5-1

[jjc2009]

5-1. Overall they played well. The defensive game plan in the second half was too conservative and allowed Slovis to pick them apart and Stepp & co. To run wild but two things impressed me, Doeher came up huge, 3 FG 40, 43, 52 (career long by far) and the pong clock killing running drive for the last TD.

In the end it was closer than if needed to be but any win over USC is a good one.

On to those skunkweasels in two weeks.

 

[craigk217]

Agree with OP. Those SC WRs just outclassed our secondary with their size & athleticism in that second half and that was my biggest concern with this game after having watched USC play other games this season. Glad the clock ran out, cuz the Mo was definitely with USC in that second half. Glad Book had the moxie to come up with key plays on those last drives in answering SC's TDs.

Gotta say … scary that Slovis & Stepp are only freshmen. We'll have to deal with those guise for years to come, if they stick around and stay healthy.

 

[Irish7478]

Agree with OP. Those SC WRs just outclassed our secondary with their size & athleticism in that second half and that was my biggest concern with this game after having watched USC play other games this season. Glad the clock ran out, cuz the Mo was definitely with USC in that second half. Glad Book had the moxie to come up with key plays on those last drives in answering SC's TDs.

Gotta say … scary that Slovis & Stepp are only freshmen. We'll have to deal with those guise for years to come, if they stick around and stay healthy.

the annoying thing about Stepp is that he is from Indiana. I would love to have him in our backfield. But it is always fun when ND beats USC.

 

[idseer]

well ..... they played "as well as they could" i suppose. certainly not playoff team stuff tho. usc, in addition to not even being ranked AND playing in south bend, usc was also banged up bad and still managed to outplay nd for large portions of this game. nd didn't even come near the point spread. i guess i'm just stupid for expecting nd to be better than they are. i don't think this was a good win at all. it was just a win.

what i am surprised at is that georgia actually dropped below them in the polls this week. i am NOT, however, surprised they were passed by psu after their squeaker vs iowa.

 

[jjc2009]

the annoying thing about Stepp is that he is from Indiana. I would love to have him in our backfield. But it is always fun when ND beats USC.

He was committed to ND at one point. Apparently there were academic issues keeping him from being admitted. He’s got a chip on his very broad shoulders because of it. I’m amazed he only got 10 carries. It’s decisions like that which will cost Helton his job

 

[socaljim242]

Just wanted to congratulate you guys on your teams win. I felt that momentum was on the Trojans side at the end and they came close to pulling an upset. I know a lot of USC fans are bitching about the BS roughing the passer call (I think it was too) but USC didn't do themselves any favors by not getting it going earlier and not waiting till they were a couple scores behind. You're right about Stepp. Kids a beast and should have gotten the ball more but Helton isnt' Pete in many ways and one is he will play upper classmen even when a freshman is clearly a better option. If Daniels had never gotten hurt we probably never would have never seen Slovis and I think USC has a really good QB for the next cpl of years with him.
Good luck the rest of the way.

 

[jjc2009]

Just wanted to congratulate you guys on your teams win. I felt that momentum was on the Trojans side at the end and they came close to pulling an upset. I know a lot of USC fans are bitching about the BS roughing the passer call (I think it was too) but USC didn't do themselves any favors by not getting it going earlier and not waiting till they were a couple scores behind. You're right about Stepp. Kids a beast and should have gotten the ball more but Helton isnt' Pete in many ways and one is he will play upper classmen even when a freshman is clearly a better option. If Daniels had never gotten hurt we probably never would have never seen Slovis and I think USC has a really good QB for the next cpl of years with him.
Good luck the rest of the way.

USC played its most fundamentally sound game all year and took advantage of ND’s conservative defense in the second half.
If they play that way the rest of the year they won’t lose another game.

Next year in the Coliseum will be rough.

 

[poewelch84]

USC played its most fundamentally sound game all year and took advantage of ND’s conservative defense in the second half.
If they play that way the rest of the year they won’t lose another game.

Next year in the Coliseum will be rough.

I didn't care for how conservative the defense was in the second half but really most of the game.

 

[jjc2009]

I didn't care for how conservative the defense was in the second half but really most of the game.

I think they effectively dialed up more pressure in the first half but it felt like Kelly was playing with his lead as he often does he starts playing not to lose. The mandate was to keep Pittman and Vaughns from going off. That meant the run D was sacrificed and Amon Ra got more touches. But Vaughns I think was blanked in the first half and Pittman (let’s run up the score) got 4 catches for 29 yards the whole game.

 

[poewelch84]

I think they effectively dialed up more pressure in the first half but it felt like Kelly was playing with his lead as he often does he starts playing not to lose. The mandate was to keep Pittman and Vaughns from going off. That meant the run D was sacrificed and Amon Ra got more touches. But Vaughns I think was blanked in the first half and Pittman (let’s run up the score) got 4 catches for 29 yards the whole game.

Oh they limited the WR's but that isn't going to always work against USC

 

[Irish7478]

Oh they limited the WR's but that isn't going to always work against USC

although we made Stepp look like a Heisman Trophy candidate, luckily Helton decided to only let him carry the ball 10 times. With that being the case, I think it made sense to try to limit the wide outs. (If I were an SC fan, I’d be looking to fire Helton simply for his refusal to use Stepp more). I always expect a close game against So Cal, and pretty much got what I expected. Now we get to look forward to Michigan. I will be making my first trip to a Michigan game this year.