The Letdown of USC Football
I have to admit, USC's football program has only disappointed me each year. This is my fourth year at USC and each year we think the same thing. This is the big year. We're going to be back on top. This year in particular is really bumming me out. On paper we were projected near the top of the rankings, so naturally I got my hopes up. With our incredible recruiting program, we seem to always have top prospects coming here and it looked like we had a killer team led by our breakout star Sam Darnold.
Unfortunately, Darnold has looked incredibly off this season. I gave him a few games to get in the groove of the season but it's clear that he just isn't playing the way he did last year. He became known as a strong pocket passer who could filter through the chaos around him to make this beautiful plays that led us all the way to a Rose Bowl title last year. Granted, I do notice that his linemen aren't giving him as much time to make good decisions in the pocket but even his throws are off. We're seeing way too many bad passes that should easily be completed. I'm not talking about hail marry throws. I'm talking about missed 10 yard passes to wide open players.
I was willing to accept our loss to Washington (which Darnold totally underperformed for) and be hopeful of a dominant rest of the season, but yesterday was a brutal beatdown. We got absolutely spanked. Notre Dame was ranked #13 and we were #11, so losing to a closely ranked team isn't unheard of, but the point differential absolutely ruined my day. I know that Notre Dame was one of the one of hardest games of the season, if not the hardest, but boy did their rushing game destroy us. How much money can you pour into a sports program and still not get results? Apparently a lot. I'm not even sure what to think of our football team anymore, but nevertheless, I'll still watch every game hoping for the best.
Unfortunately, Darnold has looked incredibly off this season. I gave him a few games to get in the groove of the season but it's clear that he just isn't playing the way he did last year. He became known as a strong pocket passer who could filter through the chaos around him to make this beautiful plays that led us all the way to a Rose Bowl title last year. Granted, I do notice that his linemen aren't giving him as much time to make good decisions in the pocket but even his throws are off. We're seeing way too many bad passes that should easily be completed. I'm not talking about hail marry throws. I'm talking about missed 10 yard passes to wide open players.
I was willing to accept our loss to Washington (which Darnold totally underperformed for) and be hopeful of a dominant rest of the season, but yesterday was a brutal beatdown. We got absolutely spanked. Notre Dame was ranked #13 and we were #11, so losing to a closely ranked team isn't unheard of, but the point differential absolutely ruined my day. I know that Notre Dame was one of the one of hardest games of the season, if not the hardest, but boy did their rushing game destroy us. How much money can you pour into a sports program and still not get results? Apparently a lot. I'm not even sure what to think of our football team anymore, but nevertheless, I'll still watch every game hoping for the best.
I remember when I went to Berkeley for the Weekender a few weeks ago, I read a Daily Cal article that traced USC's football season up until that point, and it made some good points. Even though we won, it was by some sort of luck because we put ourselves at a position where we could've lost (in fact, I remember leaving the University of Texas game at second half because I thought it wasn't worth it). Even though I don't have as extensive knowledge on football, I had hopes for Darnold because of the Rose Bowl last year, but even I can tell that he's lost his impressiveness this season. The only game that I'll passionately care for is the UCLA game, and that's only because I want our team to beat UCLA.
ReplyDeleteI do not know much about football but I get what you mean about being disappointed especially because you want to be proud of our school and team. I wander what the disconnect is with what people are saying and what the teams actual outcome is.
ReplyDeleteI love football. USC's legendary team is one of the reason I was so excited to come here, and I totally agree that this season has been a pretty big letdown. Yeah, we've won more games than others in the division, but our success isn't from skill, it's from luck. When you look at other ranked teams, you see them winning games by large margins like 59-10. Like you said, it's not unheard of to lose against another closely ranked team, but with the skill and potential that our team possesses it's just downright depressing. I understand that we've got a lot of injuries, but there doesn't seem to be any passion on the field. We are seriously lacking spirit right now, but I'm still hopeful that we'll be able to rebound this weekend at ASU.
ReplyDeleteI feel the exact same way. I still remember how people were telling me about how USC would be one of the best teams this season, as I was transferring. We still got the rest of the season ahead of us, but these past few games have been pretty big letdowns. Hopefully we'll make a comeback soon.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, our team is overhyped every year and its very disappointing! This is also my last year and USC and hoped this year would be different, but It wasn't.
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