USC 34 Notre Dame 27 - The Irish came to play!

by Paragon SC on Oct 17, 2009 5:53 PM PDT in USC Football

I have no idea what to make of this game. I could not be happier at the win but it wouldn't be a great SC win if I didn't have some questions.

MAKE NO MISTAKE, THIS WIN WAS A CHARACTER BUILDER!

Here is the Box Score and the Recap...

There is no question that the USC offense has really come together. Barkley once again went into a very hostile stadium and came away with the win. I can probably count 3-5 plays that Barkley made that I could see where he was still a freshman but he managed the game nicely.

Thank God for Damian Williams and Anthony McCoy!

Without their great days out there I don't know where we would have been.

We should absolutely tip our caps to Notre Dame. They came to play and they did not give up. They made some plays and they got some gifts but they made the game close and that is the way that a USC - Notre Dame game should be.

USC is still the better team and the USC defense made life tough for Jimmy Clausen all day but he played with some grit and he did not quit. For as much as he has been hammered by USC fans over the years he certainly earns my respect for hanging in there today...a double tip of the cap to him.

I cannot get mad at Matt Barkley over that INT. Not after a 370+ yard passing performance with 2 TD's. The O line did a great job for most of the game in giving him pass protection but my concern is the running game...SC had a very difficult time establishing the run. The red zone offense was also a concern. Even though we did get some TD's in the red zone it just did not look crisp. You can tell we miss Stafon...

The USC defense on the other hand showed me some things today that do cause me some concern. I get it, PC wants to play the bend don't break defense but Kevin Thomas had a very average game and he was giving way too much cushion to ND WR Golden Tate. Taylor Mays went after the hit and not the ball on the long TD throw and Mays had another, albeit questionable, late hit call that kept an ND drive alive.

I can't complain too much about the D line. They made it tough on Clausen throughout the day. They had a few late hit calls that were troublesome but I think once again the officiating was poor and the ball spots were poor as well. There were some penalties that were not called on ND so to me it all evens out.

I saw a few questionable play calls but like I always say...play calling is over rated.

So that is it in a nutshell. I am already seeing the whiners on the boards because it was not a dominant win. ND came to play. SC played them tough, we won, it wasn't pretty but all that matters is the score board.

Fire away...This our post game thread!

FIGHT ON!

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Comments

They are better than last year I will say that.

Paul D. Kelley

It's not about doing your job, But can you do it with a TENNIS BALL in your throat!

by so.cal.native1952 on Oct 17, 2009 6:49 PM PDT reply actions

Is this loss more painful for the Irish than a blowout?

Tough to be Irish. Here’re my quick bullets:

+ offense improving, but still skipping a beat
+ Barkley is the 2nd coming, but Para said it….makes 5 or so rookie mistakes per game
+ ND really stacked the box on the run. Barkley needs to, and will eventually, get that completion % in the mid-60s. That, better synch with his WRs, and a few less mistakes will lead to 3 or so longer drives per game and more red zone TDs.
+ Young QB, new OC, new play caller = no BCS championship this season
+ ND defense is really bad. USC should have scored in the 40s (typical winner whine)
+ Golden Tate is great
+ I hope they don’t fire Weis, as it is simply too much fun beating him and Jimmy Claus
+ Jimmy Claus is good, but a big whiny baby punk
+ Our defense bent, and bent, and bent. I know we are beat up on the D-line. The pass rush is great. This is the 2nd game this season that I have noticed Taylor Mays not breaking up passes or delivering big hits when needed. Anyone else notice this? I think Josh Pinkard is our best player in the secondary.
+ Bad penalties, but at least a few of them were bad calls. I think our athleticism just attracts the penalty flag.
+ Game ball goes to Jordan Congdon! Two key FGs in the thick grass were huge. Ok, give a game ball to D-Will and A McCoy too.

If I were Irish, I would have almost rather lost 34-14, than to make the comeback and have 3 plays inside the 10 to tie at the end of the game AND LOSE. It seemed like the storybook ND victory was staged, redemption for 2005 at hand, the stadium….the state….the Catholic nation….ready to explode…..AND THEN, they blow it. Oh man, what anguish. Do they take away hope for next season, or just swallow a bigger bitter pill?

Nice win, Trojans! Fight on! There is simply nothing more enjoyable than beating Santa Weis and Jimmy Claus with TD Jesus on the sidelines! And, Spike Lee too.

Still not feeling good about winning at Autzen though.

by DFWTrojan on Oct 17, 2009 6:51 PM PDT reply actions

Dead on here...

I think our athleticism just attracts the penalty flag.

