SB Nation - Kevin Thomas

USC 14 ASU 9

Paragon SC — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:56:45 -0000

This is a mediocre USC football team.

I hate to say it but it is true. The team is just disjointed in a lot of areas. The excuse of youth and depth is wearing thin. Injuries happen, we have dealt with them before. This program has played under classmen in the past so whay is it a big deal now?

As much as I love this program and as much patience as I have for some of the things I have seen this year I am starting to not be as charitable in my good will towards this teams performance.

As I noted in my game day notes, I knew that the offense had its work cut out for them against this aggressive ASU defense but not like this... once again stupid penalties and soft coverage kept ASU in this game all night. Matt Barkley took a step back in my eyes. He passing was not sharp he floated some balls out there. Blake Ayles needs to sit. I am more that willing to support Ayles when he makes bone headed moves like that picture at ND but with his play the past two week I see that he is not concentrating on making solid plays.

I think it is safe to say that the offensive line is not as good as advertised...far from it. The tackles were beat on regular basis. You could tell that Barkley was rattled as he had the ASU defense in his head from the early parts of the game. I saw a lot of happy feet back there tonight. I have been on record that play calling is overrated but tonight even I had some questions. The play calling was all over the place. I think it was early in the 2nd qtr. when were 3rd and long after a penalty Bates calls a running play? Why in Gods name would you that?

The defense made some nice adjustments. They got a lot of pressure on both ASU QB's tonight. If not for them it would have been much worse...If not for that pick 6 SC isn't even in this game...that is how bad it looked. Carroll and Seto did tighten up some of the coverage by moving the corners up closer to the LOS but once again the middle was left open for ASU's quick slants. And that TD for ASU that made it 14-9 was an embarrassment in coverage, Kevin Thomas is better than that. That was just frustrating...

Sullivan was as bad as we thought he was...he handed 3 turnovers over USC and we turned only one into points...the pick 6. That is not the USC offense we are used to seeing this season.The new kid that ASU has at QB will be a great player but not for a a couple of years...he has some talent but he is still raw.

I know SC is probably still punch drunk after last weekend but they really needed to shake the cobwebs loose...this one was all on the offense.

I have no idea how this team is going to be ready for Stanford next weekend. Lord help us...

Leave your comments and rants here...this our post game thread.

FIGHT ON!

USC 34 Notre Dame 27 - The Irish came to play!

Paragon SC — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:53:25 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

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I have no idea what to make of this game. I could not be happier at the win but it wouldn't be a great SC win if I didn't have some questions.

MAKE NO MISTAKE, THIS WIN WAS A CHARACTER BUILDER!

Here is the Box Score and the Recap...

There is no question that the USC offense has really come together. Barkley once again went into a very hostile stadium and came away with the win. I can probably count 3-5 plays that Barkley made that I could see where he was still a freshman but he managed the game nicely.

Thank God for Damian Williams and Anthony McCoy!

Without their great days out there I don't know where we would have been.

We should absolutely tip our caps to Notre Dame. They came to play and they did not give up. They made some plays and they got some gifts but they made the game close and that is the way that a USC - Notre Dame game should be.

USC is still the better team and the USC defense made life tough for Jimmy Clausen all day but he played with some grit and he did not quit. For as much as he has been hammered by USC fans over the years he certainly earns my respect for hanging in there today...a double tip of the cap to him.

I cannot get mad at Matt Barkley over that INT. Not after a 370+ yard passing performance with 2 TD's. The O line did a great job for most of the game in giving him pass protection but my concern is the running game...SC had a very difficult time establishing the run. The red zone offense was also a concern. Even though we did get some TD's in the red zone it just did not look crisp. You can tell we miss Stafon...

The USC defense on the other hand showed me some things today that do cause me some concern. I get it, PC wants to play the bend don't break defense but Kevin Thomas had a very average game and he was giving way too much cushion to ND WR Golden Tate. Taylor Mays went after the hit and not the ball on the long TD throw and Mays had another, albeit questionable, late hit call that kept an ND drive alive.

I can't complain too much about the D line. They made it tough on Clausen throughout the day. They had a few late hit calls that were troublesome but I think once again the officiating was poor and the ball spots were poor as well. There were some penalties that were not called on ND so to me it all evens out.

