USC vs. Utah State Carcast: Postgame Reaction to USC Football

e e e e rain of try hotline Alicia Michael what's going on we know you have takes we have takes I'm actually surprised that your rant line raid line whatever isn't completely full why can't we just win a game can I blame Michael Castillo for this can I blame Bob Connelly for this can I put on a zebra shirt and just go out there scratch claw up against the wall can't explain that what I'm feeling right now guys I can't believe it let's open up that [Music] race woohoo oh I can't believe USC is is 7 and five again oh [Music] [Applause] no Hello everybody welcome back to R of radio is the carcast after USC's 48 to nothing 48 nothing a shut out a win over the Utah State Aggies at a darken Coliseum because of some lighting issues uh with power outages uh but we have the power here at least as long as we hope we don't want to jinx anything uh going to talk about the game and so much more as always you can follow us on Twitter rof Troy like us on Facebook facebook.com rof try call in to the raveline 818 643 7227 second WB show I'm your host Michael Castillo join with my co-host here in the r of Troy studio in Los angelis Alicia therea hello everybody hello we're back we are with uh a new little score graphic on the top of the screen uh looking sharp meant to have this up uh last week for for LSU we we didn't have it in time but now we do which is a perfect time because SC gets the first shut out since 2011 and D Lyn didn't take long to get it did he game two I I I okay it was Utah State it was Utah State it was Utah State it was was Utah State yeah it was Utah State it was Utah State it was Utah State but you know in our in our Discord channel uh it was Kyle who said uh that this team feels different and I that's been stuck in my head ever since he since he wrote it this team feels different that shout that that shut out is is different Angelo in the chat thank you for changing my life dant Lynn like that's there was a great the meme was going around uh on um last week after the LSU game uh where it was that Meme where it's like um thank you for changing my life in one panel and the next is I'm just Danton Lynn um big big UPS to to Tim and LA with the big super chat you guys are awesome oh yes Tim you are awesome thank you so much he says a shout out yeah our friend to that our friend uh Will Robinson famously of USC football.com back in the day um in in our little friend chat uh the offense has been able to score at will against lesser teams the defense hasn't been able to stifle lesser teams in a long while and I think that's the the takeaway here because yeah you're you're right it's it's Utah State like like nobody's crowning SC um this game doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things that way but I go back to what we talked about last week we said that you know all the things that we were saying out after the LSU game was sort of like besides the point of the score like the big takeaways they can tackle Miller Moss looks good uh the the defensive line was great they were stopping the Run they were great on third down all of those things were true regardless of how the game ended right today all those things that you can say all the big takeaways like the score is like one of the lower things um and more importantly it's like I think the the score is noteworthy because SC hasn't done this in forever because SC you you look just go through the years last year San Jose State scored 28 two years ago r scored 14 not that 14 is a lot but it's more than it's more than zero it's more than zero yeah uh you know you just go back through the years 2019 SC gave up 23 to Fresno State 2018 21 to UNLV holding teams to zero has not happened in a long long long time like that's what makes this sort of you know different it does make it different and and I think you're right to point out that it's it's the way that they're doing it I had a friend texting me going like is this impressive if it's just Utah State and I was like yes it's it's impressive because yeah it's the way they're going about it it's it's the these aren't empty calories um the the defense I mean we've seen USC jump out to Big leads against other teams you thinking of like Stanford last year and Standford last year in the first half was one of the one of the most fun first halfes that I can remember in a long time just on pure dominance but the second half you know once you started clearing the benches and and getting deeper into the depth they started giving up points and they and they weren't doing things on offense and it just it just sort of deflated the performance in this one the defense after they took out the starters was just as good as when they had the starters in was doing everything right just the same they were tackling just as well they were positioned just as well they were you know doing their jobs just as well they were they were getting off blocks and and and clogging up rushing lanes and just every little bit was just as good as the Frontline guys and the Frontline guys have been pretty damn good um over the past two weeks and again it's it's so hard to say when it comes to Utah State and even LSU like you know LSU we don't know how good LSU is this year they they struggled with niichel State I think they might have um a buyin problem with Brian Kelly at the moment so I I sure I don't want to like draw you know USC plays a role in that you know in in in feeding into those into those feelings for LSU so it's it's hard to sort of draw conclusions about what this means on the grander scheme for USC right um but I I keep going back to what Kyle said in the in in our Discord this team feels different this defense feels different this defense feels put together in a way that I cannot remember being the case since the peak Carol days and it's almost like like I've watched a lot of college football since then and I've watched Georgia and Alabama and all those teams play really good really good defense but it was always sort of from a detached perspective because I'm not a fan of those teams I'm not invested in those teams sure and like I I think I forgot what it felt like to watch a defense with investment play like this because they're they they're they're different it feels different well you and I were talking to in the game like SC is tackling every single time that the few times that they miss a tack there's somebody else there to make the tackle and the followup right like I I had gotten to the point where I just I I it felt like I was living in a post tackling Society right like like I had come to the conclusion you know what just yeah doesn't tackle but like nobody tackles right like isn't the meme that you know Texas doesn't tackle and Oklahoma doesn't tackle Miami doesn't tackle like nobody T like this is the thing like nobody tackles right like nobody tackles anymore nobody knows how to do it and then you see how just two games in and you know I'm try not to get ahead of ourselves through two games but it's just such a stark contrast to see a a third and six and there's a throw for four yards and they're getting close to