USC Exhales Into Bye Week

In one of the best games (fan pov) in quite some time, the Trojans came up just a bit short in losing to a good Utah Ute team on the road. Long opening sentence. Utah got punched in the mouth early, and at one point, there was a feeling they would go down, and it would be ugly. But that was short-lived. USC allowed the Utes to regroup and get back in the game and make this the game it was. Exciting back and forth. Both teams could be shaking their heads on defense, as 80+ points is unacceptable. Big C- to both teams on the defensive side.

USC has to figure out, and the coaches own this, how they allowed 16 directed passes to not only be completed but create a hero in the Utah TE Kincade. That is like Animal House and the infamous scene, "Thank you, sir! May I have another?". How, in this day and age of communication high in the sky and down on the field, can this happen? Utah played the game to stop it, and we will change, but USC chose not to stop it and focus on the TE. Beyond my understanding of how an adjustment wasn't made early, if ever. The big game changer here. Now maybe had we done something (anything), Cam would have chosen another target, but for the love of God, why wasn't that even attempted?

Defensive tackling took a step back. They were getting to the point of attack well but not wrapping up, and it was across the board. This is something I have to believe the bye week will emphasize.

Injuries are a part of football. USC has had its share, and early reports from Lincoln Riley seem to position Addison and Gentry as not serious and day-to-day. All good and a welcome relief.

Looking forward to a weekend off, but some really good games between Oregon and UCLA should be worth a look or two. I personally have some honey-do lists building up, so I, for one, will start knocking those off during the 2-week break!

Fight On