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Sarknado! USC 2014 season

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
USC enters a new era with head coach Steve Sarkisian in 2014. 2013 was a year of upheaval for the Trojans, as they appeared headed for disaster under coach Lane Kiffin, who heroically guided the Trojans to a home moral victory against the mighty Paladins of the Palouse. However, Coach Kiffin was cut loose after an even greater moral victory against ASU, and Ed Orgeron, owner of the greatest footbaw coach voice of all time, led USC to a 6-2 record and a rekindling of Trojan spirit, ultimately winding up with a 10-4 record overall, which included a very nice, convincing win in the Las Vegas Bowl against Fresno State, which came into the bowl game with an impressive 11-1 record.

Speaking of Fresno State, USC opens their 2014 campaign against the same Bulldogs team in the Coliseum.


USC 2014 Football Schedule:

8/30 - FRESNO STATE
9/6 - @ Stanford
9/13 - @ Boston College
9/27 - OREGON STATE
10/4 - ARIZONA STATE
10/11 - @ Arizona
10/18 - COLORADO
10/25 - @ Utah
11/1 - @ Washington State
11/13 - CALIFORNIA (Thursday)
11/22 - @ UCLA
11/29 - NOTRE DAME
 

bruin

Well-Known Member
I heart Buck Allen.

Interested to see how Sark's up tempo O will work with SC's personnel.
 

bruin228

Well-Known Member
NCAA Moderator
More or less, yeah.

What do you all think? I see 9-3. Ls to Stanford, UCLA, and...Wazzu :trollface:
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
9-3 is optimistic, IMO.

Stanford, UCLA ,Arizona State, and Notre Dame are going to be toughies, especially since we travel to Palo Alto and "travel" to Pasadena (USC hasn't historically fared well in that goddamn building with coaches not named Pete Carroll, or against non-Big-10 opponents). ASU and ND are at home, but they're tough teams. Going to Utah and Arizona aren't gimmes by any stretch of the imagination, and I can see a fired up and pissed off Fresno State team wanting bloody revenge for the ass-raping they took in last season's bowl game, and coming hard and pissed against a USC team in its first game under a new HC.

TMang - World Cup be like the Olympics, flash in the pan and then done. Premier League is cool, but it's not until August. By then we'll have exhibition footbaw, where Johnny Manziel will tear his ACL in his first series and be out for the year. :trollface: In between, in the heat of July, will be nothing but mediocre Angel and Doyer beisbol.
 

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Haden is correct; Carroll is still revered by SC fans. I don't know whether he would've left or not, but I believe that he had no idea what kind of sanctions were coming. Nobody seemed to. The NCAA hunted for 5 years, couldn't find a smoking gun, and the to save face threw the book at SC.

He's a smart guy and I have to believe that he figured that whatever sanctions USC would get would be bad ones, given the amount of time and resources the NCAA spent on the case (and the concurrent lack of damage control that USC appeared to be doing at the same time). I also think that he maybe thought that he wanted a new challenge and a fresh start with the NFL, that his accomplishments at USC speak for themselves. Lets face it, from 2002-2005, USC had about as impressive a run as can be had in CFB, and three of the other five years of his tenure at USC resulted in Rose Bowl victories.

So yeah, Carroll is still revered by the majority of USC fans, who largely believe it was the evil NCAA who caused the downfall of the program, and not the declining quality of assistant coaching and subsequent declining quality of recruiting classes and improving quality of opponents.
 

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
I don't know too many SC fans who blame the NCAA exclusively for our downturn. The shift started before the sanctions were even announced. Carroll's last year was the worst since his first year. It was the 7 in between that were awesome.

Nonetheless, the NCAA can go fuck an apple. The level of punishment they administered was a joke.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Well, the NCAA delivered a veritable knockout blow when they arranged to have Lane Kiffin hired as coach handed down the sanctions, but we could all see the cracks in the foundation. Stuff like letting Sarkiffian bully Chow out the door, allowing Nick Holt and then Rocky Seto to coach the defense, the inexplicable favoritism shown to players that did not appear to be performing on the field, etc. Still, despite all these "cracks," USC was still humming along fine and wrecking teams that would have loved to have the type of "problems" that SC had. I think the 2009 season, which a lot of SC fans considered a "disaster" (LOL - particularly in the context of the seasons that preceded it) was a confluence of a lot of the negative factors that had been building up under Carroll as well as the looming specter of the anticipated NCAA punishment.

If Carroll stayed and tried to weather the storm of sanctions, would he be able to return the Trojans to the mountaintop? Honestly I don't know. John McKay was able to do it after his initial run of success in the mid 1960's. By the late 60's and early 70's, it was thought that he was done, that he'd shot his bolt and USC would decline. Well, he then went on another tear and won two more championships. However, I kinda had the feeling that if Carroll stuck around, he'd have an ignominious end like Brown at Texas or Fulmer at Tennessee, as teams geared up and recruited to take advantage of USC's weaknesses and the general level of coaching and play improved in the PAC-12.
 

