USC Trojans End Fall Camp, Part Two

Although the NCAA has placed severe sanctions on the Trojans, they did not restrict USC from having an extra month of Fall Camp.

Call it a gracious farewell from former Athletic Director Mike Garrett who approved the 2010 schedule a couple of years ago when the sanctions were thought to be nothing more than a mere bump in the Trojans fast lane to success.

But thank goodness Garrett chose to schedule Hawaii so USC could play 13 games and added Virginia (the second part of a home-and-home series), along with Minnesota, and opened conference play with Washington State, the weakest team in the Pac-10.

None of us, including Garrett, could see it at the time, but this schedule has been exactly what the 2010 Trojans needed.

The Trojans are not only breaking in many young players including a couple of true freshmen as starters but a new coaching staff as well with John Morton being the only holdover from Pete Carroll’s staff.

Those four teams with a combined record so far of 6-9 and only two FBS wins among them has allowed the new staff to get in an extra month of teaching to bring all the players up  to speed and to work out any kinks among the coaches.

But now the teaching period has come to an end, and the four exhibition games, or “preseason,” as Coach Kiffin likes to call it is over.

Now the really tough work begins.  The real schedule for 2010, the only one that counts.

In martial arts, once a student has learned the form, only the subtle corrections remain.  So too in football, once the training period has ended, a player has either got it or not.

There isn’t time for teaching skills, only time for adjustments.  If the player doesn’t have the skills yet or hasn’t mastered his playbook, he will just have to work hard on the scout team and wait until spring to take that leap ahead.

There is no on-the-job training in FBS football, especially in this year’s Pac-10.

For the coaches, it’s all about adjustments and the gameplan.  Each week they must correct the mistakes from the week before and install a brand new game plan adjusting it as they go along each day.

So, as the Trojans open the real 2010 schedule, what do we see?

Wide open spaces and a matter of inches.

Wide open spaces still exist unfortunately between the linebackers and the rest of the secondary.  All four foes so far have been able to complete passes in those wide open spaces and take advantage of some sloppy tackling to gain additional yardage.

Even Washington State last week hit quite a few of those wide open spaces for 256 yards.  However, tackling the receiver and limiting yards after the catch, although not perfect, has greatly improved since Hawaii.

But look out for the teams with great receivers who can catch and run: Stanford, Oregon, Arizona, and Oregon State.  The last thing the Trojans can afford is a bend and then break defense.

On the positive side, I have been impressed with the wide open spaces that the offensive line has opened for the running backs in the last two games.

But can they keep it up against stronger and quicker defensive fronts than what they have seen in the four games so far.

As for a matter of inches, Joe Houston is one out of four on field goals this season with a 34-yarder against Virginia.  But it’s not a question of distance.  His kicks are long enough.  Their trajectory is just off by a matter of inches.

I don’t think it is a cause for concern, however.  Since Houston has plenty of leg, he just needs to make a slight adjustment in his follow-through to get the ball between the uprights.

I am impressed with our running backs fighting for those few extra inches to reach the first-down markers.  No doubt a lot of the credit must go to their position coach, Kennedy Pola.

Matt Barkley leads the nation with 12 touchdown passes to go with a very impressive 166.65 efficiency rating.  However, I hope he finally decides to throw the ball away rather than try to thread it through double coverage with only a matter of inches to spare.

If their is one unit that is way ahead of last season, it has to be John Baxter's special teams.

You have to like those wide open spaces the kickoff and punt return teams are opening for Ronald Johnson and Robert Woods and also those blocked kicks and punts that USC’s special teams no longer miss by a matter of inches thanks to Coach Baxter.

No doubt special teams will play a huge role throughout this season and could be the difference in a couple of close games. 

It is also especially encouraging to see those penalties come down.  When the turnovers do likewise and the turnover ratio goes up, then the 2010 season part two will definitely be an accomplishment the Trojans and their fans can be proud of.