the first down marker and you just know that they're not going to get it and knowing that they're not going to get it is is weird it it's it's weird to sit there uh and watch it um th at what point did did you think that a the shut out was really going to happen and did when did you have doubts if any that the shutout would happen after you thought about it that make sense I tweeted at some point I tweeted at some point that I'm really invested in the shut out now and I think it was probably coming back from from halftime uh or sometime in the third quarter but because it was like that it was it was it was the thing where USC has shut out teams in the first half before played reasonably good defense in the first half in terms of at least scoring allowed and then you know in a blowout you just sort of expect them to take their foot off the gas in terms of of the way that the def like just the defensive foot on the gas kind of stuff and it just didn't it didn't feel like that was happening and so yeah in the third quarter I think it did start to materialize that no like even as they're bringing in more and more backups they're getting the job done just as well and then obviously at the end I had sort of given up I I I'd sort of said okay they're gonna kick the field goal here and I guess we just have to hope that it's College kickers but even the best part about that just think about the way that the defense responded to that last drive when these are all like not just backups these are like third and fourth string Guys these are freshman these are guys who probably aren't going to play very much this year uh and the and Utah state is is is getting closer and closer they get into into reasonable field goal range and I'm just like well you got to hope for the kicker to miss it and then they just generate a bunch of negative plays and basically take them out of range and that's how the sh shut out happens like it was a very active shut out for that unit to come out and and end up in a position position where you probably lost the shut out and then to snatch it right back like I loved the response and then you see the then you see the reaction on the sideline you see Danton Lynn being pumped up you see Eric Gentry like looking like USC had just beat LSU on that sideline because they kept the shout out like this is something that USC was missing in last year and the year before in that that's like that's team building you know like the ability to celebrate together like that right is it deepens connections within within a locker room within a team and the defense hasn't been able to do that very much I mean the offense has had to has been able to do it plenty because the offense has been great but the defense has not had those moments and you could see that not quite the lack of those moments but just everything piling up on the defense weigh them down as the seasons went on with defense getting worse and wor wor and worse instead of better yeah and it feels like this defense has positive momentum that for all intents and purposes you have to believe is going to carry through because I mean I don't know what this what this team is going to look like when they get to um you know Wisconsin or Penn State or Nebraska even Washington but Michigan's the next game up and we spent a lot of time today today talking about Michigan that game is primed for this defense to show out again if the defense tackles the way they tackled today and last Sunday if the defense pursues the way they pursued today and last Sunday if the defense holds their ground in the trenches the way they did today and obviously much easier today than last Sunday but if they simply repeat what they've done in these last two days they can do to Michigan's offense what te did to Michigan's offense now yeah we're going to have a lot of conversations about the Michigan game and whether or not USC's offense will hold up stand up to to Michigan's defense the way that Texas did that's a whole other question but defensively we've seen two Stellar games from this defense and I have every reason to believe they're going to put together a third because I simply do not think that Michigan has the offense that's actually going to test this this I mean quite frankly you can make an argument that Utah State's offense is more dangerous and has more dangerous Playmakers than than Michigan now I'm not gonna go that far I'm just saying H die that's not a hill to die on but it's a thought but Bri okay if Bryson Barnes was at Michigan right now is he started is he in competition to start I mean I I don't know the the the fact that you don't know and then it it it is a hypothetical is damning but I I don't want to talk about Michigan don't I don't want we'll have plenty of time to talk about Michigan yeah we have plenty of time there but I you mentioned LSU and LSU struggling this week against Nicholls I think it's interesting because the more I was thinking about it especially as the day went on you know Notre Dame loses to Northern Illinois uh Penn State nearly nearly loses to Bowling Green uh we we saw um uh who who else um there's Michigan obviously got blown out by Texas so Iowa loses to Iowa State yeah Kansas uh loses to um to somebody Oregon barely survives Boise Alabama barely survives James Madison us was in a squeaker with Garner web um Liberty barely Sur survived New Mexico a lot of these games right and like I think that you know Bowling Green in Penn State yeah I I had this thought like you know 7:30 before the kickoff I'm like you know maybe we're Overlook like it's been a shaky week too around the country maybe we're overlooking the the a the emotional letdown of that was a big game in week one and now it's a step back Michigan is the next game is this the the let down look ahead sandwich at the solid verbal we're talking about yeah um it's also six days rest uh Lincoln Riley said in his interview with with keor before before the game that like last week was a very emotional game so you got to sort of recharge from that all the things were there for this to maybe not be the blowout that it was but it was and and I and I think that that's another thing that you know is another huge check mark in the favor of the Trojans is that like all those little things that um could have would have maybe should have uh been a hindrance weren't and on top of that it was the best defensive performance in a decade in terms of the score line uh in terms of yardage it's sc's best uh defensive performance uh in a decade uh first time since 2014 that they held somebody to under 200 yards um way back to uh Oregon State in 2014 it everything sort of came together uh another big shout outs we got we got a couple more uh super chats hokey PE coming in big um uh we had another one up here earlier that I missed a minute ago from because you sent out a roll call of the sh went crazy of from Irvine Irvine cattle ranch so much more fun when when both of you when you are both happy fight on fight on uh longtime listener it's nice to see it's nice to see the uh the whole crowd in there it's it's midnight it's about to turn midnight we did pull put out a roll