Lightningwar

Administrator
It is difficult to say how it would had played out. USC didnt do nearly as bad as I expected them to do while under sanctions. Yeah the bottom dropped out in 2012. But you dopes still managed to win 10 this year. I expected you to do worse than 2012. With Caroll as HC it is possible you guys weather the storm better than you did under Laney. I would think that if Caroll was there there USC is a lumbering giant waiting to explode once the full rank of scholarships is back on the table. But I am not sure how Sark will turn out. Time will tell.

I think the most surprising thing about USCs sanctions and slide was the inability of Oregon to establish themselves as the apex predator of the Pac 12.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
With senior cornerback and captain Josh Shaw suspended indefinitely from the team, (reports are that his girlfriend called the cops on him), USC's defense will have a big hole to fill. Other than sophomore safety Su'a Cravens, USC's secondary is largely untested.

However, USC's front seven has a lot of experience, with D-linemen Leonard Williams, Antawn Woods and Greg Townsend all playing quality minutes last year, and linebackers Anthony Sarao, JR Tavai, and Hayes Pullard excelling on defense last year. Too bad Dion Bailey bolted for the NFL, he would have been an integral piece of this year's defense.

On offense, the trio of QB Cody Kessler, TB Buck Allen, and WR Nelson Agholor are going to be the headliners, but USC has some other veteran weapons in the mix in the form of TB Justin Davis (who was doing well until injury shortened his season last year), TE Randall Telfer, a senior, and newcomers Adoree' Jackson and Ajene Harris. Also returning to the starting lineup after seeming to be a bust (and then getting injured) when he first came to USC, George Farmer will start at the other WR spot opposite Agholor. Farmer comes from the same Serra HS program that recently produced Robert Woods and Marquise Lee, so here's hoping pedigree counts for something.

Also noteworthy is that USC will be starting a pair of true freshmen guards in Damien Mama (who is a slim, trim 370lbs. :laughing: ) and Toa Lobendahn, who IS a relatively svelte 280. Mama was part of the state champion St. John Bosco team that absolutely destroyed De La Salle (Bosco's tailback had something ridiculous like 7 TD's, and Mama and his offensive line mates blocked so effectively that the tailback was barely touched on most of his runs). Here's hoping he stays healthy and has a nice career.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
370? He's going to be out there for 3 plays before needing to come out of the game.

Haha - maybe. When I watched that high school game where his team beat up on mighty De La Salle, I was amazed at not only his size, but the size of his whole team. St. John Bosco's football team looked like a freakin' college team. The poor defensive end playing opposite Mama was easily outweighed by 150 lbs. He was, IIRC, the #1 offensive line recruit in the country, but still, starting a true freshman in his very first college game is highly unusual. I'm not sure if it means he's that good, or that the incumbents on the line are that mediocre. Probably a little of both, but I am leaning toward the notion that Mama is just a rare and unusual talent. The last big-ass guard I can remember suiting up for USC was Deuce Lutui during the Carroll glory years. IIRC he went around 350-360ish.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
At least you're not starting a true freshman at LT like Michigan is :(

Ouch. Hopefully giving up sacks and generally getting manhandled won't break his spirit. We had a freshman center here not long ago, Cyrus Hobbi, who was supposed to be some highly recruited stud out of HS. He had to make his first start as a freshman midseason when senior Khaled Holmes went down with injury. His start was against Stanford, who proceeded to ass-rape us, much of the abuse coming straight down the throat of Hobbi. It's like Stanford busted out his teeth, shoved a cock in his mouth, and made him gargle. All on his first day. Not sure what's happened to him, but he was never heard from again as far as a member of the USC football team.
 

bruin

Well-Known Member
It really is amazing how far Bosco has come. Jason Negro (who was at Trabuco Hills after I had graduated) has turned them into the So Cal power. They're pushing around Mater Dei and Poly and taking their transfers as well.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
It really is amazing how far Bosco has come. Jason Negro (who was at Trabuco Hills after I had graduated) has turned them into the So Cal power. They're pushing around Mater Dei and Poly and taking their transfers as well.

Well, Negro is the new young kid in town. He's been there what, like just 4 years? And turned around what had been a fairly mediocre program. Rollinson at Mater Dei is probably close to retirement, and Lara at Poly finally did retire, so it'll be interesting what happens to those two programs, as they have been giants on the SoCal HS footbaw scene for pretty much the last 25-30 years. I suspect Poly will keep humming along, as the open enrollment policy of their district allows them to poach kids from all over Long Beach, but Mater Dei may sink back into averageness unless Rollinson's successor is just as good. And when you're following a legend like him, your odds aren't that good.
 

Rutgers Mike

Dr. Sad
TMZ Sports contacted Brown to find out what the hell happened .... and here's what he told us:

"I called a meeting up with this disrespectful guy!!! He called me a coward, all types of f**k words."

