Thoughts from the underground

 2011 USC vs Stanford

What a game!! It has been a long time since I was as emotionally involved with my Trojans but last night was an awesome atmosphere. It felt like the good old days and I mean 2002-2005. The energy and excitement could be felt miles away. As soon as I got off the freeway there were people walking to the Coliseum from miles away. There was no parking anywhere.That was indication number one that the stadium would be rocking….The crowd at the game was electric. I tell people all the time that nothing compares to college football and last night was the classic example. When Robely got the pick six…the Coliseum went nuts. We were jumping around high fiving everyone..it was crazy. A night to remember how fun a Trojan game can be…

There were alot of questionable plays in the game. I do not blame the refs for the loss but I certainly question some of the missed calls. An oblivious pass interference play in the end zone on Robert Woods,  a questionable personal penalty call on McDonald on the Farm’s game tying TD drive, the tauting call on Lee and of course the missed timeout at the end of regulation. How do you correct the call on Lee..”Listen son..I know you are 18 and are playing in front of 100k plus on national TV. You just made a play that put your team up late in the game. DONT SHOW THAT YOU CARE???”..I would know what to tell Lee regarding that play if I am coach Kiffin. When I walked out of the stadium last night I felt the Trojans were robbed. Completely robbed.  Now after emotions have settled, i still feel the same way but recognize that the Trojans also had their opportunities to win the game and they didnt seize them.  One thing I would say is that coach Kiffin needs to reign in his players mouth and his complaining. Leading into the game all we heard was the notre dame quit. When coach Kiffin tried to address some other player would tweet something..I really wanted coach to kill the talk. Does Kiffin have a point about the time out? Yes..but guess what coach? All the complaining will get you a written apology from the Pac 12..at best..and that’s it. You lost the game regardless…STOP BITCHING! let it go. Talk about your teams and how it rose to the challage. The players will look to you and your reaction for direction after this tough loss.

Offense: Woods was off early in the game and never seems right the whole game. Hard to critize the guy that has been your offense at times. Maybe the kid is tired. Kiffin should soften his load and take him off kickoffs and punt returns. You have alot of talnetd playmakers on the roster coach..use them before you burn out your best player. I thought that the offense went away from the run game for long streches in the game. They failed to use the middle of the field with their tight ends.  Of course Woods should downed the play in regulation with time running out..that was a bad decision.

Defense: I really dont have much to say for the defense other than congratulating them on an awesome game. Coach Kiffin (dad) did an excellent job. 2 sacks, 3 delays of game, 1 pick and multiple hurries and knock downs. Luck had been sacked 2 times all year..picked 4 times all year..Their offense was rolling huge nunbers on the offense and on the scoreboard. Yet the defense kept them way under their averages. They left the middle open for Luck scambles and ran out gas by the second overtime but my hats off to them. Great game…

Overall it was an exciting game. One that I will remember for a long time. Not so much the outcome but the energy, the excitment, the passion with which the players played that had nothing to play for but pride. I had not seen or felt that in a long time. Even towards the end of Pete’s era..that part of the game day experience was missing. Kiffen is still growing as a coach but if the last 2 weeks are any indication the program is headed in the right direction.  Coming off his most impressive game under the glare of College gameday..he had the players focused, prepared and ready to play. The kids played their hearts out last night and left it all on the field. That is the mark of a great coach. Some people will always have something to complain about but I for one am in Kiffins corner…fight on coach.

On a side note…Trojan post game show with Darrell Rideaux is terrible. I dont know what it is with former players in broadcasting but Petros and Darrell Rideaux are terrible when talking about Trojan football. It seems like they go out of their way to not be Trojan homers. Rideaux especially tries way too hard to by wordly..tough to listen too..

Fight On!! and the Buffaloes !!

 Well….do I have egg on my face. Coach Kiffin proved alot of people wrong(me at the top of the list) and had his most impressive win as head coach of the trojans. Notre Dame did everything but wear the green jerseys: First night game in 20+ years, biggest recruiting trip ever at notre dame, handed out towels, played Ozzy before 3rd downs…and yet the fighting irish did very little fighting. USC looked very prepared.

