• Registration is disabled due to constant spammers. Email [email protected] and we will temporarily re-enable registration for you.

Trojan Soap Opera: The Helton Years

TrojanMan

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
Bdub said:
Osa Masina charged with 2 counts of rape and 2 counts of forcible sodomy in Utah. Charges in Cali are pending.
Don't think he will be playing football anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Though his butt secks experience should come in handy in prison. :thumbsup:
 
BasinBictory

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Today I used my God-like mind to avoid the trog trap of getting my hopes up that the USC football team would actually play well and beat a solid team, in this case, White America's favorite team, the Stanford Cardinal.

When I saw the result, I cackled aloud that I had managed to miss all of it. :thumbsup:
 
TrojanMan

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
Helton announced that Darnold will replace Browne as the starting QB versus Utah.

While Browne has hardly done anything to cement his status as the starter, to me, the move smells like a desperate coach throwing shit against the wall and praying for a miracle, to me.
 
DeadMan

DeadMan

aka spiker or DeadMong
Yeah, switching QBs 3 games into the season, after probably their two toughest games of the season, is not a good sign.
 
Bdub

Bdub

Well-Known Member
I don't get the freaking out over this start to the season. Did USC fans really think they where going to beat Alabama and Stanford? Every game from here on out is easily winnable for USC and the South is definitely there for the taking.
 
BasinBictory

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Bdub said:
I don't get the freaking out over this start to the season. Did USC fans really think they where going to beat Alabama and Stanford? Every game from here on out is easily winnable for USC and the South is definitely there for the taking.
Click to expand...

Obvious reverse jinx is obvious.

No, I think most rational USC fans would have predicted a 1-2 start, and quite possibly 1-3. What I think even the worst naysayers (such as me) didn't quite expect was USC to look so very, very bad in their two losses. Alabama really pushed their shit in. I thought a "respectable" blowout, something on the order of 40-17, was what I'd see. After all, USC returned a veteran O-line, had several veteran running backs, and some young, exciting defenders. I thought we'd get in a few good licks against the Tide before their superiority asserted itself and overwhelmed us.

Against Stanford, I expected a loss, but I thought we'd at least keep it close, losing by say, a score. I thought that, with a few lucky breaks, like a turnover or big special teams play, we'd even have a chance to win. Instead, it really was Bama-lite, with Stanford's massive offensive front basically laughing at the futility our defense experienced in trying to stop them from, well, pushing our shit in.

What I've seen so far doesn't indicate that I should be hopeful for our near future. Helton and Co. are extremely inexperienced, and it shows. Also, they aren't exactly blowing anyone's doors off on the recruiting trail, which at least Kiffin and Sark were able to do.
 
Bdub

Bdub

Well-Known Member
If only the reverse jinx worked. Utah and USC are pretty even in my mind. Friday night is also supposed to be in the 40s and raining so who the hell knows what will happen.
I see what you mean about them getting their ass kicked. They seem like a team with no identity. USC to me has always been Running Back U and they should get back to that. They have an experienced line and good backs. They ought to just line up and pound the ball like Stanford.
 
TrojanMan

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
Bdub said:
I don't get the freaking out over this start to the season. Did USC fans really think they where going to beat Alabama and Stanford? Every game from here on out is easily winnable for USC and the South is definitely there for the taking.
Click to expand...

No. Short of divine intervention, I expected to lose to Bama. Against Stanford and how tight that series is usually, I figured we had maybe a 40% chance of winning.

So the 1-2 record, in and of itself, isn't the concerning part. It's HOW they lost. Incompetence everywhere -- questionable play calling, stupid penalties, poor execution, the O-line (supposed to be the strength) looks awful, blown defensive assignments all over the place.

I'm not sure what positives there are to take from those 2 games; the team looked awful. And I think Helton is panicking, thus the QB switch. Again, Browne hasn't done anything to lock down the job, but bailing on a new QB just 3 games in seems like he's appeasing the knee jerk element of the fan base, calling for a QB switch.
 
BasinBictory

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
They seem like a team with no identity. USC to me has always been Running Back U and they should get back to that. They have an experienced line and good backs. They ought to just line up and pound the ball like Stanford.
Click to expand...

Tbh, this is what I've been complaining about on the USC boards. That USC doesn't seem to have an offensive identity. I know we're Tailback U and all that, and I'd like to see that again, but I think as long as you have an identity, you can build from that and recruit accordingly. Want to be a spread, speed option team like Oregon, Baylor, TCU, etc? Fine, recruit those speedy wide outs and a cannon-armed gunslinger to get them the ball. Want to be a smash mouth, run at em untimely you're stopped team? Then recruit the huge linemen and bruising 240lb. running backs to fulfil your vision.

Helton says he wants to be a power running team, but then what does he do? He has Browne and Darnold in shotgun, running useless sweeps with 190lb. scatbacks, and then trying to have a passing game with slow receivers who can't catch.
 