call into the chat um say where you guys tuning in from it's midnight in La it's about to turn midnight in LA and yet we've got people from Pennsylvania Washington State Texas Denver Vegas Arizona West LA um San Diego Orange County uh there's people from all over the all over the place in here um and I think that well a lot of a lot of folks in Texas it's it's a it's a testament to SC fans being pumped up um you know about the Trojans being able to put everything together get a big 48 to nothing win over the uh the the Utah State agies um Lisa let's let's walk through this uh let's talk about the offense here um jorgans get had I would say a very balanced performance 544 yards 295 through the air 249 on the ground uh Jaden mava came in got 66 yards uh through the air he also ran for seven yards and a sevenard touchdown run at the start of that fourth quarter uh Miller Moss uh 21 of 30 22 29 touchdown not his best game um didn't need to be he took care of business yeah all I needed to see from Miller Moss was that gorgeous uh drop it in on a dime out out to the left to who was it to um uh it was to Woody marks on a wheel rout Woody marks on a wheel route yeah between three dudes probably a pass he shouldn't have made except if except he he had to put it in the perfect spot he did you if you can deliver it that accurately yeah then you you get to make that pass and he's now done that two games in a row he did it was it was a similar to the Past he pulled off against LSU so you you know what like more power to him if he can if he can make that throw make that throw um I thought Miller looked looked great I I I uh again yeah it was an understated performance he didn't need to be special I think his performance is going to be overshadowed by that little Cameo we saw from from Jaden Maya in terms of what we remember from this game offensively uh but Miller what more do you want from Miller he he just goes out and gets the job done and looks like the the picture of of composure um and I think and I I want to commend him and and the offense and I mean the whole team for avoiding the pitfalls of like buying into their own uh you know reading their own headlines and and buying into their own um you know just juice from the from the LSU game yeah they very clearly came out and just again workmanlike took care of business in this one I I I think the other thing though is that it wasn't the perfect offensive performance because and not being nitpicky here because it it didn't need to be perfect but um I thought they the play calling was a little bit conservative um in the Red Zone uh a lot of screens um not just in the Red Zone but a lot of screens in general uh we know that those screens are very I was listening very effective I was well those screens are very effective but I was listening to the victory podcast uh with uh key Ur and and Cody Kesler which is awesome every week they're very worth a listen um but they were talking about whether or not USC would open up the Play would would sort of open up the book and pull out a bunch of trick plays to try and set up Michigan for having to to practice about those yeah the answer is no or uh be conservative and sort of keep it limited and Cody talked about how you know from a from a player perspective like the the company line is that you're just going to go out there and focus on the on the team ahead of you andever whatever but uh Kessler admitted that when you're playing this kind of team and you're an offensive you know genius the way that Steve sarkeesian was and Lane kein and Lincoln Riley is in that is certainly in that category you are looking to set up future opponents and I fully believe that some of these screens that are big annoyances to us and maybe this is just me Galaxy braining the hell out of this but some of these screens have felt so telegraphed and overused in these games in this game in particular that I have to believe that Lincoln Riley is setting up something yeah he wants Michigan's Defenders to think they see something and then he's gonna hit him with a with a cross Ron muray in the chat says they did run a Flea Flicker they did uh drop by by m lemon maai lemon did score on one of those screens too I I think it also helped that Utah state was dropping eight playing too high um too high safeties to try to take away the Deep stuff and keep everything in front of him I I thought it was probably the right move defensively from Utah State sort of make SC earn it and SE did earn it right like we saw longer drives a little bit more methodical in that sense uh fewer big chunk plays than last week against LSU and like I said it didn't need to be revolutionary uh especially when SC was able to run the ball and 249 yards 37 carries five rushing touchdowns 249 yards the most the Trojans have had in a game since 2018 that's six years ago uh long time Woody marks the first 100 yard first half runner since since Rojo that was a stat that BTN threw out there yeah this this was um I love seeing USC just say screw it we're just gonna run the ball because I mean in the preview episode we talked about how this defensive front the biggest guy in that defensive front is 280 pounds like this is not going up against LSU this is a team that you can assert your will against uh in in that regard and USC didn't mess around they just they put the ball in the hands of the running backs and let them and let them go to work and it was really nice to see Woody marks go to work and Quinton Joiner had a couple of really nice uh nice moments I mean the the one where he spun out of a tackle and then Miller Moss was was upfield being a blocker for him that was spectacular I'm sad he didn't score a touchdown because that would have been a hell of a a highlight play uh that we could play overall all season for Miller Moss but um I thought the really interesting thing here was that Brian Jackson seven carries rb3 which I wouldn't have necessar I mean there's been a lot of really really good things said about Brian Jackson so I'm not necessarily surprised that we saw him here but I would have guessed that the pecking order was a little bit different I would have guessed that amaran Peterson would be just on seniority would be up there so Brian Jackson being the third back out there um unless unless this was just about they plan to red shirt him and they figured they'd get him as many carries as they can which I I don't know if I totally buy what I'm selling there on that but like I like the way the kid looked and he's a big dude I think I think that um having the the 21 on on his jersey makes the comparisons to Alan Bradford for me I I know I think people could say lend o white sure sure but Jackson just looks looks Jackson looks taller yeah uh and I always think of of of Bradford as being a very upright runner in that sense too and yeah he looked good I was most impressed with Quinton Jer myself yeah I just thought he was so jittery uh silky being able to make some little stutter steps uh and and he was so good at that uh you know and also good good against K I thought he was he was um driving through contact and and yeah creating more opportunities