Offense:

They  kept the notre dame defense off balance almost the entire game. The game was swinging a little bit at the end of the first half and the start of the second half but USC kepting churning those first downs and surprisingly with the run game.  The tight ends played big, I saw Farmer in the game and he didnt get the ball!!!, as a matter of fact it was a fake toss sweep and Woods was open at the back of the end zone. Excellent playcalling by Kiffin.  Woods had a very quiet 10+ catch, 100+ yards game, 2 Touchdown game!! Curtis and Tyler had a great game as well..but the game ball goes to Barkley. His best game he has ever played as a Trojan so far. He has had better passing numbers, better touchdown numbers..but never has he played as mistake free football as he did last night. He looked every bit the 3 year starter. Great decision after great decision. The best stat line of the game..2 penalities and no turnovers…

Defense:

What can you say about a unit that has been beat up since last season. Pretty much shut out their star receiver who was bigger and stronger than our corners. I would have never believed it if you told me that before the start of the game. They played discipline, controlled, smart and opportunistic football. A heads up play on all three turn overs. Starlings fumble return for a touchdown was tremendous..a 14 pt switch..most likely. Lady luck was not with the irish last night in south bend..Again..a heady play by a 5th year senior linebacker in the second fumble. And 5 8 Robely undecuts the route against 6 3 Floyd..wow..The defense faltered a little on the start of the second half but held together at the end.

The only glaring blemish was the kickoff return for a touchdown. That could have been much bigger than it was. Huge momentum switch.

Congrats to the entire coaching staff and the players on a great win. Both Kiffins and Barkley have been getting killed and I very happy for them. I still think Kiffin should get an experienced OC and that the defense should be simplified but for one night they looked like the Trojans of old.

I often get asked if not Kiffin who? And I have always answered that even though Kiffin has his flaws he is the right coach at USC at the right time. He might be the best long term answer but what program on probation, barely ranked gets College Game Day to come their house??? Kudos to coach Kiffin…Beat the Farm!!

USC vs notre dame

USC faces the Irish this weekend in the arguably greatest rivalry in college football. Before I get    into what I think are the keys to a USC victory I thought it would be a great time to evaluate your 2011 Trojans.

Defense:

This unit was highly criticized last season and seemed to improve this season. Although last Thursday’s seemingly great performance had more to do with the awful performance from the Cal QB than a great performance from USC’s defense.  USC has great athletes on the defensive side of the football. True, they are young and thin at certain spots such as linebackers and the secondary. However, I do not think that is the biggest issue. The problem with USC’s defense continues to be the scheme and the play calling. Monte Kiffin might be a legend in the NFL but I will repeat that the difference between college and the NFL is huge. How many coaches can you name that had success in both? Coach Carroll’s successful performance as a defensive coordinator in both college and the NFL is rare. USC’s biggest problems are that the players do not know where to go and where to be. Receivers and backs are WIDE open most of the time. Monte is so scared of the big play the secondary plays 10-20 yards off the ball. Linebackers do not plug holes on running plays opening the defense up to 20 yard gains. Does USC have the players to be a top defense? Maybe not. But when coach Carroll arrived in 2001 he had less to work with and he made that defense look scary good.  The difference? Coach Carroll had about 6 plays..that was it. Players were told not think but just do what your jobs requires. Their superior athletic ability took over and viola..a top 10 defense. Coach Kiffin needs to follow that mold. The question is..can a 30 year veteran of the NFL suddenly change and adjust? Don’t hold your breath…

Offense:

