BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
He was definitely the master of the deadpan quip.
Also at Tampa, after losing yet another game - "Coach, what do you think of your team's execution?"
"I think it's a good idea."
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Sarknado! USC 2014 season
- Thread starter BasinBictory
- Start date
He was definitely the master of the deadpan quip.
Also at Tampa, after losing yet another game - "Coach, what do you think of your team's execution?"
"I think it's a good idea."
SC favored by 17.5 to 19.5 over BC this weekend.
I haven't seen BC play yet; are they that bad? I know SC is top 10 now, but let's be real, Saturday was a miraculous escape. And it's still a coast-to-coast road trip for a team that only suited up 52 guys on Saturday.
I haven't seen BC play yet; are they that bad? I know SC is top 10 now, but let's be real, Saturday was a miraculous escape. And it's still a coast-to-coast road trip for a team that only suited up 52 guys on Saturday.
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
The line is USC -17.0 IIRC. Haven't seen BC, and I'm hoping the kids aren't too puffed up from their win against Stanford. Having watched the replay, Stanford should have won by 14 points. They were in Trojan territory all game long, and only stupid penalties (shooting themselves in the foot), and a kicker having a very, very bad day kept them from winning the game handily.
Had USC lost, the fans would be bitching about the grab-bag nature of the offensive playcalling, the unwillingness to use freshmen Juju Smith and Adoree Jackson on offense, and lamenting how our defensive front was outmatched and outclassed by Stanford's offensive beef up front.
So - I'm a bit leery when the kids have just beaten a good team by catching them on a very bad day, and then traveling all the way to the other side of the country.
Had USC lost, the fans would be bitching about the grab-bag nature of the offensive playcalling, the unwillingness to use freshmen Juju Smith and Adoree Jackson on offense, and lamenting how our defensive front was outmatched and outclassed by Stanford's offensive beef up front.
So - I'm a bit leery when the kids have just beaten a good team by catching them on a very bad day, and then traveling all the way to the other side of the country.
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
Yup.
Also, as the announcers alluded to, I think playing a tough, physical team like Stanford does take a lot of stuffing out of you, particularly for a team like USC that doesn't have much depth
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
Looks like "six win Sark" is now playing in Los Angeles.
Ugh - absolutely disgusting performance. No fight on defense, BC ran for 453 (FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY FUCKING THREE!!!) yards against us. The offense was totally incompetent. Hey Sark; didn't we have the best group of WRs we've had in a long time? Why are you completely ignoring them?
Special teams looked - special. Like, short bus special. Fielding gaffes, poor blocking, etc.
Ugh - absolutely disgusting performance. No fight on defense, BC ran for 453 (FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY FUCKING THREE!!!) yards against us. The offense was totally incompetent. Hey Sark; didn't we have the best group of WRs we've had in a long time? Why are you completely ignoring them?
Special teams looked - special. Like, short bus special. Fielding gaffes, poor blocking, etc.
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
Losing is one thing. Embarrassing urselfs against a decidedly mediocre team is quite another. Failing to capitalize on your own teams strengths is inexcusable.
For better or worse, we'll have Sark for a minimum of three years. Based on what he was at Warshingtern, and what we've seen so far, it sure seems like a repeat of the Kiffin years.
For better or worse, we'll have Sark for a minimum of three years. Based on what he was at Warshingtern, and what we've seen so far, it sure seems like a repeat of the Kiffin years.
Lightningwar
Administrator
Oh jeez you guys are at the bottom of your depth situation. I'd say watching that game depth was an issue. Your defense was gassed. You cant stop a physical running team when gassed. Are you back on full scholarship allotment this recruiting cycle?
This is the last year of scholarship restrictions.
I wish the media and coaches would stop overrating us. We shouldn't have been #9 last week. We shouldn't have been the preseason #1 two seasons (I think?) ago. It sets false expectations. This team has had the same problem for several years now -- they run out of gas. I can't count the number of games where we've looked really good in the 1st quarter, decidedly mediocre in the 2nd, and bad in the 3rd and 4th. Granted, gets pushed around by BC to the tune of 450 rushing yards is inexcusable. And there have been games SC should've won even with the restrictions....and didn't.