for himself by by not just making the firstman Miss but making the first man miss and then shaking off the the next man yeah uh Woody marks added 39 yards uh in the past game which which which was helpful uh let's talk about the receivers here uh it was the tight end game uh you you you had the over under for tight end catches I think at five and a half we'll talk about that more in the Fallout episode episod on Monday but uh safe to say that wasn't over uh yeah Lake McCree led the Trojans in receiving uh four catches 81 yards uh but Walker Lions um the the man who was on the mission in Norway uh was on the mission in down the field I guess uh three catches 13 yards uh we saw Kate Aldridge out there for a catch can we talk about the receiving the receiving chart 14 this receiving chart is absurd because okay the receiving chart goes in the order of number of catches not like number of yards so yeah usually though th those numbers aren't that like they're not that out of order sure but this one they're all out of order like McCree has 81 which is Far and Away the most but then you know branch has four for 19 and markx has three for 39 and lemon has three for 23 Lions has three for 13 and then Kyle Ford comes in with two for 35 which is like the third leading receiver on the team uh jacobe Lane only two for 16 uh Jay fair two for three uh Jaden Richardson one for 19 Kiren Hudson one for 16 um Char Ross Charles Ross one for 11 Kate Aldridge one for 11 Quinton Joiner one for nine like these are this is just like a wild um wild receiving it's all over the place and I think that I think the screen game and getting the backs in there certainly helped and look at all those Yak yards again we talked about the screen I love that this is what I love about stat broadcast but um we talked a lot about how many screens us ran 205 of USC's 295 receiving yards were yards after catch yeah that that's a lot lot lot of lot of screen game um Samir in the chat says are we going to ignore the wide receiver drops no I think we got we got to talk about those um we mentioned Miller Moss didn't have the the the greatest game didn't need to be he two more touchdown he he missed a couple of shots to to douche Robinson where douche Robinson needed to be uh nine feet tall instead of 8 feet tall um and then so you add on that on to the the times where there were drops uh a key drop from um uh jacobe Lane um who only had two catches in the game could have had a third in in the end zone just didn't catch it then the the second drop who who was the second drop was it Zachariah Branch yeah Branch um on the on the little little screen screen to the left one one to the right dropped one to the left were thinking about running before catching yeah jayen Richardson dropped one late but dropping the two touchdowns early in the first half I think um was you know a sort of a a mark on the offense because at one point 's first five drives all of them could have scored probably should have been finish off with touchdowns but three of them weren't because Lake McCree fumbles uh and then there's those two Dro touchdown passes that SC has to settle for field goals that was there was a discussion on the on the Discord I think about how the lake McCree fumble like dude has he's just got to have better ball security has to know that Defenders are going to catch up to him from behind because he's just not that fast yeah um but we talked about that in the Discord about how like in the grand scheme of things you'd rather have these learning lessons against Utah State than later so you got to think Lake McCree will be more alert to uh to that kind of um you know fumble potential Zachariah branch and jacobe Lane will both have to remember to catch the ball and then run um you know just I mean against LSU Kiron Hudson the drops that he had like again those were the same thing he he had to learn that lesson these guys have to learn that lesson and I'd rather have them learn that lesson in this game where the big it's not gonna hurt yeah then at the big house or against Penn State or against one of those so it is nice to see um not nice to see it is useful for some of those mistakes to come up in this game sure because they can definitely be teaching moments yes however it's only useful as long as you actually as long as they learn improve which brings us to the tackling because we got to have a conversation about the tackling because that was the thing that frustrated everybody and their mother over the last two years and further back but let's say specifically in the in the uh person who stole Christmas era um every single week it was like are they practicing tackling yes they're practicing tackling like that yeah they're they're they're working on tackling yeah they're working on tackling yeah they're working on tackling yeah and you never saw Improvement on the tackling and then dant Lynn and this new staff comes in and in the course of nine months turns a bad tackling team into a stellar tackling team and I want to know what the heck did they do well we we know what happens usually when things take nine months to arrive what did they do what what I I would love to know because it's it's nice to see a defense put a focus on something and say we're gonna be excellent at this yeah and then be excellent at it yeah like like like we said it's it's development and if you can come back back from you know the catches and improve on those things and I I think the the only thing people want to see uh I think PE people we can talk about expectations and all those things but I think it's very simple for the most part people want to see your team playing hard uh they want to see your team get better and develop and they they want to see they they want to see a a an attempt to to win an attempt to go forward all those things those are just the very basic tenants if you do all of those things the that's such a head start in being able to get fans behind you and no matter what sport it is right like it can be like rage for all I care I I'm sure the people who love watching the Royals jump up and do the Dr stuff whatever they do um think about the same thing they're like I I need to I need to see this horse develop getting over that hurdle right and SC has been slowly but surely uh I say slowly it's it's already week two uh defensively getting over those hurdles that they weren't able to get to last year or the year before and we can say just the Grinch era but I I think it's it's selling the the the thing short a little bit talking about about the defense just being the Alex Grinch stuff because we talked after 2011 2021 that that was the worst defense we had ever seen in our lives they can't possibly be worse right they have to be better under Alex Grinch and they weren't and then we said it again after 2022 they can't possibly be worse than that yeah and and they were again um we said it again going into 2024 and finally it is true with with d Lyn they couldn't be worse uh and not only that they are significantly better holding Utah State to zero points first time since 2011 let's take a quick break uh for our Audio Only listeners and come