Any Questions?
by Paragon SC on Sep 12, 2009 8:54 PM PDT
in USC Football
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PrintI really can't say that I am surprised with tonight's game. Ohio State played just like I thought they would play at home.
Here is the Drive Chart. Here is the Game Recap.
I think Barkley played pretty good from the 2nd quarter on. That final drive was a thing of beauty. He proved to ALL of his detractors (I am looking at you Matt Hayes) that he could handle the pressure...he just need to get his sea legs.
Props to Ohio State!
They played lights out in the trenches...they pretty much had us bottled up all nightThis was more about the OSU defensive line getting a lot of push against the USC offensive line. SC could not get the running game going. It is pretty clear to me that Pete Carroll was going to give Barkley every opportunity to learn and grow from the experience.
And did he learn...
I will not question Pete Carroll...we have come too far and had too many great games to be upset about some of the things I saw tonight.
To me this was about the USC offensive line not being able to keep the OSU defensive line out of Barkley's face. Barkley was shaky in the first quarter but he gained his composure and managed things pretty well. I WAS surprised that for all the experience I thought we had on defense that we saw a lot missed tackles and missed assignments early on confirming that SC is still a little inexperienced after losing all the talent that we had last season. They definitely stepped up as the game progressed.
I do think this showed us where some of our weaknesses are.
First...Special Teams was absolutely atrocious. For all the pissing and moaning we have heard about not having a special teams coach having one didn't seem to help with the poor punting and missed field goal.
Second...It didn't matter how many running backs we had in The Stable never was able to get up a lather to really be effective because the Offensive line was getting pushed around by their D line. But Props to Joe McKnight for stepping it up at the right time!!
Third...The defense did a great good job against Pryor, he made some plays...a few nice throws and some key runs but lets not get crazy he was not Vince Young tonight...At least not yet.
In the end it was all about Matt Barkley. He showed us a lot of poise. he also showed the rest of the world what may on the coaching staff have in practice.
There is so much more to look at but that is for tomorrow...tonight we celebrate a very hard fought win in a very nasty environment.
The Barkley era has officially arrived!!
FIGHT ON!
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Great write up....however I would add that it wasnt "all about Matt Barkley"
but it was all about Barkley and Mr Joe Mcknight.
Godspeed Nick - RIP - 1986-2009
by norcaliangelsfan on Sep 12, 2009 8:58 PM PDT reply actions
First of all
I can breathe again.
My take on the game is this. Barkley is still a work in progress. He passed a major hurdle today, and came up with the game winning drive when it mattered, however… if I were to pick a MVP for this game it would be someone on the USC defense. Galipo, Casey, Pinkard to name a few deserve the game ball for keeping Ohio State in check, and keeping us close enough to pick up the go ahead score.
Great job Matt Barkley and Joe McKnight for pulling us ahead, but all of those 3 and outs should have run a defense out of gas, and our defense held in there and didn’t break. Way to go USC D.
Thank god for
Everson not getting a personal foul
McKnight for not fumbling at a critcal moment
The defense for not running out of gas
The offense for coming together when it counted
Chris Galipo for doing his best impersonation of Rey Malauga
Great game
Sorry I took so long, but I set about writing my re-cap the moment Pryor was called for the intentional grounding.
Congratulations, guys. Your team earned that win tonight.
www.wewillalwayshavetempe.com
A hell of a game
I was incredibly impressed at how hard Ohio State pushed, especially on defense, and what a crowd…
Awesome showing by OSU's defense.........
very impressed.
Godspeed Nick - RIP - 1986-2009
by norcaliangelsfan on Sep 12, 2009 9:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Thanks
You guys are all class. I was a bit ashamed to see the chippiness earlier on in the game, because my personal experience with SC and its fans has been top-notch.
Good luck the rest of the year.
www.wewillalwayshavetempe.com
Thanks you and you have a lot of class also
I am not one of those fans that goes around pointing fingers and saying ha ha we beat you, plus my mom grew up in Cleveland. You guys played a heck of a game and have one of the best teams.
Good luck to OSU too
Paul D. Kelley
Come as you are not who you pretend to be!
You are only as good as your 2nd serve and 1st volley
by so.cal.native1952 on Sep 13, 2009 10:14 AM PDT up reply actions
Personally
I think Ohio State was the better team tonight. It seemed like they had the best field position most of the day.
Such is the glory of Tresselball – if they had been more aggressive with those passing plays that were working earlier in the game, I doubt SC would have been able to keep up.