"He stereotype my mom and dad. like he belittle me to another level."
"I just responded Yes Sir and No Sir!"

"Never been treated like that before!! Don't Wish it upon anyone! That's who he is!"


Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2014/08/28/usc-f...uits-team-says-coach-is-racist/#ixzz3BjF1AXUp

He bowed down.
 

bruin

Well-Known Member
damn right. Home of John Barnes. TM had to borrow our field cause they poor at El Toro and didn't have a stadium (now they do tho)

@Orlando where'd you go? O Lu?
 

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
@bruin El Toro.

:laughing: yeah we shared a field back then. It wasnt because we poor (we are the same district anyway), the nearby residents wouldn't allow it. I heard they finally were allowed to build one. It's about time. That school has a solid football history and has been pretty good again recently. Is it finished?
 

bruin

Well-Known Member
I believe it will be done in 2015, I could be wrong though. My cousin will be going there and playing football next year.
 

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
Orlando went to ET. So did Shaka. Charger pride, baby.

Meanwhile, SC is punking Fresno. Again.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Stream of consciousness thoughts on my game day experience:

Nice to see a USC team start the season fast. Yes, it was just Fresno State, but first games always seemed to be played close to the vest in the Carroll and Kiffin eras - as though nobody would be able to predict that bubble screen. The game was very well attended, too. I'm guessing the momentum of a successful season last year coupled with the excitement of a new coach (and a likely blowout on a weak opponent) brings out folks in droves. Always loved the gameday atmosphere on campus, but back when I was a student, the crowds were a heck of a lot thinner :laughing: Also, I'm either getting a lot older, or the douche factor on campus has definitely ratcheted up. Probably a little of both. #Getoffmylawn!

On that note, I hardly recognize the campus anymore with the many new buildings that have gone up just in the past 5 or so years. Was fun going down memory lane with Mrs. Bictory and pointing out all the spots where we used to uh…. hang out and stuff. The kids enjoyed eating the carnival foods, of course, and stayed for the band performance until they left to go to the game. We tried to get into the bookstore, but saw the lines and just went to eat instead. If USC had the kind of eating places they have now when I was a student, I would have gained the freshman fifty, let alone the freshman fifteen.

USC scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, even driving 90 yards on its very first possession of the 2014 season. The no-huddle look was interesting and fun, and Kessler looked very comfortable running it. Fresno's offense couldn't do much, and the USC defense wasn't the only reason. Fresno just didn't look comfortable on offense. The USC line gave up just one sack all game, IIRC, and the freshmen guard duo of Damien Mama and Toa Lobendahn performed very well. Nelson Agholor was the focus of the Fresno defense, of course, but he still managed to get his catches and a touchdown. Buck Allen ran strong, racking up well over 100 yards, and several newcomers just made big names for themselves. Juju Smith, the all-everything guy from Long Beach Poly, was a stud on offense. Not super fast, but he's a big body at 6'2" and 210 and will only get stronger. Adoree Jackson, also recruited as an atholete played on both offense and defense in the game, and made nice plays on both sides of the ball.

Redshirt freshman QB Max Browne came in for Kessler once the game was well in hand, and was allowed to show off his rocket arm on a couple of throws. If Kessler went down with injury, I think Browne could step in and perform well.

Next up is Stanford, which will be a good early litmus test for this team. Stanford destroyed their own first game opponent, UC Davis, by a 45-0 score.
 

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
#14 @ #13. I like it. I like our chances too. Stanford is favored, and rightly so. But it's only 2.5 points; with them being the home team that basically means it's a push.

SC's new up tempo offense won't scare them though; they've done as good a job as anyone lately of stopping Oregon, and it doesn't get any faster than the Ducks.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Will be a good early bellwether game for both teams. I like our chances, but Stanford has been kind of a bogeyman for our program lately.
 

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
Will be a good early bellwether game for both teams. I like our chances, but Stanford has been kind of a bogeyman for our program lately.

Kind of? I think they've won 4 of the last 5. Prior to that, Stanford had mostly been SC's bitch for roughly 60 years. But they've kicked our ass lately.

SC has also lost three straight Pac12 road openers.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Kind of? I think they've won 4 of the last 5. Prior to that, Stanford had mostly been SC's bitch for roughly 60 years. But they've kicked our ass lately.

SC has also lost three straight Pac12 road openers.

Well - I think Oregon has a similar record against us in our last five meetings as well, but losing to Stanford is somehow more painful (probably largely because of 2007 - holy crap that would have won Southpaw's pool that year!) despite the fact that they have been very, very good lately and losing to a solid program like that shouldn't logically sting as much.

We've lost our last three road PAC-12 openers, true. But Lane Kiffin was driving the bus on all three. Let's hope #That RACIST man can do better than his predecessor.
 

bruin

Well-Known Member
Sark v Shaw adds another element to this rivalry as well. Last year when Sarkisian accused Stanford players of faking injuries. Should be a great game either way.
 
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