right back and talk more about USC and the defense shall we Elisa I I want to mention something about the defense here um you said that you loved scene on that last drive from mut State the team rallying around high-fiving pumped up you know making the the the tackle on on third down to force the the really long field goal attempt which was which was well wide to the left and ultimately sealing the the shutout I you said you haven't seen that in a while I I want to push back on that slightly we we saw it two years ago under he should not be named defensively against Fresno State you remember the last Drive the last play of the game yeah yeah but do you remember the other thing do you remember the other thing about that game it it was that was they already had we we talked about it being a good defensive performance for SC that night against Fresno State that night SC gave up 17 points 257 yards um all of those things are way more than they gave up tonight uh it I think it talk it speaks to just how low the expectations are that that was impressive to see back then yeah and now being able to see yeah the holding teams to to being able to hold somebody to zero you know is a thing I think we I talked about last week that you look at what other teams are able to do in in week one you had all those teams shut out guys right like Al Alabama shut out Western Kentucky uh all those teams shut out people and you're like yeah it'd be cool if seie does that seie never does that but it'd be cool if they did they did well I remember I I don't know if I said it on the on the preview show but I I I remember having conversation at some point this week about how like now would be a great time to have a shut out like to prove that that defensive performance against LSU was was real right because a lot of what a lot of what my anxiety about the LSU performance which the LSU performance was awesome and I absolutely loved every second of it well maybe not every second of it but um it felt it felt very real and I my anxiety has been born out of what we've seen at USC over the past few years is like right in September we have had some false Dawn defensively and it's been like oh this is the year that the defense comes together this is the year that the defense comes together um and I I feel like I've just been bracing for going into the into this game I feel like I was bracing for the reality check because so many teams around college football today got a huge reality check right um and I mean you know Alabama one of those teams you named who against Western Kentucky had a performance and then they come out against USF and suddenly everything is just not working for them and um I uh I was very relieved to see that all of the things that we saw against LSU carried over in this game in a in their own sort of impressive way because Utah state is not LSU um Bryson Barnes is sure certainly not Garrett nus Meer um there there's no way he was the same dude right ryson Barnes yeah last year it it was cam Rising that was that was in his jersey right like they swapped bodies or something they they did um uhing didn't wear the knee brace did the astral projection that's in in behind her eyes and and uh spoiler alert god geeez um no but that yeah that's the thing is like we've seen this same quarterback look like quite effective against a USC team and suddenly he was not effective and and even is it's beyond that because you know the the running back uh razul um uh fison fison yeah that dude has some juice that that dude can run he's quick he's he's slippery um he can get going I was ready for him to break off a run at some point in this game and he never really did and that's a testament to the defense doing their job not just well but like consistently because I think we've seen that from USC's even USC defenses in the recent past that were capable of of getting stops and and playing well um they lose their focus every once in a while and to give up a big big play or something like that and that's that's not what this team has done in either of these two games uh and and against players that are certainly capable of punishing any laps in in concentration yeah and I think it helps that this defense seems to have an immense immense amount of depth because the secondary is absurdly deep the defensive line Looks like defensive front looks like they are very comfortable with you know shifting guys out there uh platooning in a in a sense um the linebackers even without Mason Cobb today I mean we may okay there are some conversations that are going to have to be had about how do you manage all of these players who seem to be all playing very well and keep them all happy not just keep them all happy but like keep them all um part like maximize all of them at the same time because I think it's good though yeah it's great but like how do you take Eric Gentry off the field at this point I you you do it by like you you play college balll 25 I mean Warn and torn is a thing yeah I mean you you turn up the worn and torn sliders when you turn up the the the auto sub sliders to Max at linebacker so that like you can switch out between the the three e mascarenas Arnold Eric Gentry and Mason Cobb but like yeah Mason Cobb was immense against LSU Eric Gentry was immense in this game and against LSU um I think East mascarinas Arnold is is allowing those guys to do to have a lot of those more flashy plays and and he's sort of doing the quiet work we always talked about um in the 2016 defense who was it that was doing all the quiet work Anthony s Anthony Saro yeah you always got to have an Anthony Sero on in any good defense yeah but I'm not trying to to the difference Dam e m e mascar Arnold with fate pra here but the difference is Anthony Sero you wouldn't notice him on the field and you'd see that he had four tackles and you're like but I don't remember a single one of those yeah uh EMA had seven tackles and yeah they weren't as flashy and as memorable as all the plays that Eric Gentry was out there disrupting but it's not the same thing it's it's it's not the same thing uh the other thing I think is is fascinating or I think it's going to be really interesting to see how this defense uh is able to shuffle those guys around and cobs back in there is we know that this this defense has flexibility we know that they they want to do different fronts shotgun Sprat l USC football.com has done a great job of like trying to you know note all the defensive looks that that SC is sort of thrown out there the times where they go to like a six-man front or a Twan front or whatever it is right um I think all of that versatility the danton's Lynn's ability to disguise the blitz disguise the looks get into different shells all those different things only gets more like comp complex and more advantageous when you have more guys able to play and rotate right like keep them fresh yeah and and you keep them fresh I I think I think it's going to only help things going forward uh Kamari Ramsay three tackles a sack and a tackle for loss I have to say that might have been one of the best three tackle performances I've ever seen we put on Twitter we