I saw a few questionable play calls but like I always say...play calling is over rated.

So that is it in a nutshell. I am already seeing the whiners on the boards because it was not a dominant win. ND came to play. SC played them tough, we won, it wasn't pretty but all that matters is the score board.

Fire away...This our post game thread!

FIGHT ON!

Q&A With Conquest Chronicles: USC Invasion Edition

Cory Williams — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:54:39 -0000

Thanks goes out to the gentlemen at Conquest Chronicles. You can see my answers to their questions at this link.

1. We all know USC has the richest recruiting program in the country, rivaled only by SEC powerhouses such as LSU. Is there anyone hidden on the depth chart that you are excited to see play in the future?

I really want to see what T.J. Bryant and Chris Galippo can do. Galippo was a redshirt last year because of back surgery and he missed the first three games of the season also because of back surgery. Galippo is the heir apparent at MLB and with SC losing the three starting linebackers after this season he will have a lot of responsibility placed on his shoulders.

Bryant is another player who will have a major impact in the secondary with players like Josh Pinkard, Cary Harris, and Kevin Thomas graduating Bryant will be put in a position to become a leader real fast so he needs to get on the field to start getting some experience.

2. Lets say QB Mark Sanchez can't go on Saturday, which is unlikely considering his toughness. Mitch Mustain would get the start. How do you feel about Mitch, and what does he bring to the table that Sanchez doesn't?

It is not clear what Mustain brings to the table that Sanchez doesn't because we haven't seen enough of him yet. Mustain certainly has the talent; you don't go 8-0 in the SEC without talent. I think if Mustain had regular playing time we would see him progress at a much faster rate then we would see what he does different than Sanchez.

Mustain's biggest problem has been at mastering the USC playbook. The schemes are different than the ones he was used to at Arkansas. I thought it took a lot of moxie on Mustain's part to want to come to USC where there are no guarantees at starting. He clearly understood that he was expected to compete but just competing isn't enough you need to perform.

3. In practice, Mustain is showing weakness against the blitz. When asked about it, Pete Carroll said, "spotty," describing Mustain's performance during the drill. "Guys have to protect him better." Is this the fault of the O-line, or do you worry that Mustain just hasn't been getting enough reps lately?

I would say probably a little bit of both…Our offensive line, while having some great games against Ohio State and Oregon is still coming together, their play against Oregon State showed that. They also have to go up against one of the best defenses in the country on a regular basis in practice so it doesn't surprise me that the defense sometimes gets the better of the offensive line putting pressure on the QB.

I do think that Mustain is probably a little rusty as far as not getting regular reps as the back-up so his timing could be a little off.

4. Lets talk tailbacks. C.J. Gable and Joe McKnight are ridiculously good players. How do they compliment one another in the backfield?

Gable is the most complete running back on the team. He can run between the tackles, a catch pass out in the flat and he is a superb run blocker. There isn't too much that he can't do.

McKnight has an explosiveness that can take a defense by surprise and because of his speed you will see SC put him in all different types of formations. He still needs to work on his ball handling though, too many fumbles. If he gets that part of the game addressed you will see a lot more of what he is capable of.

Don't forget Stafon Johnson either, he has some explosive moves: His TD run against Oregon was reminiscent of Reggie Bush's TD run against Fresno State.

5. LB Rey Maualuga might not be able to make as big of an impact on Saturday due to his knee sprain. Should he be on the sidelines, who steps in, and what can you tell us about him?

Oh Rey is going to play but if for some reason he can't Brian Cushing will move to MLB with Galippo rotating in. There are a lot of people who think that Cushing is actually a better linebacker that Maualuga. I am one of them. I had the pleasure of seeing Cushing play high school ball here in NJ at Bergen Catholic. He is natural MLB but can easily play SLB. His game seems more polished as at time Rey gets a little too aggressive and over runs the play.

6. Finally, what is the biggest deficiency that USC currently exhibits? I know they were tested heavily against the speedy running game of Oregon State, leaving coverage openings for QB Lyle Maevao to throw into.

The Offensive line still needs a little more time to come together. The was no excuse for Sanchez being under pressure against a team that was replacing their whole front seven that seemed to have no difficulty at pushing back out offensive line.

Good luck on Saturday!

Same to you.

My answers will be up on their site this evening.