Grinding Gears: Discouraging loss is yet another nail in the coffin
All it took for the bubble to burst was one bad snap.
On USC’s fourth play from scrimmage out of halftime, nursing a 14-0 lead, redshirt senior center Toa Lobendahn uncorked a snap over the head of freshman quarterback JT Daniels so far that it traveled 22 yards, rolling into the end zone for a safety.
And then the floodgates opened.
Following the bad snap, senior cornerback Isaiah Langley yelled at teammates on the sideline. On the ensuing Cal drive, freshman cornerback Olaijah Griffin mouthed off to the Cal offense before being beaten badly on a touchdown reception. An interception of Daniels and another Cal touchdown sealed a 15-14 win for the visitors on Saturday, but not before senior cornerback Iman Marshall committed an asinine unsportsmanlike conduct penalty late in the fourth quarter that served as the nail in the coffin.
It was a comedy of errors, a procession of blunders that so aptly serves as a microcosm for this lost season — a season that lacks proper coaching, discipline and composure. And on Saturday for USC, the disappointment of no longer controlling its own destiny in the Pac-12 South deteriorated slowly into the realization that the best result the Trojans can garner out of the season is to make a bowl game.
For comparison: Georgia State made a bowl game last season. So did Marshall, Colorado State and Western Kentucky. Also: Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee, Akron. USC is going to have to fight to reach the same goal that Middle Tennessee achieved last season. Nothing against Middle Tennessee, but the sheer number of things that have to go wrong for that statement to be true is large — extremely large.
That’s where we’re at: USC, sitting at 5-5, needing to beat either UCLA or Notre Dame just to save face and make a bowl.
There are plenty of explanations for this. Blame it on starting a true freshman at quarterback or on the numerous injuries to pivotal players or even give credit to the opposition. As Helton said after the loss, sometimes a season just doesn’t go your way.
“Better days are to come,” he said. “Programs I’ve seen across the country, win a Rose Bowl, win a Pac-12 Championship and then have an off-season and then come right back.”
That is true. But the one caveat is a big one: USC, even during a down season, still possesses as much talent as any of the top-tier teams in the country, and this team is definitely no exception. It keeps coming back to this point, the fact that — with this many four and five-star recruits on the roster — there is no way a .500 record is even close to acceptable.
All signs point to Helton surviving until at least the end of the season; Athletic Director Lynn Swann’s comments two weeks ago during Trojans Live seemed to make it apparent that he had confidence in the head coach.
But to any observer, let alone Helton’s boss, Saturday’s letdown was pitiful. It is one thing to blow a comfortable lead, as USC has done several times this season. It is another to do so because of sheer incompetence — namely, attempting unnecessary trick plays, committing turnovers at inopportune times, not snapping the ball properly, burning timeouts and being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct during crucial moments.
It doesn’t help when the head coach defends the unsportsmanlike conduct calls by calling his players “sportsmen” and “first-class” players, or when he calls Lobendahn a “man of honor and great football player” in response to the center’s botched snap, or when Helton talks about how the next two games are great opportunities to win the Victory Bell and the Jeweled Shillelagh — two meaningless trophies to wrap up a meaningless season.
If the second half of this game — which saw USC produce 41 yards of offense for zero points on 31 plays — doesn’t convince Swann to make a coaching change, then nothing will. Last week, Helton’s first game since taking over playcalling duties was a success. But the Trojans faced Oregon State. Saturday, against actual competition, Helton’s offense looked like the status quo — that is, predictable, unimpressive and ineffective.
The fans think so, too. Boos rained down when Helton called a timeout before a fourth down play in the second half. They booed again when Helton walked through the tunnel after the loss, and “fire Helton” chants were audible from the crowd.
“It sucks,” senior linebacker Cam Smith said of the crowd’s reaction. “Can’t lose fans of our team, man.”
But that’s what has happened. USC has lost its fans. It is spiraling out of control in the wrong direction, and knowing the expectations, the hype that surrounds this team daily, the pressure to make a change sooner rather than later may be too much to ignore.
Eric He is a senior majoring in journalism. He is also the managing editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, “Grinding Gears,” runs Mondays.