Game.
At the moment, ASU and Zona are on fire and are contenders to take USC out of the South title. The Vegas odds have USC at -3 in Tempe. We should win, but trust in Tee Martin’s play calling is subject to criticism at this time. His post game interview was embarrassing, as he looked like a deer in the headlights.
So, here’s the theory:
Even though the ND game is the most well-known rivalry game in our two school’s history, Helton could not afford to lose any of the starters that have been out and play them for the ND game. He’d rather keep them out of that game and give them another week of rehab, as losing that game does not interfere with the stated goal of winning the Pac-12 South and going to the Pac-12 Champ Game.
I believe Helton did play the game to win, no doubt about it, but by playing as many inexperienced kids as they did, and the coaching decisions made or not made, by not paying attention to the details, doomed this team to a loss. The loss is an acceptable loss to Helton for the time being because it’s an out-of-conference loss, as he is rolling the dice on winning out and winning the Pac-12 CG. Going 10-2 at the end of the year is acceptable to him. It is not acceptable to any of us, knowing how much talent we have.
Now, spotting ND 21 points in the first half does not bode well for a comeback victory. As much as we would’ve loved to have watched Sam Darnold pull another one out, he’s not there right now. Too many mistakes by everyone on offense, defense, special teams, coaching and especially the mental and emotional aspect. Players were not coached effectively and came out flat. Heck, even the ND defense knew our plays better than our starting freshman linemen.
Sam’s comments a few weeks back about the play calling was a tell-tale sign about what’s going on inside the locker room. Yes, he was forced to apologize, but the fact that he said it, and I believe Sam would not start up stuff to be reported on by the press like Josh Rosen did a few months ago.
Also, the Season of Sam podcast that Sam is prepping for and recording every week takes time from his school work and football responsibilities, so I don’t know why Helton, Swann and even Nikias would allow it. Honestly, it’s not that good and Sam should go back to being a student athlete. He already has a very pressure packed high profile responsibility for the team’s success laid squarely on his shoulders.
If our team goes less than 10-2 this season and does not win the Pac-12 South, I don’t think Helton will be fired, as USC must keep him for 3 years. What high-end coach would take the USC job if he saw a pattern where the HC gets fired after 2 years. USC AD Pat Haden has already set the standard for hiring coaches that should not have been there, and the he fired them in a manner that did not show me any style or class.
With that said, Coach Helton will have to bring in a new set of assistant coaches just like Brian Kelly did last year after going 4-8. He fired the coaches and hired new guys, and look what they’ve accomplished. For the most part, the same guys that USC beat last year, beat USC this year by a greater margin. OK take the 21 points away and who knows who would’ve won. But facts are facts.
Next year, the ND seniors that proliferate their O & D lines and secondary will be gone. Our guys will be juniors and seniors, more experienced and we will take ND to the woodshed again. Keep the faith, baby!
Faith, family and football is a fine mantra for the team, but there needs to be an emphasis on overpowering the opponent’s linemen, both offensive and defensive lines. Perhaps the mantra should be Faith, Family, Football, and Take No Prisoners. THank you Lord. It’s not there.
Again, IMHO.
Fight On.
Beat the Sun Devils.
Put out the fire.