They have never seen athletes like this in the Pac-10

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Oct 17, 2009 7:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Great learning experience

1. The D got stupid whe they started taking the win for granted.
2. Bates trying to feature McKnignt as a 4 down back has to stop. Joe is only good in space.
3. Barkley is scary good & will rewrite the USC record books
4. I didn’t like Brady Quinn, but when I see Clausen I feel like tearing his punk head off.
5. Texas & Florida… meh

by Locoweed 1.1 on Oct 17, 2009 7:32 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Hit it on the head Loco

Point 2 – I think they should have both McKnight & Bradford in the backfield at the same time. I remember Reggie & LenDale used to do it – kept defenses guessing. Bradford would make a hell of a fullback the way he runs.

Point 4 – I can’t agree more. The way he celebrates, pouts and all that. Just makes me sick.

On another side note, I couldn’t stand the seeing Teo get that good shot in on Barkley on the sideline.

by spn168 on Oct 17, 2009 7:38 PM PDT up reply actions

Barkley is the 2nd coming, but Para said it….makes 5 or so rookie mistakes per game

ND defense is really bad. USC should have scored in the 40s (typical winner whine)

Which is why we didn’t score 40. Once Barkey learns to read blitzes and is given leeway to audible, watch out.

by Zoulou on Oct 17, 2009 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions

YOU ARE A LOSER, sHIZE kOFF

Paul D. Kelley

It's not about doing your job, But can you do it with a TENNIS BALL in your throat!

by so.cal.native1952 on Oct 17, 2009 11:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Stop it!

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Oct 18, 2009 4:34 AM PDT up reply actions

I'm not whining ... just gotta get this off my chest.

Paragon – great analysis. However, win or lose, I had to throw this one out there. I understand PC’s philosophy of playing loose and having fun. However, I don’t think that should excuse a lack of discipline. Up 34-14, we made some pretty bad plays on D that are inexcusable. (For the record, I’ve loved what the D has done this year).

The first was Griffin’s celebration after a sack that would have made it 2nd and long – instead, ND got 15 yards plus a first down. The drive ended with a TD.

You’d think the D would be more careful after that, but then you’ve got Taylor Mays trying to lay the wood on a guy heading out of bounds. You could see Mays knew he made a bad play but that gave them more yardage and led to another TD.

Horton got a sack somewhere in between and was also doing a little celebratory dance. Then you had another late hit by Jackson on the final drive that gave them half the distance (and I think a first).

I’m upset cause USC’s D is just shooting itself in the foot. It was a great win and I actually expected a close game. However, I didn’t expect that we’d start handing them all that yardage in the 4th with dumb penalties that are easily avoided by making a great play and walking away or simply using your head. I hope the D fixes this cause if they do, they will be more dominant than last year.

OK…just had to get that off my chest. Thanks.

by spn168 on Oct 17, 2009 7:06 PM PDT reply actions

The positive to that....

saw this comment on Wolfie’s blog to give credit. But, for all of the stupid Def penalties, how many penalties did the offense have? I can remember 1 false start on O’Dowd for sure. In a hostile environment with all the emotion and craziness, the O-line played great. Hardly any penalties, good protection of Barkley with 8 man fronts frequently blitzing. The run game was consistently inconsistent, but ND was really stacking the line. All in all, great game for the O-line, especially penalty-wise.

And, FWIW, I thought the late hit on Tay Mays was BS. That ND WR was still on the field! But, there were some awesome brutal hits. The ND WR with the pink braids losing his helmet….worth the price of admission, right there.

by DFWTrojan on Oct 17, 2009 7:12 PM PDT up reply actions

no disagreement...

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Oct 17, 2009 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions

This is the last year for ND to make a play

They lose almost their whole O-Line, not to mention Clausen if he is smart. Clausen should leave early if he doesn’t wan’t to lose money. Tate might leave too if the money is right. I think Weis is a lock to come back next year, however another coliseum blowout might cement his demise.

by frak on Oct 17, 2009 7:24 PM PDT reply actions

Didn't we hire a special teams coach?

Had to get this one in as well guys. I thought we hired a special teams coach this season. If memory serves me right, he’s an NFL guy too. Any thoughts on why we haven’t improved on special teams?

Field position seemed to be somewhat of an issue today. Looked like ND consistently got the ball in decent field position while we always started pretty far back (although Barkley seems to thrive in those situations). Any thoughts?

by spn168 on Oct 17, 2009 7:34 PM PDT reply actions

Yeah, on KO returns

I specifically noticed how extremely well ND covered KO returns. CJ Gable is a proven KO stud, yet he was covered up every time. Zero seams or room to breathe. Yet, we also seem to provide plenty of room to run on our KO return defense. ND had 6 returns for 124 yds with +56 over us. That certainly impacted the game.

And, why do we get beat with trickeration, but rarely try our own (of course, the meaningless surprise onsides against WSU comes to mind).

A play of the day nominee should be Harfman for handling the bounced snap and then unleashing a critical 60 yard punt. And, Jordan Congdon did his job perfectly….in a tough environment.

by DFWTrojan on Oct 17, 2009 9:22 PM PDT up reply actions