8-1 is 8-1. Top 10 rank and probably top 7 in the playoff hunt. Likely going to be 9-1 at the apex of the season. From 4-8, the greatest turnaround in the country. Very nice.
Game was an abortion. That defense is painful to watch. Those tips aren't INT anymore.
Having said that, Michael Jackson is a revelation. Mario and CJ Williams will be back next year. They have two top WR coming in. Think Jerry Rice's kid and couple others come back next year too. Raleek Brown likely will be a Home Run threat then.
Not sure what they will do for a running game. Nor do I see how to patch together a D. Their OL actually I think will be OK. Looks like they will be returning about 4 guys who got starts this year there.
Caleb Williams is quite the weapon. Having everything center around him is risky, But if he stays on his feet, he alone will be really hard to stop. His biggest opponent is his own greed. He's so talented he thinks he can score on every play. So he gets greedy and creates negative situations. But nice problem to have. A guy who can make almost any play at any time.
USC should not have to survive against UA or Cal so that doesn't inspire confidence. But this is a program headed in the right direction. I would think they will have their pick of solid RB or solid OL this year. Not sure what DL will want to come but it's a lot less of a rebuild than it was a year ago. Think rather than building a roster, they will be filling in holes.
Helton didn't recruit defense or OL very well and how many of his players were asked to leave the program, 25 ? You can't expect miracles on defense when you have few talented players and one of your DB coaches, Williams, can't coach. The turnaround is amazing BUT it could not have been done without the portal, PC's turnaround of the program still stands as the most amazing thing I've ever seen, he didn't inherit much talent and he had no portal to pick from like Riley.
Riley has recruited some defensive players from HS for next year, I'm sure he'll hit the portal for more defense and I'll bet that Williams isn't coaching at USC next year.
I feel confident we are going to score every time we have the ball. I feel the same way about the offense of pretty much any team against our defense. 8-1 and top ten is a great spot to be in. I wouldn’t have believed USC would be in this spot when the season started. USC with a better record than ATM or Bama and ranked in top 10
Thank you Lincoln Riley !
Perfectly put. Just good enough to beat all the opponents so far, if not put them away. But since we'll be playing better competition, after CO this weekend, the sterling record could take a hit or two
The defense is utter garbage at this point. Getting mauled by bad teams and making every QB look like Tom Brady in his prime. No killer instinct. Riley continues to ignore special teams which cost him tonight and could have lost the game. Some of the play calls with the low percentage passes brings back memories of Fade. Even if they get everyone healthy for UCLA I can't see them winning that game unless their plus 3 in turnovers. I wonder if they will manage to keep Colorado in the game into the 2nd half.
I can easily see voters only bumping up USC 1 spot in the polls this week to #8. USC is NOT a playoff team. NFW. That defense is poor,,,, or playing poor. Would you want to play Georgia? Michigan? How about Ohio St, lol. Nah…. Just saying. I’m happy with the season and the direction of the program. Need to keep building in order to have a chance next year.
With all the problems we have defensively the one game we lost to a good team on the road was STOLEN
from us . So I don’t feel bad about squeezing by some poor teams the way we have. We deserve to be 8-1 IMHO.
Postgame Riley will say absolutely nothing
He won't address injuries or why guys didn't play.
And he will tell us he's as proud of this game as any win they've had this year Gritty gutty win. That Bear team is a really good, really underrated team. Blah blah blah