I said something similar on Burnt Orange Nation
Even when Ohio State was in control, I was like, “This is Ohio State football. They’re controlling, but all it takes is one big play or drive and poof, they’re losing.” Joe McKnight made some big plays, and that was that.
by TheElusiveShadow on Sep 12, 2009 10:16 PM PDT up reply actions
They tried to be aggressive
But SC adjustments and the pass rush took away those middle slants.
Also, do you really think Pryor wouldn’t throw another pick?
BTW: Pryor shoulda gone to Michigan. He’d be already be a superstar in Rich Rod’s offense.
Barkley and McKnight
Barkley stayed calm, didn’t fuck up too much, and was effective at the right times.
I’m incredibly impressed with McKnight though – some tough interior running, and incredible vision and awareness of where he needed to get to on the final drive. A quantum improvement.
I'm absolutely exhausted
I was tired before the game, and the stress / adrenaline just started to wear off.
Completely worth it though.
that last drive was amazing
The O-line had been pushed around for 3 and a half quarters and then sacked up and became road-graders again when we needed it, McKnight made big plays, and Barkley stepped up and didn’t look like a freshman.
Boy, OSU’s defense was tough. Tressel screwed them by not going for it on that last 4th, I thought.
by Signal to Noise on Sep 12, 2009 9:21 PM PDT reply actions
No questions about your defense, but the offense?
So the usc defense didn’t really drop much or at all from last year it seems. But as I watched the game with my brother (a grad student at usc) and my father (who wore a UCLA shirt during our game and then switched to a usc shirt for your game), we all became a bit skeptical about the offense. Barkley and McKnight had a spectacular last drive, but other than that I saw my family cringe quite a bit everytime McKnight got the ball on a first down run, or anytime Barkley faced a bit of pressure before throwing. Ausberry and Williams are studs for receivers and made some ridiculous catches but I think Barkley still has a ways to go if you are to win the Pac 10.
Congrats on a tough win.
How many minutes of that game were you guys actually ahead?
Uh...
in case you didn’t notice they have a pretty good defense. And it was at the Shoe…not exactly your local high school stadium…
I think you are failing to notice
That Tressells game plan was to stop the run all the way and force Barkley to pass. The running game suffered because 8 of 11 of OSUs defenders were stacked in the box for practically the whole game. It was a good game plan, and for the most part… it worked.
As for how many minutes we were ahead…. all I care about is whos ahead after minute 60. I didn’t care when we played Cal in 2004, and I don’t care now. They can win minutes with the lead, or any stat they want, as long as we win, I don’t give a rip.
As far as how we looked. A freshman going into the shoe in his second start, and coming out with a win when the spread was only 6 points… isn’t a bad outing by anyone’s standards.
I imagine most fans, players, and coaches don’t care about the minutes after a big win like this. I was just curious, and thought it was interesting that the only leads were at the very beginning and the very end. Though I do believe OSU will not be the only team you face this year that will be heavily stacking the box.
You're probably right
I imagine that you guys will be doing the same thing. Especially if that Moore kid is playing. He will probably have like 30 interceptions by the time USC plays ucla.
I wouldn’t be suprised if Moore wins the Thorpe award this year. 5 picks in 2 games is unreal. He would have had 6 if the last one wasn’t called back for a penalty.
Moore ain't winning the Thrope
B/C Jonathon Crompton (Tennesse’s allleged QB) is the WORST QB I’ve ever seen, ever, ever.
If Moore picks Kevin Riley three times, then we’ll talk.
Mark Carrier won the Thorpe with 8 picks
Moore has 5 in 2 games. I think he will have 8 or more by the end of the season. Combine that with tackles, and a score or two, and that award is within his reach.
Oh and by the way
Did anyone see Kiffins ridiculous calls at the end of the Tennessee game when he ran the ball up the middle on 1st and goal only to lose the ball on downs. Reminded me of the Lendale 4th and 2 play. Kiffin needs to see when the ucla D-line is stuffing his guys in the middle, maybe he should go around.
Kiffin blew it in that game. He was in a position to make a try for a comeback and blew it.
Also his QB is dreadful.
same old kiff predictable
Running when should be passing and passing when should of been running and letting to worst QB I have ever seen pass or play for that matter.
Paul D. Kelley
Come as you are not who you pretend to be!
You are only as good as your 2nd serve and 1st volley
by so.cal.native1952 on Sep 13, 2009 9:50 AM PDT up reply actions
Don't worry by the time we play your bruins we will put 39 pts.