Bdub

Bdub

Well-Known Member
CJ_24 said:
Did one of ur linemen reely punch the corch in the face?
Click to expand...
Was just reading that. Lots of rumors that the team is a train wreck. No matter I am sure they will come together before Friday and play the game of the season against Utah.
 
TrojanMan

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
All the lines I've seen are Utah -3, which is the standard home team spread. I think Utah should be favored by more, personally.

No idea what we'll see on Friday. Darnold is much more mobile (which will help with how bad the O-line has been), and supposedly he has the stronger arm too. But, theoretically, there was a reason Browne was named the starter in the first place, so I don't expect Darnold to be the savior of the season.
 
bruin228

bruin228

Well-Known Member
NCAA Moderator
KLATT is prolly pulling stuff out of his ass. I don't think Chip would want to deal with the booster bullshit that comes with SC.

Wouldn't surprise me, though, this is the program that hired Helton over even trying to interview Todd Herman.
 
TrojanMan

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
bruin228 said:
KLATT is prolly pulling stuff out of his ass. I don't think Chip would want to deal with the booster bullshit that comes with SC.
Click to expand...

If you mean the booster BS that comes with any big college program, versus the NFL, then I agree.

If you're saying SC's "booster bullshit" is worse than other big programs, then I'd say...no. Our fan base and boosters are pretty easy to deal with in comparison to big programs in the Midwest and South. Fans here don't hump the coach's leg if they see him at a restaurant. You basically get left alone here. Just don't suck, and you're fine. We expect success, but we don't expect 12-0 and shampships every year. Don't routinely lose to UCLA or Notre Dame, be in the Pac12 hunt most years, and you're safe.
 
bruin228

bruin228

Well-Known Member
NCAA Moderator
Yeah, I mean any big college program. It's why those rumors of him to Texas or Florida were always silly.

He needs an AD like he had with Belloti at Oregon who deals with that stuff for him.
 
BasinBictory

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Indeed. He may not have eye-popping "measurables," in comparison to Browne, but the apparent difference on the field is night and day.
 
BasinBictory

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Really. It was amazing that Browne, a redshirt junior, could look like a totally raw true freshman. Who was told 10 minutes before kickoff that he would be the starter. And wasn't even a quarterback on the roster.

That's how bad Browne looked.
 
BasinBictory

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Okay - took a hit of....something that was in an orange bottle with a white cap. Xanax? Estrogen? Cocaine?

Whatever, I feel cool enough now to assess the game semi-objectively.

They should have won, could have won, certainly played well enough to win, but fucked it up at the end to basically give it away. I just knew that despite Utah being backed up inside their own 5, with just over 5 minutes to go, they'd march down the field, score a TD with almost no time left, and win. And that's precisely what happened. Whittingham called the game the way Carroll used to - down three, facing a 4th and 1? Fuck it - let's go win that motherfucker right here! And that's exactly what they did. Of course, if USC somehow managed to stop that play, get the ball back and win the game, Whittingham would look like a dumbass, but personally I love that ballsy type of aggressive coaching. Not so much Helton's pussy-ass play calling that put them in this position.

On a positive note, holy crap Sam Darnold looks great. Yes, we lost, but I feel with a high degree of certainty that if Browne was still the starter, this would've been a 35-10 laugher for Utah. Sam, despite the fumble, played very well. The offense as a whole seemed like they'd been dormant the last three games and finally woke up. Is that how bad Browne was?

Defensively, the pass rush, or rather the lack of it, was very concerning. Troy Williams could have French Pressed a coffee, sipped it, and baked a croissant for as long as he has to throw back there. Our defensive backs helped Utah out with several timely PI calls. In the first quarter, the Utah ground game was running all over us, and Pendergast appeared to make the appropriate adjustments to stop it. Unfortunately, he couldn't adjust to Utah's passing game pitching and catching at will.

Overall, I'm obviously disappointed by the loss, but heartened by the manner in which the Trojans played. I hope they take this game, get all pissed off about it, and use it as fuel the rest of the season. Call me crazy, but even though they lost, and this loss puts them at 1-3, this could very well be the turning point of the season, in a positive manner.
 
Bdub

Bdub

Well-Known Member
Don't understand why USC went away from the run game. I mean Utah did adjust, but even then they were getting good yardage. Especially when you are playing away and trying to manage a 14 point lead and kill the clock.
 
TrojanMan

TrojanMan

Pink Panther
Mod Alumni
I'll mostly echo Basin's thoughts.....

It was nice to see an offense with a pulse. Darnold looked infinitely more comfortable and confident than Browne has, and the receivers responded by making some tough catches for him. If they hadn't smeared Mac-n-cheese butter all over their gloves before the game and avoided those 3 or 4 fumbles, who knows what might have been.

On the flip side, the defensive front can't get pressure to save their lives, and I'm still baffled at how often receivers are skipping and cartwheeling through the secondary with no defenders near them.

And once again -- as has been the case since Pete left -- we don't know how to close games. I've lost count of the number of 2nd half leads we've blown in the last 6 or 7 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top