we will not uh we will not rush to put Kamari Ramsey in the the palalo hufanga tier we will not rush to put Kamari Ramsey in the palalo hufanga tier but he's close he just has he just feels like he belongs there already and that feels insane to say after two games yes but he he feels like the kind of safety that is literally like a literal version of their positional name like yeah he's safe he's the like he he makes you feel safe on the football field because he's going to be in the right spot and he's going to make the play I if uh if he's out the any anytime I see number seven in the field of view I I know that things aren't gonna go wrong in that he reminds me of of Kevin Ellison so much in that way yeah when Kevin Ellison was always around the ball he didn't have to make the big flashy plays and I think that the difference comparing you know Kamar Ramsey to the Paul Malo and hangas those I I don't want to say that they were highlight Merchants they're not highlight merchants in a negative way they were a highlight Merchant in the sense of like they were always making highlights and you you can you can watch a million highlights of what palalo and huanga did it's the same thing we were talking about with the linebackers yeah like I Eric Gentry is someone who's gonna be in all the highlights right um EMA might not be in all the highlights but he's making all the plays too Kamari Ramsey is M was just making so many plays happen even if he's not the guy making the The Tackle to to to get into the stat book uh and be productive that way and I think that great players make other players around them better and Kamar Ramsey is a great example of that just like Kevin Ellison you you go go back and watch the late great Kevin Ellison uh in 2008 I you can argue he's the best player on that defense and he's the one who didn't get the accolades but he made everybody else better around him yes and Cory I think is going to end up being someone who does get the accolades and rightfully so uh because he's also able to you know make make some big plays he had a sack uh and tackle for loss was the sack as Jeff Rodriguez also pointed out just have to have to say e mascar AR got the interception so yeah that's true on the on the on the tip so absolutely uh let let's talk about be Alexander uh mentioned in the chat that that he wasn't exactly uh uh impressive uh Thomas said that he's been kind of underwhelming um he he got a bit of run towards the end a lot of uh run with the uh the thirds of the Freshman your your thoughts there so long as Gavin Meyer and um and Nate Clifton are doing the job that they're doing then I think that that they are a great example for the defensive coaches to show bear what he has to be doing in order to be up there because yeah he has to unseat those guys and those guys are have been impeccable so far yeah uh so to be honest I'm not worried about bear Alexander I would be worried about bear Alexander not standing out if the defensive line needed help desperately yeah or needed somebody to be that guy desperately they don't need somebody to be the bear Alexander of last year right because everybody there is doing their job and everybody there is taking care of business and Gavin Meyer and and Nate Clifton are you know again guys that aren't necessarily going to be on the stat sheet every every game um and they don't need to be in order to be critical critical players in this defense and I think that's where bear is I don't think be is doing a bad job at all I think bear is fading into that group which is I think a surprise to people because PE USC fans have been so used to Bear standing out because of what was around him and now he's not standing out and it's like it's drawing like where's bear where's bear where's bear the fact that he's not standing out does not mean that he's not doing the job because when he's on the field I don't see USC giving up the Run fits yeah there's no let down there let down it's just that when Gavin Meyer and and Nate Clifton are doing the job that they're doing they're going to be first in line and bear is going to have to take a a a background role there but um this is also the nature of this system the defensive tackles are not supposed to be the guys making plays they're supposed to be the guys that are setting up everybody else around them to make plays yeah and that's why you've seen Eric Gentry and Mason Cobb last week uh have the plays that they that they've had that's why you see Anthony Lucas and Jamal Muhammad freed up to make those plays that's why you see the safeties coming up and and making those plays because the defensive tackles are are setting the stage for them and I'm sure that's frustrating for somebody like be Alexander who is immensely talented and capable of creating havoc and has a very very high ceiling but when it when it comes down to it USC doesn't need him to be that player right now and as Jeff points out in the chat too like bear was dealing with injuries during the off season um you know he might just need time to get back up into full form um to to have him start making some of those more high level plays that you want to see from him and elevating his game but like right now again I I don't know that I don't know that USC needs that from him right now yeah so just be patient it's a good it's a good problem to have this is this is not a one forone comparison but just just roll with what I'm trying to say here it in a way it reminds me sort of kind of not really but just go along Zachariah Branch production right like Zachariah branch has not been productive majorly right yeah because the ball has been distributed to everybody else right and and he hasn't been the the the the game plan hasn't been orchestrated in a way to force feed him and make everything go around him that's a good thing like it's it's it's yeah I think you would love to see Zachariah branch have 100 yard games in his belts under his belt and all that stuff but like he hasn't needed to be the guy and it's nice that se is an offense that is very productive without there NE being a person who needs to get his yards right like um bar Alexander is that is that you know equivalent in the sense of like there's other guys making plays too like that's okay it doesn't have to be you know one guy that's out there as well um all right we are going to wrap this this episode up quick or than normal because it is late Alisa you've got a um 5K now was a 10K but now it's a 5k yeah which I'm going to be honest is probably for the best all let's we' we've got a a bunch of questions in the chat so let's rapid fire these things uh and and take it home uh before uh so everyone can everyone on the East Coast can hopefully get to bed uh before 400 a. uh let's open them up the mail bag shall we You've Got Mail all right uh tac tac says F fun factoid tonight is the first game uh in the Lincoln RI Lincoln Riley era ever uh that a Lincoln Riley team has shut out an FBS opponent look at that yeah Lincoln Riley teams have shut out FCS opponents but this is the first FBS yeah uh Joe says uh does cruising this game and taking next week off Lo lose some momentum