But people shouldn't be expecting great things until the team is back to full strength.
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
IIRC, this year is the last of the sanctions, so we will have the full allotment of scholarships starting this recruiting cycle. Of course, the effects of it won't be felt until a couple of years down the road.
The announcers repeatedly mentioned depth being an issue, as well as the idea that having played Stanford the week before, our defense was still gassed from that game (i.e. beat up and not fully physically recovered). There was also the idea (mentioned on a couple of USC boards) that USC didn't "have the proper footwear" for the turf and conditions. I dunno, I saw a few slips and falls, and a few dropped passes (on both sides), but I don't think it was a significant factor in the game. If true, however, that USC players did not have the proper equipment - then shame on USC and whoever the equipment manager is. That shit should be basic.
Mainly what I saw from the USC defense was complete and utter bewilderment. They were making a Boston College team that had lost to Pitt at home look like the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was as if they had practiced and game planned for a completely different team than what they saw on the field.
On offense, Kessler looks like a slow, immobile, white QB with zero escapability. Pressure him and the game is up. He doesn't even have a rocket arm to compensate for his melanin-deficiency-induced lack of quickness. He's just totally average (or below average) in terms of his physical skills, but maybe slightly above average in his decision-making, experience and leadership.
Despite seeing that a pressured Kessler is a sacked Kessler, Sarkisian never seemed to figure out to call quicker-developing plays or adjust pass protections. Buck Allen is a stud, but when you run the same unimaginative 1950's up-the-middle bullshit all game long, it doesn't take much to stop it.
Ugh - at the very least, it was an OOC game and Sark has time to figure out how to right the ship before playing Oregon State. That one will be an interesting barometer for where the team is headed.
This was the biggest head scratcher for me. Giving up 450 on the ground is embarrassing, to say the least. But lack of depth -- and maybe still being a little dinged up from the Stanford game -- sort of helps explain that.
But the slow, 1950s offense -- both at BC and at Stanford -- was mind bottling. What happened to the 100+ play, quick attack we saw against Fresno? Sark finally dusted off that playbook in the 4th quarter on Saturday, and the offense promptly drove down for two consecutive TDs. But for the basically the entire Stanford game, and 75+% of the BC game, it was one telegraphed draw up the middle after another.
I don't get it.
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
Kiffin's Jedi mind control must be powerful enough to be projected 2500 miles.
"These aren't the plays you're looking for."
"These aren't the plays you're looking for."
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
If there was one positive thing I took away from last night's game (besides the win, of course) it's that the tackling situation has improved by leaps and bounds since the BC game. There sure didn't seem to be a whole lot of YAC for Arizona.
Also, the defensive setup was sort of reminiscent of Carroll's "bend don't break" defenses where it seemed like they allow the opponent almost free reign between the 20-yard lines, then throw in a wrinkle or wait for the other team to fuck up (which, in college, is more likely than not) which suddenly results in a 3rd-and-12 type of situation. Other than the one defensive lapse where the tailback was wide open for a TD pass, I thought the defense played really well.
Offensively - hot damn Buck Allen is a beast. The offensive line played very well, too. I thought it strange though, that Arizona chose to not put a lot of pressure on Kessler, since he's not that mobile (though he did show some nifty moves on the play that ultimately resulted in him throwing his first interception of the year). Kessler seemed like he could have brewed tea and baked cookies in the pocket on a lot of plays.
However, down the stretch, when we were only up by 8 points, Sarkisian again goes too-conservative, when it's clear that even if you run a lot of clock down (like they did), there's still plenty of time for the other team to get the ball back and score (which they did). The up-the-middle-up-the-middle approach works when there's less than a minute to go, not freakin 6 minutes or so. Of course, even though the running game had been working great most of the game, when the opponent knows you aren't going to throw, they're going to be able to stop it.