Paul D. Kelley
Come as you are not who you pretend to be!
You are only as good as your 2nd serve and 1st volley
by so.cal.native1952 on Sep 13, 2009 10:15 AM PDT up reply actions
Is Carroll's Arrogance our Achilles Heel?
My take is that was one incredibly boring ball game. Very sloppy offensive execution, good line play and solid defenses. Here’s my take:
1) Barkley is too inexperienced to be starting. Period. Aaron Corp should have never lost the job.
2) CJ Gable, arguably SC’s 2nd best offensive playmaker, did not get a down on offense. That is ridiculous. CJ was our starter 2 of the last 3 seasons. He is a triple threat. Joe Mc and Stafon missed numerous blocking assignments. Stafon is simply a pretty good, but not great, RB. He is our current version of Chauncey Washington – dependably mediocre. CJ is a much better RB than Stafon (see avg ypc stats) and deserves some more playing time.
3) So, why is CJ still in the doghouse? Why wasn’t Vidal Hazleton, our former top 2 WR, ever let out of the doghouse either? Boy, with Rojo out and Damian getting tons of attention by the D, we SURE could have used Vidal. Ausberry is simply not a very good football player.
How would our offense have performed if Corp, Hazleton, and CJ were on the field significantly? I think we would have hummed like a well-oiled machine and put 30 points on the board. I love PC. But, I do believe his arrogance is our achilles heel. Joe Mc and our defense will still lead us to 10 wins, but we are not BCS-worthy this season.
Wrong on #1, wrong on #2, half wrong on #3.
1) Barkley is too inexperienced to be starting. Period. Aaron Corp should have never lost the job.
I don't really feel Corp would have handled it any better and barkley was just following orders.
If you guys didn’t notice but on the last drive 3rd and 9 barkley changed play at the line and then threw to #4 for that first down.
Paul D. Kelley
Come as you are not who you pretend to be!
You are only as good as your 2nd serve and 1st volley
by so.cal.native1952 on Sep 13, 2009 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions
I give Barkley credit for hanging in there in a tough place
But he did not play all that well, and he often had a deer-in-the-headlights look. I wasn’t that impressed.
Joe McKnight, though, has some moves. He carried the Trojan offense at the end.
by TheElusiveShadow on Sep 12, 2009 10:17 PM PDT reply actions
off topic
but Oregon might just have won the game by defending on a 2 point conversion attempt, keeping the score at 38 – 36. It’s a points-a-palooza.
Joe saved us today...
Barkley made a couple nice throws on that last drive, but Joe McKnight won this game for USC.
At USC we're not snobs, we're just better than you.
To be frank
This game was decided simply by the talent level. Ohio State in reality is no where close to USC in talent or all around quality as a team. But they played with all the fire. It was quite amazing. USC on the other hand seemed as though they had an off-night. They did not have the fire, at all. They thought that they were the superior team and that they would go into columbus and the Buckeyes would simply hand over the win.
USC played with no fire and OSU played with all the fire in the world. You saw that in the trenches with the OSU D line pushing the USC O line everywhere. This O line is the best in the country —no way they should be pushed around as they were.
But in the end, i feel that USC was by far the more talented team. You saw that when the USC D was out there. It seemed as though they were not playing with fire, but still held OSU down with minimal issues.
I think if they play that game on a neutral field 10 time, USC wins 9 times. But on Sat., OSU played their hearts out and USC played average ball. Still it was impressive for USC to pull that game out playing as bad as they did.
Did you notice that 8 people in the box tends to do wonders against the run.
If there was one weakness against Ohio State it was Jeff Byers. He was getting beaten all night long. Honorable mention for worst blocker goes to Joe Mcknight. Ohio State stuffed the box, and Byers let a lot through. The holding calls killed us in the 2nd half. I wouldn’t say they owned us, if anyone got owned on the ground it was them. They didn’t even crack 100 yards of rushing.
CJ Gable?
The guy is not a good running back, i’m sorry. I’m not too high on #13, but he Stefon is better than CJ. However, my favorite running back is the big guy, Bradford and even Mark Tyler. Those 2 should get much more time running the ball, especially Bradford. Joe Mcknight and Bradford, kinda like Bush/White.
I don't know if I agree with you about Gable
I however 100% agree with you on Bradford. I love what he brings to the table.
Gable reminds me a lot of Hershel Dennis. A mixed bag that shows signs of greatness, but not at any level of consistency.
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