The South Bend Game

It was ugly. It was very ugly in South Bend this past Saturday as USC suffered their second loss of the season. You have to give credit to Notre Dame, who outplayed us in all three phases of the game. We knew their run game was powerful, but to see it in person was eye-opening. They are a talented bunch and our depleted D-line was no match for the Irish. Unfortunately, not only did ND beat up on us, we beat ourselves. USC allowing 21 points off of turnovers set us too far back early on and made hopes for a comeback all but impossible.

Many times this year I have referred to “the eye test” and sadly, in the primetime game in front of a TV audience, we failed. We could spend hours digging into the minutia of what went wrong specifically in the game but let’s focus on the larger picture here. USC is out of the playoff race. We were on the outside looking in ever since the Wazzu game, but a win in South Bend would have put us right there into the conversation again. On paper, had we won out and claimed a Pac 12 title, we would likely have gotten the #4 spot in the playoff. If you watch this team in person though, it’s evident we are a level below some of the top teams in the country. Sam Darnold has more question marks than ever. His turnover rate has fans calling for Fink early in games but I think a lot of Sam’s issues are related to the thin offensive line. We have no clue whether or not he will return for next season, though one may think a season like this could inspire him to return and play better for the scouts. This is assuming, he feels like he is playing in a system that allows him to be successful. That falls squarely on the coaches.

Clay Helton is facing tremendous criticism after the loss at Notre Dame. Large factions of the Trojan nation are calling for him to fired but let’s slow down for a moment. In two seasons as our full-time head coach, Clay, is 16-5 and has never lost a game at The Coliseum. If Swann or Nikias chooses to fire him after a 3-point loss to WSU on a short week, and an injury ridden blowout in ND, I believe it will send our program in the wrong direction. My opinion may be unpopular but for now, Helton deserves to be the head coach of this program. Has anyone considered what effect a coaching change would have on Darnold? I think the only new football system he’s looking to learn will be for a team that plays on Sundays, and hopefully that comes a year from now not sooner. But I admit, if we lose another game or two in the same fashion as we did last weekend, my view may change quickly. I will say that our offensive coordinator better get things going quickly. An OC at USC is more or less handed the keys to a stable of the finest athletes in the country, and it’s a shame to see our offense sputtering when so much talent is on the roster.

So where do we go from here? We go to Tempe looking to avenge the loss against an ASU team that is playing confident football. USC desperately needs a good showing to begin righting the ship. Fans, now that we’re out of the race for the big dance, I recommend you do your best to relax and savor the final four weeks of regular season football. USC kicks off a 4-game run trying to reach the Pac 12 title game and it will surely be interesting to see how we respond.

FIGHT ON