As much as the defense is under performing..the offense is not doing much better. Ok..in the stats it looks like they are. But the USC offense has even more athletes and yet also suffers from the same poor coaching dilemma. The offense continues to suffer from a lack of identity. What is USC on offense? A power running team? West coast? Pro form? Get the ball to Woods? Yep..that seems to be it. The whole offense seems geared to get the ball to Woods. If he covered..look for Lee. If he is covered…Were doomed. Someone please explain to me how Woods could be bracketed by both safeties..which means he is TRIPLED covered and someone else not be wide open? Don’t mention Lee since he was not wide open, he at least had the other corner on him. I mean WIDE open..A tight end over the middle? A receiver or running back on  a quick slant? Either Kiffin cannot adjust to the defense or Barkely simply cannot go through his progressions..It is most likely a combination of both and that is BAD NEWS for USC.  Please do not get me started on the Farmer and Baxter packages? How many times has Baxter or Farmer came into the game and NOT  gotten the ball? How many times have the actually ran anything other than a play wide? Those formations/packages are the biggest giveaways I have seen since Hackett ran the tank formation. How could a defense not know what you are doing?  To quote a knowledgeable USC observer “Most college offenses rely on 2 fundamental principles:  Multiple plays from the same formation and Multiple formations for the same play.  Multiple plays from the same formation lets you set up future plays.  ”Oh they’re in formation X with these people.  They’ve hit us with a blast every time so far.  I’m going to cheat against the blast and Oh Crap Play action he’s going over my head!”.  Multiple formations for the same play lets your players do something they’re familiar with and master the play without telling the defense what you’re doing.  Our offense is neither.  It seems the me the closest thing Kiffin has to a philosophy is that he’s not going to worry about whether the defense knows what the play is or where it’s going, he’s going to try to be cute with motion to get favorable matchups for his star athletes.  I have news for him, Robert Woods isn’t fooling anybody when he lines up as a running back, motioning out to the slot.  Cal made sure to mark him every time he stepped on the field regardless of where he lined up.  Moreover, this kind of offense is confusing for your own players.  They don’t OWN any plays, they don’t have anything they can fall back on when they’re in trouble… they have a lot of toys and no idea how to use them. “.. The problem with Kiffin is that he is too green for the job he has. He has not been a coordinator long before he got a head coaching gig. It is very tough being the offensive coordinator at a big time university like USC…harder when you are young and inexperienced. It is even harder to be a head coach at a big time university like USC and even harder when you are young and experienced like Kiffin…and it is almost impossible to do both. I don’t know many if any coaches at big time college football that do double duty…much less one as young and inexperienced as Kiffin. I hope that part of the maturation process this off season will be the realization by coach Kiffin that he needs an experienced OC. Doesn’t mean Kiffin cannot be involved and the offense have his mark and influence but someone else needs to take the reins. It is better in the long and short run for coach Kiffin and for USC. Don’t hold your breath…

Notre Dame

I have to admit, I don’t have high hopes. USC has not given me any confidence even with their 5-1 record. Notre Dame’s offense is perfect for USC’s defense. Notre Dame does not have big play capability. They do not have burners on offense. Instead they rely on taking 5-8 yards at a time with big Michael Floyd, the tight ends and a solid running game. With USC playing 10 yards off the ball, Notre Dame should not have much trouble executing their game plan. When they get into the red zone we have NO answer for Floyd. A simple fade to the corner should be successful nearly 100% of the time.

On offense, I think Cal had the blue print and to some degree Minnesota in the second half. Simply take away Woods, keep an eye on Lee and don’t worry too much about the rest. Doesn’t matter if the rest get an occasional pass or even a big play because Kiffin and Barkely will always look to Woods no matter if the defense is giving them other options.  Minnesota stayed in the game because they simply focused on Woods and Barkley simply cannot go through his progression to see that the tight end was WIDE open…or that Brice Butler had beaten his man by twenty yards. Against Cal..Barkely went to Woods no matter the coverage. He had to throw the ball in tight coverage and couldn’t do so…but again, tight ends, backs out of the backfield, other receivers SHOULD be WIDE open.  News flash to Barkley and Kiffin…take what the defense gives you.  You can win with Woods getting 1 catch..if the other receivers are given a chance.

Keys to a USC victory:

Take what the Notre Dame gives you.

Use Woods as a decoy until the defense goes back to reasonable coverage on Woods

Use your tight ends

Use Baxter and Farmer in regular formations and not special packages. A wheel route might be a good idea.

On defense, play bump and run man. Just have McDonald double on Floyd.

Blitz like crazy from all directions and formations.

Predication

SC 30 ND 28

Fight On!!