USC doesn’t scare me

[ProudUte]

I thought USC would be better, especially on defense in their second year under LR. But, I was unimpressed with their D and the offense even with all their weapons lacked the potency I expected. Williams looked good, but SJS did put some pressure on him and got a few sacks. USC went out during the off-season and bought the best players they could find. If I heard right – their top 6 defensive linemen all came from other P5 teams via the portal. Maybe they need more time playing together.

It is tough to judge after just one game. SJS may be better than I thought and oftentimes – teams do not play their best ball in game one. But, as of now – USC does not look like a team that will go undefeated.

[The Miami Ute]

Look it up. Riley never had dominating defenses at Oklahoma. That was his teams’ undoing whenever they made it to the CFP. Hard to see why it would change now, especially when he’s had the same DC. It’s also possible that maybe those guys that joined from the portal won’t represent that much of an improvement. We shall definitely see when they start playing PAC competition. I’m really interested to see how they fare playing the Arizona schools early on. They beat both of them last year but both those schools hurt USC on offense and certainly have also improved this season.

[J Rocksville]

I don’t know if this has any bearing, but I’ve always wondered if there is a difference in commitment from guys/kids that are recruited to be a part of a program and chose to be a part of that team based upon that recruitment, vs guys that are just there for the payday.

They’ve got a lot of mercenaries on that team, but the kind of kid looking for the best payday might not be the most team-first player.

Either way, I think we can count on usc being fired up to see us, and I think we’ll be fired up to prove it wasn’t a fluke. If we’re both undefeated, it’ll be a battle of 2 top ten teams.

[Mule]

I think you’re right. Thing is, u$c has always had the mercenary types that are just there for their payday. That locker room has got to be so interesting.

[Central Coast Ute]

It’s the first game, I wouldn’t take much from it. Wait and see how they’re playing in week 3.

[D T]

The ultra soft Grinch & his D have been consistent since his days back in Norman….Nothing will have changed by then….This performance was identical to last year’s & every Riley OU team’s before then.

[AZUTE]

USC doesn’t have the D to win a championship. Pac12 or otherwise.

Utah Oregon and Washington will all score 45+ points on them.

SC has a 4 game stretch where they go Utah,
@Cal, Washington, and @Oregon. Could easily go 2-2 with that D

[The Miami Ute]

They play at Notre Dame the week before they play Utah. Hard to see how they come out of South Bend with a victory. Just like USC upgraded the QB position last year by enticing Williams from Oklahoma, so has Notre Dame by getting Sam Hartman from Wake Forest. Just like USC talks about getting revenge on Utah at the Coliseum, so does ND talk about getting revenge on USC. Lastly, USC ends the season playing UCLA at the Rose Bowl. That’s not going to be a walk in the park either.

[Trojan209]

The UCLA game is at the Coliseum this year.

[AlohaUte]

Basing one’s assessment of a team on game one against a bad team is silly and we should all know better. USC didn’t open the playbook on O or D. They weren’t going to give anything anyway to later opponents. USC is far better than they looked yesterday and they still put up 50+ points.

[The Miami Ute]

“Basing one’s assessment of a team on game one against a bad team is silly and we should all know better.” You sound like those USC fans who are giving USC fans a pass because it was ‘Week Zero”. Well, it was “Week Zero” for SJSU as well. It sure didn’t look like SJSU opened up the playbook or did anything special and they still gained 400 yards on USC. In addition, and I only speak for myself, some observers are criticizing USC not because of “one game” but because after a much-ballyhooed offseason, we’re seeing the same thing from a Lincoln Riley – Alex Grinch defense that we’ve been seeing for the last seven years.

[AlohaUte]

So you conveniently are ignoring the games Utah has played against FCS schools or G5 schools (even losing to SDSU) yet still had a great season.

[The Miami Ute]

I’m specifically talking about USC and Alex Grinch’s defenses. One time is an anomaly. Two times is a coincidence. Three times is proof.

[Anfernee]

It’s the same ‘ol Lincoln. Another Heisman qb (which is incredible to his credit) and 💩 defense. 1–4 in end-of-season bowl games and 0-3 in the College Football Playoff. Video game stats and the Grinch at D. Utah generally fairs well against that formula. Whitt them in mouth. 💪

[The Miami Ute]

Riley is world-class at coaching and offense and poaching other team’s QBs. He got Murray from A&M and Mayfield from Texas Tech…nothing wrong with that.

[chinngiskhaan]

I think it’s too early to make assessments about what we’ll be facing in several weeks. Our defense was doggy doodoo against Florida last year. We ended up being good by the time we played USC.

[D T]

DC Grinch’s D has been consistently putrid for 7 years now….What you saw yesterday reflects that consistency….Not too early at all….It’s just business as usual with his D.

[chinngiskhaan]

That may be true, but we don’t know that any more than we did at the end of last season. This game meant very little.

[D T]

You’re not listening to me….NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN SEVEN YEARS….And you believe things will magically turn around this year with the identical coach in charge? That’s just plain ignorant.

[chinngiskhaan]

Here you go again mischaracterizing what I’m saying. Strawman arguments aren’t going to get you anywhere. I’m not claiming that anything has changed, magically or otherwise. I’m simply suggesting that this game is not proof that they haven’t changed. It’s the first game of the season. We know from watching our own team that first games are not an indication of how a defense will perform in the future.

[D T]

But we have a history of elite defenses under our current DC….Grinch has a 7 year history of atrocious defenses….So it was logical that we’d improve last year & that USC won’t this year.

Just admit you were wrong & move along already.

[2008 National Champ]

have you ever admitted any time you were wrong? asking for a friend.,,

[D T]

You’re asking the wrong person….I’m not that guy.

You on the other hand have a storied history of always being “right”….You’re definitely that guy.

[rbmw263]

until we stop sucking on the road i am somewhat afraid of every single road game.

[Trojan209]

To be fair this year they rotated a lot of players including freshmen on the lines throughout the game. According to Riley nearly every offensive possession had a different group of players. They kinda treated it like a spring game. They might not do that against Nevada but we’ll see.

[rbmw263]

can anybody explain why Riley doesnt understand the only thing standing between him and a title is having a elite DC?

[NarfUte]

Either Grinch has dirty pics of Riley or Riley knows as much about good defense as he does about good brisket