coming into Michigan I think the biwe is good here I think it is a good opportunity for two reasons a to not let the Texas game affect sc's mind of like see Michigan sucks don't don't overthink them or to to to write off the oh we just got this shut out uh we're Unstoppable like we don't have to work as hard now like any of those things I think the the bye this is a good time to just hit a little bit of a pause button regroup and get ready to go into the game that everyone circled all offseason in in addition to alist year yeah having more time to pre to prepare for the uh going into the big house facing Michigan that's uh you take that absolutely um I don't think that USC should be taking Michigan lightly just because of what happened to to with them with Texas like yeah they need to get ready physically mentally uh for all of that and being more fresh going into that game after two really quality games but still games wear you down and going in fresh is is definitely an advantage I I don't want to talk about Michigan too much really quick though Zess he favored USC will certainly outrank them it um um it might it we might get to the point where SC ends up being favored which is not what you would have thought of you know seven days ago I think we are closer to a world where the max number of points that Michigan will be favored by if they are favored at all is like three yeah like it's it's one of those neutral it's a push but the the home Feld home field gets three but I I I would say based on the performances of these teams for the first two weeks I would say I wouldn't be surprised if Vegas who knows what they're doing um sees what USC's defense is now and says no yeah Angela in the chat says the L's currently nine and a half Michigan that is not that if you can if you can get that n and a half me we're not we're not making uh making suggestions but like that is that that line is not no longer valid uh r bry says how excited are you to see multiple tight ends playing and where was this for the last two years here's what is exciting to me aside from just Lake McCree looking awesome outside of that fumble it's Kate alridge and Walker lions and those guys coming in and blocking really well USC's tight ends are assets as blockers right now in addition to having a very dangerous receiving option in Lake McCree but USC tight ends and blocking has not always been something that has gone very well yeah and it's very nice to see them doing that especially the younger guys it shows you that they're being developed um big uh big props to um uh there are so many hen Hanson's H Hansen yeah Hansen is the offensive line coach Hansen is the tight end slight pet peeve about SC names at one point there were three Elijah on the team and they were all spelled differently yeah there was a Darius Rogers and a khil Rogers both of those Rogers were spelled differently there was uh there was Jaden jayen and and there was one class where there was J Jaylen Watkins and Jaden Williams so all the names whatever it was getting getting confused Fano and nikal on the roster at the same time like what are we doing here and now the coaching staff has a Hensen a Hansen and a Henderson this reminds me of there was a there was a time where the kings were this close to having a Richard Richard Richards Richard Richardson line but they didn't sign Brad Richards than thankfully shame um yeah uh they're still paying Mike Richards though until 2033 because you know anyways uh Graham gave us a Super Chat we didn't say anything I don't think but big shouts to to Graham uh 3: amm here in DC uh 337 now in DC yeah uh Big Ups there and we also just got another Super Chat from Stephen uh who says fight on thank you Stephen yeah and did did we say the other one for Okie PE Okie PE came with the big one did we do that one yeah we got we did we did top jure okay a lot of big big big cheers is T in the chat points out that that we had like three Malachi and they all spelled Malachi different by the way yeah yeah and and last year and Malachi Nelson Malachi Crawford I don't know what my favorite way to spell Malachi is well I learned that I my brain does not like Malachi Crawford's spelling because my brain wants to do Maliki and I recognize that it's Mal though I kind of like that version of Malachi rather than the one that looks like matachi I know it's Malachi I'm not saying it's matachi but like I don't know I kind of like that spell see that's how I feel about Malachi with the K I will say Maris Lee easily my favorite way to spell Maris yeah there's no Q in there there probably should be a q it looks cooler without the Q Mar no you I'm an idiot Mar Maris the way Maris Le spelled it when when it's spelled with the U I can my brain can go to Marquis sure sure uh Samir says no trayon O'Neal minutes no trayon O'Neal no longer with us unfortunately um Tran O'Neal got rest in what was your favorite trayan O'Neal era moment trayan O'Neal had many great moments for me he did he did so you know Big Ups to trayan O'Neal um yeah gone but not forgotten yeah we we will remember you trayon O'Neal uh one of the all-time greatest threes in USC history yes uh you know there's there's plenty of them Carson Palmer kesan Johnson Curtis Conway Jordan Addison and and TR yeah absolutely um boy meets Taco says what happened to be Alexander just won tackle we talked about that earlier I will just reiterate um I would I would resist judging defensive tackle Performance Based on tackle numbers especially in this defense yeah for for for sure Oscar says who's your MVP for today's game my pick is Woody Woody marks I I I like the Woody pick I like the Woody pick but I would love to pick somebody on defense so I'm gonna go with Eric jentre I think it's Eric I I also this is not woody Marx's fault um but I feel like the MVP should play more than one half yeah Woody marks only played one half he didn't need to play anymore it's good that he only played one half um but uh yeah I I would I would say Eric Gentry I think he was there was a moment there in that first half when he was like making a play every single time um Lamont says I've been saying it since he got to SC Eric Gentry is a game changer what do you think changed for him this year I is it obviously the the answer is just the system but like does this is it a position thing or is it a use thing that make sense he looks um very natural in this defense but but everybody else everybody does yeah so uh I think it's just you know I I think there there the system is using him well and he fits and um I think they're putting him in positions to succeed I think they're playing to his strengths and his strengths are many because he's a unicorn and I think that actually you know what it is this system where the defensive line is so so disciplined and and and eating up blockers and and freeing up gaps for the linebackers to go in and make plays MH take some of his size issues away a little bit because he just shooting a gap and and getting in there he also is bigger everybody everybody is bigger and that helps yeah uh L says did did they credit Anthony Lucas with a sack or not no he he didn't get a