Thankful that the same crew that worked the UCLA-Utah game didn't work this game.
The Arizona kicker, while also acting like a little bitch, actually did get (slightly) tapped on the play, while the UCLA kicker got touched so lightly a fly landing on his leg would have had more impact. Oh well, in both cases, justice prevailed and the good guys won.
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
So USC improves to 6-3 with a 44-17 beatdown of Wazzu, and Leonard Williams and Connor Halliday did their best improv skit impersonation of Lawrence Taylor and Joe Theisman. I sure hope Halliday can make a comeback and try out for an NFL team, because going out like that sure sucks. 
Offense played very well, but I didn't particularly like the whole "let's leave Buck Allen in so he can get 100 yards" thing. The game was already in hand, it's just meaningless statistics, and of course you run the risk of injury to one of your best (probably THE best) offensive threats you have. Speaking of injury, the loss of Su'a Cravens (on a weird play where he wasn't hit - just came up lame - perhaps he tripped on a sprinkler head or something) could be critical. He's been far and away the defensive MVP, even with Leonard Williams on the line. Cravens has been kind of a roving defensive stopper, officially playing free safety, but frequently lining up as an OLB, and rushing the passer off the edge.
I felt that this season was going to be an 8-4 season, and frankly, if that's the case, I'd be happy with it because it means we will have beaten either ND or UCLA. SC's remaining schedule is playing a tough Cal team on Thursday, then @UCLA and then Notre Dame. All three could be losses, and I'm not optimistic about either of the rivalry games. UCLA under Mora seems to have taken on the Donahue-esque quality of repeatedly stepping on their dick throughout the season, and then rising up and playing a fantastic, complete, well-executed game against USC. Notre Dame under Kelly is simply a a solid, well-coached team, that basically beat FSU, except for The Admiral's son getting too excited and running forward instead of sidestepping to catch a pass. I'm thinking 7-5 is the more realistic outcome of this year.
After all, "Seven Win Steve" has a reputation to uphold.
Offense played very well, but I didn't particularly like the whole "let's leave Buck Allen in so he can get 100 yards" thing. The game was already in hand, it's just meaningless statistics, and of course you run the risk of injury to one of your best (probably THE best) offensive threats you have. Speaking of injury, the loss of Su'a Cravens (on a weird play where he wasn't hit - just came up lame - perhaps he tripped on a sprinkler head or something) could be critical. He's been far and away the defensive MVP, even with Leonard Williams on the line. Cravens has been kind of a roving defensive stopper, officially playing free safety, but frequently lining up as an OLB, and rushing the passer off the edge.
I felt that this season was going to be an 8-4 season, and frankly, if that's the case, I'd be happy with it because it means we will have beaten either ND or UCLA. SC's remaining schedule is playing a tough Cal team on Thursday, then @UCLA and then Notre Dame. All three could be losses, and I'm not optimistic about either of the rivalry games. UCLA under Mora seems to have taken on the Donahue-esque quality of repeatedly stepping on their dick throughout the season, and then rising up and playing a fantastic, complete, well-executed game against USC. Notre Dame under Kelly is simply a a solid, well-coached team, that basically beat FSU, except for The Admiral's son getting too excited and running forward instead of sidestepping to catch a pass. I'm thinking 7-5 is the more realistic outcome of this year.
After all, "Seven Win Steve" has a reputation to uphold.
So USC improves to 6-3 with a 44-17 beatdown of Wazzu, and Leonard Williams and Connor Halliday did their best improv skit impersonation of Lawrence Taylor and Joe Theisman. I sure hope Halliday can make a comeback and try out for an NFL team, because going out like that sure sucks.
SC ruins everythingFuck, that injury was so depressing.
BasinBictory
OUT with the GOUT
And when Luke Falk sets all kinds of school passing records playing in Leach's system, how soon until ESPN runs a feature on him and the WSU program entitled "Falk U."?