sack um which is unfortunate because he continues to create to to make it hard on quarterbacks but yeah um just short of he he's going to end up being a PFF God yeah um and and not have the production to get like votes in like all big 10 third te or whatever um because you know people look at the the stat book and there's not much there but he's had a lot of U impact that way you look at the sack numbers 's got three sacks in this game um seven tackles for loss not that many we talked about last year SE was getting way more tackles for loss last year but they were a boom and bust defense uh also only one hurry on top of the three sacks but I feel like Bryson Barnes never had time to do anything so I think there's just a a lot of stuff that just isn't registering as statistics because of whatever reason like like they're they're sc's just in the right place at the right time and sometimes it that doesn't doesn't tick the box of of of a stat and I've never figured out how they calculate QB hurries because USC only got one hurry in this game and I can tell you uh there were some there were definitely some throws that were hurried because of Anthony Lucas in this game and he's not getting the credit for him so my biggest question is what the hell happened in the 80s when tackles were being counted yeah Marcus cotton has a year in like 1985 or something where he had like 200 tackles like on what planet did that happen yeah that doesn't happen anymore like I I I I don't I I don't know um uh like like the tackles were like uh RFI chips you got close all right there's a tackle for you are are you in stat broadcast right now yeah what do you need go into defense yeah my defense just changed to a bunch of names that I don't oh yeah M recognize oh it's it flipped it flipped no wait no nus Me's in there because greedy Vance is on the Utah State Defense but he's also been given 11 tackles I I this is very strange sorry any anyways uh Lamont says how is gav Garrett Meyer he's uh's he's Bing all yeah he looks pretty good on the defensive line talk about I cannot speak more highly of Gavin Meyer and Nate clipon yeah absolutely uh Samir says if you had two game balls who would you give them to at least I gota handle handle this because I do have two balls uh I I I think we we talked about Eric jry gets one H for give one on offense I I I give to Quinton Jord I really like Quinton Jord I think obviously Woody marks had a great game too but I think I I really like Quint joyer what he did tonight uh and no complaints there and Ryan says uh what do you think about uh Mya we didn't talk about mava you look good Jaden Caleb Williams uh light mava um he he's like a skinnier taller Caleb Williams I think it's funny you keep making the Caleb William taller Sam darnold he's wearing 14 the darnold reference is right there I know but like it's the way he he's he's also wearing a speed Flex yeah darnold was a Rell guy ryell whatever here's what I'll say again it is it's Utah State it's Utah State it's Utah State it's Utah State sure it's garbage time it's garbage time it's garbage time it's garbage time you know who you look like and maybe this is just because I watched the air McNair do today yeah you look like Aon McNair A little bit he's not he's not a graceful Scrambler but maybe that's why it looks so much more impressive sure because it's like you don't expect him move like that MC like McNair wasn't graceful per se but uh he's a big dude who was able to you know get the yards and then that helps here's what I'll say I love Miller Moss yeah Miller Moss has been excellent he is an an a great leader he is USC's quarterback and he is thriving and I want to see him continue to thrive yeah but Jaden mava has the skill set that I think Lincoln Riley like prefers with his quarterback because of the the ability to run J Jaden mava would basically bring the read option back in a way that made Caleb Williams very effective because that read option was very effective yeah um I don't think it's I don't think it's Jaden maava time right but if Miller Moss decides to leave after this season which I actually don't think he will but if Miller Moss uh decides to leave Jaden Maya is is the is the guy he looks like the guy o over Lewis yes okay all right um yeah we we we'll see how how all comes to be I thought my Offa looked good um good problem to have all of that kind of stuff I think I I agree with you that in a perfect world obviously you want the fastest strongest biggest armed smartest all those all those check Bar Boxes uh I think millos checks more of but my Ava checks maybe some stylistic stuff that Lincoln would would prefer but like matter at this Mya brings a different a different kind of skill that certainly Lincoln Riley would love to to be able to utilize not enough to unseat that doesn't mean that he's the best quarterback for USC right now the best quarterback for USC right now is absolutely Miller Moss all right uh I think we got to cut it there uh we' we've got an hour and 10 minutes there's 400 people on and it's almost 1:00 am go to sleep you weirdos AB salute dorks that the what what are you doing listen to a couple of uh wait did hold on hold on I wasn't paying attention did Jake Jensen come in on that last drive to take the knees uh I I because this matters uh Ryan in the chat say there was a great Neil um it the stat broadcast just does the team Neil thing the stat broadcast does not know what's going on because in my plays well now it's just 51 was the fin it's got Garrett nus like St broadcast is all messed up but um yeah whatever is going on Jake Jensen did come in we'll have to check the tape yeah it is Jake Jensen yeah well then shouts the Adam Bradford for mentioning on that the that's big for me that's big why because I took the under wait yeah hold on wait a minut minute wait a minute PR Sure hold on no but may I already got three drives No I thought he got two touchdown wait hold on the the thing's messed up we're we're gonna we'll wait for the PDF doc rather than than stat broadcast which suddenly has covid or something I don't know what's going on uh all right we'll uh we we'll we'll see you guys uh Monday we'll be back Monday little uh PSA on what we're doing with the car podcast I I think we haven't talked this out but we're going to talk it out right here uh fallout episode Monday I think we're going to take Wednesday off but for the audio only listeners we'll throw up the Reggie Bush interview so if you haven't listened to that it'll go up audio only we'll probably put it up uh like Thursday or something uh Thursday morning as if it was the Wednesday episode uh and then I think we'll be back with a Michigan preview the following Monday two days earlier than it normally is uh because we've got some scheduling stuff that's a little weird uh the Michigan week so that episode will be Monday so this Monday the 10th is Utah State Fallout Monday the 17th is that right sounds right no no this Monday the 9th Utah State Fallout next Monday the 16th next Monday the 16th is Michigan preview yes there you go all right uh we will see you next time until then we will see you see you see you